The Mets haven't spent much time searching for answers at the plate this season. Just in the last 15 games, their lineup has amassed 87 runs for nearly six on average, and their whopping 148 total hits has almost produced a laudable double-digit average. Suffice to say, they're clicking on all cylinders.
While the constant has been crossing home at a high rate, the variable has been the method of choice. Yes, there was a handful of timely home runs and extra-base knocks in the Mets' 9-3 road win over the Cardinals on Friday night, but some of their successful at-bats required some patience and persistence.
Of the 17 hits that New York stockpiled against St. Louis, seven of them came with two strikes in the count. The most important one arrived in the fifth inning, when Pete Alonso demolished an 0-2 changeup from Sonny Gray that landed in the center-field bleachers for a go-ahead, two-run homer. The clutch 417-foot blast gave the Mets a lead that they didn't relinquish.
Brandon Nimmo didn't need to fall behind in order to launch his seventh long ball of the season. He led off the seventh inning by swinging at a first-pitch sinker, bumping the Mets' lead to 7-3. But when asked about the team's two-strike approach after the game, the veteran outfielder aptly labeled that strategy as "controlled aggression."
"It's just trying to look for your pitch and be ready at any time. Whether that's the first pitch or last pitch of the at-bat, or an 0-2 count, whatever it is. Just being ready. It's something that we've talked about -- even through the organization, but especially here in the big leagues -- trying to always be ready and you're never out of an at-bat."
Each player in the Mets' lineup collected at least one hit on Friday, and it was Nimmo and catcher Francisco Alvarez who tied for the team lead with three apiece. The scoring spree helped them improve their first-place record to 22-11, and dating back to last season, they've won nine straight games against the Cardinals. It's never happened before.
Smack in the middle of New York's offensive outburst is Nimmo, who's sticking to his process and reaping the benefits of a late-April and early-May hot streak. Sure, his .229 batting average isn't up to snuff. But quality at-bats are always noticable, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza believes that Nimmo is finally being rewarded for his discipline.
"He's been locked in. Again, a good hitter who's finally getting results," Mendoza said after the win. "I don't think he's doing anything differently. Now the ball is falling, the power is right there. Not suprised by it."
The Mets scored four runs in the fifth inning and recorded 17 hits to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-3, on Friday night.
Here are the key takeaways...
- Clay Holmes got out to a funky start, allowing a leadoff double to Lars Nootbaar who then stole third base and scored on Masyn Winn's infield single to put the Cardinals up 1-0. Francisco Alvarez helped Holmes by throwing out Winn trying to steal second, and the righty got Nolan Arenado to pop up for the third out. Holmes then carried that momentum for a scoreless second inning, including his first strikeout of the night.
Holmes let up a leadoff single to Victor Scott II in the bottom of the third, as he advanced to second on a groundout. Scott stole third and came around to score on Alvarez's throwing error, tying the game at 2-2. Holmes then gave up an RBI-single to Willson Contreras as St. Louis took a 3-2 lead. The righty bounced back with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings through the fifth and retired a total of eight straight Cardinals into the sixth inning.
Holmes completed six innings of work, allowing a season-high eight hits, but just three runs. He struck out three and didn't allow a walk.
- New York loaded the bases withno outsin the top of the second inning against Sonny Gray, as Jeff McNeil hit into a fielder's choice, allowing a run to score to tie the game at 1-1. Alvarez then drove in Winker on a grounder to short, beating out the 6-4-3 double play to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. They had a chance to add more to the lead after Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor walked, but Juan Soto struck out to end the frame.
- Pete Alonso hit a leadoff single in the top of the third, but was caught trying to steal second by Gray on his first attempt of the season. He's now 17-for-20 on steals in his career.
- The bats woke up in the fifth, as Soto crushed a double (114.3 mph exit velocity) on an 0-2 pitch to right field with one away and scored on Alonso's eighth home run of the season, a 417-foot blast to center field to put the Mets up 4-3. Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker made it four straight hits to knock Gray out of the game. Mark Vientos hit into what should've been an inning-ending double play, but Contreras dropped the ball at first, allowing the run to score. Alvarez went the other way against Chris Roycroft to drive in another, making it 6-3.
- New York tacked on two more runs in the seventh -- Nimmo launched his seventh homer of the season and Alvarez drove in his third run of the game with another opposite-field hit, driving in Tyrone Taylor from second.
- Acuña's double in the seventh gave every Mets starter (plus Taylor) at least one hit, as the team finished with 17 total hits -- their second most in a game (21 in 19-5 win over Washington Nationals) this season. Acuña later added another run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to go up 9-3.
- José Buttó tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning and worked around a little trouble to escape the eighth inning, keeping the score intact. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
- Following a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in April, New York has now defeated St. Louis in nine straight contests -- the first time in Mets franchise history.
Who was the game MVP?
