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2025 Rule 5 draft, AAA Phase

All the way back in December during the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Diamondbacks made three picks, RHP Antonio Menendez from Tampa Bay, RHP Sean Harney from St. Louis, and finally, infielder Danny Serretti from the Detroit Tigers.

To briefly discuss what the two pitchers have done: Sean Harney actually hasn’t pitched an inning with his new organization yet, as he’s had some kind of undisclosed injury that has him missing the entire 2026 season. Antonio Menendez was excellent in Amarillo (2.60 ERA, 4.19 xFIP), but has been hit extremely hard (12.74 ERA, 8.22 xFIP) after being promoted to Reno. That leaves us with the subject of this article, Danny Serretti, who has been outstanding in 2026, and deserve a closer look.

Struggles in Detroit’s Farm System

The Detroit Tigers selected Danny Serretti in the 6th round of the 2022 draft with the 177th overall pick. A switch hitting shortstop out of the University of North Carolina, Serretti would jump from A ball to AA in the span of just 27 games the same year in 2022. Across the three levels, he hit .315/.474/.472, a .442 wOBA and a 177 wRC+.

In 2023, the Tigers decided to put him in High A to begin the season. In 53 games he’d hit .284/.367/.441 with a .370 wOBA and 134 wRC+. This earned him a promotion to AA, and in 49 games he’d hit 205/.314/.269 .281 wOBA and a 70 wRC+. The next season, the Tigers had Serretti return to high A, where the struggles continued. In 87 games, he hit just .190/.287/.293, a .279 wOBA, and a 78 wRC+. Serretti would spend the last 12 games in AA, where he’d hit .206/.372/.206 with a 91 wRC+. 2025 wouldn’t go much better for Serretti, as he hit just .209/.313/.311 in 62 games.

Considering the struggles in AA, it’s no surprise that the Tigers would leave Serretti unprotected before the 2025 Rule 5 draft. It is somewhat surprising that Arizona took Serretti considering those same struggles, but it appears that move has paid off.

New Organization, New Hitter?

In 53 games in AA Amarillo, .283/.447/.553 with a .443wOBA and a 144 wrc+. In 21 games in AAA Reno he’s hitting .352/.465/.563 with a .461 wOBA, an expected wOBA(xwOBA) of .413, and a 153 wRC+. Looking at his minor league splits across both levels, Serretti is absolutely destroying left handed pitching as a right handed batter. In 102 plate appearances as a right handed batter, he’s hitting .345/.461/.679, compared to the .285/.453/.493 in 191 plate appearances against right handed pitching as a left handed batter.

One could write off Serretti’s success in Arizona’s farm system as a result of the extremely hitter friendly environments in the Texas League and Pacific Coast league, but I think there’s a few statistics that show that’s not the only reason for the turn around in 2026.

Firstly, as indicated by the wRC+ stats, he was 43% better than the average hitter in the Texas League, and 53% better than average PCL batter. Secondly, he’s dramatically increased his BB% from his previous high of 14% in AA up to 20.2% in AA and 17.2% in AAA with Arizona, while drastically cutting down on his strikeouts to a more reasonable rate of 21.6%(AA) and 20.7% in 2026. (Although this after getting his SO% down to 19.6% in 2025 from 25.6% in 2024)

Serretti has drastically count down on the frequency of pop ups, going from as high as 41.7% in AA back in 2024, down to 13.3% (AA) and 7.7% (AAA) this season. Finally, looking at the breakdown of his hit distribution, Serretti pulled the ball 46.1% in Amarillo compared to just 37.9% of the time in Erie the year before. While we don’t have any statcast data for Amarillo, we do for Reno, but it’s such a small sample that’s not worth going into too much depth.

Defensive Versatility

While in Detroit’s farm system, Serretti played all four infield positions, as well as designated hitter. Since coming over to Arizona he has played only one game at first base and none at shortstop at all. He’s recieved the majority of his playing time at second and third, with some occasional starts at designated hitter.

Serretti is a solid, reliable fielder, who’s only defensive limitation is an underwhelming throwing arm. There were questions on draft day if that would keep him from sticking at shortstop, which appears to have been quite prescient.

Future Outlook

I would not expect Serretti to put up anywhere close to the SLG% he’s put up in Arizona’s farm system, and his is expected slugging percentage of .477 vs his actual slugging of .563 in Reno backs that up. I do think he’s capable of being a lefty mashing utility infielder, as his swing in general looks better to me from the right side. His left handed swing isn’t bad enough to ditch entirely, but might be something to be considered in the future.

Serretti will have to be protected and placed on the 40 man roster at the end of the season if the Diamondbacks don’t want to leave him exposed in this year’s Rule 5 draft. If he is added at the end of the season, I think that will tell us a lot about how the front office views Serretti’s future outlook.

