Injuries continue to plague the Boston Red Sox pitching staff.
Right-hander Richard Fitts was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right pectoral strain, the club announced Sunday. Veteran righty Michael Fulmer was called up from Triple-A Worcester to take his place.
Fitts tossed five scoreless innings in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, allowing only two hits and striking out five. The 25-year-old exited the game due to the injury during the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Red Sox began the season with Fitts and Sean Newcomb in their rotation amid injuries to starters Brayan Bello (shoulder strain), Lucas Giolito (hamstring strain), and Kutter Crawford (patellar tendinopathy). Fortunately for Boston, Bello and Giolito appear close to returning after completing multiple rehab outings with the WooSox.
Fitts debuted in 2024, allowing only four earned runs across 20.2 innings (1.74 ERA). Through three starts this season, he has a 3.18 ERA.
Fulmer, 32, last pitched in the majors with the Chicago Cubs in 2023. The 2016 American League Rookie of the Year underwent season-ending elbow surgery at the end of the 2023 season that forced him to miss all of 2024.
Fitts’ injury adds to what has been a brutal week for Boston. The Red Sox have dropped five of their last six games, including two straight against the lowly Chicago White Sox.
With ace Garrett Crochet on the mound, they’ll look to salvage their three-game series vs. Chicago with a much-needed victory on Sunday.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki walks back to the mound after Cubs first base Michael Busch hit a solo home run Saturday at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
This is Roki Sasaki's home now. The San Gabriel Mountains at his back as he stands atop the mound at Dodger Stadium. Stands filled with adoring fans. Warm spring evenings that soon will lip into summer swelter.
Sasaki, 23, is beginning to feel comfortable in Chavez Ravine and with the heat that comes with choosing the Dodgers among scads of suitors when he left his native Japan in January. He is under team control for six seasons at a bargain rate, and the Dodgers are perfectly willing to allow him the space and time to become acclimated.
Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits the ball during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium Saturday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
The right-hander made his fourth start Saturday — his second at Dodger Stadium — and it was his best yet, lasting five sturdy innings against the Chicago Cubs. Sasaki was nicked by a solo home run from former Dodger Michael Busch to lead off the second but pitched out of jams in the third and fifth, the former thanks to a leaping catch at the center field wall by Andy Pages that prevented a grand slam.
Sasaki was failed only by the Dodgers' inability to generate offense in a 16-0 loss to the Cubs in front of a sellout crowd of 53,887. They couldn't generate offense against starter Ben Brown, who came in with an earned-run average of 7.71 that shrunk to 5.09 after six scoreless innings.
"Giving the context that I hadn’t reached the five-inning mark the last three outings, I think it was really important that I was able to reach that point and I hope to be able to do that as a minimum going forward," Sasaki said through an interpreter.
The game turned into a literal laugher after the Cubs pounded relievers Ben Casparius and Luis García for 10 runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Infielder Miguel Rojas finished the eighth and pitched the ninth, emulating Sasaki's delivery while tossing 40-mph pitches that the Cubs crushed for another five runs.
"Ever since last year when I got the opportunity to pitch, I was trying to imitate my teammates that I play behind," Rojas said. "I was just trying to keep it loose on a night like this. The game was close until the sixth. Roki had a good outing."
Asked to rate Rojas' imitation, Sasaki laughed and said, "100%."
The Dodgers' only runs in two games against the Cubs to begin this six-game homestand came on a three-run home run by Tommy Edman in Friday's 3-0 Dodgers victory in which Sasaki's countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed six scoreless innings. The Dodgers have defeated the Cubs in three of four meetings this season — the first two coming in Tokyo — despite being outscored 20-13.
The loss was the Dodgers worst at home in franchise history. It also marked the first time they'd been shut out at Dodger Stadium since May 12 when the Arizona Diamondbacks held them scoreless and the first time they'd been shut out anywhere since July 26 in Houston.
Still, the memory of Sasaki's step in the right direction lingered.
"Today the hope was for him to build on the last start and for me that was the silver lining of the night," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Probably the most important piece of the game was for him to get better, go deeper in the game and throw strikes."
