The big three seem to have already pre ordered their semi-final births. And so many see the rest of the round robin as a chance for one more team to slip into fourth. Most believe New Zealand is the most obvious team for that. New Zealand have won three games, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, and their biggest challenge should've been India, but that game was abandoned because of rain. This means New Zealand are unbeaten after four games with seven points.

West Indies have played four games, accruing three points, but they've played Australia and England, had a washout against South Africa, and destroyed Pakistan.

Within the camp, West Indies are looking at their final five games as the easier part of the draw. While many may have written them off after a poor show against England, they still really believe they are a chance for that final semi-final spot.

When asked about this, Jason Holder diplomatically said, "Interesting you said easy teams. I don't feel any of the teams are easy, but we may - at this present time with five games left, I think the ball's in our court, we've just got to be consistent. We've got to play some consistent cricket going into the back half of this tournament."

There is no doubt when you look at the fixtures for the two teams, New Zealand have had a dream run, and West Indies have been unlucky. They ended up playing England on the tournament's biggest playing surface - helping their opposition. Then they lost the toss and batted first when it was the only time that bowlers would get any help. Against South Africa, they had them 29 for 2 when the rain came, and on South Africa's recent form, you'd have expected them to struggle from there. And West Indies bounced out Australia's top order, before allowing Steven Smith to put on a competitive total, and being Mitchell Starc-ed after a good start in their chase.

That West Indies beat England twice at home, and competed with Australia so well in this tournament, it's clear this is a quality team. But at the moment they find themselves four points behind New Zealand, and equal with their opponents for their next game, Bangladesh.

With Bangladesh beating West Indies seven of the last nine meetings, it's not an ideal must-win match. While it's not uncommon for teams to have good records against the West Indies of recent times, this will give a confident Bangladesh more belief. They are also use to playing with them in the BPL, so they won't be star struck by the bigger names, as they've been their team mates. Mashrafe Mortaza talked about the recent record of Bangladesh against West Indies, "So we take it positively that, as we said, the matchup, I think our bowling has been fantastic against them last two, three series we played against them. So I think we have to take this positive stuff and the ground and do our best."

"Taunton is a small town, you wonder if there is enough cotton wool to protect Russell's glass knees. He didn't train on Sunday, and he trained extensively before the England game - which he played in."

West Indies also have question marks over their most important player, Andre Russell.

They still seem wedded to Russell, who they appear to believe is the key to them winning this tournament. But he's not completed 10 overs in a match and has spent as much time limping from the field as bowling on it. Holder said, "We're keeping him in cotton wool until tomorrow. I saw him yesterday. Saw him this morning as well, and he's progressing quite nicely yes, you know. We'll have a final answer with him tomorrow morning."

But Taunton is a small town, you wonder if there is enough cotton wool to protect Russell's glass knees. He didn't train on Sunday, and he trained extensively before the England game - which he played in.

With or without Russell, West Indies seem one batsman short. And that means batsman, not hitter. Nicholas Pooran's been excellent in this World Cup, but he has never made a professional hundred, and he's batting at four. No other team in this tournament is taking such a risk in their top four. On a green-looking Taunton wicket, the lack of batting smarts that affected them at Southampton might come into play again. The first batsmen in the nets today was Darren Bravo. His experience and skill could be important for this game.

And if they don't beat Bangladesh, their hopes of a semi-final spot are virtually gone.

Mashrafe Mortaza has asked his teammates to rely on their instincts in assessing pitches - starting with the one in Taunton, where Bangladesh play West Indies on Monday - and not go by "outside" opinions.

The playing surface in Taunton is quite green, but there's also the knowledge that it is traditionally a batsman-friendly pitch. And that has caused confusion in the ranks, with Mashrafe saying that since it's the players who cop the flak for poor performances, they should be make the calls on the matter.

"The team that correctly assesses the pitch faster, they will be ahead in the game. I think we misread the pitch in the New Zealand game [at The Oval]. If we had read the pitch right during that match, we would have targeted 260-270, and not 300-plus," Mashrafe said. "There's confusion about the [Taunton] pitch as well. We heard it will be grassy but some are saying that it is usually a flat pitch.

"I think those who go out in the middle can assess it quicker, since they end up getting criticised for the defeat."

