Most of the Mets haven't faced Astros second-year starter Spencer Arrighetti, but having played in the AL last year, Soto is 2-for-3 with a HR and three RBI against him
Francisco Lindor is still searching for his first hit of the year after going 0-for-7 with an RBI over two games
Outfielder José Azócar cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Syracuse
METS
ASTROS
Francisco Lindor, SS
Jose Altuve, LF
Juan Soto, RF
Isaac Parades, 3B
Pete Alonso, 1B
Yordan Alvarez, DH
Brandon Nimmo, LF
Christian Walker, 1B
Mark Vientos, 3B
Jeremy Peña, SS
Jesse Winker, DH
Victor Caratini, C
Luis Torrens, C
Zach Dezenzo, RF
Brett Baty, 2B
Mauricio Dubón, 2B
Jose Siri, CF
Chas McCormick, CF
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WASHINGTON — Facing a right-handed starting pitcher in Game 2 of 162, the Phillies went with a different lineup than Opening Day.
Get used to the back-and-forth. Manager Rob Thomson plans to lead Trea Turner off against lefties and Kyle Schwarber against righties.
Turner led off in Thursday’s opener vs. Mackenzie Gore and is likely to do so again Sunday afternoon when the Phillies see southpaw Mitchell Parker. Saturday’s opponent was Jake Irvin, thus the different arrangement.
Kyle Schwarber, DH (L)
Trea Turner, SS
Bryce Harper, 1B (L)
Alec Bohm, 3B
Max Kepler, LF (L)
J.T. Realmuto, C
Nick Castellanos, RF
Bryson Stott, 2B (L)
Brandon Marsh, CF (L)
Jesus Luzardo, LHP
Whether it’s Turner or Schwarber up top, the important part is being able to alternate lefties and righties in the first six spots. On Thursday, Harper made the Nationals pay with a game-tying homer for using a right-handed reliever to try to navigate the right-left-right section of Turner-Harper-Bohm. Ideally, they get that sort of opposite-handed production to keep opposing managers honest in their late-game decision-making.
There should be a good mixture of both batting orders over the first few weeks with the Phillies drawing two lefties in the opening series in Washington, Kyle Freeland in their first home series and then likely Blake Snell and Chris Sale in the two to follow.
There may be challenging shadows again during the first half of Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. game, but fortunately for the hitters, it’s a cloudier day than Thursday which could nullify the disadvantage.
At least on paper, it should be a better day for the bats. The Phillies faced Irvin four times last year and scored four-plus runs off him each time, winning three of the games. Five different Phillies — Turner, Kepler, Realmuto, Stott and Marsh — have taken him deep.
Luzardo makes his Phillies debut. He feels healthy after missing a bulk of last season with a back injury, and though he had a couple of shaky spring outings, the much more important sign was his four-seam fastball and sinker averaging 96 mph.
WASHINGTON — Trea Turner was initially second in the Phillies’ lineup Saturday after leading off on Opening Day, but he was scratched an hour before game-time with a low back spasm.
The severity of Turner’s injury wasn’t immediately clear, but he was replaced at shortstop by Edmundo Sosa.
The Phillies intend to lead Turner off against lefties and Kyle Schwarber against righties. Turner led off on Thursday against Mackenzie Gore and went 0-for-4 with a walk, seeing 28 pitches. He was scheduled to lead off again Sunday vs. Mitchell Parker but that’s TBD.
Here was Saturday’s lineup against Nats right-hander Jake Irvin:
Kyle Schwarber, DH (L)
Alec Bohm, 3B
Bryce Harper, 1B (L)
J.T. Realmuto, C
Max Kepler, LF (L)
Nick Castellanos, RF
Bryson Stott, 2B (L)
Brandon Marsh, CF (L)
Edmundo Sosa, SS
Jesus Luzardo, LHP
Whether it’s Turner or Schwarber up top, it’s important for the Phillies to alternate lefties and righties in the first six spots. On Thursday, Harper made the Nationals pay with a game-tying homer for using a right-handed reliever to try to navigate the right-left-right section of Turner-Harper-Bohm. Ideally, they get that sort of opposite-handed production to keep opposing managers honest in their late-game decision-making.
If this is merely a one- or two-day absence for Turner, there should be a good mixture of both batting orders over the first few weeks with the Phillies drawing two lefties in the opening series in Washington, Kyle Freeland in their first home series and then likely Blake Snell and Chris Sale in the two to follow.
There may be challenging shadows again during the first half of Saturday’s 4:05 p.m. game, but fortunately for the hitters, it’s a cloudier day than Thursday which could nullify the disadvantage.
At least on paper, it should be a better day for the bats. The Phillies faced Irvin four times last year and scored four-plus runs off him each time, winning three of the games. Five different Phillies — Turner, Kepler, Realmuto, Stott and Marsh — have taken him deep.
Luzardo makes his Phillies debut. He feels healthy after missing a bulk of last season with a back injury, and though he had a couple of shaky spring outings, the much more important sign was his four-seam fastball and sinker averaging 96 mph.
WASHINGTON — Trea Turner was initially second in the Phillies’ lineup Saturday after leading off on Opening Day, but he was scratched an hour before game-time with a low back spasm.
He was replaced at shortstop by Edmundo Sosa in the Phillies’ 11-6 win.
Turner said after the game that this is something he’s never dealt with before. He felt hip discomfort late in spring training and suspects that led to his back locking up while fielding a groundball Saturday afternoon.