Sasaki's first start as a Dodger, remember, came in his homeland four weeks ago, and it didn't go well. Neither did his second start, his Dodger Stadium debut a second consecutive blur of wayward pitches, walks, hits and runs. He recorded only five outs and fought back tears.
His third start was better, giving up one run in four innings while throwing first-pitch strikes to 13 of 17 batters. And his fourth was better yet. Sasaki established his four-seam fastball early, then leaned on his devastating splitter and functional slider as his pitch count rose and he faced batters a third time. He threw 81 pitches, 50 for strikes.
"I hit my stride after the first inning and overall had a lot better command," Sasaki said. "That’s something I was able to continue from my last outing."
Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment Wednesday at the Dodgers' triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. The future Hall of Fame left-hander is not eligible to be activated from the injured list until May 17.
Two other Dodgers pitchers recovering from injuries will pitch at Oklahoma City on Tuesday: starter Tony Gonsolin and reliever Evan Phillips. Gonsolin will make his third rehab appearance after striking out seven in 3⅓ innings Wednesday in Round Rock, Texas.
"Things are slowly moving forward," said Roberts, who added that injured reliever Michael Kopech will throw a second bullpen Tuesday and starter Blake Snell will begin throwing Monday.
Bobby Miller is likely to be called up from Oklahoma City to make a start for the Dodgers on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies, meaning Yamamoto won't pitch again until Friday to open a series at Texas.
The rehab and roster shuffling nearly obscured a bullpen session at Dodger Stadium, this one the third in two weeks by Shohei Ohtani. The right-hander recovering from elbow surgery threw 30 pitches, nearly all four-seam and two-seam fastballs, although he did mix in a few split-fingered fastballs.
Crow-Armstrong, 23, is a talented defensive player with elite speed. He has 35 stolen bases in 40 attempts in 152 major league games, but hasn't proved he can hit consistently. The left-handed batter and fielder is hitting .224 with 10 home runs in 446 at-bats in parts of three seasons entering Saturday's game.
He did bat .260 during the second half last season and hit .500 in spring training this year. Whether his bat continues to improve will determine if he blossoms into a star or settles in as a great glove-fair hitter in the mold of Harrison Bader, Billy Hamilton or Peter Bourjos.
Other premier young outfield talents who recently signed long-term extensions included Jackson Merrill of the San Diego Padres (nine years, $135 million), Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks (eight years, $111 million) and Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves (eight years, $72 million).
Here's the latest on some of the Mets' top young talent in the early stages of the minor league season...
Jett the Met surging early
Jett Williams has picked up right where he left off following his strong showing in big-league camp -- reaching base safely in all but one of Binghamton’s games thus far this season.
The 21-year-old played a huge role during the Rumble Ponies doubleheader split on Friday afternoon, as he lined a single in the second during Game 1 and then cracked a three-run homer a few innings later.
Then in Game 2, he led off the bottom of the first with a single and swiped his first stolen base of the season before coming around to score on a Nick Lorusso long ball.
Williams has struck out seven times over the first six games -- but he’s also drawn a pair of walks while putting together two doubles, a home run, and an impressive .348 on-base percentage.
He was plagued by the injuries last season, so a return to form would help continue his quick rise through the system.
Gilbert begins rehab assignment
The Mets played things safe with Drew Gilbert during spring training after he missed significant time last year due to a hamstring issue -- but he’s officially back on the field as the minor league season gets underway.
The youngster is beginning things on a rehab assignment with the St. Lucie Mets, and he’s gotten off to a surging start at the plate.
Gilbert has reached base safely two or more times in each of the past three games and he’s left the yard on back-to-back nights -- giving him an impressive .350 average and 1.135 OPS through 20 at-bats.
While those type of numbers are expected from a 24-year-old playing down two levels, it’s certainly encouraging to see him get off to this type of start after the sluggish and injury-plagued campaign he had.
Like Williams, a return to form would go a long way towards Gilbert making his big-league debut.