The context for the comments was Bangladesh's 244 all out against New Zealand. It was thought of as a 260-270 pitch by the players but, Mashrafe said, the opinion outside the playing group - influenced by the radio commentary - was that the team should aim higher, which prompted the batsmen to throw their bats around more than they might have otherwise. They collapsed from 151 for 3 in the 31st over and lost by two wickets; in the previous game, against South Africa, they had scored 330 for 6 at the same venue.

ESPNcricinfo found out soon after the match against New Zealand that some in the Bangladesh dressing room had been influenced by the radio commentary. At one stage, a message was also sent out to the batsmen in the middle - between overs 31 and 38 - to get a move on. That didn't go down well with many of the players.

"It is hard to judge the pitch listening to the radio. They can only speculate, and only comment on things as it progresses in front of them"

"The behaviour of a pitch changes as the match progresses. When you are playing in a ground like The Oval, you are likely to have in the back of your mind that there will be 330-350 runs," Mashrafe said. "I think our calculations were spot on against South Africa. But if Shakib [Al Hasan] didn't get out at that time against New Zealand, we would have gone along the same path against New Zealand.

"When [Mohammad] Mithun and [Mahmudullah] Riyad were batting, we had the right thinking, aimed at a score around 270. It is hard to judge the pitch listening to the radio. They can only speculate, and only comment on things as it progresses in front of them. I think those in the middle should make the decisions based on their judgment."

In a big blow to India's plans Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out of India's next two or three World Cup matches due to a hamstring injury.

Playing against Pakistan on Sunday, Bhuvneshwar was forced to leave the field having bowled just 2.4 overs, after he suffered tightness in his left hamstring.

Indian captain Virat Kohli confirmed the injury took place after Bhuvneshwar stretched his hamstring off a foot mark during on the follow through. Although he described the injury as a "niggle" Kohli said Bhuvneshwar would not be available for selection for the matches against Afghanistan on June 22 and West Indies on June 27 and possibly the crunch clash against England on June 30.

"He has a slight niggle," Kohli told the host broadcaster after the victory against Pakistan. "It was because of slipping on the foot marks. It doesn't look too serious at the moment. We are going to give it some time. Hopefully he will be ready in a couple of games, if not max by three games from now."

Bhuvneshwar, Kohli said, was confident of recovery soon and the team was not worried because there was a ready replacement in Mohammad Shami. "He himself feels that the niggle is not too bad. Just time (resting) will heal it. He is going to be a very important factor for us so he hopefully he can recover well in time. We have got Shami ready and raring to go so we are not too worried about where the situation stands."

Bowling the fifth over of the Pakistan innings after India had ended on 336 for 5, Bhuvneshwar pulled up after bowling his 16th delivery, and left the field immediately. Vijay Shankar completed the over and, in fact, got India their first breakthrough with his very first delivery, trapping Imam-ul-Haq lbw.

Bhuvneshwar became the second Indian to pick up an injury during a match at the World Cup after opener Shikhar Dhawan suffered a hairline fracture to his left thumb during the game against Australia.

India 336 for 5 (Rohit 140, Kohli 77, Rahul 57, Amir 3-47) beat Pakistan 212 for 6 (Fakhar 62, Kuldeep 2-32) by 89 runs by the DSL method
As it happened

Seven-nil. On its biggest stage, cricket's most fraught rivalry really hasn't lived up to its billing.

None of the six previous World Cup meetings between India and Pakistan produced anything approaching a tight finish, but most of them contained tense passages of play and moments of crackling electricity. Sunday at Old Trafford had none of that. There was plenty of quality cricket, but nearly all of it was from one side. The other side was a shadow, not just of what it had been in the past, but even of what it had been two weeks ago.

Pakistan barely showed up, and the contest turned into an uninterrupted celebration of Indian excellence.

Watch on Hotstar (India only) - Full highlights of the match

Rohit Sharma scored his second hundred in three games, a far breezier knock than his effort in a scrappy chase against South Africa, and at one stage he seemed set for a tilt at a fourth ODI double-hundred. KL Rahul, batting in his preferred position thanks to the enforced absence of Shikhar Dhawan, made a solid half-century in an opening stand of 136. Virat Kohli came to the crease, occupied it like a favourite bit of lawn furniture, and made 77 at comfortably over a run a ball without ever seeming to stretch himself.