Box Score

The road trip for the Brewers started out with the offense mostly silent. They were shut out by the Giants 3-0 on Monday, the fifth time they have been shut out all season. However, it’s also the second time it’s happened in the last six games.

Scoring chances were very limited tonight. The first came in the second inning. Jake Bauers hit a one-out single, then Andrew Vaughn drew a walk following a challenge. It set up an early scoring chance, but Garrett Mitchell grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Brandon Sproat worked through the first two innings scoreless, but did have to work around a couple situations. In the first, Heliot Ramos hit a fly ball to right, and Bauers appeared to have an easy catch. However, it bounced out of his glove, and Ramos reached second on the error. Ramos would steal third, but Sproat kept him there with a strikeout and groundout.

The Giants got two more baserunners in the second. Casey Schmitt lead off the inning with a single, but had to come out of the game with a leg injury. Pinch-runner Christian Koss stole second and Willy Adames drew a walk, but Grant McCray hit into a double play and Sproat got out of the inning.

Sproat got into more trouble in the third, but this time the Giants broke through. Jesus Rodriguez led off the inning with a double, and Luis Arraez followed it up with a single to drive him in. That gave the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The fourth started with a leadoff walk by Koss, but Sproat erased him with his fifth pickoff of the season. Two batters later, Adames singled to left, and that set up McCray to hit a two-run home run to left, extending their lead to 3-0.

That was all that Sproat allowed, and he got through his remaining couple innings with no other damage. Sproat added his sixth pickoff of the season in the sixth inning. Drew Gilbert singled with one out, but Sproat picked him off with two outs. The initial call was safe, but a challenge overturned it. He’s now tied for the league lead in pickoffs with his two tonight.

The stat line was overall decent for Sproat. He pitched six innings and allowed three runs on six hits and three walks. He also struck out five in the loss. Even though he did allow three runs, he made sure the Brewers would not have to dip much into their bullpen tonight.

As for the offense, they kept spoiling any scoring chances they had. A Vaughn single in the fifth was erased when Mitchell grounded into a double play for the second time tonight. In the next inning, Cooper Pratt drew a leadoff walk but he was erased when Joey Ortiz grounded into the team’s third double play of the night.

Giants’ starter Tyler Mahle was on point tonight. He pitched six innings and started the seventh, allowing only three hits and two walks. He was pulled for the night after Jackson Chourio hit a leadoff single. Chourio reached second on a wild pitch, but reliever Sam Hentges stranded him there.

The Brewers didn’t have another baserunner in the eighth or ninth. Meanwhile, Garrett Stallings was the only reliever the Brewers needed to use, as he pitched the last two innings and allowed just a walk.

Vaughn was the only Brewer to reach base twice — a hit and a walk. Bauers and Chourio had a hit each, and Pratt had a walk. That was all the offense could do tonight.

The series continues tomorrow night in San Francisco. Logan Henderson will face Landen Roupp in the second game of the series. First pitch is at 9:45 p.m.

Ali Sánchez's three-run homer with a full count, two outs and runners on the corners extended the Yankees' lead in the eighth inning of Monday's series-opening win at the Chicago White Sox while delivering a lifelong dream for the 29-year-old from Venezuela.

Sánchez, 29, hit his first MLB home run through 75 games -- 25 with Aaron Boone's team this season -- since debuting for the Mets in 2020 and subsequently bouncing around the big leagues until returning to New York as a Yankee.

"I mean, that's a moment that I always talk with my teammates about it -- it's just special," Sánchez told YES Network after the Yankees (60-46) earned the 9-5 final against the White Sox (55-50) at Rate Field in Chicago, winning for the 10th time in the past 14 games. "I felt like I was living a dream running the bases -- just a little kid running from Venezuela in a small town, just running the bases."

From Venezuela, Sánchez signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2013. He spent the following seven years in the organization and made his debut Aug. 10, 2020, before the Mets traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash Feb. 12, 2021.

Sánchez's stops from there included stints in the organizations of the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox. The 2025 season saw him go from the Blue Jays to Boston, back to the Mets  via Triple-A Syracuse, and then back to the Red Sox before signing with the Yankees in December.

Through 25 games with the Yankees this season, Sánchez is slashing .255/.294/.355 and has seven RBI.

"Obviously, it a was a big home run, too," Boone said. "Just one of those games that was just had a back and forth, turned into bullpen kind of thing. Looked like we were going to be able to potentially add on there and they get a couple big outs and then Ali hits a no-doubter to give us some separation, so really cool.

"Everyone's journey's different, obviously, and there's so many tremendous stories to tell about different guys -- and Ali's one of those."

Wasn’t it 35 years ago when the Red-Hot Chili Peppers sang “Give it away, Give it away now?”    That’s exactly what the Angels did on this night.   They gave it away; fortunately for Houston.   Astros 6.    Angels 4.      

