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Opening Day came and went for the Yankees who beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2, and it didn't take long for some history to be made in The Bronx.

Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Austin Wells hit a solo home run off Freddy Peralta to give New York a quick 1-0 lead. It was the first time in MLB history that a catcher hit a leadoff home run on Opening Day.

Wells also became the first Yankee with a leadoff home run on Opening Day.

LEADOFF HOMER FOR AUSTIN WELLS! 💣

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/PjpKSZ2TWI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 27, 2025

"It's pretty cool," Wells said after the game. "Obviously not playing to break records but it's still pretty cool to hear."

The ball traveled 348 feet to right field -- caught by a fan in the first row -- and had an exit velocity of 103.7 mph, getting out in a hurry.

What makes the home run even more impressive is it came in Wells' first at-bat hitting leadoff.

"I don't know, it felt pretty good I think," Wells said when asked about how he felt batting first in the order. "It was cool."

Without a true leadoff hitter in the lineup, New York tried Wells at the top of the batting order during spring training and the catcher answered the call well, prompting the Yankees to keep the 25-year-old there, at least for the beginning of the season.

"Pretty early on in camp I felt like -- you know I get it it’s unconventional, it’s the catcher, he’s not a burner and all that, but to me it made a lot of sense potentially," Boone said about Wells in the leadoff spot. "He’s one of the guys in my head I can say, this works for me and I just think that’s where he is as a hitter now too. I think he’s really a lot more advanced and I think he’s gonna take another step from last year."

When Boone first told Wells about his idea of batting him No. 1, the catcher thought he was joking, saying, "I didn’t really take it seriously."

Wells never envisioned himself as a leadoff hitter, but being in front of Aaron Judge has helped him make the switch.

"I think it’s something new for me and it's kind of exciting getting to hit in front of Aaron Judge and trying to get on base for him," Wells said. "I think that’s kind of helped me mindset-wise, just get on base anyway that I can."

Phillies' revised batting order an important part of Opening Day win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — The prevailing, modern thought around baseball is that batting order construction doesn’t matter much.

On Opening Day, for the Phillies, it sure did.

Leading off Trea Turner rather than Kyle Schwarber forced the Nationals to use a right-handed reliever instead of a lefty to begin the seventh inning up by a run against the top of the Phillies’ order.

It worked in the Phillies’ favor as Bryce Harper took righty Lucas Sims deep to center field on the first pitch he saw, a low-and-in heater, and Schwarber put them ahead by doing the same to lefty Jose Ferrer two batters later.

Jordan Romano blew the save by allowing two eighth-inning runs in a rocky debut, but the Phillies’ revised lineup came through again with two outs in the 10th to win it. After Brandon Marsh failed to get a bunt down and struck out for the fourth time and Turner lined out softly, Harper walked to bring up Alec Bohm, the Phillies’ most consistent bat with runners in scoring position, a .312 career hitter in those spots. Bohm delivered the game-winning blow, a two-run double to left-center, and the Phillies broke open a 7-3 win with a two-run triple by J.T. Realmuto, who struck out his first four times up.

Had to be a pretty good feeling for Bohm, whose offseason began with months of trade rumors.

Before the game, Phillies manager Rob Thomson confirmed that for now, he will lead off Turner against lefties and Schwarber vs. righties. Turner was 0-for-4 with a walk, seeing 28 pitches in his five plate appearances, which is the kind of grind the Phillies want from him at the plate. It could not only lead to more walks for Turner but it gives Harper more pitches to see in the on-deck circle.

The Phillies started five left-handed hitters, a highly unusual number against a southpaw. But Nats starter Mackenzie Gore, who absolutely dominated them on Thursday with six scoreless, one-hit innings and 13 strikeouts, has reverse platoon splits and they want to give Max Kepler and Marsh the opportunity to face same-handed pitching. This won’t always be the case — it will likely depend on the arsenal and delivery of the lefty starter. The next two the Phillies might face are Blake Snell and Chris Sale in their third and fourth series of the season. Those stick out as games Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas could start.

The game was decided long after both starters departed. Zack Wheeler did what he often does, keeping his opponents off balance en route to one run over six innings. This was his sixth Phillies season debut and he’s allowed no runs or one run in five of them.