These efforts set Pakistan a target of 337. This was a flat pitch, and India lost one of their two main fast bowlers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to hamstring stiffness after he had delivered just 2.4 overs, leaving the fifth and sixth bowlers 17.2 overs, rather than just 10, to handle. And yet, apart from a brief period during a 104-run second-wicket stand between Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam, Pakistan never threatened to make a chase of it.

The Fakhar-Babar partnership only rarely hit high gear, partly because of the discipline from India's bowlers - even Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya - and partly because Pakistan were looking to keep wickets in hand, perhaps with an eye on staying close to the DLS par score, given that rain had already caused a couple of brief interruptions.

A series of authoritative slog-sweeps from both batsmen brought Pakistan 26 runs from overs 21 to 23, one of them bringing up Fakhar's half-century. At the 23-over mark, Pakistan were 113 for 1, 11 behind the DLS par score of 124 for 1.

That was as close as they got, as Kuldeep Yadav put India firmly on top once more with the wickets of both set batsmen. They didn't arrive out of the blue; Kuldeep was consistently challenging the batsmen in the air and off the pitch, and he had already come close to having Fakhar stumped, ripping one across his bat face and causing him to overbalance.

The breakthrough arrived in the 24th over, courtesy a cocktail of drift, dip and turn. Drift drew Babar into playing at a wider line as Kuldeep floated one across him from left-arm over, opening a gap between bat and pad. Dip ensured the ball landed shorter than Babar wanted, causing him to push further out in front of his body than he would have wanted. Turn did the rest.

Dip forced Fakhar to top-edge a sweep in Kuldeep's next over, and Pakistan were 126 for 3. When Pandya followed up in the next over with the back-to-back wickets of Mohammad Hafeez and the dreadfully out-of-sorts Shoaib Malik, the contest was all but over.

The game dragged on for a while longer, though, thanks to a 40-minute spell of rain that shaved 10 overs off the chase. When play resumed, Pakistan needed 130 in 30 balls, with four wickets in hand, in front of stands that had gone two-thirds empty. It was the tired and farcical end that this contest - hyped to absurd levels for months and painted in dangerously jingoistic shades - probably deserved.

The match was probably won and lost in its first ten overs, when Pakistan chose to bowl in overcast conditions and failed to make use of them. Unlike most of the grounds at this World Cup, Old Trafford has long straight boundaries and short square ones, and with the clouds massed overhead it was the one place at which to bowl a fuller length. Barring Mohammad Amir, none of Pakistan's fast bowlers did this.

The quicks bowled nine of the first 10 overs for Pakistan, and of the 54 balls they sent down, 30 were pitched either short or short of a length, according to ESPNcricinfo's data. Rohit and Rahul scored 35 off those 30 balls, with Rohit in especially punishing mood with his square-cut and his range of pulls. The other 24 balls, mostly from Amir, were pitched on a good length or fuller, and off those balls India only scored 13 runs.

In comparison, India's seamers bowled 36 balls on the fuller lengths in their first Powerplay, conceding 18 runs, and 24 on the shorter lengths, conceding 17.

Rohit usually starts sedately in ODIs and beds in for the long haul, accelerating gradually through his innings. Pakistan's freebies had allowed him to begin in much more of a hurry now. At the 10-over mark he was on 37 off 29 balls, and a drive to the cover point boundary off Shadab Khan in the 12th over brought up his fifty off 34 balls. It was his quickest in ODIs.

The pace of Rohit's scoring allowed Rahul to play at his own pace at the other end, and ease into a role he hasn't really played too much of in his ODI career so far. Having moved to 14 off 31 at the 10-over mark, he accelerated when the spinners came on, bringing out his sweep, square cut, and lofted hits with a full extension of the arms. In all, he scored 12 off 30 against the faster bowlers and 45 off 48 against the spinners.

When Rahul spooned Wahab Riaz to short cover in the 24th over, India had already laid the base for a massive total. Rohit and Kohli, masters of pressing home advantageous situations, did what they do best, putting on 104 runs of increasing inevitability in 19.1 overs. Rohit brought up his century - his third-quickest in ODIs - off 85 balls, off the last ball of the 30th over, and proceeded to add 40 more to his score off his next 27 balls. Another double-century seemed to be his for the taking, but right after he had hammered Hasan Ali for a typically Rohit boundary - a mighty pull over mid-on - he fell playing an entirely atypical shot, shuffling across and scooping to short fine leg.