In the ninth inning, the Astros would do it by a matter of inches.     First, Isaac Paredes would be slightly grazed by a pitch with the bases loaded which would tie things up.    Moments later LaMonte Wade Jr., by the narrowest of margins, would draw a walk which gave Houston their first lead of the night.    A fielding error by Angels reliever Sam Bachman would allow Yordan Alvarez to score an insurance run and that would be your final.   It was an improbable comeback, just like Friday night in Chicago.    

Even with the jubilation of the end result, much of the night was painted by a sad commentary.   The Astros were fortunate to only be down by two runs at the end of the first inning.   That was the boat the Astros found themselves in, which actually seemed like more like a sinking ship.    The culprit once again was Tatsuya Imai, who allowed four walks and received the quick hook from Manager Joe Espada after tossing just 33 pitches.   The issue was 21 of those pitches were balls, which resulted in a disastrous start from Anaheim.     

Upon Imai’s departure, AJ Blubaugh would get Angels 3B Denzer Guzman to fly out to end the first frame, stranding three Angels runners.  However, in the bottom of the third, Vaughn Grissom would drive in his second run of the night, hitting a solo shot to center field.  It was Grissom’s 7th home run of season.    Josh Lowe would then reach on a throwing error by Jose Altuve.    Moments later, Lowe would come around to score on a double by Jo Adell.     By the time the third was in the books, the Angels had increased their lead to 4-0.    Blubaugh would work 2 1/3 innings, allowing 2 hits, a run, while registering a strikeout.    

In the fourth inning, Taylor Trammell would notch his fifth home run of the year on a two out blast to get the Astros on the board.    In the bottom of the fourth, Christian Javier (W, 1-1) would enter in relief.     Javier would go five innings, striking out seven while scattering three hits.   Javier would strike out the side in the bottom of the 8th, throwing just 70 pitches through his performance.  It’s possible that Javier’s outing will ultimately propel him back into the starting rotation next month.    

In bottom of the 8th inning, Yordan Alvarez would end a 0-8 slump, driving in Jeremy Pena recording his league leading 78th RBI.    Pena reached on a leadoff double.    Pena will carry a 9-game hitting streak into tomorrow night.       However, with a 0-5 outing, Jose Altuve is now mired in a 0-13 slump.    The 9th featured ten Astros batters coming to plate in placing the four spot on the board to complete the comeback.    

Josh Hader (S, 13) would make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth walking a pair but would eventually close the door.    The Astros have now won 6 of their last 7 games.   

Peter Lambert will take the hill tomorrow night.    First pitch is set for 8:38pm CDT.   

The A’s got a great pitching performance from their starting pitcher tonight. Unfortunately one swing of the bat was enough for the surging Red Sox to get past the Athletics tonight in the series opener in Sacramento.

The Athletics struck first tonight and it didn’t take long. Facing left-hander Jake Bennett for the Red Sox, the second batter of the game for the A’s connected on a solo blast as Tyler Soderstrom inflicted some lefty-on-lefty damage with his 17th of the year:

That also extended his team-leading hitting streak to 10 games, and he now has 4 long balls in his last 15 games.

That gave his starting pitcher some early room to breath. It was right-hander Jack Perkins on the bump tonight making his second start of the second half. After walking the first batter of the game, the young gun locked in. Over the first five frames tonight Perkins issued just two walks (one of which was immediately wiped out on a double play) and a hit by pitch. He looked as good as he had all year and looked confident on the mound doing it. And yes, he had a no-hitter going through five.

Boston got their first hit with a leadoff double in the sixth. A pair of ground balls and Perkins was almost out of it unscathed but a walk prompted a pitching change from the manager. Perkins would depart with a 1-0 lead but responsible for the two runners on base.

• Jack Perkins: 5 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 69 pitches

That’s the type of performance the A’s were hoping to see from their young right-hander. Hindsight is 20/20 but it would have been nice to let him work through the jam, especially considering his relatively low pitch count.

Alas, lefty Jose Suarez came on in relief of Perkins and gave the game away. Another walk loaded the bases and Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela connected on a hanging slider for a go-ahead grand slam. Suddenly it was 4-1 Boston.

The A’s got one of those runs back in the bottom half of the frame though as new starting catcher Jonah Heim connected for his 10th long ball of the year to cut it to 4-2:

Still, the club was down two runs and needed more to catch up. The A’s went down in order in both the seventh and eighth innings before they managed to get the tying run on base in the ninth against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. Sadly rookies Henry Bolte and Alika Williams struck out to end the late rally and secure the defeat in front of the home crowd.

Another tough loss, which drops the club to 44-62. Perkins was pitching great tonight and probably deserved a win. Alas, it’s hard to win a game when you only collect six hits. Soderstrom and Heim did their jobs at the top of the lineup but the 5-9 hitters went a combined 2-for-16 with two singles. Not a great performance from the offense tonight, even without Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers.