Romano aside, the rest of the Phillies’ late-inning relievers pitched well. Orion Kerkering had two runners in scoring position with one out in the seventh after two unlucky bloops but dealt his way out of it. Jose Alvarado pumped 101 mph fastballs by the Nats in a scoreless ninth. And Matt Strahm, after missing most of spring training with a left shoulder injury and then a gash on his finger, went 1-2-3 in the 10th inning to close it out.

Lefty or righty, the Phils won’t face a starter as good as Gore for over a week. It wasn’t a perfect Opening Day — the Phillies struck out 19 times in all — but they all count the same.

Red Sox takeaways: Abreu's HRs help Boston beat Rangers on Opening Day originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox started the 2025 MLB season with a 5-2 win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field, and Wilyer Abreu made it possible.

The Red Sox right fielder hit two home runs, including a three-run blast that broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth inning.

Outside of Abreu, the Red Sox weren’t able to produce much offense against Rangers starter Nate Eovaldi and the rest of Texas’ pitching staff. Boston’s best hitters — Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman — combined to go 1-for-12 at the plate with five strikeouts and zero walks.

Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell made his major league debut and collected his first career hit in the top of the ninth inning. He finished 1-for-3 with one walk and one strikeout.

The team’s marquee offseason addition, left-handed starter Garrett Crochet, pitched five innings in his Red Sox debut. The bullpen took over in the sixth inning and allowed just two hits with zero walks and three strikeouts the rest of the way. Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless eighth inning and earned the win in his Boston debut. Justin Slaten threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.

Here are three takeaways from the Opening Day victory.

Wilyer Abreu shines

The bulk of the Red Sox’s offense came from Wilyer Abreu, who went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a single, three runs scored, four RBI and a walk. Boston had three hits through five innings, and Abreu tallied two of them.

One of those hits was a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning that tied the score at two. Abreu crushed a four-seam fastball from Eovaldi and sent it 415 feet into the right field stands.

Abreu hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave Boston a 5-2 lead:

Abreu played his first full MLB season in 2024 and batted .253 with 15 homers and 58 RBI in 132 games. He really shined on defense and won an American League Gold Glove in right field, becoming the first Red Sox rookie to win a Gold Glove since Fred Lynn in 1975.

If you’re looking for a Red Sox player who could have a breakout season, Abreu should be at or near the top of the list.

Garrett Crochet solid in debut

Crochet’s much-anticipated debut was a good one. He started it in fine fashion by striking out the first batter he faced. He pitched a scoreless first inning but needed 18 pitches to do it.

The Rangers opened the scoring in the second inning when Kevin Pillar hit an RBI double to center field. After a scoreless third inning for Crochet, he allowed a run in the fourth when Kyle Higashioka hit an RBI double to center.

Crochet bounced back with a scoreless fifth inning to complete his day. He ended up throwing 88 pitches (61 strikes) over five innings and allowed five hits, two earned runs and two walks, while striking out four. He had 15 swings-and-misses.

It wasn’t a dominant performance from the 25-year-old lefty, but it was a solid outing against a very good Rangers lineup.

Rafael Devers really struggles

The Red Sox need a bounce-back season from their superstar slugger, and he did not take a positive step forward toward that goal Thursday.

Devers went 0-for-4 at the plate with three strikeouts. He had five swings-and-misses in his first two at-bats and had a lot of trouble with Nathan Eovaldi’s breaking balls (see video below). Overall, the 28-year-old veteran just didn’t look comfortable at the plate.

It might take Devers a little bit to adjust to his full-time designated hitter role. Devers has played third base throughout his Red Sox career, but the offseason addition of Alex Bregman — who is much better defensively — has resulted in Devers shifting to DH.

Ramos recaps epic battle vs. Greene that ended with big homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CINCINNATI — As Heliot Ramos finished an exuberant jog around the bases, Mike Krukow noted that it shouldn’t be a surprise when the Giants left fielder goes the opposite way. Ramos, Krukow reminded everyone, is the only right-hander to ever hit a homer into McCovey Cove. It turns out that Ramos is often thinking about that blast, too.

