NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Vientos is headed for the injured list after suffering a fractured right hand Thursday when he was hit by a pitch in the New York Mets’ 7-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Mets interim manager Andy Green said he didn’t know the extent of Vientos’ injury or if it required surgery.
“It’s going to be an IL placement, and he’s still being evaluated right now,” Green said.
Vientos, making just his second start of the season at third base, was hit by Michael Wacha’s 92 mph fastball in the second inning. The 26-year-old whirled and ran into foul territory behind third base before falling on his knees.
Third base coach Tim Leiper raced over to Vientos, who walked slowly to first base with Green and a trainer, who checked Vientos’ hand.
Vientos initially remained in the game before he was replaced at third base to open the third inning by Brett Baty, who shifted from second base. Rookie A.J. Ewing moved from center field to second base in his first big league appearance at the position; Ewing played 53 games at second in the minors.
Vientos is batting .211 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs in 73 games. His struggles, along with the emergence of Jared Young at first base and Green’s desire to utilize Francisco Alvarez, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto at designated hitter on days they don’t play the field, have largely relegated Vientos to a platoon player against left-handed pitchers.
The start against Wacha was Vientos’ first against a right-hander since June 29, when he batted seventh and served as DH against Trey Yesavage and the Toronto Blue Jays.
“I’m just disappointed for what he’s going through right now today,” Green said.
This will be the third big league IL stint for Vientos, who was sidelined with a left wrist injury in August 2023 and a strained right hamstring in June 2025.
Tyrone Taylor replaced Ewing in center and hit the game-tying homer in his first at-bat to fuel a five-run fifth.
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New York Mets interim manager Andy Green, center, looks on as Mark Vientos, left, is looked over by medical staff after being hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos reacts after being hit with a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Mets' Mark Vientos reacts after being hit with a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who claimed asylum in Australia have confirmed their pivotal refusal to sing the national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup in March was a protest against Tehran.
The first media interview with Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, 34, and Fatemeh Pasandideh, 22, since they abandoned their team to become refugees was broadcast Sunday on Australia’s “60 Minutes” current affairs program.
"We just wanted to stand with our people. I was scared at times, but I just tried to do what was right and say that no one should be killed just for protesting,” Ramezanisadeh told Nine Network through an interpreter.
The team was criticized in Iran and branded as traitors in the media there for remaining silent when the Iranian national anthem was played ahead of their opening loss against South Korea on March 2.
Some saw it as an act of resistance, while others interpreted it as a show of mourning following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on their homeland which began on Feb. 28. The team offered no public explanation.
The gesture led to demonstrators demanding the team be offered asylum in Australia before leaving Sydney on March 10.
Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh said they were protesting Tehran’s brutal crackdown on nationwide demonstrations against Iran’s theocratic rule.
Ramezanisadeh said her silence “could have meant any form of torture” for her.
“But at that moment, the only thing that gave me peace and a clear conscience was not singing it. I wanted to sing the anthem with pride and from my heart. But because of the situation in Iran, I really couldn’t do it,” she said.
Pasandideh said through an interpreter of her own silence: “My people put their lives on the line and they were killed. Doing that was the absolute least we could do for them.”
Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke said none of the team had been offered asylum at that time.
“At that point, they had absolutely no information from us about the possibility of being able to stay,” Burke said.
“The silence of itself was deeply significant,” he said. “The reaction was the volcanic moment.”
The stakes were raised when U.S. President Donald Trump used social media to call for the team to be granted asylum and telephoned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the issue.
Albanese told Trump that four players and a team manager had at that stage accepted offers of humanitarian visas.
Seven members of the team eventually accepted Australia’s offer of asylum, but all soon changed their minds except for Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh. They both now play for the Wynnum Wolves semi-professional soccer team in the city of Brisbane and were made Australian citizens in August.
Ramezanisadeh said her parents had asked her to return under the instructions of Iranian authorities.
“They tried to reassure me, saying: ‘Nothing will happen to you. This is your home. You must return home.’ But I told them my mind was made up and I was not coming back,” Ramezanisadeh said.
“Thinking that I might never be able to see my family again was heartbreaking, but I couldn’t allow myself to be indifferent while so many young people were being killed by this regime. I couldn’t stay silent, even though I miss my family so much,” she added.
Both women said they had not been in contact with their families in recent months, but understood relatives had not been punished.
Pasandideh said she had never asked her teammates whether they had wanted to return to Iran or had been forced to.
“We decided not to talk because I don’t want to put their lives in danger,” Pasandideh said.
“One of my biggest dreams is to be able to go back to Iran, but in different circumstances when the situation in Iran has changed and the people of Iran are happy and thriving. Then I will go back and see my family,” she added.
FILE - Fatemeh Pasandideh, left, and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, right, former members of the Iranian women's soccer team, stand with Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, after receiving their citizenship in Brisbane, Australia, on Aug. 5, 2026. (Department of Home Affairs via AP, File)