Despite his throwing error that resulted in a run, Francisco Alvarez had his best game at the plate so far this year. He finished 3-for-5 with a season-high three RBI. Plus, he threw out the speedy Winn, helping settle down Holmes on the mound.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers in the first inning of a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
Hours before first pitch Friday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was honored with the National League’s pitcher of the month award for March and April.
Given how he looked in a scoreless six-inning, six-strikeout, one-hit gem against the Atlanta Braves hours later, it might not be the last award he vies for this year.
After establishing himself as a breakout star in the opening month, Yamamoto continued his ascent up the hierarchy of major-league starters in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Friday at Truist Park.
He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He held an opponent without a run for the third time in his last four starts. And he dropped his early-season ERA to an MLB-best 0.90, having yielded just four earned runs in his first 40 innings of the season.
“I’ve been able to perform at a very high level,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda after the game. “I think it’s really close to my best times in Japan.”
Already in recent weeks, manager Dave Roberts has referred to Yamamoto — the three-time Japanese league MVP who signed for $325 million two offseasons ago — as the ace of the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
But now, with the Dodgers (22-10) missing two other nine-figure rotation signings in Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow because of shoulder injuries, Yamamoto’s value might be even greater than just that.
“When you look at the handful of guys in the big leagues that when they take the ball, you know they're going to go six innings, you're going to get a chance to win, a good chance to win, they can manage some stress, they're always the best option — he’s putting himself in that category,” Roberts said. “I think there's just been so much consistent performance from Yoshi in big games that it’s real. He does think he’s one of those guys.”
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts in the fourth inning against the Braves on Friday. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
Yamamoto didn’t look like that caliber of pitcher in his previous start, a season-worst five-inning, three-run outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week in which he issued a career-high four walks.
But after a mental “reset” — something Yamamoto says he does between every start — the 26-year-old right-hander responded with one of his best outings of the season against the resurgent Braves (who are 14-17, but had won nine of their previous 12).
"He dominated today, and I feel like it wasn't even the best version of Yama, which is crazy,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “When you talk about routine and work ethic and the talent, this guy's one of the best in the game, for sure. It's fun to watch."
In Yamamoto’s first three innings, the only real danger he encountered was to his own person. With two outs in the first inning, he ducked out of the way of a 107-mph line drive from Matt Olson that Mookie Betts snared at shortstop. To lead off the second, Sean Murphy rifled a 106-mph comebacker that Yamamoto snagged with his glove.
His pitching counterpart, Grant Holmes, wasn’t so lucky.
After matching Yamamoto zero for zero (in both runs and hits) in the early going, the Atlanta right-hander suffered a bad break in the fourth, when Betts smoked a 94-mph comebacker off his backside for the night’s first hit. That was followed by a single from Freddie Freeman, who hit a ground ball that Olson failed to snare at first base, and a walk to Teoscar Hernández, loading the bases with one out. Will Smith then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, opening the scoring.
Not until the sixth inning, when Betts continued his resurgence from a deep April slump with a solo home run to left field, did the Dodgers get to Holmes again.
But the way Yamamoto was dealing, the lack of run support posed little problem.
Outside of two walks to Marcell Ozuna — who won an 11-pitch battle in the first inning, and a six-pitch duel in the fourth — the Braves mustered nothing until a two-out double by Austin Riley in the sixth. And even that was immediately negated when Yamamoto induced a groundout from Ozuna to end the inning in the next at-bat.
“I was thinking about it a little bit,” Roberts said of Yamamoto’s growing no-hit possibility. “Because, yeah, he had no-hit stuff tonight.”
Instead, with Yamamoto likely to start on five days' rest for the first time this season next week — he had been on a six-days-rest schedule — Roberts ended Yamamoto’s night there, pulling him after 91 pitches.
His replacement, Kirby Yates, gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh to Olson, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half.
But, even after a 1-hour, 13-minute rain delay at the end of the eighth, the Dodgers held on, with Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips slamming the door to preserve Yamamoto’s fourth victory and improve the team’s record to 5-2 in games he has pitched.
“Just executing all of his pitches. Just making it really hard on the hitters,” Smith said of Yamamoto’s dominance. “Right now, he’s pitching like the best pitcher in the world. We’re just fortunate to have him.”
Watch Max Fried pitch when you haven’t focused on him much before. He comes out throwing a fastball at 89-90 mph, and you’re thinking, uh-oh.
You knew he was a crafty lefty, but you didn’t think he was a touch-and-feel guy, a soft tosser. You wonder if he is injured.
You keep watching and it begins to make sense. Fried stays at 90 for a bit, then pushes it to 92. But this is not a pitcher loosening up in typical fashion. He might touch 94 and then retreat to 91. With two strikes, he hits 97. Then perhaps back to 93.
You get the idea. This is not exactly normal, right?
“No, he definitely does it more [than anyone],” said Fried’s catcher, Austin Wells. Smiling, he adds, “It’s scary because I don’t know when he’s going to do it.”
What does Wells think is happening? Is Fried changing speeds on purpose?
“Yeah,” Wells said. “[After it happens on a pitch] I’m always like, that makes sense.”