“I had a little hip thing back in spring training and then Thursday after the game it got a little tight on me,” he said. “Maybe three or four days left in spring, my right hip. Felt good playing, it was more sitting down or sleeping. It felt a little weird, but then when I played, it would feel fine. I think that turned into this.
“Just treated it, treated it. But doing groundballs, it kinda grabbed on me. I’ve never had anything like this. I feel way better now than I did a few hours ago. Basically did treatment all day. I don’t know a timeline or anything but hopefully tomorrow, if not the next day.”
The Phillies intend to lead Turner off against lefties and Kyle Schwarber against righties. Turner led off on Thursday against Mackenzie Gore and went 0-for-4 with a walk, seeing 28 pitches. He was scheduled to lead off again Sunday vs. Mitchell Parker but that’s TBD.
CINCINNATI — The Giants got a game-winning homer from their designated hitter on Thursday, but it’ll be a while before they see the other right-handed hitter who was supposed to get at-bats in that spot.
Jerar Encarnacion had surgery on his fractured left hand Friday in Los Angeles and will be in a splint for the next two weeks. The Giants are estimating an eight-week return to play, which manager Bob Melvin said was the expectation all along.
Encarnacion was headed for a lot of DH time and would have started against every lefty, either as the DH or an outfielder. Without him, Casey Schmitt is the DH on Saturday against Cincinnati Reds lefty Nick Lodolo. Wilmer Flores is the first baseman and Luis Matos is in right field. Schmitt has a .725 OPS against lefties in the big leagues and hit them well this spring.
“You look at the history and he does some damage there,” Melvin said of Schmitt. “It’s one of the reasons he made the team.”
With Schmitt and Matos in the lineup, only Sam Huff and Christian Koss haven’t played thus far. Huff will catch Robbie Ray on Sunday and Melvin said he’ll look for an opportunity on this trip to get Koss his MLB debut.
Back to Sac
David Villar cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento. There wasn’t a spot for Villar this spring and he was out of options, so earlier in the week the Giants had designated him for assignment to clear a 40-man spot for reliever Lou Trivino.
Melvin said multiple times this spring that he hoped Villar could get an opportunity in the big leagues elsewhere, but he’s now in limbo a bit. He returns to the River Cats, but without a spot on the 40-man roster, which makes it more difficult to get back to the big leagues.
The River Cats were short on position players in their opener, carrying just 11 of them. Villar should be their starting third baseman.
Hot Start
Marco Luciano got his Triple-A season off to a hot start, hitting a three-run homer in the opener on Friday night and walking twice. Luciano is playing left field this season and the Giants are hopeful that taking some defensive concerns off his plate leads to a surge in the batter’s box.
“We saw some good at-bats from him when we were there for the exhibition game,” Melvin said.
Nothing is imminent for the 23-year-old. The Giants optioned him early in camp and want him to play every day for several weeks at least and get comfortable in the outfield.
It was a good night for a very deep River Cats pitching staff. Right-hander Carson Seymour struck out eight over four scoreless innings and hit 97 mph with his sinker. Joel Peguero, the last cut in the bullpen, pitched the ninth and averaged 99.8 mph with his fastball, which hit triple digits three times.
Going Viral
How popular is Jung Hoo Lee in his home country? Both Luis Matos and Mike Yastrzemski did interviews with South Korean reporters on Saturday morning, simply because they showed up in a video the Giants put out of the three outfielders enjoying Korean BBQ this spring.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, far right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run, walk-off home run in the 10th inning of an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Tommy Lasorda had a lot of things to say, many of which still stick in our heads after all these decades.
He exulted in the fruits of victory. He dubbed Dodger Stadium "Blue Heaven on Earth." He warned you might not get into the real heaven if you did not root for the Dodgers.
He also had a simple formula for success.
“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games,” Lasorda liked to say. “No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”
If you believe the hype, these Dodgers are out to make a liar out of Lasorda.
Under Lasorda’s axiom, no team wins more than two-thirds of its games. For the Dodgers, that would be 108 games.
“117 would be a nice number,” former Dodgers pitcher and current broadcaster Orel Hershiser said. “Set the record.”
The record indeed is 116, set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906 and tied by the Seattle Mariners in 2001.
“There's just a lot of excitement,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base.”
Two Brooklyn Dodgers teams won more than two-thirds of their games: the 1953 team, which lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series; and the 1942 team, which lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League, at a time there were no divisions and the league champion advanced directly to the World Series.
“That’s our only focus right now, to go back to back,” Roberts said. “We have the best team.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts show off his 2024 World Series championship ring before a win over the Tigers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Hershiser pitched under Lasorda, who managed the Dodgers to two World Series championships in 20 years. In 1977, Lasorda’s first year, the Dodgers won 98 games. In 1978 they won 95. Never again under Lasorda did the Dodgers win so many games.
This is not a knock on Lasorda, who is in the Hall of Fame. Teams are not supposed to win two-thirds of their games, and yet here we are watching a team so talented and deep that not winning two-thirds of its games might be a letdown to its fans.
“It’s going to be really hard to continue to think of glowing things to say about this team,” Hershiser said. “I think the adjectives are going to get real thin.”
Hershiser has allowed himself a moment or two to have some fun with the anticipation of greatness. At the start of the season, he said, the Dodgers’ broadcasters had a group text for predictions about how many games the team would win.
Hershiser smiled as he told the story. The regular season features 162 games. His text read 162.