“I’m not even going to lie,” he said, smiling. “The ‘splash’ gave me a lot of confidence last year, too, but I always knew that I had that pop, that power [the opposite way]. I just needed to make it better and polish it.”

Ramos gets the Giants on the board with the first homer of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/9YDrx9AlQ4

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 27, 2025

Ramos always has had swagger, but last year the results caught up, landing him in the MLB All-Star Game and securing an everyday job in the big leagues. He hit 22 homers and had a wRC+ of 120, but you didn’t have to dive too deep to find a troubling trend. Against lefties, he was basically Aaron Judge. Against righties, he at times looked like he was headed for life in a platoon.

The Giants will give Ramos every opportunity to show that he can be the same guy for 162 games, and the early returns are positive. Wilmer Flores had the game-winner on Thursday, but the Giants were only hanging around because of Ramos, who hit a two-run homer in the fourth that cut the deficit to one and helped knock Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene out of the game after five innings. The Giants ended up winning 6-4. 

“With the way he was throwing, it just felt like we were lucky to get a hit, let alone a run off him,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He was just throwing his fastball by everybody and slider just enough to get you off a 100-mph fastball. As the [Ramos] at-bat went along, you’re like, these at-bats usually end up pretty good for the hitter when you’re making him work like that. There’s a little frustration that comes in, too, having to throw that many pitches.

“He was not trying to pull him, because of the velocity, and he finally got a ball he could handle. We’ve seen him hit the ball to right-center field, so it was just staying with his approach the entire at-bat.”

Ramos fell behind 1-2 before taking two pitches to work the count full. Then the fun started. 

Greene’s four-seamer was the best for any NL starter last year by some metrics, and he threw Ramos seven straight, with five being fouled off in a row as the battle got to an 11th pitch. All were 98 or 99 mph, and Ramos kept making contact. 

“In my mind I’m like, ‘Damn, how am I not getting to the fastball? This is insane, he’s throwing it right there, I feel on-time, my body feels good,'” Ramos said. “But I didn’t get off my plan, obviously. I was just trying to stay compact and just put the ball in play.”

Ramos figured Greene might at some point elevate a fastball or go away with a slider, but he also knew that with Jung Hoo Lee on first, he probably didn’t want to issue another walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Ramos told himself to keep an up-the-middle approach, and when the 11th pitch came in at 98.7 mph, down and away, he put a quick swing on it. 

The ball kept carrying and carrying, as has often proven to be the case with Ramos’ fly balls. It landed in the second row, stunning Greene, but not Ramos. 

“Yeah, I knew it was gone,” Ramos said.

The homer came on Ramos’ first Opening Day. A year ago at this time, he was in Triple-A, having been surprisingly optioned early in camp. He ended up carrying the lineup for long stretches of the summer, but the second half also showed him there were adjustments to be made. 

Ramos spent the whole offseason working on his approach against right-handed pitching, and did the same this spring. He had a .673 OPS against righties last year, but he’s confident much better days are ahead. He’ll have to wait a bit to get another test, though. 

The Giants face left-hander Nick Lodolo on Saturday, meaning Ramos will be atop the lineup. He’s never lacking confidence, but he’ll have a bit extra the next time out after putting Greene in his book. He said the whole team should feel good about Thursday’s result and build off the win. 

“I feel like we never gave up,” Ramos said. “We struck out [17] times but we never gave up. We have a pretty good team, we have a pretty good set of players. I think it’s just [going] up from now. He’s one of the best pitchers in the National League. Not everyone is like that, so they have to watch out, for sure.”

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The Angels have upheld their obligations under their stadium lease, the state auditor said in a report released Thursday, and disputes between the city of Anaheim and the team are largely the result of vague language in a lease that dates to 1996.

“We did not uncover any instances in which Angels ownership violated the terms of the lease agreement,” state auditor Grant Parks wrote in his report.

The only specific financial outcome of the report: Auditors discovered the Angels had overpaid $95,000 in ticket revenue to the city in 2021. The city agreed to refund the money to the team, the report said.

The Angels last month exercised their option to extend their stadium lease through 2032. They have two additional options, through 2035 and again through 2038. The city says there are no talks underway on a new deal with the team.