Fried, after pitching seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 Yankees win over the Rays on Friday -- improving his record to 6-0 and his ERA to 1.01 (!) -- took a moment near his locker to try to explain this skill.
“Sometimes it’s conscious and sometimes it’s not,” Fried told SNY. “Sometimes you try to let it go and it’s one speed, and sometimes you time it up good.”
How does one actually change speeds on a four-seam fastball? Is it a matter of grip? A subtle reduction in arm action? Does Fried even know?
He squinted while thinking, then said, “It’s just something that I’ve always done. It’s not something that I can even really explain. My whole life I’ve always been a big fluctuator of velocity in pitches. I'm just leaning into what’s natural for me.”
The most variation within one at-bat on Friday came in the fourth inning against Jonathan Aranda. Fried started at 89, then went 93, 94, 95, and 92. By the time Aranda looked at a 79 mph curveball for a called strike three, he appeared thoroughly confused. Earlier, in a second inning at-bat, Fried showed Kameron Meisner 92 and 96, two pitches apart.
This is not a game plan. This is a person in full control of a spontaneous moment.
“It’s not something that I’m sitting here saying that I’m going to throw 20 percent of my balls under this number of miles per hour,” Fried said. “It’s just a feel of the game. It’s a little of everything.”
Freid paused. He was really trying to explain it. Words failed.
“I wish I could give you a more definitive answer,” he said. “It’s just literally like, it’s just the flow.”
It’s just the flow. That actually did sound like the answer. Changing speeds is not a verbal thing. It’s not an intellectual thing. It’s a flow thing. Fried seemed to like that. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Flow. Absolutely.”
Before the season, the battle for the Yankees' third base job included notable names like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, but prospect Jorbit Vivas was also in consideration.
And although he didn't break camp with the team, he finally got to make his MLB debut a little over a month into the 2025 season. Despite it coming due to Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s injury, manager Aaron Boone was confident the 24-year-old could handle big league pitching, and started him Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The left-hander didn't get a hit, but reached base twice on walks and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's three-run bomb in the Yankees' eventual win.
"[Tonight was] definitely something that I was expecting for a long time," Vivas said through an interpreter after the game. "And finally got the opportunity. Very excited about that and happy for my family too, I'm sure that they're watching back home. Good day."
The Venezuelan native was impressive in Triple-A this season, slashing .319/.426/.436 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, 15 RBI, and an .862 OPS in 26 games. He was impressive last spring after he came over from the Dodgers along with LHP Victor Gonzalez in the Trey Sweeney deal in December. 2023, but with a logjam in the infield, Vivas would have to wait for his moment, and it came.
Despite being up with the team a few times, he never actually got into a game until Friday. The 5-foot-9 infielder said there were some nerves, especially with 45 thousand-plus fans in attendance, but he got through it, especially when the first pitch thrown from Max Fried wound up being a grounder right to him.
"Wow. You know immediately, right? First hit in the game, right at me. I did it, I did it correctly. And then immediately after that, I was like, 'okay. Let me slow down a little bit here.'"
Vivas finished that routine grounder and made every defensive play available to him on Friday, but he was also impressive at the plate. He didn't get a hit, but walked twice and the Yankees skipper was impressed by all three at-bats from the youngster.
"The last couple [of at-bats], two walks were excellent," Boone said. "I thought the first at-bat where he punched out, I thought he put together a really good at-bat. Got beat with a good heater in the end, but I thought quality at-bats down there all night."
His first at-bat saw him foul tip a ball into the catcher's glove on a 97 mph fastball from Ryan Pepiot. He then walked on four pitches, all out of the zone, in his second at-bat, but it was his final at-bat that was really impressive. Vivas got behind 0-2, but then showed his understanding of the strikezone, taking four straight pitches for balls and taking his walk.
"The plan was just to look for a good pitch, and make good contact," Vivas said of his approach. "If I didn't get a good pitch to hit, I was just gonna let it go by. I'm used to that. That's what I wanted to do, I didn't get one there to hit."
Perhaps Vivas will pick up his first major league hit sooner rather than later. Boone said before the game that he expects Vivas to "play a lot" while Chisholm is down with injury.
Max Fried dominated the Rays again, and Paul Goldschmidt provided the offense in the Yankees' 3-0 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the takeaways...
-Fried, the newly minted AL Pitcher of the Month, started May the way he ended April: dominant. He went 4.1 innings before he gave up his first hit -- helped by some stellar defense behind him -- but it was just the beginning of what the Yankees and their fans have come to expect from the left-hander.
Fried completed seven scoreless frames (92 pitches/61 strikes), allowing just one hit, two walks and one HBP while striking out six. His ERA is now 1.01.
The last time Fried pitched against the Rays, he reached the eighth inning without allowing a hit -- until that was retroactively changed mid-game. In his two seasons outings against Tampa, he's allowed only three hits over 14.2 scoreless innings.