It was a joke. The fans, he said, should have some fun too.
“I would hope it’s fun,” he said. “I guess it’s less excitement when you win, and more disappointment when you lose. It’s not quite as balanced of a feeling.”
For fans of every other team, the exhibition season is over. For fans of the Dodgers, the exhibition season extends through September, and the meaningful games start in October. The last time the Dodgers failed to make the playoffs: 13 years ago.
Yet a baseball season is a book with 162 chapters. There is plenty to savor within, new players and surprise storylines, a bounty to celebrate and appreciate as the summer unfolds.
This is not as easy as the Dodgers plan to make it look, even with their 4-0 start.
When I asked Roberts what he would suggest to fans already counting down to October, he channeled one of the greatest champions in our city’s history.
“My advice would be what Kobe said: The dream is a journey. And when we're in your living rooms every night, when you come to the ballpark — 4 million people come to the ballpark every year — enjoy the journey.
“If you're just waiting to win a championship, and that defines the season for you and your joy, then you might want to find something else to root for, because you're missing a lot.”
Mookie Betts celebrates hitting a walk-off home run in the 10th inning of an 8-5 win over the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Five months removed from one storybook ending, the Dodgers are already penning another Hollywood-worthy script.
It started last week in Japan, when the defending World Series champions were fervently welcomed on the other side of the world. It continued into this weekend’s opening homestand; one that featured a sentimental banner-raising celebration at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, then an emotional championship ring ceremony before first pitch Friday.
Amid that backdrop, the Dodgers might have been forgiven for struggling with an early season hangover. Like countless champions before them, it would have been no surprise for their title defense to begin with a slow first step.
But instead, these Dodgers have embraced all the pomp, absorbed all the circumstance, and put their own triumphant stamp on the season’s opening act.
For the first time since 1981, they're off to a 4-0 start. And on Friday — in an 8-5, walk-off win over the Detroit Tigers that included a five-run rally and Mookie Betts' game-winning home run in the 10th inning — they even started to rekindle last year’s magic.
"By far, the best opening week I've ever experienced,” manager Dave Roberts said.
“Kind of feels like we’re just picking up a little bit where we left off last year,” third baseman Max Muncy echoed. “There’s still a lot of fight in this team.”
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, far right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a three-run home run in the 10th inning against the Tigers on Friday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Friday night was not always destined to end so spectacularly.
Early on the Dodgers generated little against Tigers starter Jack Flaherty, one of the few core pieces from their postseason run who didn't return, and didn't score until a two-run home run from Freddie Freeman in the sixth.
Later the Dodgers squandered the opportunity for a more rudimentary win. New reliever Tanner Scott blew a save in the ninth and needed his defense to throw out another runner at the plate simply to force extra innings. In the 10th the Tigers quickly surged to a 5-3 lead when Dillon Dingler’s two-run, two-out triple landed just beyond a diving effort from Michael Conforto in left field.
But in a week that has been so dedicated to honoring the Dodgers’ 2024 success — when their World Series trek included a litany of injuries, a shorthanded roster and near-elimination at the start of the playoffs — this team orchestrated its own resilient answer for the first time.
"It's kind of a hallmark of our ballclub,” Roberts said. “We just don't quit.”
“We're kind of carrying that over a little bit from last year,” Muncy added. “You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t have that gel in the clubhouse, then it’s not gonna work.”
In the bottom of the 10th, Conforto cut the deficit in half with a leadoff double, scoring the automatic runner from second. Will Smith came off the bench and slapped an RBI single through the infield, tying the score at 5-5.
Shohei Ohtani kept the rally going, lining a base hit to right to put two runners aboard. Then, just as he had two innings earlier, when he broke a 2-2 tie with a home run to left, Betts came to the plate and delivered again, whacking a no-doubt, stadium-shaking blast.
Mookie Betts celebrates after hitting a walk-off home run to left field in the Dodgers' 8-5 win over the Tigers on Friday night. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I just couldn't have scripted it any better,” Roberts said. “It's huge, especially given all that we've taken on in this last, call it, 10 days."
No one’s last 10 days have been as wild as what Betts has experienced.
In Tokyo he was unable to play after losing more than 15 pounds while battling a stomach virus. Up until Tuesday it was unclear if the 32-year-old star, who also is embarking on a position change back to shortstop, would be available for this series.
His first home run was so surprising to his teammates — given that he has been playing at about only 165 pounds, well below an already undersized stature to begin with — that Muncy said they joked it “was probably the best bulk that he’s got right now,” noting how it barely clear the fence in left field.
When Betts came up in the 10th, he worked an eight-pitch at-bat before jumping on a changeup below the zone. The ball rocketed off his bat at 97 mph. Even on a brisk night at Chavez Ravine, it landed several rows deep in the left-field pavilion.
“He one-upped us, so we were all wrong on that one,” Muncy conceded with a laugh.
"That was not on my bingo card,” Roberts echoed in amazement. “He just does some special things ... He won a ballgame for us tonight."
As Betts rounded the bases he broke into an animated celebration that felt right out of last October’s highlight reel.
Part of the reaction, he explained later, was personal exaltation.
“Just the fight that I’ve been through, the ups and downs, the nights where I’m just crying because I’m sick, my wife there kind of holding me,” he recalled of his two-week ordeal, “that’s where that emotion comes from.”
But the rest of the emotion, he added, was simply “winning for the boys.”