To this point he’s logged appearances in all three outfield positions, but two of them have come in center field -- a spot he could potentially provide a significant boost to in the majors later this season.
If you don’t already know Eli Serrano III, you may want to start getting familiar with him.
Serrano landed with the organization in the fourth round of last year’s draft -- and he was widely praised for the strong offensive skillset that he displayed during his time at NC State.
The 21-year-old showcased that in a very small sample size towards the end of last year, compiling seven extra base-hits in 17 games as he made his pro ball debut with the St. Lucie Mets.
He was bumped up to High-A Brooklyn to begin this year -- and he’s been able to carryover that production on both sides of the ball thus far.
Serrano has a double, two homers, three stolen bases, seven walks, eight hits, a .457 on-base percentage, and an incredible 1.013 OPS through six games. He also gunned down a runner at the plate with a tremendous throw from center and made a pair of leaping catches at the fence in left.
He comes into the year as the 22nd prospect in the system according to SNY’s Joe DeMayo, but will certainly climb up those rankings quickly if he’s able to keep this up.
Zuber building off strong spring
Tyler Zuber certainly looked the part of a big leaguer during spring training.
The right-handed reliever walked four batters but he did well to limit the damage, allowing just one run while striking out six across 7.2 innings of work.
Thus far he’s been able to carry that success over to Triple-A Syracuse -- bringing his ERA down to a strong mark of 2.08 ERA across four appearances after putting together a scoreless frame on Thursday.
He’s allowed just one run and two hits while walking one, striking out three, and generating eight groundball outs.
The 29-year-old struggled in the minors following a trade deadline deal with the Rays, but after spending a full offseason working with the Mets’ pitching lab, he appears ready to contribute at the big-league level.
There aren’t any openings in the Mets’ bullpen at the moment, but if Zuber can keep this rolling his opportunity may come before you know it.
The hard-throwing right-hander was back on the mound for the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday night, and he looked very strong again -- allowing just two hits and striking out three across 3.2 scoreless innings of work.
Allan hit the second batter he faced in the bottom of the first and allowed a stolen base, but he quickly retired the next two on just six pitches to strand the man in scoring position.
He picked up his first punch out of the evening to finish a perfect second, and then worked around a one out double in the third, before finishing his outing with a man on first and two outs in the fourth.
Allan threw just three more pitches than last time (47) and he topped out at 96 mph.
The 23-year-old former top prospect has now racked up eight strikeouts and 7.1 scoreless innings of work over his first two appearances since returning from a six-year absence due to numerous different arm injuries.
The organization plans on taking things slowly with him this year to keep him healthy. But if he continues pitching like this, there’s no reason that he won’t take the next step in his journey soon enough.
“Given everything Matt’s gone through, every time he takes the ball we’re happy,” David Stearns said last week. “He deserves to be happy and he deserves to enjoy it. Let’s get to the next outing and then after that let’s get to the next one and we’ll go from there.
“What I will say is what he is doing right now is really impressive -- he is demonstrating why he was so sought after in the draft, and why he has kept pushing so hard for the last five years to get back to this point.”
Sproat bounces back
Top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat has had a rough time in Triple-A thus far -- but on Saturday night he put together easily his best effort.
The right-hander used his full arsenal as he struck out six while allowing just two hits and two walks across 4.1 innings of one-run ball.
Sproat is now down to a 4.35 ERA through three starts this season.
The Mets will look for him to be a bit more efficient before they are ready for him to make the leap up to the big-league level, but Saturday's outing was certainly a step in the right direction.
Against a formidable Giants team, Warren allowed just two runs on two hits and two walks in five innings pitched en route to his first major league win.
"Big accomplishment. Waiting a while to get that one off the table," Warren said after the game. "So fun. I'm just glad the team won."
Saturday was Warren's eighth start of his career, and the third this season, but the 25-year-old can finally say he has a big league win under his belt. Not bad for a pitcher who was not pegged to make the team out of spring training.