India came into the World Cup with questions over their No. 4, but through the tournament they've found a solution by taking so long to lose their second wicket that they can promote Pandya. They did so again, and he clattered 26 off 19, but there wasn't really a proper end-overs explosion to follow his dismissal, as Amir's angle and changes of pace tied down India's lower middle order. India only made 38 off their last five overs, but by then they already had more than enough.

Asif Ali made 51, 52, 17 and 22 and he made his way into Pakistan's World Cup squad. These 142 runs came in four games against the top-ranked side in ODI cricket at their home. They came at a strike rate of 131.48.

Despite not having anyone with anywhere near that strike rate, he didn't make the original World Cup squad. Once he made it, with runs and form behind him, Pakistan didn't pick him for their opening tournament game against West Indies despite not having anyone else for a position which would otherwise be crucial to finishing off the big starts their top order was giving them.

In their second game against England they brought Asif Ali in and dropped Imad Wasim. Against England in the ODI series just before this game, Imad had taken six wickets and, in a very high-scoring series, conceded 6.37 runs per over. They also brought in Shoaib Malik who, at that time, was averaging 14 with the bat in England over his career. They wanted his experience and calm on the field. They dropped Haris Sohail who is considered by the Pakistan management to be the second-best batsman in the squad behind Babar Azam.

Then they took on Sri Lanka and, fortunately for their selection group, the game got rained off and they didn't have to pick an XI.

Australia next, at Taunton, and the pitch looked green and friendly for fast bowlers. They brought in Shaheen Afridi to bolster their pace attack and dropped Shadab Khan. The latter is their best ODI player and absolutely essential to their bowling attack. They thought they'd be fine getting ten overs from Malik and Mohammad Hafeez. They went 11-0-86-1.

Shadab is also their best fielder, the one who sets the tone as much as he can in what is now the worst fielding side in the tournament. Pakistan dropped two catches - one as a direct result of Shadab not being where he would usually be - and were generally abysmal in the field.

Against India, Pakistan put Shadab back in the XI and also Imad, dropping Asif and Shaheen. They kept Malik in the side, despite his last three scores reading 4, 8 and 0. Experience, they reasoned, they needed his experience. He was out first ball.

Pakistan have made six changes over three games after their opening match. None of them have been injury induced. They have argued the reasons for each change, but whether they are tactical or strategic, it's clear that they have little idea what their best XI is. Five games into this tournament.

Asked about the decision to drop a specialist bowler and batsman on Sunday, Sarfaraz Ahmed insisted it was the right move. "I think it was right. We were going with five bowlers and six batters. So I think our decision was right." Similarly he had defended the decision to drop Shadab against Australia.

Imad, who's been at the receiving end of these decisions, was suitably diplomatic when asked whether Pakistan knew what their best XI was. "I can't give an answer to this. Only the captain and the coach can. Whatever XI we put on the field, the players try and do their best."

That isn't a surprise given that they weren't all that sure about what their best XV for this World Cup should be. They picked Abid Ali on the basis of two innings in their provisional World Cup squad. Then, having allowed him just one game in the series just before this World Cup, they dropped him.

Mohammad Amir was always going to be a part of their plan, even if he wasn't in the provisional squad but Wahab Riaz had not played an ODI in two years when he was suddenly pulled into the squad. He was nowhere on the scene or in their plans and yet here he is, one of their more successful players. Mohammad Hasnain, picked for his youth and pace, has not played a single game yet and is unlikely to until Pakistan are definitely out. There will be almost certainly be changes for the next game against South Africa too.

This is a tournament which they have been building up to for the best part of two years, for which they have actually had a very good run-in, for which they actually have a good, young core of players to work with.

"We need to win our next four matches now, we need to play well," Imad said. "Other results are not in our hands but we need to win those four games."

For that, they will need to first figure out what their best XI actually is.

NEWTON, Iowa -- NASCAR overturned a victory for the first time under its toughened new policy on cheating when Brett Moffitt was declared the winner of the Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway after Ross Chastain failed a postrace inspection.