Such sentiments are what helped carry the Dodgers last fall — a key reason why, for roughly 30 minutes before first pitch Friday, every 2024 team member in the building other than Flaherty (who will get his ring Saturday) was called to a makeshift stage to receive their 14-karat, 300-diamond piece of jeweled history.
“It’s my favorite one,” said Betts, the only active position player in MLB with three World Series championships. “Hopefully I can get some more and we’ll be able to compare.”
To that end, the Dodgers already giving early validation to their status as World Series favorites with the franchise’s best four-game start in 44 years.
“It’s a great thing to be a Dodger, a lot of cool things happen,” veteran catcher Austin Barnes said. “Play a lot of cool games. Go to Tokyo. Get some rings. Opening day. They do things right here. ... So yeah, it’s been a great little week. But gotta keep going.”
Baty, who went 0-for-2 with a strikeout at the plate, was forced to make a tough play, turning a 5-4-3 double-play to end the fifth inning. His throw from the bag at second was in time, but the out was saved by Pete Alonso making a good stretch to dig the ball out.
Of course, there was one play to be made on the Mets’ right side of the infield, but it happened to come in the eighth inning after Baty was lifted in the top of the seventh for Luisangel Acuña to pinch hit.
With one out and a runner on first, Yordan Alvarez yanked a ball in the hole and Acuña made a diving stop to his left before jumping up and tossing the ball to Alonso at first. Carlos Mendoza called it “a sneaky good play.”
While the Astros’ left-hander Steven Okert led to the decision to lift Baty in a game the Mets led, Mendoza said inserting Acuña for defense in late-inning situations is something they may do.
“Even though Brett has been doing a really good job, we’re looking at a plus, plus defender that’s played the position a lot more,” he said. “There’s gonna be times where Baty stays in there, but today, I thought once they brought that lefty in, I thought it was the right thing to do.”
(Okert got Acuña on strikes to end the inning).
Of course, late-inning decisions like this will all depend on who you are facing and the situation of the other team’s bullpen, Mendoza added.
Despite the late change, the plan is for Baty to get a lot of time at second. The manager’s message to him after he was told he would be on the roster to start the season: “Be yourself.”
"Same thing that you're doing here. Whenever we get to the regular season, just continue to be yourself. Play your game,” he said ahead of Friday’s game. “Don’t feel like you have to get four hits, three hits every day to be in the lineup the next day. Let us make those decisions; just control what you can control.
“Trust the work, he’s put in a lot of work this offseason. We saw results in spring training. Now it’s up to him to go out there and continue to be himself and trust the work.”
Mendoza was encouraged by the work he saw Baty do to improve during the spring.
“The communication from pitch to pitch, there’s a lot that goes into it when you’re playing middle infield as opposed to when you’re playing third base,” he said about the areas of improvement. “There’s more communication with your shortstop, with the first baseman, with the pitcher. I think he did a really good job going to the right places when he needed to with cuts and relays, covering a base where it was a first base steal coverage.
“The range, going to his right especially, he’s made some plays that are not easy and then throwing with a different angle. He did a lot of that and we’re encouraged by that.”
The key factor the Mets are looking for from him is seeing that he is slowing the game down and moving on to the next play if mistakes occur.
“[The] game is gonna be fast. And I think it starts with the preparation, it starts with the anticipation: Knowing what to do with the baseball before the plays happen," Mendoza said. "That’s what good infielders do. And, especially when you’re playing up the middle. He did a little bit of that, now he’s gotta go out there and do it.
“I think [Francisco] Lindor’s gonna help him, [Mike Sarbaugh] in between innings, myself, we’ll be there for him.”
Mendoza said there will be some “give and take” with Baty as he gets to learn the intricacies of the new position during big league action and will, of course, likely go through a rough patch.
“I think having the feel for the situation, but there’s gonna be things that need to be addressed right away, we will address them right away,” the manager said.
“The more you play, you’ll learn,” he continued. “And then the Q and A: ‘What are you thinking here? What were you thinking? What was the thought process before the play happened? Did you think about this?’
“Those are some of the discussions that we’ll have and I know [Sarbaugh] is constantly have these conversations with the guys.”
HOUSTON -- Two games into the season, we have gathered some data on how Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will approach game strategy with his new roster.
Friday’s 3-1 win over Houston allowed Mendoza his first opportunity to deploy his current group of high-leverage relievers. He chose to bring in Reed Garrett to bail Tylor Megill out of a jam in the sixth, new acquisition A.J. Minter in the seventh, Ryne Stanek in the eighth and Edwin Diaz in the ninth.
All were effective, but that order of relievers was not what we will see every time the Mets are protecting a tight lead in the early part of the season.
-- Mendoza said he is still tinkering with when to use Minter, Stanek and Garrett in the eighth versus the seventh.
“There’s going to be a combination,” the manager said. “[It will depend on] who is available, who is coming up.”
When Mendoza served as Aaron Boone’s bench coach with the Yankees, the coaching staff would meet before the game to determine the best “lanes,” as they called them, for each reliever against the night’s opposing lineup.
The Mets’ approach under Mendoza sounds similar. They will look every day at data that cuts deeper than handedness and prior history, like how a given pitcher’s stuff plays against an opponent’s swing. They will consider which pitchers are most capable that night of contributing length, among many other factors that will determine the ideal situation for each.