Read more:Could the Angels lose their Angel Stadium lease? New state audit to probe land deal

The audit, requested last year by state legislators representing the stadium area, was one of several actions pursued by elected officials after the collapse of a previous deal.

In 2022, after the release of an FBI affidavit disclosing a public corruption investigation of then-Mayor Harry Sidhu, the city killed the deal in which Angels owner Arte Moreno would have bought Angel Stadium and the surrounding property, renovated the stadium and built a neighborhood around it.

According to his plea agreement, Sidhu disclosed confidential city information to the Angels at a time when the city was negotiating with the team. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

The collapse of the deal meant the Angels would remain a tenant at the stadium, under the terms of the 1996 lease.

In their audit request, State Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Assemblyman Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) cited “deep concern” that the team had withheld revenue owed to the city and failed to comply with stadium maintenance requirements stipulated in the lease.

That lease does not allow the city regular access for stadium inspections, meaning that the city “cannot ensure that its own stadium is properly maintained,” according to the report. The city and team have squabbled over access to the stadium for a property assessment authorized in 2023 that has still not been completed.

The city and team also have disagreed on the funding of maintenance and capital expenditures and the interpretation of “first-class stadium” in the lease, which requires Angel Stadium to be maintained on par with Dodger Stadium and Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City but does not define specific requirements or say as of what date those comparisons should be valid.

If the city and team cannot resolve those issues, Anaheim will “face the possibility of litigation,” the report said.

In accordance with the lease, the Angels pay no rent to play at the stadium, and share no ticket revenue with the city unless they sell more than 2.6 million tickets. The city agreed to waive rent because Disney, then owner of the Angels, paid for all but $20 million of a $117-million stadium renovation.

At the time of the 1996 lease, the Angels had sold more than 2.6 million tickets four times since moving into the stadium in 1966. Under Moreno — and in the wake of the only World Series championship in franchise history — the Angels topped 3 million every year from 2003-19. Attendance fell below 2.6 million in two of the last three full seasons; the Angels have not posted a winning record in 10 years.

"The failure of the Angels to put a decent product on the field means that the city is basically paying the Angels to play baseball in their stadium," Umberg said in a statement.

The auditor also noted the lease allows the city to perform an audit twice per year to ensure the Angels’ compliance with the lease. According to the report, the city has conducted two such audits in the last 12 years.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Flores gifts Posey birthday present with first Giants win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

CINCINNATI — After meeting with the media and watching batting practice, Buster Posey went up to the executive’s suite a bit earlier than he normally will. Posey never before had gotten to soak in all the pageantry of an Opening Day, but with his catcher’s gear gathering dust, he was excited to sit down and watch the festivities.

The rest of the day, which also was his birthday, couldn’t have gone much better. Wilmer Flores’ three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning gave the Giants a 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Posey’s first official game as president of baseball operations. Afterward, Bob Melvin said he planned to present the lineup card to Posey as a gift. It was a memorable 38th birthday, with just one complication.

Not many Giants seemed to actually know that it was Posey’s birthday.

Flores had no idea. Opening Day starter Logan Webb’s eyes widened when he found out. He laughed and said he had a 30-minute conversation with Posey earlier in the day and it didn’t come up. Heliot Ramos, who kept the Giants in the game early on, said he spoke to Posey multiple times without passing along birthday wishes.

“Oh man,” he said, smiling. “I just told him, ‘Congratulations on your first day as the boss.'”

It would have been one to celebrate regardless, but it was extra special thanks to Flores, Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee, Patrick Bailey and others, including a stream of lockdown relievers. A big part of Posey and Zack Minasian’s plan to get the Giants back to contention is situational hitting, and on Thursday, hitters came through in big spots.

Ramos capped an 11-pitch at-bat with a two-run homer, which not only kept the Giants close, but helped knock dominant Reds starter Hunter Greene out earlier than expected. That caught up to the Reds in the ninth. 

Lee, who earlier had walked ahead of Ramos’ homer, drew a one-out walk from Ian Gibaut. Matt Chapman singled to right, and after Ramos’ strikeout — one of 17 for the Giants — Bailey lined a single into right-center to tie the game. That set up Flores, who presented Posey with one of his most interesting decisions of his first offseason in charge. 