- Goldschmidt dealt the big blow in this one. With the game scoreless in the fifth and runners on second and third and two outs, the former NL MVP launched a 1-0 pitch fastball at the top of the zone 350 feet the other way over the right field wall. It would've been a homer in only three parks -- Citizens Bank Park and George M. Steinbrenner Field are the others.
After taking a month to hit his second homer, it's Goldschmidt's second homer in as many games. He finished 2-for-4.
-Aaron Judge smoked a triple to straightaway center that the Rays' center fielder couldn't grab and let trickle away from him. The ball was hit 108.5 mph off the bat. It was Judge's seventh career triple and second this season. It's the most he's had in one season since hitting three in his 2017 rookie campaign.
The Yankees' captain would add a double and also finish 2-for-4 at the plate. He's now batting a league-best .430 as May gets started.
-Jorbit Vivas made his MLB debut, playing second base and batting ninth. He saw the first pitch of the game hit at him, a routine grounder. He made every play in the field that he needed to.
At the plate, Vivas struck out swinging in his first at-bat before taking a four-pitch walk in his second. His third at-bat saw him come up with a man on third and two outs. After falling behind 0-2, he worked a walk on six pitches. He finished 0-for-1 but walked twice and scored a run.
-Devin Williams pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout in relief, making it three straight scoreless outings for the new Yankee.
Luke Weaver continued his incredible start to the season, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his third save of the year. Weaver has yet to give up a run this season.
Game MVP: Max Fried
Fried was just dominant, and the Yankees are now 7-0 in his starts.
While the Mets haven't conveyed that Paul Blackburn will join the starting rotation once he fully recovers from knee inflammation, the veteran right-hander is still being stretched out as an option. And the latest results from his minor-league rehab assignement are encouraging.
Blackburn made his second start for High-A Brooklyn on Friday night, striking out six while allowing two runs on four hits across three innings. He threw 41 total pitches, 31 of them for strikes.
The duration between Blackburn's outings with Brooklyn nearly reached two weeks, as his scheduled start last Wednesday was scrapped due to a stomach bug that resulted in some weight loss.
The 31-year-old logged his first two rehab frames on April 19, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently said that Blackburn's big-league role is to be determined, but they want his pitch count in the 65-70 range before activating him from the injured list.
Considering that he only threw 41 pitches on Friday, he most likely needs a few more rehab games to build up his workload.
The Mets also received some welcome news from their top farm team on Friday, as left-hander Felipe De La Cruz impressed with nine strikeouts across six scoreless innings in his debut with Triple-A Syracuse. The 23-year-old threw 70 pitches -- 53 for strikes -- and induced 12 whiffs with a sharp mid-80s slider and upper-90s sinker.
It didn't take long for De La Cruz to receive the promotion. He began the 2025 season with Double-A Binghampton, registering a crisp 1.98 ERA with 20 strikeouts across 13.2 innings (four games, two starts).
Whether or not he's being fast-tracked to the majors, De La Cruz is now a fun story to follow and on the Mets' radar. He wasn't even listed as a top-30 prospect by SNY contributor Joe DeMayo or MLB Pipeline this spring.
On a three-game skid after a home loss to the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies on Thursday, the Giants needed an answer on Friday night.
They found it.
Insert veteran left-hander Robbie Ray, who tossed seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in San Francisco’s much-needed 4-0 win over Colorado at Oracle Park.
For Ray, who remains undefeated in 2025, it marked the first time he completed seven innings in back-to-back outings since June 12 and June 17, 2022.
Naturally, any pitcher, especially one that has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, would feel confident after seeing constant improvements in his game. That’s certainly the case for the 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner, who has found his groove on the mound.
“I think it’s just comfortability with my mechanics,” Ray told reporters after the win. “My delivery, these last two games, has felt really well.
“I feel like the ball is coming out well. I’m kind of hitting all of my cues in my delivery when I need to, and it just makes my stuff better. Earlier in the year, I was kind of fighting it a little bit. A couple of bad-weather games. That was a little tough, but, right now, I feel really good.”
Along with limiting walks, Ray improved to 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA on the season. Manager Bob Melvin, for one, is satisfied with the 33-year-old’s recent production.
“It’s something everyone knows now,” Melvin told reporters. “Even in the games that he hasn’t gone deep in the game, we end up supporting him afterwards too [by] getting good outings out of the bullpen.
“He’s getting close to almost a 2.00 ERA. [He’s] just over 3.00 right now. We feel good when he takes the mound.”
Offensively, the Giants piled on three runs in the second inning, with LaMonte Wade Jr., who entered the game with a .123 batting average, earning an RBI double.
On Friday night at Truist Park, Muncy took the field for the Dodgers’ series opener against the Atlanta Braves wearing clear prescription eyeglasses. He subtly did the same during the Dodgers’ last game of the most recent homestand on Wednesday afternoon, using sunglasses with prescription lenses when he hit his first home run of the season.
It’s not that Muncy has bad eyesight. His vision, he said, is actually an excellent 20/12.