The series continues tomorrow night, same time same place. It’s going to be a battle of left-handers as Gage Jump gets the ball for the Athletics while Boston will turn to Jake Bennett. Jump is set for his third start here in the second half; his first one was solid but he got roughed up for six runs against the Diamondbacks last time out so he’ll be looking for a bounce-back performance. Bennett meanwhile comes into this one on a roll, posting a pristine 1.64 ERA over his previous seven starts. Not an easy assignment for either lineup tomorrow so runs will surely be at a premium.

The St. Louis Cardinals entered Monday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs with an urgent need to turn their recent downward spiral around. The Chicago Cubs and specifically their bats seemed determined to not allow that to happen.

Matthew Liberatore started the game for the Cardinals who planned to piggyback his start with Hunter Dobbins for the final half of the game. David Peterson, who the Cardinals hit hard in their last encounter, made that seem like a distant memory as he held St. Louis and their struggling offense to a minimum of opportunities.

The Cubs scored on Matthew Liberatore in each of the first 3 innings. In the top of the 1st inning, Liberatore walked Pete Crow-Armstrong, but then picked him off of first to the delight of the “Tarps Off” crowd in right field. Chicago got the last laugh, though, as Suzuki and Bregman hit back-to-back doubles giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Chicago would score again in the top of the 2nd inning as Nico Hoerner led off with a single. After Ian Happ struck out, Dansby Swanson singled giving Chicago runners at first and second with just one out. Amaya then smacked a single to right doubling the Cubs lead to 2-0.

The Cardinals would get one run back in the bottom of the 2nd inning when José Fermín would become the Fermínator muscling up for a 407 foot shot into Big Mac Land reducing the Cubs lead to 2-1.

The top of the 3rd started with Alex Bregman getting that run right back taking a 94 mph Liberatore sinker the other way into the right field stands for a homer and a 3-1 Cubs lead. It was obvious that Matthew wasn’t fooling anyone Monday night.

Hunter Dobbins entered the game in the top of the 4th inning getting out of a jam created by Matthew Liberatore, but he would surrender two runs of his own in the top of the 5th inning when Nico Hoerner singled to knock in Bregman and Kelly who had reached on singles making it 5-1 Cubs.

The Cardinals offense would finally find some life in the bottom of the 6th inning when Jordan Walker drew a walk to get St. Louis started. Iván Herrera then struck out when umpires ruled he called two timeouts which resulted in an automatic strike which was confusing because it seemed the first timeout was called by the home plate umpire. Go figure. That awkward moment fortunately didn’t kill the Cardinals momentum as Jordan Walker advanced to second on a groundout by Alec Burleson and then scored on a single by Masyn Winn reducing the Cubs lead to 5-2. The Cardinals would get another run when Bryan Torres hit a ground-rule double which scored Winn who had advanced to third on a wild pitch making a game of it with the Cubs still leading 5-3.

The Cardinals had their chances in the late innings. Jordan Walker came SO close to tying the game in the bottom of the 7th. After Blaze Jordan drew a very rare walk, two batters later, Walker caught a 95 mph and flew out to deep left as Ian Happ caught the ball up against the wall. So freaking close, but no cigar. Iván Herrera also led off the bottom of the 8th inning by knocking a ball off of the right field wall, but was thrown out by Ian Happ trying to stretch it to a double.

Nico Hoerner put the game out of reach with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning when he followed an Alex Bregman double with an 80 mph sweeper that he launched 382 feet into the left field stands giving the Cubs a 7-3 lead. Stuff happens and lately it’s all breaking wrong for the Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals will see what they can accomplish against the Chicago Cubs again Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. The Chicago Cubs have announced Colin Rea as their starter while the Cardinals have yet to announce who’ll start for them. First pitch scheduled for 6:45pm central time with the TV broadcast available through Cardinals.tv.

The San Diego Padres starters’ ERA was at 4.69, 27th in baseball, going into the series against the Miami Marlins on July 24. The day before, in the last of the Atlanta Braves series, Griffin Canning had an opener (Kyle Hart) and still only lasted 2.2 innings after allowing five runs on five hits with three home runs given up.

The situation with the starting rotation has been desperate for quite some time. For that reason, the Padres coaching staff changed their approach. For the three-game series with the Marlins, the team adopted an 11-man bullpen with only Michael King and Walker Buehler reserved as traditional starters. 

Pitching matchups

For the first two games, the team employed bullpen games using a mix of former starters and relievers in a mix-and-match fashion to cover their nine innings. For the third and final game of the series, Walker Buehler made a traditional start and completed 5.1 innings with two earned runs. The Padres used Yuki Matsui, Wandy Peralta, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller to finish things off. 

The Friars finished the road trip through Kansas City, Atlanta and Miami with a 5-5 record after sweeping the Marlins and are now back to a .500 record at 53-53. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller will have to decide over the next week how the organization will handle the rest of the season and the trade deadline on Aug. 3. This is not an ideal approach to a pitching staff, but one built on need, in an attempt to give the newly resurgent Padres offense a chance to best the other team’s pitching and win some games. 