Of course, injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt helped facilitate Warren breaking camp with the team, but a strong spring made him the perfect candidate to start the year with the team and he's been solid since earning the spot. Of his three starts this year, two of them saw him give up two runs or fewer. And for Saturday, it was especially important for Warren to give the Yankees a good outing after Marcus Stroman was unable to pitch out of the first inning and manager Aaron Boone had to burn a few relievers in their loss on Friday. But the Yankees skipper was more impressed with how he pitched instead of how long.
"I'm really excited for him. Just did a good job mixing his pitches, for the most part dictating counts," Boone said. "I felt like he had a lot of ahead-in-the-count. I thought he had a lot of useful pitches throughout, even when he was ahead. And then a couple situations where he really had to make a pitch. He did it."
The only blemish to Warren's day was in the second inning when Heliot Ramos smoked a double and Wilmer Flores followed with a two-run home run to give up the Yankees' early lead. Both Warren and Boone felt the elements helped the Giants in that area a bit but after Flores' home run, Warren settled in nicely.
Warren would retire the next 10 batters in a row and 11 of his final 12. The young right-hander credited Austin Wells and the game plan for his outing, while Boone points to Warren's execution of his pitches as a big reason for the win.
"Overall, I just thought the slider was good," Boone said. "I thought there was a little more life to the sinker and I thought he did a good job of mixing his sinker with his four seamer too."
It's a great story for a pitcher who was thrust into the rotation last year due to injuries and didn't execute. In six games (five starts) in 2024, Warren allowed four or more runs four times. He pitched to a 10.32 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP.
But that experience makes this season and his first win mean even more.
"Learned a lot, been through a lot of tough outings but I think, that's what makes this one even sweeter," Warren said. "You learn from it, move on and try to get better each day."
Warren added, "There's a lot of guys in this clubhouse you lean on and learn from, as well as breaking down each outing every week. I don't know how much better I've gotten. I think it's still the same. I think it's the process of knowing what to do, when to do and executing it."
The Yankees hope Warren's first major league win leads to much more. With Stroman being placed on the IL, Warren -- who could have potentially be demoted to make room for the returning Schmidt -- will be in the rotation to stay, at least for now.
The Mets’ offense has gotten off to a slow start this season.
Other than Pete Alonso, who has been their biggest catalyst to this point, New York hasn’t been able to get much going consistently and it’s mainly been carried by its dominant early-season pitching.
Francisco Lindor has shown some positive signs but he doesn’t look like himself. Juan Soto has been his usual on-base machine, but he isn’t hitting for much power. Brandon Nimmo is starting to turn things around, and Mark Vientos is struggling mightily.
This team has been generating a ton of opportunities, but it simply hasn’t been able to come up with that big hit when it’s needed it the most -- like it did so often during last year’s run to the NLCS.
Left-hander David Peterson threw well but he was outdone by former Mets prospect J.T. Ginn who limited them to just one run on four hits while walking two and striking out six across 5.1 innings of work.
“Man, he was really good,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He was effective. The movement on his pitches was unbelievable today. That sinker was really good then the cutter, nothing was straight -- everything was in to righties then away, same to lefties.
“He made some big pitches when he needed to. We created a little bit of traffic on the bases, but we couldn’t string together a rally. He was really, really good today.”
New York's lone run came on a Nimmo homer and it left eight men on base, finishing an ugly 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
That marked the ninth time through 14 games that the Mets have finished with three runs or fewer scored -- and they haven’t exactly faced some big-time pitching aside from Sandy Alcantara and the opening series in Houston.
While times are tough, the skipper remains confident that they’ll break through soon.
“We have too many good hitters in that lineup not to,” he said. “Right now, we have Pete being the one who is pretty much carrying us -- but the fact that we are creating traffic and we’re getting guy on-base, they’ll step up.
“I like Nimmo’s at-bat, Vientos is just not getting results but he continues to hit the ball hard and he’s not chasing which is a good sign -- like I said, one through nine, we have a good offense and they’ll come through.”
The hope is that it'll start in Sunday's series finale against old friend Luis Severino.
The Mets (9-5) were defeated by the Athletics 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Sutter Health Park.
Here are some takeaways...