-- You’ll see Diaz at some point in the spot that Stanek faced on Friday: eighth inning, best part of the lineup. In this case, it was Jose Altuve, Isaac Parades and Yordan Alvarez. Stanek took care of them, but contemporary managers, including Mendoza, often use their “closers" (a term that is gradually becoming anachronistic) in that spot.
I asked Mendoza after the game if he considered Diaz in the eighth. He said no, primarily because it was Diaz’s first appearance of the season. He wanted to get his closer out of the gate in standard fashion. But if, say, it’s next weekend at Citi Field and Toronto’s Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander are due up in the eighth with the Mets up by a few runs, that could easily be Diaz’s inning.
-- One last bit of late-inning run prevention strategy: Mendoza said that he might use Luisangel Acuña as a late-inning defensive replacement at second base on days that Brett Baty starts. On Friday, Acuna pinch-hit for Baty in the seventh because of a platoon advantage. He then made a nifty play on a grounder in the eighth.
Baty is a hardworking neophyte at the position and Acuña is what Mendoza called a “plus-plus defender” there. Because of that, the manager might make the substitution for purely defensive reasons late in games, even if an obvious pinch-hit situation does not arise -- provided that he is not facing a team with righty relievers that could make it unwise to remove the lefty Baty. Managing is complicated.
After their rally fell short on Opening Day, the Mets came back with an impressive 3-1 win over the Astros in Houston on Friday night. Manager Carlos Mendoza had a few things to talk about before and after the game, including his starting rotation, Brett Baty and when we'll see outfielder Jose Siri in a game.
Why Tyrone Taylor get the start over Jose Siri on Friday
One of the notable acquisitions for the Mets this offseason was the trade for outfielder Jose Siri. The right-hander has a great glove and some sneaky pop, but he has not appeared in the first two games of the 2025 season.
Mendoza was asked about why he started Taylor against starter hard-throwing right-hander Hunter Brown on Friday.
"Hunter Brown, there’s velo, there’s the sinker, cutter, it’s more of that," Mendoza explained. "There’s a good chance Siri plays tomorrow."
Taylor went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Friday and has started the season 1-for-8.
A media member asked the Mets skipper if Siri would sit against the team's best pitchers, which Mendoza answered plainly.
"It’s the big league;s you’re facing the best of the best every day. Siri is going to get a lot of opportunities. First two games of the season, and he’s not there. He’s going to play a lot."
Siri had a solid spring with impressive numbers coming from the power department. In 16 games, Siri hit three home runs while driving in 11 runs.
The Mets will take on right-handed pitcher Spencer Arrighetti on Saturday, so we'll see if Siri is in the lineup.
Confidence in starting rotation to start season?
The Mets, like many other teams, saw many injuries this spring. For New York, their starting rotation took huge hits when Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas went down.
They got more injury news when Paul Blackburn had to start the season on the IL with a knee issue, something that is seemingly close to clearing up. Those injuries have left Mendoza to roll out a rotation that includes Friday's starter Tylor Megill, amongst other question marks like reliever-turned-starter Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga, who hasn't pitched many innings in two years.
Despite that, Mendoza is confident in his rotation.
"We feel really good about it," he said. "We got the guys in there, they’re going to give a chance to win baseball games game in and game out. We feel good with that."
Holmes was solid yet erratic on Opening Day, but Megill proved his skipper's confidence right. The big left-hander was solid, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk across five innings while striking out six.
"I thought he was really good," Mendoza said after Friday's game. "Early on he was attacking. They hit some balls hard but that's what we're asking him to do, throw strikes and stay on the attack. When they scored that run I thought he kept making pitches. He settled in nicely and limited the damage, which is something we also want to see... I thought overall, he threw the ball really well."
New York Mets second baseman Brett Baty (7) comes into the bench during the middle of the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Clover Park. / Reinhold Matay - Imagn Images
Message to Brett Baty
Baty made his first start of the season Friday at second base. While he went hitless in his two at-bats -- before being pulled for Luisangel Acuña for defense -- it was still a good outing for the young infielder.
It was a pivotal game for Baty, who is looking to solidify himself as a major leaguer after a couple of underperforming seasons. Mendoza has dealt with young infielders like this just last season. When Baty was demoted a year ago, Mark Vientos came up and took the third base job. The Mets skipper, and the rest of the organization reassured Vientos of his role, and they are doing the same for Baty.
"[I told him] be yourself. Same thing you’re doing here [in spring training], just continue to be yourself," Mendoza said. "Don’t feel like you have to get three, four hits to be in the lineup the next day. Trust the work. We saw results in spring training. Now it’s up to him."
Mendoza raved about Baty's advances at second. The improvements in his communication from pitch to pitch and his range, which he has shown in spring.
With a right-hander on the mound for Houston on Saturday, Baty is likely to start at second again.
Tylor Megillhas had ups and downs as he enters his fifth big league season with the Mets. But the talent of his right arm has never been in doubt.
“It starts with having really good stuff, he's got good stuff,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before Megill started Friday’s game in Houston.
“If he’s aggressive and he’s trusting his pitches in the zone? He’s a guy, he’s a dude,” the skipper added. “He’s got that potential… he’s been through a lot in this league, and he’s ready to take that next step.”
Against the Astros, Megill retired the first nine batters he faced en route to a fine five-inning outing that saw him allow one run on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts in the Mets’ 3-1 win.
“I thought he was really good,” Mendoza said. “I thought he threw strikes. Early on, he was attacking; they hit some balls hard, but that’s what we are asking him to do: to throw strikes, stay on the attack.”