Offense is picking up steam

The Padres offense, long lingering dead last in many offensive categories in MLB, has battled its way back. They are still in the bottom five in all batting averages, but are 19th in home runs, 20th in RBI, and have several of their players surging offensively.

First baseman Ty France, a rumored trade piece should the Padres sell, is leading all regulars with a .286 average and .886 OPS. He has 16 homers and 46 RBI.

Third baseman Manny Machado, who admitted to altering his hitting approach during the offseason, has battled his way back to a .210 average and .734 OPS. Amazingly enough, his slugging has been consistent despite his struggles, and he has a team-leading 23 homers and 62 RBI.

Jackson Merrill recently admitted to going back to his high school videos to fix his swing. Over his past 15 games, he is hitting .305/.344/.593 with five homers and 11 RBI. That has raised his season average to .231 with a .675 OPS.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was the first one to address his hitting and has been going along at a steady pace since May. His power outage turned around over the past month as he finished June with four homers and has three in July. For the seven weeks over those two months, he has 29 RBI versus 17 RBI in March through May.

With the big three producing more, and the rest of the hitters making contributions, the offense is averaging 6.71 runs per game post-All-Star break versus less than five before the break.

Jake Cronenworth is healthy

Since returning from the injured list with a serious concussion, infielder Jake Cronenworth has gone on a tear. He is hitting .324/.398/.446 in the past 21 games. Overall, his average went from .144 before going on the IL to .217/.318/.297 with a .616 OPS.

How to manage the pitching

It was a thought before the season that many of the pitchers signed to compete for the Padres rotation this season would be better suited as relievers. They were pressed into the rotation because of the injuries to Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta. 

It has been pretty clear that Germán Márquez, Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito are not traditional starter material. Randy Vásquez started strong but has since lost his way. Only Michael King and Walker Buehler have been able to maintain any semblance of consistency and the length that is needed in a rotation.

With the revamped pitching plan, the Padres were able to limit the damage against a struggling Miami Marlins team and come away with a sweep. Time will tell if this new plan can sustain itself against other teams. 

The next two series are versus the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants over a six-game home stand. Then they go back on the road against the Diamondbacks, which also coincides with the trade deadline on Aug. 3.

We will know by then which way the Padres front office has decided to go with the buy or sell decision. If the team is in the Wild Card hunt and pieces are added, then the pitching staff stands to be improved.

Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta are progressing

Playing into this equation is the status of both Musgrove and Pivetta. Both are in Arizona, throwing against minor league hitters for live BP. Musgrove threw 23 pitches, and Pivetta threw 20 against those hitters on Friday. Both should throw again this week. If all goes well, rehab stints will begin soon. Both will have to be built up over four or five starts to be available to assume a spot in the rotation (info per Kevin Acee’s July 27 newsletter). 

Barring complications, Padres fans could see one or both before the end of August. That would make a significant improvement in the status of the rotation for the rest of the season. 

Injury updates and roster moves

Reliever Jason Adam has been on the injured list since July 2 with a right shoulder strain and is not yet on a rehab assignment.

Reliever Jeremiah Estrada is pitching with the El Paso Chihuahuas after starting his rehab with the ACL team. He could return within the next one to two weeks. He has been on the injured list since June 5 with right knee inflammation.

RHP Lucas Giolito is working with the training staff and has not been sent on a rehab assignment yet.

RHP David Morgan is on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues. He made his first appearances with the ACL team. He was placed on the injured list June 29 with left knee inflammation.

Infielder Miguel Andujar was placed on the injured list on July 20 with a broken wrist. He is currently in a brace and is not ready for rehab. 

Outfielder Samad Taylor was placed on the injured list on July 8 with a right oblique strain. He has not begun a rehab assignment.

The Padres traded Ron Marinaccio to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for international bonus pool money.

Zac Thornton’s scoreless stretch is over. 

But the rookie’s latest solid outing has kept multiple streaks in play. 

With his fourth straight start of at least six innings, Thornton earned his second career (and consecutive) win, leading the Mets to a 14-3 victory over the Braves at Citi Field for the team’s first back-to-back wins since July 8-9. 

Thornton (2-1, 2.43 ERA) entered his fifth career start having thrown 18 straight scoreless innings — the longest such stretch by a Mets rookie since 2016 (Steven Matz) — but the southpaw allowed a run before his first inning was done. Still, the 24-year-old exited to a standing ovation in the rain. 

Thornton (2-1, 2.43 ERA) allowed three runs, six hits and one walk in 6 ¹/₃ innings, with five strikeouts on 81 pitches (54 strikes). 

“That’s who he is,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said. “The guy’s young, but he [doesn’t] allow [anything] to affect his next pitch, which is not an easy thing to do as a rookie on a big league mound for the first time.” 