However, Muncy did learn he has astigmatism in his right eye, making him slightly left-eye dominant. Given that he’s a left-handed hitter — positioning him with his right eye forward in the batter’s box — he thus decided the glasses were worth a try.
“If there’s anything that can help out a little bit,” Muncy said, “I’ll try it.”
Based on his results from Wednesday, the benefits might have already been felt.
After enduring a career-long 28-game home run drought to start the season, Muncy went deep in his first at-bat Wednesday, launching a low-and-away sinker to straightaway center field.
He struck out in his next trip to the plate, then flied to left in the fifth inning. After that, however, he tripled and drew a walk, giving him his most productive performance of what had been a slow start to the season.
Granted, Muncy’s performance had started to tick up before he started using his new glasses.
Thanks to some recent swing adjustments, he entered Wednesday with three hits in his previous two games (he’d recorded just four in the 11 before that) and as many walks as strikeouts in his prior 13 contests overall (10 each).
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy wore sunglasses with prescription lenses during Wednesday's game against the Marlins, and hit his first home run of the season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“The swing feels like it’s getting closer and closer,” said Muncy, who entered Friday with a .194 batting average on the season. “I still have to clean some things up. Have to be better in certain situations. It’s a work in progress. But … it’s just getting the ball to go forward.”
Still, in recent days, Muncy decided it was time to break out the glasses, too.
The 34-year-old third baseman had been testing his glasses in pregame batting practice and infield drills since the start of last week’s homestand. He’d initially been hesitant to take them into game action, noting a “fish-bowl” effect he felt while wearing them, but said he has since adjusted by using them even when he’s away from the field.
Muncy isn’t the first Dodger player to begin utilizing glasses midseason.
Last year, Kiké Hernández did the same thing after discovering astigmatism (a condition caused by imperfections in the curvature of the eye that can impact vision) in his own right eye.
Like Muncy, Hernández described an adjustment period when his glasses arrived midseason.
“It took me like a week or two to really feel like my depth perception felt normal,” Hernández recalled.
Unlike Muncy, Hernández began wearing them in games as soon as they arrived.
“You can’t be afraid to fail,” he quipped.
Fail, Hernández did not. Before last year’s All-Star break, Hernández was batting .191 with just five home runs in 71 games, wearing glasses for only the final series of the opening half. After the break, once his eyesight adjusted to his new lenses, Hernández finished the year batting .274 with seven home runs in his final 55 games. He then proceeded to have a monster postseason (.294 average, two home runs, six RBIs) during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.
This year, the glasses have remained a fixture. And even though he batted just .188 in March and April, he did tally five home runs and 13 RBIs.
The biggest benefit Hernández noticed from his glasses: An ability to see the actual spin on the baseball, and more easily identify each pitch type.
“Before the glasses, I was trying to see the shape of each pitch,” Hernández said, which forced him to wait a split-second to see if the ball would dive or slide away from its starting location.
“Once I got the glasses,” he added, “I could actually see the spin.”
When a fan flipped over the railing and fell off the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park on Wednesday night, it elicited memories of spectators who have died from similar falls at other major league stadiums.
Kavan Markwood was in critical condition as of Thursday after falling onto the warning track in right field just as Pirates star Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Markwood was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart. He was taken to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital.
Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X Thursday that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.”
Fans died after steep falls at ballparks in Arlington, Texas, in 2011 and Atlanta in 2015.
Here’s a look at some safety measures instituted by MLB and its teams:
Ballpark railings
Railing heights at ballparks are team decisions based on local laws and codes. The railing that runs along the Clemente Wall is three feet (36 inches) in height, which exceeds the building code requirements of 26 inches, according to Pirates vice president of communications Brian Warecki.
Those rail heights have come under scrutiny at other ballparks after fans died. The Rangers raised the height of the front row rails at their former ballpark by as much as 12 inches to 42 inches in July 2011 after a fan named Shannon Stone fell about 20 feet.
The Atlanta Braves settled a lawsuit in 2018 with the family of Gregory Murrey, who died after falling from Turner Field’s upper deck three years earlier. Murrey fell over a rail that was 30 inches high — industry code standards mandated 26 inches or taller.
Foul ball netting
Until 2015, many ballparks had netting separating fans and the field only directly behind home plate. Following several incidents that season in which fans were hospitalized after being hit by foul balls, MLB encouraged teams to extend netting or screens to run dugout-to-dugout behind home plate in December 2015. Three years later, all 30 ballparks had netting reaching to the far ends of each dugout.
In 2019, a 2-year-old girl fractured her skull when struck by a foul ball at the Houston Astros’ stadium. The club later reached a settlement with the girl’s family. The following offseason, MLB announced seven major league teams would expand protective netting to the foul poles and 15 others would expand their netting generally to the area in the outfield where the stands begin to angle away from the field. The remaining eight clubs already had installed netting that extended substantially beyond the far end of the dugouts.