And that was the prescription for the 29-year-old: Simplifying his game and being efficient with his pitches.
“When we can keep it simple, just use two-three pitches against righties, two- three pitches against lefties. Get strike one, continue to stay in the attack, trust the defense, trust your pitches in the strike zone,” the manager said pregame. “I think that’s gonna be the key for him.”
Megill, who threw a strike on the first pitch to 11 of 19 batters he faced, had 49 strikes on 77 pitches. He went heavy on the fastball, sinker, and slider – accounting for 72 of his offerings – against a right-handed heavy Astros lineup.
“We executed really well,” he said, after getting 10 whiffs on 35 swings with 14 called strikes for a 31 called-strike whiff percentage. The slider was working very well for him, contributing five whiffs on eight swings.
“Putting pressure on hitters, getting ahead early, and getting to two strikes as fast as possible,” Megill said. “That allows me to go after them with the secondary stuff and get some strikeouts and then some weak contact.”
The sinker, a pitch the manager said before the game his starter would have to show good “awareness” in deploying against the right-handed Astros – came up big getting an inning-ending double play in the fifth.
“Huge,” Megill said. “That’s kinda what the pitch is for: get the ball in play and let the defense work. And it helps me out, especially there. Obviously, used to be predominantly four-seam, get fly outs or whatnot, but sinker really allows ball on the infield hit to a position player.”
In the fourth inning, the Astros bit him for their only run of the night – with back-to-back singles setting up a sacrifice fly – the manager praised the starter for avoiding a big inning.
“He kept making pitches,” Mendoza said. “The last couple of innings he was really good, got in trouble there, we didn’t make a play the leadoff hitter in the sixth [on the dropped third strike], but I thought overall he threw the ball really well.”
Now comes the challenge of repeating the performance and proving he can be a guy, a dude, as the manager said.
“I think, day in and day out, gotta stay working; consistency is the name of the game,” Megill said. “If I can go out and do what I did tonight, keep that going forward, throughout the whole year, I think I’ll end up in really good shape.”
Bullpen keeps at it
In that sixth, Mendoza turned to Reed Garrett with runners on first and second and nobody out. The right-hander worked around a one-out walk to put out the fire with two strikeouts.
“Unbelievable job coming in in that situation,” the manager said. “Getting a strikeout, understanding that there was a base open [against Yordan] Alvarez and he could still make pitches. And that’s what he did.”
After Garrett in the sixth, Mendoza went with A.J. Minter and Ryne Stanek to bridge the gap to Edwin Diaz. But, as he has said all spring, the roles for the high-leverage situations will be based on who is coming up in the lineup and who is available that day.
“We’ll play the matchups there,” Mendoza said. “You saw it today in that situation; we like Reed Garrett at the top with traffic, and then it lined up perfectly after that.”
When it came time for Diaz in the ninth, the closer was all business: getting five called strikes, five fouls, and two whiffs on 15 pitches.
"As soon as I started warming up in the bullpen, I knew my pitches were really good today," Daiz said. "And I just came out and tried to have fun. That's what I did."
After Diaz’s velocity had been a topic of conversation during the spring – at least outside the Mets’ clubhouse – the four-straight 98 mph fastballs he threw to start the ninth inning quieted any chatter on that front.
“Of course, we weren’t worried about the velo,” Mendoza said. “We knew that once the lights goes on we’re gonna see typical Sugar.”
"Today, the intensity was higher than it was in spring training," the closer added. "Spring training, sometimes you go out and just try and work on things, so I wasn't paying attention much to my velo. I knew today, as soon as I start playing catch, I knew my velo was there. Was feeling strong. It's way different in the season than spring training."
The thing that impressed the skipper most about the 1-2-3 ninth: “How easy he attacked. He came in and attacked hitters right away… he was attacking in the strike zone and just challenge those guys.”
Unsung bullpen hero
Of course, on a night he didn't appear, Huascar Brazobán played a role after retiring seven of the nine batters he faced on Opening Day to eat up innings after Clay Holmes' short start.
“It was huge,” the skipper said of Brazobán before the game Friday. “It was huge for him to go three ups, 2.1 I think it was, pretty much save our bullpen when Clay comes out of the game after 4.2, for him to go out there and pitch efficiently.
"It was an easier decision for me to send him back out there [because] he’s built up for that. We had him up to 35 pitches in spring training. And the fact that he was able to do that and pretty much save some of the other guys for [Friday night] and for the rest of the series, it was huge.”
Saturday, the Red Sox (1-1) and the Rangers (1-1) meet in Arlington for Game 3 of their inaugural series of the 2025 season.
Walker Buehler is slated to take the mound for Boston against Tyler Mahle for Texas
Friday night Jonah Heim homered twice to pace the Texas attack as the Rangers rolled to a 4-1 win. Jack Leiter (1-0) allowed five hits and one run over five innings to pick up the win.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Red Sox at Rangers
Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
Time: 7:05PM EST
Site: Globe Life Field
City: Arlington, TX
Network/Streaming: NESN, Victory+
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Red Sox at the Rangers
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Red Sox (-107), Rangers (-112)
Spread: Rangers 1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Red Sox at Rangers
Pitching matchup for March 29, 2025: Walker Buehler vs. Tyler Mahle
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Red Sox at Rangers
Both games in this series have cashed to the UNDER
Rafael Devers (0-8) is still seeking his first hit of the season
Josh Jung (.429) is off to a fast start for Texas with 3 hits in his first 7 ABs
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Red Sox and the Rangers
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday's game between the Red Sox and the Rangers:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Boston Red Sox on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play ATS on the Boston Red Sox at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 9.0.