Chastain led the final 141 laps of Sunday's 200-lap race, but series managing director Brad Moran said the winning No. 44 was too low when it was measured with NASCAR's height sticks.

"The height sticks have warning yellows in them and reds, and it was right off of all of them, so unfortunately it was extremely low,'' Moran said.

The disqualification was the first under strict new rules put into place at the start of this season to deter the culture of cheating -- and it delivered a much-needed victory for Moffitt, a native Iowan racing at his home-state track.

"I think, for the integrity of the sport, it's the right thing to do,'' said Moffitt, who never led a lap in the race.

"Obviously I came out on the good end of it. If I was in Ross' shoes, I wouldn't be too thrilled about it.''

Niece Motorsports tweeted after the race that it will appeal the decision. Team owner Al Niece said in a statement that the truck passed opening and prerace inspections.

"We believe that the No. 44 truck sustained minor damage, which left the truck too low following the race,'' Niece said.

NASCAR said the most recent time it disqualified an apparent race winner was April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis' victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown out because of an oversized fuel tank. But the previous driver to be stripped of a victory was Mike Skinner, in a 1999 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Skinner led the final 41 laps but NASCAR said the next morning his car had an unapproved cylinder head. The win was handed to Dave Blaney and Skinner was dropped to 43rd and last in the field.

Skinner and his team filed an appeal, which was overturned two days later. Skinner was once again awarded the victory, but did not receive the usual first-place earnings.

NASCAR announced in February that thorough postrace inspections would take place right after the race at the track instead of midweek at the sanctioning body's research and development center outside of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Winning teams found in violation of the rules in previous seasons were penalized with postrace fines, point deductions and/or suspensions. But drivers didn't have victories taken away from them until Chastain was stripped of the victory Sunday.

The decision could prove to be devastating for Chastain's season.

Chastain recently switched the championship he'd compete for in 2019 from the Xfinity Series to Trucks, a risky move that left him at the bottom of the standings. The apparent win at Iowa meant that Chastain would have to finish only 20th or higher in the Truck standings to receive a playoff berth, and the driver nicknamed "The Melon Man'' was so thrilled about it that he smashed a watermelon to the ground in victory lane.

Instead, Chastain has now been scored as if he finished last, and his victory and bonus points have been stripped away. Chastain also lost the $50,000 he had won for taking first in the "Triple Truck Challenge'' marketing promotion that included the Iowa race.

Chastain, who spoke at a news conference after his apparent victory, could not be located for comment after his disqualification was announced.

As for Moffitt, he said he had been drinking beers in his motor home and on his way to the airport in nearby Des Moines and was "mad as hell'' about losing when he got the call informing him that Chastain had been disqualified.

Moffitt was summoned back to the track for the second winner's news conference of the day.

"I went from drinking my sorrows away to being happy,'' Moffitt said.

June 13 - 16, 2019

LOS ANGELES -- If Thursday's NBA draft truly has a steep drop-off in talent beyond the presumed top two picks in Duke's Zion Williamson and Murray State's Ja Morant, somebody forgot to tell Vanderbilt's Darius Garland.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who left school after playing just five games his freshman season because of a meniscus injury in his left knee, said there's nobody better at his position in this draft.

"I humbly say this, I think I'm the best (guard) in the draft," he told ESPN. "I mean, I think I can do everything that an NBA team wants me to do."

The 19-year-old Garland averaged 16.2 points on 53.7 percent shooting (47.8 percent from 3) with the Commodores prior to the injury, with 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

"The game is going towards a pick-and-roll and a scoring point guard situation," Garland said. "So, I think I can do both of those really well. Just choose my spots on the floor and be able to show off the dribble."

After Garland pulled out of the NBA draft combine in Chicago last month and sat out his agency's (Klutch Sports) pro day in Los Angeles, draft pundits wondered whether he had received a promise from a lottery team. Garland and his agent, Rich Paul, lifted the smoke screen this week, however, as the guard granted private workouts to both the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in L.A., sources told ESPN.

Both workouts occurred prior to the Lakers' blockbuster trade Saturday for New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis, which included Los Angeles sending the No. 4 overall pick to the Pelicans, sources said.

Garland impressed with his shot-making ability and deep range, according to sources present for the Lakers' workout.