- David Peterson took the mound after leaving his last outing with a stomach issue, and he got off to a terrific start. The lefty retired the first six batters before Luis Urias led off the third with a hit -- but he was quickly erased on a pickoff and Brett Baty made a terrific diving stop to escape the inning facing the minimum.
Then, Peterson's issues the second time through the order resurfaced. Jacob Wilson led off the inning with a double and scored the first run of the game on a Tyler Soderstrom knock. After another run scored on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded, Peterson was able to limit the damage thanks to a groundout.
He bounced back nicely in the fifth, working around a two out double, and then was helped out by a Hayden Senger caught stealing to finish his day strong. Peterson put together his second quality start of the year, allowing just two runs on seven hits while striking out five and issuing no walks.
- The Mets were unable to get to right-hander J.T. Ginn over the first five innings, but then Brandon Nimmo demolished a solo homer to deep right field leading off the sixth. Nimmo has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but he's now gone deep in back-to-back games, giving him four on the year.
- Other than that, Ginn threw extremely well against the team that selected him back in the second round of the 2020 Draft. The 25-year-old right-hander worked around baserunners in numerous innings but allowed just one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six in 5.1 innings of work.
- Jose Butto allowed a run in the seventh to increase the deficit to two, and the Mets were unable to get to the Athletics' high-powered backend arms -- Tyler Ferguson and Mason Miller, who touched 103 mph as he secured his fourth save of the season.
- Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso walked three times, but went a combined 0-for-9 on the day.
- Baty enjoyed a strong day out at second base and he also came up with a much-needed base hit, lining a single in the fourth. The youngster has been losing out on more and more playing time as he's been stuck in a brutal rut at the plate, going 4-for-30 with 12 strikeouts.
- Jose Siri was forced out of the game after fouling a ball off his lower left leg on the first pitch of his first at-bat in the top of the second. Tyrone Taylor took over in his place, and the team said shortly after that he is day-to-day with a shin contusion.
Game MVP: J.T. Ginn
The youngster was certainly fired up to face the organization that traded him, and he held them to just one run.
With their 7-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon, the New York Rangers have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
Despite their season quite literally being on the line, the Rangers showed no sense of urgency to start the game as they looked completely out of sorts.
Carolina took a commanding 4-0 lead in the second period, putting the Rangers in desperation mode.
The Rangers provided some pushback in the third period to keep the game close. However, it was too little.
From winning the Presidents’ Trophy just one year ago to missing the playoffs entirely, it’s been a true fall from grace for the Blueshirts.
“You can't just show up and expect it to go the same way it did last year,” Vincent Trocheck said. “We earned it last year. We certainly didn't earn it this year.”
There’s a feeling of frustration and disappointment not only because they missed the playoffs, but because this team had so many opportunities to make the most of the season and ultimately couldn't salvage their chances.
Even with all the talent in the world, the Rangers couldn’t even squeak the postseason. The Rangers disappointed the fans and they disappointed themselves.
“It's disappointing for everybody,” Peter Laviolette said. “It certainly wasn't anybody's plan coming into the year, especially coming off of last year. Yet here we are. We had opportunities in the last 20 games to make our own noise and make our own way and we didn't do that. It's on us. We needed to be better…
“I think there's always expectation here. I think every year this team has gone in expecting to be successful, expecting to win a Stanley Cup. The disappointment is real.”
The Rangers have two games remaining with nothing to play for but pride.
The Yankees' offense exploded for eight runs, including a five-run fifth inning, on 11 hits that pushed them to an 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday afternoon in the Bronx.
With the weather misty, cold and windy again, the Yankees shook off the elements thanks to solid pitching and timely hitting.
Here are the takeaways...
-Saturday's starter, Will Warren, already gave the Yankees more than Marcus Stroman did on Friday. Warren pitched around a two-out walk to get out of the first inning unscathed and threw just 16 pitches in the opening frame as opposed to Stroman's 46.