Entering the night, opponents were hitting .175 against Thornton.

But the lefty surrendered three hits before he recorded three outs, seeing his shutout streak end at 18 ²/₃ innings after Ozzie Albies’ run-scoring infield single.

The rookie allowed just three more hits over the next 5 ¹/₃ innings, including a game-tying homer to Albies in the fourth inning. 

“I left a few pitches [in the] middle, and I gotta get back to what I do well, living on the edges,” Thornton said. “I’m a competitor. [I think] I’m gonna go out and beat whoever is on the other side of that field.” 

Green took away one of the only remaining reasons to come to Citi Field, giving Carson Benge the day off. Over the final two months of the season, Green said he will attempt to walk a fine line with Benge and fellow standout outfielder A.J. Ewing, balancing the rookies’ health with their need to acclimate to the rigors of a full major league season. 

“I think it’s a balance of pushing them to places they haven’t been before,” Green said before Monday’s game against the Braves. “Obviously the minor league schedule … is much easier than the major league travel schedule. You have to push them past where they’ve been before, but not necessarily so far that they’re in completely uncharted waters that you’re putting them at injury risk. So that’s just finding them a periodic off-day at strategic times … There’s a really good chance you’ll see A.J. get one [Tuesday or Wednesday] … I think we’re just gonna strategically make those choices to keep them fresh, but also challenged.” 

Infielder Mitch Voit, the Mets’ 2025 first-round pick, was promoted to Double-A Binghamton and is expected to debut with the team Tuesday. The 21-year-old appeared in 76 games this year with High-A Brooklyn, compiling a slash line of .242/.349/.745 with 11 home runs, 47 RBIs, 47 runs, 12 doubles and 36 stolen bases.

A few big lessons learned for a young squad tonight:

1. You can’t win a game in the first inning
2. Sloppy baseball = frustrating loss
3. Don’t aggressively wave a guy home who missed Sunday’s game due to a leg injury when it’s not necessary
4. Using half your bullpen in the opener of a four-game series isn’t a great idea

Let’s get into an ugly, 9-5 White Sox loss against the Yankees.

After a dominant first half of the frame from Noah Schultz with three strikeouts, Colson Montgomery put the White Sox on the board early on after a 3-2 count: Max Fried put two on base, and Colson knocked former Yankee Randal Grichuk in and sent Munetaka Murakami to third. A sac fly RBI from Chase Meidroth made it 2-0, and Braden Montgomery added another run with a triple to run the lead to 3-0.

Despite putting two runners on base in the bottom of the second, one being a two-out walk to Murakami, the Good Guys left the bases loaded but bumped the pitch count up to 54 for Fried, and it was looking like the southpaw might get run from the game much earlier than anticipated.

But the game turned from that point.

Schultz gave up back-to-back walks to Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt, and loaded the bases with no outs via Jasson Domínguez’s single. With the Sox bullpen stirring, Anthony Volpe’s RBI ground out would make it 3-1. Chris Murphy stepped in to relieve Schultz, but a two-run double from Jazz Chisholm Jr. tied the game, and Chisholm stole third base as a freebie, when no one was paying attention. José Caballero drew a walk to put runners in the corner with only one out. Spencer Jones sent another run home, reminding the White Sox that paying attention could’ve kept the game tied. Alas, the first half of the inning ended, 4-3, after starting with a 3-0 lead.

Miguel Vargas legged out a double in the bottom of the fifth and hustled a bit more to tie the ballgame after Colson Montgomery’s single. Meidroth hit into a force out and Braden Montgomery picked up a walk with two outs, but Tristan Peters (pinch-hitting for Everson Pereira) grounded out to leave runners stranded.

Edgar Quero started the seventh by burning the last White Sox challenge, then made a throwing error on a pickkoff attempt that landed Amed Rosario at third. A single from Rice sent Rosario home, giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead.

After the seventh-inning stretch, Colson Montgomery singled to provide comeback hope. And when Meidroth doubled to center, it would seem ducks would be on the pond for Braden Montgomery. Colson was held at third, right? Because, you know, leg injury and all? Nope! Third base coach Justin Jirschele decided to send him home, and he was out by a mile despite two dribbling relay throws by Yankees. Thus ended the seventh.

The Yankees would get three singles in a row to start the eighth, and with a throwing error, another run would come in to pad the lead at 6-4. Ali Sánchez busted the inning open with a three-run homer, the first of his career, on a full-count meatball from Sean Newcomb. Down 9-4, the White Sox rolled over in the bottom half, going down in order.

With two runners on via an error and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, Volpe embarrassed his bloodline by not making a routine catch to end the game. Colson Montgomery made it to first base while Sam Antonacci dashed home to make it 9-5. The Yankees, much to Aaron Boone’s dismay, had to go to the bullpen for the final out. It worked for Boone, as David Bednar got Meidroth to go down swinging.

Time for a vote for this stinker of a game!