Alcohol sales
MLB does not mandate alcohol sales cutoffs, but most clubs have stopped selling alcohol around the end of the seventh inning for years. After new rules aimed at increasing the pace of play led to shorter game times in 2023, several clubs extended alcohol sales until the end of the eighth inning. Many of those teams have reverted back to the seventh-inning cutoff.
The two biggest sluggers in New York have been recognized for their early-season power at the plate. Major League Baseball announced its NL and AL Players of the Month for March/April on Friday, and the accolades were duly given to Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Yankees captain Aaron Judge.
It didn't take long for Alonso to demonstrate his long-standing worth in Queens. The 30-year-old resembled a complete hitter in April, slashing .343/.475/.657 with seven home runs, 11 doubles, and 28 RBI across 31 games (137 plate appearances). The hits often came in bunches, too, as he collected 13 multi-hit games.
Alonso's torrid start to the 2025 campaign also featured some Mets history on Tuesday, as he moved into fifth place on the franchise’s all-time RBI list (614) by crushing a solo homer. With an NL-leading .475 on-base percentage and 19 extra-base hits (tied for second in MLB), Alonso is taking full advantage of a short prove-it contract that he signed this past winter and boosting his future market value.
As for Judge, his level of production thus far has been staggering. He finished the first month tied for the league lead in homers (10), and his .427 average and 1.282 through 31 games rank second to none. Judge has registered a league-high 2.9 WAR, and according to OptaStats, he's the only player in the designated hitter era (since 1973) to lead the AL in all three Triple Crown categories entering May.
The Yankees are also reaping the benefits from their biggest offseason acquisition, as lefty ace Max Fried was named the AL's Pitcher of the Month.
The 31-year-old veteran enters Friday's start with a pristine 1.19 ERA -- tied for the top mark among AL starters -- through six outings, and his perfect 5-0 record also ranks tied for best in the majors. Fried has undoubtedly lived up to his hefty free-agent contract thus far, holding opponents to a .207 average.
Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña was named the National League Rookie of the Month for games played in March and April, MLB announced Friday.
Acuña has collected 21 hits in his first 27 games with five doubles and three RBI with a .288/.342/.356 slashline.
He's scored 13 runs and has seven steals (one caught). Per Statcast, the speedster is in the 97th percentile in speed and carries a two baserunning run value (98th percentile in baseball).
Among NL rookies to start the year, the 23-year-old infielder is second in games played, third in at-bats, third in hits, third in doubles, second in average, third in OBP, and sixth in OPS (minimum 50 at-bats).
After making an impression in 14 games at the end of last season after his big-league debut – when he went 12-for-39 at the plate with six extra-base hits, including three home runs, for a .308 average and .966 OPS – Acuña made the Opening Day squad and beat out Brett Baty to stay in Queens after Jeff McNeil returned for the IL.
They’re coming a little later in the day that usual -- and I apologize for that -- but here are some of my preferred pickups at the moment.
FANTASY BASEBALL WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
Blaine Crim (1B Rangers) - Rostered in 0% of Yahoo Leagues
Crim isn’t even in the Yahoo player pool as of yet, though that’s about to change. The 27-year-old is getting his first major league callup as the replacement for Jake Burger in Texas and should start at first base regularly for now.
It’s been a long time coming for Crim, who was a 19th-round pick in the 2019 draft after a standout career at Mississippi College. He’s since hit .296/.372/.507 in six minor league seasons, with his Triple-A line coming in at .286/.373/.486 with 49 homers in 308 games. He was at .313/.365/.565 with seven homers through 28 games with Round Rock this year. The switch from the .190/.231/.330-hitting Burger seems like a pretty obvious call at this point.
The odds are against Crim becoming a long-term regular, but he possesses a perfectly solid right-handed bat. He had a 52% hard-hit rate in Triple-A, and he’s consistently struck out less than 20% of the time in the minors. If he starts regularly and hits in the middle of the Texas order, as he should, he’s not going to need to be a 120 OPS+ guy to amass some fantasy value in such a nice situation. He’s a fine replacement for those who were using Burger or perhaps relying on someone like Ryan Mountcastle or Wilmer Flores at first base.
Tony Gonsolin (RHP Dodgers) - Rostered in 34% of Yahoo leagues
I mentioned Gonsolin in the Quick Hits portion of the column when he was six-percent rostered last week. A victory and nine strikeouts in his season debut now have him picked up in one-third of leagues. It’ll probably go even higher next week, since he’ll get to take on the Marlins for a second straight start.
Gonsolin did have a 4.50 ERA in his first start back from an inflamed back, but that was largely due to bad outfield play behind him. His velocity was in the 91-94 mph range, leaving him just a half tick down from his 16-1 season in 2022, and both his slider and splitter looked sharp. Maybe he wouldn’t be a must pickup on an average team, but with a top offense and bullpen supporting him, he seems worth using in all formats for now.
Of course, health is an always an issue with Gonsolin. His career high for innings was the 132 he threw during his miraculous 2022 campaign. He’s topped 100 innings just three times in all since being drafted in 2016. He won’t show up all that high on next week’s updated Top 300 rankings, just because it’s so unlikely that he’ll remain useful for even four of the next five months. Still, he’s probably a top-50 starter for the short term.