There was no doubt that Flores would opt in for the final year of his deal after a disappointing 2024 that ended with knee surgery, but nobody would have blamed the new executive if he had gone in a different direction at first base. Posey played with Flores, though. He knows how valuable he can be in the late innings, and the Giants came to camp hoping the veteran would look like his old self. When he did, he became an easy choice to return to the first base/designated hitter mix. 

On a day when Reds pitchers lit up the radar gun, Flores waited for something soft in the ninth. Gibaut floated a 1-2 slider and he crushed it to left. 

“He’s usually better when there’s more money on the line,” Melvin said. 

Flores smiled a few minutes later and said he had told Willy Adames during the game that he had never hit an Opening Day homer. The blast came two innings after an 11-pitch battle, which ended in a strikeout but showed that Flores was back to his grinding ways. When healthy, he’s as tough of a late-inning at-bat as there is on the roster.

“It showed today on the first day, but we want to keep it going,” Flores said of the situational-hitting success. “Not only today, but we’re going to try to push it all year. We talk about having good at-bats and I feel like we had a lot of good at-bats that didn’t end in a good result.”

Greene struck out seven in the first three innings, but he lasted just five. The Reds are without closer Alexis Diaz and when the game got to the ninth, the Giants took advantage. As Flores rounded the bases, Adames burst from the dugout and ran along the rail. Ramos and Lee excitedly grabbed each other on the top step. 

“I wouldn’t expect nothing (less). He’s a veteran, he’s built for those moments,” Ramos said of Flores. “The fact that it was him, it’s super-cool to see. He’s bouncing back from last year and all the injuries and all that. We were ready, I feel like the whole game we were all focused, we were all trying to push in the same direction. Obviously Hunter Greene was doing a pretty good job today and he was nasty — he had his stuff going on. But we never gave up, I feel like we took good at-bats and we were battling.”

For all of the pageantry and attention that’s paid to Opening Day, it’s just one game. There are no guarantees, but there sure were some positive signs Thursday.

The homer was one of Ramos’ best swings against a right-hander in the big leagues, a very intriguing development. And if Flores is back to his 2023 form, the lineup is going to be much deeper than anticipated. 

Two years ago, Flores primarily hit second or third in the lineup. On Thursday, he was seventh on that lineup card that was headed Posey’s way, and the man in charge can surely relate. 

When Posey returned from a year off in 2021, he hit seventh in the opener. Nobody knew what he would give the Giants, but he ended up homering on Opening Day and looking just like his old self for six months. The hope is that the same proves true for Flores. 

“It was just about health for him. I mean, it looks the same,” Melvin said. “Last year he couldn’t drive off his leg. We saw some homers this spring where he was pulling some balls, he’s pretty good about sitting on pitches at times and he has always been a clutch guy. He has a lot of walk-offs in his career and the bigger the situation, the better he has been.”

“There’s still a lot to like about Flo.”

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The Mets have designated outfielders Alexander Canario and Jose Azocar for assignment, after both players did not make the Opening Day roster, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Canario and Azocar, who are out of minor league options, will be available for any team to claim on outright waivers unless the Mets work out a trade within the next seven days.

If one or both players clear waivers, the Mets will be able to outright them to the minor leagues.

The 24-year-old Canario, whom the Mets acquired from the Cubs via trade in February for cash considerations, is an intriguing prospect.

He spent most of the 2024 season with the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, slashing .243/.336/.514 with 18 home runs in just 64 games.

Canario started slowly with the Mets in spring training but got hot late. Overall, he hit .306/.419/.611 with three home runs and two doubles in 36 at-bats over 17 games.

For the Mets, it simply came down to the fact that they didn't have room on the roster for Canario since they opted to go with a four-man bench and eight-man bullpen.

A few hours before Carlos Rodon throws the first pitch of the Yankees' 2025 regular season, manager Aaron Boone gave an update on Giancarlo Stanton's progress.

Stanton, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday (retroactive to March 24) with right and left elbow epicondylitis, is making progress, according to Boone, but the team is still not putting a timetable on when the 35-year-old could be back in the lineup.

"He's doing pretty well. I think we've all been encouraged by the last couple of weeks," Boone said. "Still no timetable on anything, but he's been able to swing the bat and feel like there's been some steady improvement day after day. Encouraged by the last couple of weeks, but we've still got a ways to go."

Swinging a bat is obviously a huge step for Stanton, who has received multiple rounds of PRP injections to try to ease the pain in both elbows, an ailment that he played through during parts of last season.

Stanton had a down 2024 regular season by his own standards, posting an OPS of .773 while hitting 27 home runs and driving in 72 runs. His numbers were better in the postseason, but it's clear that if the Yanks want to make a run to the World Series, they're going to need better production from their veteran designated hitter.

What we learned as Wilmer Flores' homer seals Giants' Opening Day comeback win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

CINCINNATI — It was mentioned every day during spring training. Situational hitting, situational hitting, situational hitting. The Giants needed to get better with runners on base. 

It appears all of that work paid off. 

Patrick Bailey tied it up with two outs in the ninth on Opening Day and Wilmer Flores followed with a three-run homer, stunning the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. With a 6-4 victory, the Giants gave one hell of a birthday present to Buster Posey, who was in the executive’s booth for the first time as president of baseball operations. 

The late rally started with a Jung Hoo Lee walk and included a Matt Chapman single. After Bailey’s single, Flores unloaded on a hanging slider from Ian Gibaut. 

IF NOBODY GOT ME, WILMER FLORES GOT ME 🙏 pic.twitter.com/J2WdtXShAC

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 27, 2025

During the first three innings, the Giants got a reminder of how dangerous it is to trust spring training results. They didn’t face many marquee pitchers while winning 21 games during the exhibition season, but Reds ace Hunter Greene came out sitting at 100 mph and dominated for the first hour. The Giants struck out six times the first lap through the order and 16 overall, but they came through when it counted. 

Greene is a dark horse Cy Young candidate, and he might have the National League’s best four-seamer. He threw it 70 percent of the time, topping out at 101.7 mph and averaging 99.2. The Giants were stuck in the mud until Heliot Ramos took Greene deep in the fourth, cutting the deficit to one. Logan Webb kept it there and the bullpen had a strong day, with Ryan Walker closing it out after Flores’ bomb.

Great American Small Park

Can you lock up at-bat of the year on the first day of the season? It’ll be hard for any Giant to top what Ramos did in his second at-bat.

The Giants had just one hit when he came up in the top of the fourth, but he fouled off five straight two-strike pitches from Greene — all at 98 or 99 mph — before hitting a high fly ball to left that kept carrying and snuck over the wall for a two-run homer.

Ramos gets the Giants on the board with the first homer of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/9YDrx9AlQ4

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 27, 2025

The first Giants homer of the year came on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. That was the most pitches seen by a Giant before homering since May 12, 2023, when Michael Conforto unloaded on the 12th pitch of an at-bat.

Slow Start

The best time, sometimes the only time, to get to Webb is in the first inning. The Reds did it with a two-out rally and then tacked on two more runs in the third. In his fourth consecutive Opening Day start, Webb was charged with three earned runs in five innings on six hits and three walks. 

Webb struck out five, and his first of the 2025 MLB season came on his cutter, a pitch he didn’t even throw until last May and rarely used before this spring. He threw 13 of them against a Reds lineup heavy on left-handed hitters. 

Webb threw his changeup only nine times, although there were some characteristics there he’ll probably be happy with. He’s trying to widen the velocity gap between his changeup and sinker; the change averaged 86 mph on Thursday and the sinker was at 92.3, topping out at 94.8. 

The New Guy

Willy Adames has 19 career homers against the Reds and he nearly got his 20th. In the top of the fourth, he hit a high fly ball to right that kept carrying the same way Ramos’ did, but Jake Fraley caught it on the track. 

Overall, it was a quiet debut for the longtime NL Central star. Adames struck out in his other three at-bats, including a leadoff whiff in the ninth. The most notable moment defensively was a tricky one. 

Adames made a slick stop of Gavin Lux’s grounder up the middle in the third, but he couldn’t beat Elly De La Cruz to the bag at second and the hesitation cost him a chance to get Lux at first. With the bases loaded, Jeimer Candelario drove in a pair with a single.

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