MVP
Munetaka Murakami: 1 H, 2 BB, 1 R
Colson Montgomery: 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 RBI
Trevor Richards: 2 IP, 4 K, 0 H
Braden Montgomery: 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 BB

Cold Cat
Noah Schultz: 3 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Sean Newcomb: 1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-5, 1 K
Edgar Quero: 1-for-4, E

Max Scherzer received two standing ovations while on the road in his first game back from the injured list.

In his first start since June 10, Nationals fans showered Scherzer with cheers and a standing ovation as the 19-year MLB veteran took the mound.

Scherzer, who played for the Nationals from 2015 to 2021, returned the ovation with a salute to the crowd.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner fought through 2 2/3 innings with 75 pitches and allowed just one run from his former team.

Scherzer got into some trouble during the first inning when the bases were loaded with one out, but like so many other times in his career, he escaped unscathed.

The pitcher’s four strike outs on the day also moved him within eight of Walter Johnson (3,515) for 10th on MLB’s all-time strikeout list.

As Scherzer walked off the mound he was once again given a standing ovation and gave a wave to the crowd as a show of thanks.

The return to the mound, after dealing with back spasms and right thumb discomfort, marked Scherzer’s second return from the injured list this season.

He had previously missed April 24-June 10 with a combination of right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation.

In his only start between the injured list stints, Scherzer allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings.

The right-handed pitcher has struggled mightily this season when he has stayed healthy, only lasting more than 3 1/3 innings one other time.

He has pitched to a 10.23 ERA in 22 innings pitched, allowing 27 hits and 25 runs in that time. He also has a career-high WHIP of 1.73.

During his time in Washington, Scherzer won the National League Cy Young Award in 2016 and 2017, played a crucial role in the franchise’s first World Series championship in 2019, and racked up 2,692 strikeouts.

In a blockbuster deal, Scherzer was traded to the Dodgers before the 2021 deadline, along with shortstop Trea Turner. He also spent a season-plus with the Mets.

It wasn’t a pretty opening to the series, but the Yankees found their way Monday night in Chicago. Max Fried struggled mightily in his second start returning from the IL, putting them in a big hole early with an offense that hasn’t been prone to exploding lately, but a pair of big innings turned this game from a deficit to a 9-5 win.

Last time out Fried was extremely sharp, going five strong despite a low pitch limit blanking the Pirates with just a single hit and walk going against him. Randal Grichuk greeted him with a leadoff double, and the wheels fell off from there. Munetaka Murakami followed up with a single to put runners on the corners, and after Fried struck out Miguel Vargas for the first out of the inning Colson Montgomery ripped a single to the right side that Jazz Chisholm Jr. barely couldn’t corral scoring Grichuk. Chase Meridoth was up next and lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in a second run, and then Braden Montgomery lined a triple over the head of a diving Max Schuemann that brought in a third. It looked like Schuemann might’ve gotten messed up leaping for the ball, which would’ve complicated things for a Yankees team that is already down two of their starting outfielders, but thankfully he shook it off and stayed in the game.

Fried calmed down from there, working two straight clean frames, but the Yankee offense wasn’t getting anything going at first against the rookie Noah Schultz, who entered the game with a gaudy 6.04 ERA. Paul Goldschmidt managed a two-out single in the top of the first, but the lineup otherwise went down in order the first time through. The fourth inning finally saw them break though, starting off with a pair of walks from Ben Rice and Goldschmidt to set up a rally. Jasson Domínguez singled to left but it was hit hard enough to prevent a run from coming in, bringing Anthony Volpe up with the bases loaded and no outs. Volpe managed to bring in a run, hitting a soft grounder to short that Luisangel Acuña was just barely able to scoop up and throw to first in time to convert an out from the play.

That would be all for Schultz, as the White Sox went to their ‘pen and brought in Chris Murphy. The tide was turning though, and Chisholm provided the big blow of the inning with a double out to center to tie the game at three. Chisholm then stole third base on a head’s up play noticing that the catcher was lazily flicking the ball back to the pitcher, and José Caballero walked to pass the baton over to Spencer Jones. Jones managed to convert, fighting off three foul balls before grounding a ball in front of Caballero who was running on the pitch to prevent a double play opportunity and give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

Angel Chivilli entered the game in place of Fried to start the fourth inning, ending his night early. Chivilli worked around a two-out single to keep the newfound lead intact, but Tim Hill wasn’t as lucky in the fifth. Vargas hit a one-out double and Colson Montgomery singled to bring him in and knot us at four, bringing Fernando Cruz out to hold things down. Cruz managed to escape without any further damage, walking a batter but getting pinch-hitter Tristan Peters to ground out.