The Cavaliers, who hold the No. 5 pick Thursday, could arrange another swap with New Orleans, of course, if they set their sights on Garland and feel the need to move up to secure him. Should New Orleans take Williamson at No. 1, as expected, and want Garland at No. 4, Garland could pair with the Duke phenomenon a year after choosing Vanderbilt over the Blue Devils. Garland was heavily recruited by Mike Krzyzewski to become part of Duke's heralded freshman class that included Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones. Kentucky also was interested in Garland, but he decided to play near his family in Tennessee.

"I got a chance to watch some Duke games (last season). I mean, it would have been a great fit, I guess. But I chose to stay at home, go to Vanderbilt. I always stick with my gut," Garland said. "I wanted to do something different."

Garland's father, Winston, played seven seasons in the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Winston Garland's time in the league ended in 1995, five years before Darius was born.

Though Winston averaged a respectable 9.4 points and 4.7 assists in 511 career games at the point, his son is primed to man the position in the modern NBA.

"I think 10 years ago, everything was pass-first point guards, and now it's evolved into more scoring guards," Darius Garland told ESPN. "I also distribute the ball, as well. So, I think I came around at the right time."

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse confirmed Sunday that he plans to coach the Canadian national team, starting with the World Cup this summer.

At Toronto's first media availability since winning the NBA Finals, Nurse told reporters, "I'm getting ready to take another situation soon because I think it's going to make me a better coach."

Asked specifically whether he was talking about reports that he would become the coach of Team Canada for the World Cup, Nurse said a deal was "just about done."

"It's something I'm looking forward to doing," he said.

Nurse, 51, said his experience as an assistant coach with Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics was an impetus for wanting to coach Team Canada.

"I learned a lot as a coach in that run and I'm hoping this experience will do the same," he said.

He added that "there's some really good players" on the Canadian team. Among the players Nurse might be coaching are Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson, Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell and former Duke forward RJ Barrett, a likely lottery pick in this year's draft.

"It's a unique time with the World Cup and the Olympics within a short 13- to 14-month window. And it fits in OK. I'm just giving up some vacation time," he said.

Canada begins the 2019 World Cup in China on Sept. 1 when it plays Australia.

When the Raptors clinched the NBA title with their Game 6 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, Nurse became the ninth rookie coach to win a championship in NBA history.

He also won two titles in the NBA's D-League (now named the G League), with the Iowa Energy in 2011 and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2013.

NEW YORK -- The New York Mets put pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 10-day injured list with a strained right hamstring, then saw Jason Vargas leave Sunday's start against St. Louis because of a cramp in his left calf.

The Mets also activated second baseman Robinson Cano from the IL and put him in the lineup against the Cardinals.

Batting in the fourth inning, Vargas fouled off a ball and was clearly in pain. He was visited by Mets manager Mickey Callaway and an athletic trainer and promptly removed from the game. Pitcher Jacob deGrom pinch hit for Vargas and walked.

Vargas, 36, was sidelined from May 6-24 with left hamstring tightness but has been one of New York's most consistent pitchers since returning from the injured list. Entering the game, Vargas had allowed 11 earned runs over his last 45 innings and had won each of his past two starts.

Vargas allowed three runs -- two earned -- on just one hit over four innings against the Cardinals.

Syndergaard reached for his right hamstring after throwing a pitch in the seventh inning of New York's 8-7 victory Saturday night. He walked off the field with a bit of a limp.

Syndergaard (5-4, 4.55 ERA), 26, who is scheduled to undergo an MRI, has struggled at times in 2019, allowing four earned runs or more in eight of his 15 starts. He entered the season with a 2.93 ERA. Callaway noted that the decision to place Syndergaard on the IL was made because "it didn't seem like he would make his next start anyway."

Callaway said that the team had options, but declined to indicate who would take Syndergaard's spot in the rotation.

Cano, out since June 9 after aggravating a left quadriceps injury, was in New York's lineup, hitting fifth. It's the first time this season the 36-year-old has batted in any spot in the lineup other than third. A key offseason acquisition, Cano has appeared in just one game since May 22 and is hitting just .238 with three home runs and 14 RBIs.

Prior to joining the Mets, Cano never hit lower than .271 or failed to produce at least 50 RBIs in any of his 14 prior major league seasons. Callaway said Cano's workload would be monitored moving forward.