But the young righty couldn't keep the early lead, giving up a two-run homer to Wilmer Flores to tie things up at 2-2 in the second. Surprisingly, Flores pulled into a tie for the MLB lead with his sixth dinger of the season. After he gave up the homer to Flores, Warren settled down, sitting down 10 straight Giants with four strikeouts among them -- and aided by some stellar defense from Goldschmidt. After giving up a two-out walk to the No. 9 hitter, pitching coach Matt Blake came out to talk to Warren. The talk must have settled him down, as Warren responded by punching out Mike Yastrzemski for the third time and put a bow on the outing.
Warren was great after the Flores home run, giving the Yankees some length they desperately needed. While Warren wasn't as efficient as he'd like (91 pitches/54 strikes), he got through five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six batters.
-After scoring just one run in five innings on Friday, the Yankees got on the board early thanks to Cody Bellinger. The outfielder launched a pitch the opposite way that continued to carry all the way to the wall. The Giants' Heliot Ramos could not track the ball down at the wall as it kicked passed him for a triple, scoring Aaron Judge -- who singled -- from first. Paul Goldschmidt followed with a sac fly to give the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.
Judge would come up in the second with two outs and the bases loaded, but the captain grounded out on a 1-1 pitch to end the threat.
-Bellinger would come through again in the fifth, following Ben Rice and Judge singles with a single of his own to give the Yankees back the lead, 3-2. Goldschmidt would follow with an opposite-field double that scored another -- and would have been more if it didn't go into the stands. Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked to load the bases -- and chase starter Jordan Hicks -- and an Anthony Volpe sac fly drove in another run.
Jasson Dominguez capped off the five-run inning with a two-run single, going the other way.
-Things got dicey in the top half of the sixth. With Fernando Cruz on the mound, Chisholm had a chance to turn a double play, but his errant throw pulled Volpe off of second, allowing everyone to be safe. Cruz then walked the bases loaded with no out, but got Ramos to fly out to first base, LaMonte Wade Jr. to strikeout swinging. Flores then came up and hit a two-run single to cut the Yankees lead to 7-4.
Luke Weaver was called in to get the final out of the sixth, which he did with a strikeout of Sam Huff. Weaver work out of trouble in the seventh, getting Matt Chapman to strikeout swinging with men on second and third and two outs.
Mark Leiter Jr. worked in and out of trouble in the eighth and Devin Williams was called in for the ninth in a non-save situation. He gave up a leadoff walk and then a double before striking out the next two batters out swinging on his patented changeup. He got Ramos to groundout to end the game.
Despite some hiccups, the Yankees bullpen did not allow an earned run in four innings.
-Rice would get one of those runs back in the home half of the sixth. On the first pitch he saw from former Yankee Lou Trivino, Rice launched a blast over the right field wall at 113.2 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career.
Game MVP: Cody Bellinger
After being unable to get runs on Friday, it was important that Bellinger got the Yankees on the board in the first and giving them the lead back in the fifth.
Mets centerfielder Jose Siri left Saturday’s game vs. the Athletics with a left shin contusion, and manager Carlos Mendoza said on Sunday that the outfielder is still in pain, making a stint on the Injured List a possibility.
"He’s in pain," Mendoza said on Sunday. "He walked in this morning still on crutches. Like I said, he’s pretty sore, not able to put weight on it. He’s getting treatment right now and we’ll see where we’re at, but he’s in pain."
Mendoza was then asked a follow-up question about whether the injury could result in an IL stint for Siri.
"It could be," Mendoza answered. "We’ll have to have a conversation after the game and maybe tomorrow, but the way he’s feeling right now, I could see this being a potential IL [situation]."
Siri underwent x-rays on Saturday, which came back negative, and the team still considers him day-to-day, at least for the time being.
The 29-year-old stayed down for several minutes after fouling a ball off his leg during his at-bat in the top of the second on Saturday -- the speedster then needed assistance from trainers as he limped back to the dugout and was carted to the clubhouse in left-centerfield.
"Honestly, I was expecting the worst," Mendoza said after the game on Saturday. "When I went out there he was in pain, he couldn't put any weight on it -- so when the trainers got a hold of me and told me in the middle of the game I was like alright at least it's good news but he's going to be in pain."