The seventh inning was an adventure of miscues for the White Sox in both halves. In the top of the inning Amed Rosario led off with a double, and when he strayed off the bag a little too far catcher Edgar Quero attempted to pick him off. His throw ended up hitting Rosario though and bounced into the outfield, allowing him to take third base instead. The next two Yankees made outs and nearly squandered the chance, but Ben Rice came through with an RBI single to retake the lead. Then in the bottom half, Colson Montgomery managed a two-out single to keep the frame alive and Meridoth ripped a double to left. Schuemann fired the ball back in to Volpe, and even though his throw home was a two-bouncer it was still easily in time to down Montgomery by about five steps at the plate.

The Yankees held a slim 5-4 lead entering the eighth inning, but they’d walk out of it with several insurance runs. Domínguez and Volpe both singled to lead off, and then Chisholm laid down a push bunt that would’ve already been good enough for a hit, but reliever Sean Newcomb threw too far off the bag at first allowing Domínguez to score. Jazz then stole second base, his 29th steal of the season, before Trent Grisham hit a grounder to first that got thrown home. Volpe had a good slide to make it a close play at the plate, but even after a replay challenge he remained out.

Ali Sánchez stepped up to the plate and delivered the finishing blow, a shocking three-run blast to left for his first career home run after six years sporadically spent in the majors.

The insurance ended up mattering, because Camilo Doval was tasked with handling the ninth inning and the defense didn’t help him. Doval got Andrew Benintendi to strike out to start, but Caballero mishandled a ball to put the first runner aboard. Doval then walked Murakami, got an out away by inducing a lineout from Vargas, and then got Montgomery to pop up for what should’ve been the final out. Volpe called everyone off in shallow center but dropped the ball, allowing the lead runner to score and forcing Aaron Boone to go to his closer David Bednar for the final out. Bednar shut things down, striking out Meidroth to end it and convert the save, but this was a game where they surely didn’t want to waste his bullets after needing him for the fourth time in six games.

With the opener in hand, the Yankees will send Gerrit Cole to the mound looking to secure at least a split tomorrow, going up against Anthony Kay. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. EST.

Box Score

Zac Thornton continued his excellent start to his career with the Mets on Monday night against the Atlanta Braves, allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings of an eventual 14-3 win for New York.

The left-hander is now 2-1 with a 2.43 ERA (0.91 WHIP) in five starts and 29.2 innings pitched this season, and although he’s a top pitching prospect in the Mets organization and just 24 years old, Thornton’s repertoire doesn’t include the typical blistering fastball and wicked secondary pitch that most young pitching prospects have.

Instead, Thornton relies mostly on a cutter that averages around 87 mph and his two-seam fastball that sits between 89-92 mph while mixing in a variety of other pitches, none of which get above 94 mph on a consistent basis.

Interim manager Andy Green admitted that it’s not “the traditional way” that most front-line starters attack hitters in this day and age of high velocity and spin rate, but the results so far speak for themselves.

“It’s good stuff,” Green said about Thornton’s assortment of pitches. “We live in a world where we don’t define stuff as good unless it’s 95+ anymore and that’s unfortunate because the cutter really is tough for righties to see and react to and the more you have to thik about pitches coming in on your hands, the more you’re gonna pull off of everything else that works away from you. 

“So it’s not the traditional way that star pitchers get people out right now, but it’s real, it’s not easy and so it gets a lot of soft contact off handles and gets a lot of ground balls. And occasionally somebody barrels him up, but he gets right back at it.”

So far, that’s been Thornton’s approach. Regardless of what happened in a previous at-bat, he doesn’t let it affect his next one.

For example, in the fourth inning on Monday night Thornton allowed a game-tying, two-run home run to Ozzie Albies after the Mets had taken the lead a half-inning prior. Rather than allow the inning to spiral, the lefty calmly went back to work and even after a single following the homer, Thornton ended the inning without further damage thanks to some weak contact and a double play.

Thornton didn’t allow another run beyond that point and New York went on to retake the lead in the sixth inning thanks to its starter’s resilience which allowed the team to remain in the fight and in the end give Thornton the win.

In fact, the way Thornton sees it, it doesn’t matter where he’s pitching or what the situation is, he’s coming after hitters the same way he always has.

“It’s the same thing if I was getting starts at Triple-A or Double-A,” he said. “I’m a competitor, I’m gonna go out and beat whoever is on the other side of that field.”

That attitude from the lefty comes as no surprise to Green who has been around Thornton quite a bit from his role as senior vice president of player development prior to becoming the interim manager.

“That’s who he is. Sometimes guys barrel you up and I don’t think he allows it to affect his next pitch which is not an easy thing to do as a rookie on a big league mound for the first time,” Green said. “[The Braves have] a good lineup. They had some good early swings. I thought he got to punchouts a little better in some bigger situations that were nice to see, but more than anything he got a couple of double play balls, continued to pitch to contact, continued to fill up the zone and even after the two-run homer to tie the game, he got right back out there and kept going.”

Green added: “It doesn’t surprise me, though. I expect him to attack that way.”