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Its Saturday, March 29 and the Brewers (0-1) are in the Bronx to take on the Yankees (1-0) in Game 2 of their season-opening series.
Former Yankees' hurler Nestor Cortes is slated to take the mound for Milwaukee and Max Fried makes his debut for New York.
Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe each went yard Thursday and Carlos Rodon gave up just one run in 5.1 innings to get the win.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Brewers at Yankees
Date: Saturday, March 29, 2025
Time: 1:05PM EST
Site: Yankee Stadium
City: New York, New York
Network/Streaming: FDS, YES
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Brewers at the Yankees
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Brewers (+125), Yankees (-155)
Spread: Yankees -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Brewers at Yankees
Pitching matchup for March 29, 2025: Nestor Cortes vs. Max Fried
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Brewers at Yankees
The Brewers collected 7 hits and struck out 13 times in the loss Thursday to the Yankees
The Yankees collected 7 hits and struck out 10 times in the season-opening win over Milwaukee
Carlos Rodon gave up just one run in 5.1 innings on Opening Day for the Yankees
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for Saturday’s game between the Brewers and the Yankees
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday's game between the Brewers and the Yankees:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the New York Yankees on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Yankees -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
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Juan Soto hit his first home run with his new team and Tylor Megill allowed just one run in five frames as the Mets grabbed their first win of the 2025 season, 3-1, over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Edwin Diaz got the ninth and looked like his old self, pumping in 98 mph fastballs and snapping off great sliders with ease. The closer needed 15 pitches for a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout to earn the save.
Here are some takeaways...
- Astros' starter Hunter Brown had some juice in the first, with seven of his 11 pitches at 97 mph or faster. He got Francisco Lindor swinging on a 99 mph fastball and Soto looking at a sinker. Pete Alonso should have been called out on strikes, but home plate umpire Rob Drake was fooled by a 100 mph fastball on the outside corner – that was a theme for the rest of the night. On the next pitch, Alonso powered a 95 mph cutter to deep center (415 feet, 108.6 mph off the bat), but Jake Meyers made a leaping catch before the wall.
- Soto’s second at-bat went much better for the slugger as he smacked a 96 mph 1-2 cutter at the top of the zone for his first homer with his new team. Standing at the plate to admire his work, the sluggers saw the lined shot (107.3 mph off the bat) travel 390 feet and smack off the facade of the second deck in right.
Soto had a big chance in the eighth after Luis Torrens doubled (just missing a home run off the top of the wall in right) and Lindor got plunked. But Tayler Scott’s slider just eluded the sweet spot of the bat, and it was a fly out to right.
- Megill got Jose Altuve with a wild swing on a slider off the outside corner to start the home half of the first. Megill needed just 13 pitches for a clean first, and he was bringing the heat as well, throwing nine pitches at 96 mph or faster. The right-hander kept Houston off the bases through nine batters, adding two more strikeouts.
On his 45th pitch of the night, Altuve singled up the middle for the Astros’ first hit. Isaac Paredes pulled one down the third base line to put runners at the corners with nobody out in the fourth. Megill limited the damage with Jordan Alvarez grabbing a sacrifice fly and Christian Walker and Meyers swinging through pitches out of the zone.
A dropped third strike allowed Meyers to reach to start the sixth as Luis Torrens tried to backhand a slider and it skipped away from him. Altuve snuck a single past a diving Lindor and Carlos Mendoza called for Reed Garrett, who retired the side, despite issuing a one-out walk, getting two strikeouts: freezing Parades with a slider and getting Walker to wave at slider low and away.
- Out of the bullpen: A.J. Minter worked a clean seventh inning in his Mets debut, with a strikeout and a one-out walk on a 3-2 pitch that looked an awful lot like a strike. Ryne Stanek walked Altuve to start the eighth but kept the Astros quiet
- In the second, Brandon Nimmo smacked a base hit to left. He didn’t stay at first for long, taking off with a walking lead while Brown was still in the stretch. Second baseman Brendan Rodgers failed to field the throw to give the Mets a runner in scoring position.
Mark Vientos, with a short compact swing, connected on a 2-2 sinker on the inside corner for an RBI double to left and Jesse Winker followed by taking a cutter over the plate up the middle to put the Mets up 2-0.
- The Mets had a chase to add to a 3-1 lead after Soto and Alonso worked walks with nobody down in the sixth. But Brown got Nimmo to bounce into a 4-3 double play and Vientos to fly out to center.
Nimmo got another chance with two down and runners on the corners in the eighth, but lefty Bryan King got him to loop a fly to center to end the threat.
- Brett Baty got his first start at second base and helped turn a 5-4-3 double play in the fifth, but had little action otherwise. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
Baty was lifted for pinch hitter Luisangel Acuña in the seventh with Houston left-hander Steven Okert on the mound.
Acuña, who went down swinging in that at-bat, made a fine play diving to his left to steal a base hit in the eighth.
Game MVP: Megill (and the pitchers)
Yes, Soto had the big dinger and went 1-for-3 with a walk, but the starter delivered 5.0 innings (plus two batters), three hits, one run, one walk, six strikeouts on 77 pitches (49 strikes). The four relievers combined four scoreless innings with no hits (three walks) and four strikeouts on 69 pitches (44 strikes).