"It got me right there, right on the bone, pretty much," Siri said through a translator on Saturday. "Right now, I feel like I don't have any power in that leg -- it's the first time it's ever happened to me, so I can't really judge it based on how it's going to be in the next couple days.
"I think what we should do is just wait and see how it feels and then we'll have a better idea."
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees placed Marcus Stroman on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation Saturday, one day after he gave up five runs and got two outs in a rainy 9-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Stroman went to a hospital for tests on his left knee after throwing 46 pitches in the rain on Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said Stroman said his knee was bothering him and the Yankees announced the move about an hour before Saturday’s scheduled first pitch.
Stroman is 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts after allowing a three-run homer to Jung Hoo Lee and a two-run double to LaMonte Wade Jr. in his shortest career start that was not interrupted by rain, though Boone said he was not sure if the conditions caused the injury.
“I don’t know, tough to say,” Boone said before Saturday’s game. “We’re haven’t been in ideal conditions most of the start of the season here and that affects everyone a little bit different,” Boone said. “Stro has also been doing this a long time and pitched in these situations a lot before, so I’m sure that all plays a role.”
The Yankees recalled pitcher Allan Winans from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to replace Stroman on the roster.
Winans had a 5.02 ERA in five spring training appearances and pitched 2 2/3 innings in his lone appearance with Triple-A.
Winans made his major league debut with the Braves in 2023 and was 1-4 with a 7.20 ERA in eight starts over the previous two seasons.
The Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Braves on Jan. 23, designated him for assignment on Feb. 5 and invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee two days later.
New York has lost four of five following a 6-2 start and its starting rotation has a 5.46 ERA, worst among the 30 teams.
Clarke Schmidt is scheduled to rejoin the Yankees on Tuesday or Wednesday after recovering from right rotator cuff tendinitis that has sidelined him since spring training,
Boone did not address who would be dropped from the rotation, though Stroman’s injury creates an easier decision.
“I’m excited to get him back,” Boone said. “He’s turned into a really good pitcher in the league. So feel like he’s in a really good spot too.”
Stroman turns 34 on May 1 and is in the second season of a two-year contract guaranteeing $37 million. The right-hander’s deal includes a $16 million conditional player option for 2026 that could be exercised if he pitches in at least 140 innings this year.
He skipped the Yankees’ first two spring training workouts at a time when he didn’t have a projected rotation role behind Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Schmidt. He arrived on Valentine’s Day, eight days ahead of the mandatory reporting date and injuries to Cole, Gil and Schmidt created an need for him.
A two-time All-Star, Stroman hasn’t pitched through the fifth inning this season and has a 2.04 WHIP.
Last season, Stroman was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) when he threw 154 2/3 innings, his most since 2021 with the Mets. Stroman struggled in the second half and did not appear in the postseason when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance since 2009.
MIAMI — The Washington Nationals placed shortstop CJ Abrams on the 10-day injured list on Saturday because of a right hip flexor strain.
Abrams first experienced discomfort during the Nationals’ home series against Arizona last week and it then flared up again on Friday, when Washington opened a road series in Miami. He was removed after the third inning and underwent an imaging test Saturday that confirmed the strain.
“I told him today to get this thing to calm down and get it right so it doesn’t become a bigger issue,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said before Saturday’s game. “In a week and a half hopefully he’ll be ready to go.”
The 24-year-old Abrams has four homers through his first 11 games this season.
“CJ wants to play every day,” Martinez said. “He wasn’t happy about it. But this was the second stint that it was bothering him. We’re going to try to get him all healed up so it’s something that he won’t have to worry about for the rest of the year.”
The Nationals recalled infielder Nasim Nuñez from Triple-A Rochester in the corresponding move.
The top of the Yankees order came to the plate and every single one of them delivered, as New York strung together five consecutive baserunners in the fifth before the Giants were able to record an out. At that point San Francisco already was trailing 4-2 when reliver Randy Rodriguez was handed the ball with the bases loaded and no outs, a fire even he wasn’t able to extinguish.