Shelby Miller (RHP Diamondbacks) - Rostered in 20% of Yahoo leagues
With Justin Martinez (shoulder) joining A.J. Puk (elbow) on the injured list, the Diamondbacks are minus their top two relievers. The guy who was probably No. 3 going into the spring, Kevin Ginkel, only just returned from shoulder inflammation, and struggled some Thursday in a game in which he probably shouldn’t have been used in the first place (he wound up throwing 34 pitches on no rest after tossing 11 in his season debut). The save chance in that game went to Shelby Miller, who quickly converted the opportunity while facing the bottom three hitters in the Mets lineup.
It’d probably surprise most that Miller’s save against the Mets was only the fourth of his career. He still has more complete-game shutouts, though his fifth and final one of those came way back in 2016. Injuries shifted him to the pen for good in 2021, and he’s still often been banged up since. Last year was his healthiest since 2015, but after 55 2/3 innings with a 4.53 ERA out of the pen for the Tigers, he wound up getting cut with a week left to go in the season.
Things have gone much differently for Miller so far this year. The one run he’s allowed in 13 2/3 innings was unearned. He’s surrendered just four hits. His 94.5 mph average on his fastball is up one mph from the last couple of years, and he’s done great work with the splitter that had led to mediocre results since he added during his stint with the Dodgers two seasons ago. Given his track record, he probably shouldn’t pitch on back-to-back days very often. Still, Torey Lovullo doesn’t seem too worried about it, having already used him on consecutive days four times. Miller will probably wind up hurt again at some point, but hopefully for the Diamondbacks, it won’t be until after Martinez and/or Puk is back healthy. For at least the next few weeks, Miller might be a top-20 fantasy RP.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- It has to be very close to Bubba Chandler time in Pittsburgh, as Triple-A simply isn’t posing much of a challenge. The 2021 third-round pick has a 1.42 ERA and a 36/7 K/BB over 25 1/3 innings in his six starts. The Pirates are trying to keep his innings in check, so he’s yet to throw more than 71 pitches in an outing. He’ll be restricted some there in the majors, too, which will probably cost him wins on a subpar offensive team. He figures to offer mixed-league value anyway, though.
- Colin Rea still might be a pretty fringy option in 12-team leagues, but it’s hard not to like the way he’s throwing since moving into the Cubs rotation. His current 93.8 mph average on his fastball would be a career high, and he’s striking out four batters for each one he walks. Especially with as well as the Cubs are playing, he’s a solid choice against mediocre offenses in 10- and 12-team leagues and maybe an every-week guy, at least for the short term, in deeper formats.
- With Jazz Chisholm Jr. out for at least a month due to a strained oblique, Jorbit Vivas might offer some short-term value. The 5-foot-9 infielder was hitting .319/.426/.436 with just eight strikeouts in 116 plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before being called up Friday. He was a disappointing 6-for-10 stealing bases, but he’s usually more efficient there (he was 21-for-26 in 101 games last year). He’s obviously not much of a power guy, but he’ll get a couple of cheapies in Yankee Stadium. It’s not worth dropping someone of significance for him, but those who were relying on Chisholm could do worse for a stopgap.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was, unsurprisingly, placed on the IL after exiting a game in the Orioles series early, but what was a surprise was an MRI revealing a high-grade oblique strain, which will likely have the infielder sit out a couple of months.
Manager Aaron Boone said 4-6 weeks on the IL is likely, but he's excited for Jorbit Vivas -- who was called up Friday and making his MLB debut -- to get an extended run wih the team.
Before the series opener against the Rays, the Yankees skipper talked about what he sees from Vivas and the initial plan for the infielder.
"I expect Jorbit to play a lot," Boone said. "He's playing really well down in Triple-A....We know we have a big player there. He can really play at second and he can swing the bat. Looking forward to him getting a little bit of an opportunity here and hopefully taking advantage of that."
In 26 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Vivas is slashing .319/.426/.436 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, 15 RBI, and an .862 OPS.
"He lays the barrel on the ball and he's got a little sock to the pull side," Boone said of Vivas. "He's very good at second, he's athletic there, he moves well."
Vivas joins an infield stable that includes Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza and Pablo Reyes. The versatility of all the options on the Yankees bench even extends to Vivas, but Boone said that the plan is for the 24-year-old to stick to one position.
"Right now, I kind of look at him as being in that second base mix," he said. "We have moved him around a little bit, but I do feel like he's much better at second. Look, anything's possible in a given day but right now, I plan on having to play a lot of second."
With Chisholm out for an extended period of time, Boone was asked if the injury affects LeMahieu's rehab and whether they would try to get him back sooner.
"I don't know about accelerating," Boone said. "I think the couple days down was him being very proactive and like we got to make sure we get this right. It's good that he's back playing....maybe changes the position a little bit initially, but the biggest thing right now is...getting the back-to-back, getting the six, seven, eight Innings. And then bouncing back is the biggest thing."