Highlights
Brandon Nimmo gets to second base after Brendan Rodgers drops the ball
Dodgers players and team personnel pose for a team photo with their World Series rings during a pregame ceremony at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
No detail, or diamond, was spared.
Modern-day championship rings, Dodgers chief marketing officer Lon Rosen joked, essentially have “turned into wearable sculpture pieces.” And after a month of intricate design planning this offseason, the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series rings are no exception.
Presented to players and coaches on the field before Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium, the latest championship rings in Dodgers history are easily the most grandiose yet, each made of 14-karat gold, more than 300 diamonds and 120 sapphires.
At the top, the LA logo is spelled out in blue gems, with a bed of oval diamonds as the backdrop. Around the edge lies a circle of 34 sapphires honoring late Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, who died during the World Series run. On either side eight more diamonds were included to recognize the organization’s eight championships. On the top and bottom, “World Champions” is spelled out in more bling.
Down the side of the ring, there are personalized touches, with each team member’s last name and number displayed around a hexagon shape inspired by Dodger Stadium’s unique scoreboards. Inscribed on the inner half are each recipient’s signature and logos of the three teams the Dodgers defeated on their way to the crown.
Beneath the lift-off top of the ring, more Easter eggs abound — most notably, cut-up pieces of the bases from the team’s title-clinching Game 5 win at Yankee Stadium, as well as a bedazzled recreation of Dodger Stadium with the Commissioner’s Trophy in the middle.
One final touch resides on the bottom of the ring: five diamonds to signify the five-run deficit the Dodgers overcame in the clincher.
“We had input from our ownership, from Stan [Kasten, team president], from me,” Rosen said. “Looked at it, worked with designers, and our owner made the final decision, which we all actually agreed on.”
“It’s very cool,” Rosen added shortly before Friday’s ceremony. “The guys are gonna be really excited.”
Even before the rings were presented, anticipation was high in the clubhouse.
“This is the final piece,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Just to have the fans here to enjoy this with us, the players, to kind of close the book on 2024, and still staying focused on the baseball game tonight, there's just a lot of excitement. Probably more than I can ever recall, with the Dodger fan base. Our players feel that."
In a fitting twist, the rings were presented on the same night a key piece of that team, L.A. native Jack Flaherty, pitched against the club as a member of the Tigers — who re-signed him in the offseason after trading him to the Dodgers at last year’s deadline.
“He was somewhat of a savior, to be honest with you,” Roberts said of Flaherty, who will get his ring Saturday. “He was the right person at the right time for our club. And I'm happy that he got family and friends who got to see him in a Dodger uniform, get a championship ring.”
“Now,” Roberts added with a laugh, “we can go beat him up today, and give him his ring tomorrow.”
Like most of his players, Roberts isn’t one to wear World Series hardware often. The rings from his previous two championships — as Dodgers manager in 2020 and as a player with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 — reside inside a safe in his garage.
But, the manager conceded, he was excited to get to try on this piece during Friday’s ceremony.
“I hope it fits,” he joked. “If you see me fiddling with it, and it ends up on my pinky, we’ll have big problems.”
Then again, championship rings now are less for wearing anyway. As Rosen noted, they have transformed more into pieces of art. And after the franchise’s first full-season title in more than three decades, the Dodgers didn’t waste an inch of this diamond-studded design, infusing as much symbolism from their triumphant season as they could.
Hernández on the mend
Friday’s ceremony was a can't-miss occasion for Kiké Hernández.
Though the veteran utility man played a key role in the Dodgers’ 2020 title, he missed out on all the season-opening ceremonies the next year after signing with the Boston Red Sox that winter.
Then, on Thursday, Hernández was absent again during the World Series banner raising, unable to make it to the ballpark for the home opener while battling a stomach illness.
On Friday, however, Hernández was feeling strong enough to return to the ballpark. He wasn't in the starting lineup, and it remains unclear when he will be back on the field. But Roberts said Hernández was “feeling much better” and seemed hopeful his illness would cause only a short-term absence.
“He is not going to be here at the ballpark early on, doing work, just make sure that he kind of stays strong and builds up,” Roberts said.
“But,” he added, “he wasn't going to miss this one.”
Pitching injury updates
Hours before Friday’s game, injured pitchers Tony Gonsolin (back) and Evan Phillips (shoulder) faced hitters in live batting practice. Reliever Michael Kopech (shoulder) threw a flat-ground session in the outfield. And Clayton Kershaw (offseason toe and knee surgeries) told reporters he would face hitters for the first time this year Saturday.
Gonsolin, who tweaked his back while doing squats in the gym near the end of spring training, and Phillips, who had a platelet-rich plasma injection this offseason to address a partially torn rotator cuff he suffered during the playoffs, are the closest of the group to returning to the active roster.
Phillips likely will throw another live BP before beginning a rehab assignment, keeping him on track to rejoin the team in the next couple of weeks. Gonsolin’s next step will be to throw three innings in either another simulated setting or a minor-league rehab assignment as he works toward a long-awaited return from his 2023 Tommy John surgery.
“To have something like that, non-baseball-related, really sucked, honestly,” said Gonsolin, whose last appearance in the majors came in August 2023. “I don't really have any other words for it. But again, it's a minor setback, and I'll try to take this time to build back up and get into an even better position."
The timeline for Kopech’s and Kershaw’s returns are less clear, but Kershaw said he remains hopeful of being ready right around the time his 60-day injured list stint is up near the end of May.