It was another rainy, cold affair at Yankee Stadium, but Hicks didn’t blame the weather for an outing that saw him finish with seven earned runs across four innings of work. Rather it was Hicks’ reliance on his fastball that the flamethrowing right-hander believed led to an outing he and the Giants would like to put in the rearview mirror as soon as possible.
“I’ve definitely been a part of some rainy ones, some cold ones. That was probably top-three, top-five coldest,” “Hicks told reporters after the game. “I feel like I had some good stuff today, probably threw a few too many fastballs. I had the off-speed working, so I should’ve just thrown more of that and mixed it better. Live and learn, and move on to the next one.”
While Hicks has made a living in the big leagues behind his blazing heater, the ability to mix in off-speed pitches will play a major role in his continued development as a starting pitcher after being a back-end bullpen option for the majority of his MLB career.
The Giants are in the midst of a brutal part of their schedule, with 17 consecutive games without a day off on the docket, with more than half of them coming on the road against quality opponents.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin alluded to that gauntlet when explaining why he wasn’t as quick to yank Hicks off the mound when his starter ran into trouble in the fifth inning.
“Look, I mean I had to give him [Hicks] a little rope there, we got 17 games in a row,” Melvin said. “Second, third and fourth he looked really good as we’ve seen earlier this year, and then in the fifth just couldn’t get an out. Put together some good at-bats and strung them together on him. Had to bring Randy [Rodriguez] in a tough situation, and that obviously was kind of the inning that decided the game at the time, it certainly gave them some breathing room.”
All wasn’t bad in the loss. The air was cold, but Wilmer Flores’ bat stayed hot, as the veteran designated hitter launched a game-tying home run into the stands in the second inning, ultimately driving in all four of the Giants’ runs on the day.
Despite Hicks’ tough outing, the Giants still are in position to grab a series win in Sunday and start their 10-game road trip off on the right foot before heading to Philadelphia for a four-game set with the Phillies.
When Marcus Stroman left the field after getting just two outs in Friday's 9-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, the veteran right-hander told the team his knee was bothering him, and it has led to an IL stint.
The Yankees announced that they put the 33-year-old on the IL with left knee inflammation, hours before their game on Saturday. In a corresponding move, the Yankees have called up RHP Allan Winans.
Once Stroman left the dugout, he had an X-ray done at Yankee Stadium before heading to a hospital for further tests. Manager Aaron Boone said before Saturday's game that he hadn't spoken to his starter yet, but once he arrived to the stadium, the team doctors would update them on Stroman's condition.
"The hope is it's not something too serious and that we can attack this and hopefully be a little bit of a source of maybe some of the things not having him as sharp as he needs to be," Boone said after Saturday's 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. "Hopefully we can attack this and it be something that we can benefit from and can get him physically where needs to be and then translate that onto the mound."
Friday night's game was not easy to play in. The rain and high winds affected fly balls and clearly affected the pitchers. Stroman couldn't get out of the first and some of the Yankees relievers -- like Yoendrys Gomez -- had trouble gripping the ball.
It led to Boone discussing the weather with the umpires and grounds crew between innings before the game was delayed in the sixth and ultimately called.
The question of whether the weather affected Stroman's ability to pitch on Friday was brought up, and the Yankees skipper couldn't give a definitive answer.
“We haven't been in ideal conditions most of the start of the season here. And that affects everyone a little bit different," Boone said before Saturday's game. "But Stro’s also been doing this a long time and pitched in these situations a lot before. I'm sure that all plays a role, even we saw on the other side. Even though we only got one run last night, it was a grind for [Giants starter] Robbie Ray.
“It's just one of those rare games where, you know, it's a challenge and we saw that on the pitching front last night.”
In three starts this season, Stroman has struggled. He's 0-1 with a 11.57 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP, and allowed nine runs in his last two outings while only pitching 4.2 innings.
Now that Stroman is on the IL, a returning Clarke Schmidt will take his spot in the rotation for the time being. That gives Will Warren and veteran Carlos Carrasco more chances to prove they belong in the rotation when Stroman eventually returns.