LeMahieu is playing in Double-A as weather in the coming days can limit the number of games he can play in Triple-A but the Yankees manager is happy with the number of at-bats his veteran infielder has taken already. If LeMahieu can recover properly after games, especially after the pre-emptive cortisone shot he took this week, then a return for the former batting champion can be discussed.
Update on Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton was transferred to the 60-day IL this week after the Yankees acquired OF Bryan De La Cruz off waivers but that was just a procedural move, which Boone confirmed on Friday.
The skipper said the 60-day expiration is around May 27, which is when conversations will need to be had, but Boone also gave a short update on Stanton's rehab.
"Still more of the same like going through his running progression, doing high-speed stuff with the hitting," he said.
Boone said Stanton will do live BP either this week or early next week against Jake Cousins.
The Phillies snagged a tight win Friday night to open their series with the Diamondbacks and Kyle Schwarber starred.
In a 3-2 victory at Citizens Bank Park, Schwarber went 2 for 3 with a game-tying home run and two RBIs. He’s now at 10 homers on the season and three of those have come in the last four days.
With a no-decision, starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo stayed at 3-0 as a Phillie. Luzardo pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed nine hits and two runs. He finished with six strikeouts and one walk.
The southpaw was unbothered by two Diamondbacks singles in the first inning, responding with three swinging strikeouts. Schwarber lined an RBI double off the base of the right-field wall in the bottom of the first, putting the Phillies on top and growing his on-base streak to 38 games.
Arizona had good, lengthy at-bats against Luzardo, but the D-Backs were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position over the first three innings. His pitch count soared, though.
Luzardo leaned on his sweeper vs. Arizona’s lefties and threw it 36.8 percent of the time overall. His season strikeout-to-walk numbers against left-handers remain highly impressive. Across seven starts, Luzardo has struck out 20 lefties and walked zero.
The D-Backs tied it up in the fourth inning. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a leadoff double and reached third base on an Alek Thomas ground out. Luzardo then jammed Geraldo Perdomo, but the ball drifted just over Trea Turner at shortstop.
Luzardo couldn’t make it out of the sixth. Gabriel Moreno lifted a deep fly ball to center field with one out that Cal Stevenson tracked awkwardly and failed to catch at the wall. A Gurriel single gave Arizona a 2-1 lead.
Merrill Kelly pitched five solid innings and the Diamondbacks turned to their bullpen for the last four. The Phillies feasted against Jose Castillo in the bottom of the seventh.
Schwarber started the frame by cracking a first-pitch Castillo fastball over the fence. Two batters later, Max Kepler smoked a 1-1 slider 422 feet, very comfortably over the right-center wall.
Matt Strahm, Tanner Banks, Jordan Romano and Jose Alvarado all did scoreless work out of the Phillies’ bullpen. Johan Rojas was very helpful for Alvarado, making a speedy, gutsy play to begin the ninth.
He sprinted to left-center, nabbed a Gurriel liner and hung on to the ball after crashing hard into the wall. Rojas was slow to rise to his feet but stayed in the game. Alvarado then retired the next two batters without any issue to cement the win and bring the Phillies to 18-14 on the season.
The center-field picture
Stevenson started his first game of the season in center field and was 1 for 2. He got picked off first base in the fifth inning after an opposite-field knock.
Rojas was on the bench until he replaced Stevenson in the eighth inning. Thomson said the decision was unrelated to Rojas’ risky triple in the ninth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Nationals, though he talked with him about the play.
“Just a day off,” Thomson said. “Might give him another one. He’s played every day and he’s got some body soreness — just general — but he’s fine.”
Brandon Marsh appears on the verge of rejoining the Phillies after playing rehab games Thursday and Friday with Triple A Lehgh Valley. Marsh “could be” active Saturday vs. the Diamondbacks, per Thomson.
Rojas’ bat has been a bright spot at the bottom of the Phillies’ lineup — the 24-year-old is hitting .305 with a 115 OPS+ — but he’s made some prominent defensive mistakes. What will Marsh’s return mean for him?
“Don’t really know, but Rojas has played very well,” Thomson said. “I like where his swing is at right now. We just have to play it by ear.”
Painter moving up
Andrew Painter’s stint with Single A Clearwater is over.
The Phillies’ top prospect is scheduled to start for Lehigh Valley next Thursday and throw approximately 60-65 pitches, Thomson said.
Painter started four times with Clearwater, totaling 11 1/3 innings. He had a 3.97 ERA, 12 strikeouts and one walk.
“Very good,” Thomson said. “Healthy and the stuff has been good. Even though he gave up a couple home runs last night, I think we ramp up the competition now a little bit.”
On deck
While Thomson has yet to announce Taijuan Walker’s role with Ranger Suarez back in the fold, he said Cristopher Sanchez will start Wednesday against the Rays.
These are the Phillies’ starters through that game:
