Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt has been scratched from Saturday's start due to left side soreness.
Schmidt's been dealing with the mild soreness since throwing a season-high 90 pitches in his last appearance, which came Sunday afternoon against the Blue Jays.
He still hoped to be able to take the mound in this one after throwing all week and undergoing an MRI, which came back clean, but instead the Yanks opted to give him an extra few days.
He'll now start Tuesday against the Padres, and Aaron Boone doesn't expect it to be an issue moving forward.
"Clarke was a little concerned with what he's been through," the skipper said. "Being a little behind, having some minor things pop up and everything, so it was definitely a relief things came back clean and we should be okay."
Schmidt, of course, missed time earlier this season due to right rotator cuff tendinitis.
Ironically enough, his last appearance was actually his best one to this point -- as he limited Toronto to just one run on one hit while walking four and striking out six across five innings of work.
In his place, the Yankees will turn to Ryan Yarbrough to start Saturday afternoon against Tampa Bay.
The southpaw has only been used in relief during his first season in the Bronx -- but he threw a season-high 3.2 innings his last time out and has served as an opener and bulk reliever in the past with the Rays and Dodgers.
"He can pitch man," Boone said. "It's a different look than what you typically see. He's been doing this kind of role for a long time now -- obviously, we've seen him over the years with Tampa as an opener and that type of stuff. He just has a real good idea of pitching out there.
"He's been a key figure for us this year on a number of days that have kind of set us up for the week. He's fairly built up, so hopefully he can go out there and get us off to a good start today."
Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.
Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.”
To access live or on-demand content, tap on the "Watch" tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the "Games" sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available.
For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.
Pete Alonso's roaring start to the 2025 season earned him NL Player of the Month honors from MLB on Friday afternoon, and just a few hours after the Mets' slugger received the accolade, he hinted that his May could look even better than his April.
While there was no shortage of offense for the Mets in their 9-3 win over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, it was typical power from Alonso that sparked a mid-innings outburst. The veteran first baseman delivered a clutch go-ahead, two-run homer off of Sonny Gray in the fifth that shifted momentum and helped New York secure a franchise-record ninth straight victory over St. Louis.
The calendar flipped, but Alonso didn't. He moved into sole possession of fifth place on the Mets' all-time RBI list (616) with a 2-for-5 night at the plate, and he's now 19 homers shy of surpassing icon Darryl Strawberry and becoming the club's new power king.
With an NL-best .473 on-base percentage and 20 extra-base hits, Alonso has been the catalyst to a first-place club. But he's not focused on the recognition and acclaim for a stellar April. He only wants to "contribute to winning." So far, so good.
"His ability to control the strike zone is probably the best I've seen it over last year and this early on," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alonso after Friday's win. "We know the power is there and we know he's a good hitter. But he gets in trouble when he starts chasing. I feel like now, he's taking his walks and getting pitches to hit, and he's not missing them."
Holmes appreciates run support
Clay Holmes didn't wield his best stuff on Friday. While he completed six innings and earned a quality start for the second time this season, he allowed three runs on a season-high eight hits and struck out only three. The closer-turned-starter was required to navigate some jams -- he couldn't dodge a comebacker that struck his ankle in the second inning, however.
But ample and opportune run support placed Holmes in the win column for a fourth time, and he appreciated that cushion as a pressure reliever while his outing stretched to a season-high 92 pitches. Through seven starts (36.2 innings), the veteran right-hander has produced a sharp 2.95 ERA with 39 strikeouts.
"It's a team that puts the ball in play a lot -- I'm a contact guy," Holmes said. "I was able to start mixing my pitches, use the four-seam and cutter a little bit, the slider. Really trying to generate some weak contact and make the defense work. Huge response by our offense there...
"As long as I don't give free passes, it usually takes a few hits to beat me. It's a balancing act. I want to be in the zone and trust the weak contact and keep pitching to it. Maybe there's times when I could've gone for more chase with the slider or sinker..."
Best game yet for Alvarez
When the Mets were in desperate need of offense against the Nationals last weekend, they relied on power from Francisco Alvarez to narrowly escape with a win. And when the runs came in bunches against the Cardinals on Friday, Alvarez made sure that he was smack in the middle of their hit parade.
Batting out of the eighth spot, the young catcher finished the night 3-for-5 with a team-high three RBI, and his average now sits at .269 through 26 at-bats. Alvarez also helped Holmes settle down behind the dish in the second inning by gunning down Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, trying to steal second.
Mendoza is pleased to see Alvarez allowing the ball to travel deep through the zone and properly timing his swing for impactful opposite-field knocks. Two of the 23-year-old's three hits against Cardinals pitchers were sent to right field.
"It's a good sign. We saw it a little bit in spring training before he went down," Mendoza said. "And not just flipping balls the other way -- hitting it hard. That's a good sign for a good hitter, and hopefully he takes off from there."
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Riley Greene homered to open the top of the ninth inning and capped an eight-run outburst with a three-run shot to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 9-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Colt Keith had a solo homer and Javier Báez hit a two-run shot in the inning against Angels closer Kenley Jansen, who opened the season with eight scoreless innings but was pitching for the first time in eight days.
With his three-run shot off left-hander Jake Eder, Greene became the first Tigers player to homer twice in an inning since Magglio Ordonez against the Oakland Athletics on Aug. 12, 2007. According to Elias he is the first player in MLB history to hit two HRs in the ninth inning of a game.
Tyler Holton (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to pick up the win.
Jansen (0-1) gave up six runs and six hits in the ninth, as the Angels lost their seventh straight and 15th in the last 19 games.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto crushed Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal’s first pitch of the game for his fourth homer. The Tigers tied the score 1-1 in the seventh on Trey Sweeney’s homer off reliever Ryan Johnson.
Angels starter Jose Soriano allowing six hits in six innings, striking out five and walking one.
Skubal, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, allowed one run and four hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking one.
Tempers flared in the bottom of the third when Neto and Skubal exchanged words after the Tigers’ ace blew a 99-mph fastball by Neto for strike three. Both benches emptied, but no punches were thrown.
Key moment
Travis d’Arnaud singled to lead off the fifth inning. It was the last baserunner the Angels had, as Skubal and relievers Chase Lee, Holton and Tyler Owens combined to retire the final 15 batters, eight by strikeout.
Key stat
The Angels have hit safely in 4,000 consecutive regular-season games since being no-hit by Minnesota Twins left-hander Eric Milton on Sept. 11, 1999. That’s the longest active streak without being no-hit in the major leagues.
Up next
Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (1-3, 3.34 ERA) starts against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-3, 6.65 ERA) on Saturday.
The Mets haven't spent much time searching for answers at the plate this season. Just in the last 15 games, their lineup has amassed 87 runs for nearly six on average, and their whopping 148 total hits has almost produced a laudable double-digit average. Suffice to say, they're clicking on all cylinders.
While the constant has been crossing home at a high rate, the variable has been the method of choice. Yes, there was a handful of timely home runs and extra-base knocks in the Mets' 9-3 road win over the Cardinals on Friday night, but some of their successful at-bats required some patience and persistence.
Of the 17 hits that New York stockpiled against St. Louis, seven of them came with two strikes in the count. The most important one arrived in the fifth inning, when Pete Alonso demolished an 0-2 changeup from Sonny Gray that landed in the center-field bleachers for a go-ahead, two-run homer. The clutch 417-foot blast gave the Mets a lead that they didn't relinquish.
Brandon Nimmo didn't need to fall behind in order to launch his seventh long ball of the season. He led off the seventh inning by swinging at a first-pitch sinker, bumping the Mets' lead to 7-3. But when asked about the team's two-strike approach after the game, the veteran outfielder aptly labeled that strategy as "controlled aggression."
"It's just trying to look for your pitch and be ready at any time. Whether that's the first pitch or last pitch of the at-bat, or an 0-2 count, whatever it is. Just being ready. It's something that we've talked about -- even through the organization, but especially here in the big leagues -- trying to always be ready and you're never out of an at-bat."
Each player in the Mets' lineup collected at least one hit on Friday, and it was Nimmo and catcher Francisco Alvarez who tied for the team lead with three apiece. The scoring spree helped them improve their first-place record to 22-11, and dating back to last season, they've won nine straight games against the Cardinals. It's never happened before.
Smack in the middle of New York's offensive outburst is Nimmo, who's sticking to his process and reaping the benefits of a late-April and early-May hot streak. Sure, his .229 batting average isn't up to snuff. But quality at-bats are always noticable, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza believes that Nimmo is finally being rewarded for his discipline.
"He's been locked in. Again, a good hitter who's finally getting results," Mendoza said after the win. "I don't think he's doing anything differently. Now the ball is falling, the power is right there. Not suprised by it."
The Mets scored four runs in the fifth inning and recorded 17 hits to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-3, on Friday night.
Here are the key takeaways...
- Clay Holmes got out to a funky start, allowing a leadoff double to Lars Nootbaar who then stole third base and scored on Masyn Winn's infield single to put the Cardinals up 1-0. Francisco Alvarez helped Holmes by throwing out Winn trying to steal second, and the righty got Nolan Arenado to pop up for the third out. Holmes then carried that momentum for a scoreless second inning, including his first strikeout of the night.
Holmes let up a leadoff single to Victor Scott II in the bottom of the third, as he advanced to second on a groundout. Scott stole third and came around to score on Alvarez's throwing error, tying the game at 2-2. Holmes then gave up an RBI-single to Willson Contreras as St. Louis took a 3-2 lead. The righty bounced back with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings through the fifth and retired a total of eight straight Cardinals into the sixth inning.
Holmes completed six innings of work, allowing a season-high eight hits, but just three runs. He struck out three and didn't allow a walk.
- New York loaded the bases withno outsin the top of the second inning against Sonny Gray, as Jeff McNeil hit into a fielder's choice, allowing a run to score to tie the game at 1-1. Alvarez then drove in Winker on a grounder to short, beating out the 6-4-3 double play to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. They had a chance to add more to the lead after Luisangel Acuña and Francisco Lindor walked, but Juan Soto struck out to end the frame.
- Pete Alonso hit a leadoff single in the top of the third, but was caught trying to steal second by Gray on his first attempt of the season. He's now 17-for-20 on steals in his career.
- The bats woke up in the fifth, as Soto crushed a double (114.3 mph exit velocity) on an 0-2 pitch to right field with one away and scored on Alonso's eighth home run of the season, a 417-foot blast to center field to put the Mets up 4-3. Brandon Nimmo and Jesse Winker made it four straight hits to knock Gray out of the game. Mark Vientos hit into what should've been an inning-ending double play, but Contreras dropped the ball at first, allowing the run to score. Alvarez went the other way against Chris Roycroft to drive in another, making it 6-3.
- New York tacked on two more runs in the seventh -- Nimmo launched his seventh homer of the season and Alvarez drove in his third run of the game with another opposite-field hit, driving in Tyrone Taylor from second.
- Acuña's double in the seventh gave every Mets starter (plus Taylor) at least one hit, as the team finished with 17 total hits -- their second most in a game (21 in 19-5 win over Washington Nationals) this season. Acuña later added another run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth to go up 9-3.
- José Buttó tossed a 1-2-3 seventh inning and worked around a little trouble to escape the eighth inning, keeping the score intact. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
- Following a four-game sweep of the Cardinals in April, New York has now defeated St. Louis in nine straight contests -- the first time in Mets franchise history.
Who was the game MVP?
Despite his throwing error that resulted in a run, Francisco Alvarez had his best game at the plate so far this year. He finished 3-for-5 with a season-high three RBI. Plus, he threw out the speedy Winn, helping settle down Holmes on the mound.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers in the first inning of a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
Hours before first pitch Friday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was honored with the National League’s pitcher of the month award for March and April.
Given how he looked in a scoreless six-inning, six-strikeout, one-hit gem against the Atlanta Braves hours later, it might not be the last award he vies for this year.
After establishing himself as a breakout star in the opening month, Yamamoto continued his ascent up the hierarchy of major-league starters in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Friday at Truist Park.
He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He held an opponent without a run for the third time in his last four starts. And he dropped his early-season ERA to an MLB-best 0.90, having yielded just four earned runs in his first 40 innings of the season.
“I’ve been able to perform at a very high level,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda after the game. “I think it’s really close to my best times in Japan.”
Already in recent weeks, manager Dave Roberts has referred to Yamamoto — the three-time Japanese league MVP who signed for $325 million two offseasons ago — as the ace of the Dodgers’ pitching staff.
But now, with the Dodgers (22-10) missing two other nine-figure rotation signings in Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow because of shoulder injuries, Yamamoto’s value might be even greater than just that.
“When you look at the handful of guys in the big leagues that when they take the ball, you know they're going to go six innings, you're going to get a chance to win, a good chance to win, they can manage some stress, they're always the best option — he’s putting himself in that category,” Roberts said. “I think there's just been so much consistent performance from Yoshi in big games that it’s real. He does think he’s one of those guys.”
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto reacts in the fourth inning against the Braves on Friday. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
Yamamoto didn’t look like that caliber of pitcher in his previous start, a season-worst five-inning, three-run outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week in which he issued a career-high four walks.
But after a mental “reset” — something Yamamoto says he does between every start — the 26-year-old right-hander responded with one of his best outings of the season against the resurgent Braves (who are 14-17, but had won nine of their previous 12).
"He dominated today, and I feel like it wasn't even the best version of Yama, which is crazy,” reliever Evan Phillips said. “When you talk about routine and work ethic and the talent, this guy's one of the best in the game, for sure. It's fun to watch."
In Yamamoto’s first three innings, the only real danger he encountered was to his own person. With two outs in the first inning, he ducked out of the way of a 107-mph line drive from Matt Olson that Mookie Betts snared at shortstop. To lead off the second, Sean Murphy rifled a 106-mph comebacker that Yamamoto snagged with his glove.
His pitching counterpart, Grant Holmes, wasn’t so lucky.
After matching Yamamoto zero for zero (in both runs and hits) in the early going, the Atlanta right-hander suffered a bad break in the fourth, when Betts smoked a 94-mph comebacker off his backside for the night’s first hit. That was followed by a single from Freddie Freeman, who hit a ground ball that Olson failed to snare at first base, and a walk to Teoscar Hernández, loading the bases with one out. Will Smith then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, opening the scoring.
Not until the sixth inning, when Betts continued his resurgence from a deep April slump with a solo home run to left field, did the Dodgers get to Holmes again.
But the way Yamamoto was dealing, the lack of run support posed little problem.
Outside of two walks to Marcell Ozuna — who won an 11-pitch battle in the first inning, and a six-pitch duel in the fourth — the Braves mustered nothing until a two-out double by Austin Riley in the sixth. And even that was immediately negated when Yamamoto induced a groundout from Ozuna to end the inning in the next at-bat.
“I was thinking about it a little bit,” Roberts said of Yamamoto’s growing no-hit possibility. “Because, yeah, he had no-hit stuff tonight.”
Instead, with Yamamoto likely to start on five days' rest for the first time this season next week — he had been on a six-days-rest schedule — Roberts ended Yamamoto’s night there, pulling him after 91 pitches.
His replacement, Kirby Yates, gave up a leadoff homer in the seventh to Olson, cutting the Dodgers’ lead in half.
But, even after a 1-hour, 13-minute rain delay at the end of the eighth, the Dodgers held on, with Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips slamming the door to preserve Yamamoto’s fourth victory and improve the team’s record to 5-2 in games he has pitched.
“Just executing all of his pitches. Just making it really hard on the hitters,” Smith said of Yamamoto’s dominance. “Right now, he’s pitching like the best pitcher in the world. We’re just fortunate to have him.”
Watch Max Fried pitch when you haven’t focused on him much before. He comes out throwing a fastball at 89-90 mph, and you’re thinking, uh-oh.
You knew he was a crafty lefty, but you didn’t think he was a touch-and-feel guy, a soft tosser. You wonder if he is injured.
You keep watching and it begins to make sense. Fried stays at 90 for a bit, then pushes it to 92. But this is not a pitcher loosening up in typical fashion. He might touch 94 and then retreat to 91. With two strikes, he hits 97. Then perhaps back to 93.
You get the idea. This is not exactly normal, right?
“No, he definitely does it more [than anyone],” said Fried’s catcher, Austin Wells. Smiling, he adds, “It’s scary because I don’t know when he’s going to do it.”
What does Wells think is happening? Is Fried changing speeds on purpose?
“Yeah,” Wells said. “[After it happens on a pitch] I’m always like, that makes sense.”
Fried, after pitching seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 Yankees win over the Rays on Friday -- improving his record to 6-0 and his ERA to 1.01 (!) -- took a moment near his locker to try to explain this skill.
“Sometimes it’s conscious and sometimes it’s not,” Fried told SNY. “Sometimes you try to let it go and it’s one speed, and sometimes you time it up good.”
How does one actually change speeds on a four-seam fastball? Is it a matter of grip? A subtle reduction in arm action? Does Fried even know?
He squinted while thinking, then said, “It’s just something that I’ve always done. It’s not something that I can even really explain. My whole life I’ve always been a big fluctuator of velocity in pitches. I'm just leaning into what’s natural for me.”
The most variation within one at-bat on Friday came in the fourth inning against Jonathan Aranda. Fried started at 89, then went 93, 94, 95, and 92. By the time Aranda looked at a 79 mph curveball for a called strike three, he appeared thoroughly confused. Earlier, in a second inning at-bat, Fried showed Kameron Meisner 92 and 96, two pitches apart.
This is not a game plan. This is a person in full control of a spontaneous moment.
“It’s not something that I’m sitting here saying that I’m going to throw 20 percent of my balls under this number of miles per hour,” Fried said. “It’s just a feel of the game. It’s a little of everything.”
Freid paused. He was really trying to explain it. Words failed.
“I wish I could give you a more definitive answer,” he said. “It’s just literally like, it’s just the flow.”
It’s just the flow. That actually did sound like the answer. Changing speeds is not a verbal thing. It’s not an intellectual thing. It’s a flow thing. Fried seemed to like that. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Flow. Absolutely.”
Before the season, the battle for the Yankees' third base job included notable names like DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, but prospect Jorbit Vivas was also in consideration.
And although he didn't break camp with the team, he finally got to make his MLB debut a little over a month into the 2025 season. Despite it coming due to Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s injury, manager Aaron Boone was confident the 24-year-old could handle big league pitching, and started him Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The left-hander didn't get a hit, but reached base twice on walks and scored on Paul Goldschmidt's three-run bomb in the Yankees' eventual win.
"[Tonight was] definitely something that I was expecting for a long time," Vivas said through an interpreter after the game. "And finally got the opportunity. Very excited about that and happy for my family too, I'm sure that they're watching back home. Good day."
The Venezuelan native was impressive in Triple-A this season, slashing .319/.426/.436 with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs, 15 RBI, and an .862 OPS in 26 games. He was impressive last spring after he came over from the Dodgers along with LHP Victor Gonzalez in the Trey Sweeney deal in December. 2023, but with a logjam in the infield, Vivas would have to wait for his moment, and it came.
Despite being up with the team a few times, he never actually got into a game until Friday. The 5-foot-9 infielder said there were some nerves, especially with 45 thousand-plus fans in attendance, but he got through it, especially when the first pitch thrown from Max Fried wound up being a grounder right to him.
"Wow. You know immediately, right? First hit in the game, right at me. I did it, I did it correctly. And then immediately after that, I was like, 'okay. Let me slow down a little bit here.'"
Vivas finished that routine grounder and made every defensive play available to him on Friday, but he was also impressive at the plate. He didn't get a hit, but walked twice and the Yankees skipper was impressed by all three at-bats from the youngster.
"The last couple [of at-bats], two walks were excellent," Boone said. "I thought the first at-bat where he punched out, I thought he put together a really good at-bat. Got beat with a good heater in the end, but I thought quality at-bats down there all night."
His first at-bat saw him foul tip a ball into the catcher's glove on a 97 mph fastball from Ryan Pepiot. He then walked on four pitches, all out of the zone, in his second at-bat, but it was his final at-bat that was really impressive. Vivas got behind 0-2, but then showed his understanding of the strikezone, taking four straight pitches for balls and taking his walk.
"The plan was just to look for a good pitch, and make good contact," Vivas said of his approach. "If I didn't get a good pitch to hit, I was just gonna let it go by. I'm used to that. That's what I wanted to do, I didn't get one there to hit."
Perhaps Vivas will pick up his first major league hit sooner rather than later. Boone said before the game that he expects Vivas to "play a lot" while Chisholm is down with injury.
Max Fried dominated the Rays again, and Paul Goldschmidt provided the offense in the Yankees' 3-0 win over Tampa Bay on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.
Here are the takeaways...
-Fried, the newly minted AL Pitcher of the Month, started May the way he ended April: dominant. He went 4.1 innings before he gave up his first hit -- helped by some stellar defense behind him -- but it was just the beginning of what the Yankees and their fans have come to expect from the left-hander.
Fried completed seven scoreless frames (92 pitches/61 strikes), allowing just one hit, two walks and one HBP while striking out six. His ERA is now 1.01.
The last time Fried pitched against the Rays, he reached the eighth inning without allowing a hit -- until that was retroactively changed mid-game. In his two seasons outings against Tampa, he's allowed only three hits over 14.2 scoreless innings.
- Goldschmidt dealt the big blow in this one. With the game scoreless in the fifth and runners on second and third and two outs, the former NL MVP launched a 1-0 pitch fastball at the top of the zone 350 feet the other way over the right field wall. It would've been a homer in only three parks -- Citizens Bank Park and George M. Steinbrenner Field are the others.
After taking a month to hit his second homer, it's Goldschmidt's second homer in as many games. He finished 2-for-4.
-Aaron Judge smoked a triple to straightaway center that the Rays' center fielder couldn't grab and let trickle away from him. The ball was hit 108.5 mph off the bat. It was Judge's seventh career triple and second this season. It's the most he's had in one season since hitting three in his 2017 rookie campaign.
The Yankees' captain would add a double and also finish 2-for-4 at the plate. He's now batting a league-best .430 as May gets started.
-Jorbit Vivas made his MLB debut, playing second base and batting ninth. He saw the first pitch of the game hit at him, a routine grounder. He made every play in the field that he needed to.
At the plate, Vivas struck out swinging in his first at-bat before taking a four-pitch walk in his second. His third at-bat saw him come up with a man on third and two outs. After falling behind 0-2, he worked a walk on six pitches. He finished 0-for-1 but walked twice and scored a run.
-Devin Williams pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout in relief, making it three straight scoreless outings for the new Yankee.
Luke Weaver continued his incredible start to the season, striking out two batters in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his third save of the year. Weaver has yet to give up a run this season.
Game MVP: Max Fried
Fried was just dominant, and the Yankees are now 7-0 in his starts.
While the Mets haven't conveyed that Paul Blackburn will join the starting rotation once he fully recovers from knee inflammation, the veteran right-hander is still being stretched out as an option. And the latest results from his minor-league rehab assignement are encouraging.
Blackburn made his second start for High-A Brooklyn on Friday night, striking out six while allowing two runs on four hits across three innings. He threw 41 total pitches, 31 of them for strikes.
The duration between Blackburn's outings with Brooklyn nearly reached two weeks, as his scheduled start last Wednesday was scrapped due to a stomach bug that resulted in some weight loss.
The 31-year-old logged his first two rehab frames on April 19, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza recently said that Blackburn's big-league role is to be determined, but they want his pitch count in the 65-70 range before activating him from the injured list.
Considering that he only threw 41 pitches on Friday, he most likely needs a few more rehab games to build up his workload.
The Mets also received some welcome news from their top farm team on Friday, as left-hander Felipe De La Cruz impressed with nine strikeouts across six scoreless innings in his debut with Triple-A Syracuse. The 23-year-old threw 70 pitches -- 53 for strikes -- and induced 12 whiffs with a sharp mid-80s slider and upper-90s sinker.
It didn't take long for De La Cruz to receive the promotion. He began the 2025 season with Double-A Binghampton, registering a crisp 1.98 ERA with 20 strikeouts across 13.2 innings (four games, two starts).
Whether or not he's being fast-tracked to the majors, De La Cruz is now a fun story to follow and on the Mets' radar. He wasn't even listed as a top-30 prospect by SNY contributor Joe DeMayo or MLB Pipeline this spring.
On a three-game skid after a home loss to the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies on Thursday, the Giants needed an answer on Friday night.
They found it.
Insert veteran left-hander Robbie Ray, who tossed seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts in San Francisco’s much-needed 4-0 win over Colorado at Oracle Park.
For Ray, who remains undefeated in 2025, it marked the first time he completed seven innings in back-to-back outings since June 12 and June 17, 2022.
Naturally, any pitcher, especially one that has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts, would feel confident after seeing constant improvements in his game. That’s certainly the case for the 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner, who has found his groove on the mound.
“I think it’s just comfortability with my mechanics,” Ray told reporters after the win. “My delivery, these last two games, has felt really well.
“I feel like the ball is coming out well. I’m kind of hitting all of my cues in my delivery when I need to, and it just makes my stuff better. Earlier in the year, I was kind of fighting it a little bit. A couple of bad-weather games. That was a little tough, but, right now, I feel really good.”
Along with limiting walks, Ray improved to 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA on the season. Manager Bob Melvin, for one, is satisfied with the 33-year-old’s recent production.
“It’s something everyone knows now,” Melvin told reporters. “Even in the games that he hasn’t gone deep in the game, we end up supporting him afterwards too [by] getting good outings out of the bullpen.
“He’s getting close to almost a 2.00 ERA. [He’s] just over 3.00 right now. We feel good when he takes the mound.”
Offensively, the Giants piled on three runs in the second inning, with LaMonte Wade Jr., who entered the game with a .123 batting average, earning an RBI double.
On Friday night at Truist Park, Muncy took the field for the Dodgers’ series opener against the Atlanta Braves wearing clear prescription eyeglasses. He subtly did the same during the Dodgers’ last game of the most recent homestand on Wednesday afternoon, using sunglasses with prescription lenses when he hit his first home run of the season.
It’s not that Muncy has bad eyesight. His vision, he said, is actually an excellent 20/12.
However, Muncy did learn he has astigmatism in his right eye, making him slightly left-eye dominant. Given that he’s a left-handed hitter — positioning him with his right eye forward in the batter’s box — he thus decided the glasses were worth a try.
“If there’s anything that can help out a little bit,” Muncy said, “I’ll try it.”
Based on his results from Wednesday, the benefits might have already been felt.
After enduring a career-long 28-game home run drought to start the season, Muncy went deep in his first at-bat Wednesday, launching a low-and-away sinker to straightaway center field.
He struck out in his next trip to the plate, then flied to left in the fifth inning. After that, however, he tripled and drew a walk, giving him his most productive performance of what had been a slow start to the season.
Granted, Muncy’s performance had started to tick up before he started using his new glasses.
Thanks to some recent swing adjustments, he entered Wednesday with three hits in his previous two games (he’d recorded just four in the 11 before that) and as many walks as strikeouts in his prior 13 contests overall (10 each).
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy wore sunglasses with prescription lenses during Wednesday's game against the Marlins, and hit his first home run of the season. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“The swing feels like it’s getting closer and closer,” said Muncy, who entered Friday with a .194 batting average on the season. “I still have to clean some things up. Have to be better in certain situations. It’s a work in progress. But … it’s just getting the ball to go forward.”
Still, in recent days, Muncy decided it was time to break out the glasses, too.
The 34-year-old third baseman had been testing his glasses in pregame batting practice and infield drills since the start of last week’s homestand. He’d initially been hesitant to take them into game action, noting a “fish-bowl” effect he felt while wearing them, but said he has since adjusted by using them even when he’s away from the field.
Muncy isn’t the first Dodger player to begin utilizing glasses midseason.
Last year, Kiké Hernández did the same thing after discovering astigmatism (a condition caused by imperfections in the curvature of the eye that can impact vision) in his own right eye.
Like Muncy, Hernández described an adjustment period when his glasses arrived midseason.
“It took me like a week or two to really feel like my depth perception felt normal,” Hernández recalled.
Unlike Muncy, Hernández began wearing them in games as soon as they arrived.
“You can’t be afraid to fail,” he quipped.
Fail, Hernández did not. Before last year’s All-Star break, Hernández was batting .191 with just five home runs in 71 games, wearing glasses for only the final series of the opening half. After the break, once his eyesight adjusted to his new lenses, Hernández finished the year batting .274 with seven home runs in his final 55 games. He then proceeded to have a monster postseason (.294 average, two home runs, six RBIs) during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.
This year, the glasses have remained a fixture. And even though he batted just .188 in March and April, he did tally five home runs and 13 RBIs.
The biggest benefit Hernández noticed from his glasses: An ability to see the actual spin on the baseball, and more easily identify each pitch type.
“Before the glasses, I was trying to see the shape of each pitch,” Hernández said, which forced him to wait a split-second to see if the ball would dive or slide away from its starting location.
“Once I got the glasses,” he added, “I could actually see the spin.”
When a fan flipped over the railing and fell off the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park on Wednesday night, it elicited memories of spectators who have died from similar falls at other major league stadiums.
Kavan Markwood was in critical condition as of Thursday after falling onto the warning track in right field just as Pirates star Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Markwood was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart. He was taken to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital.
Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X Thursday that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.”
Fans died after steep falls at ballparks in Arlington, Texas, in 2011 and Atlanta in 2015.
Here’s a look at some safety measures instituted by MLB and its teams:
Ballpark railings
Railing heights at ballparks are team decisions based on local laws and codes. The railing that runs along the Clemente Wall is three feet (36 inches) in height, which exceeds the building code requirements of 26 inches, according to Pirates vice president of communications Brian Warecki.
Those rail heights have come under scrutiny at other ballparks after fans died. The Rangers raised the height of the front row rails at their former ballpark by as much as 12 inches to 42 inches in July 2011 after a fan named Shannon Stone fell about 20 feet.
The Atlanta Braves settled a lawsuit in 2018 with the family of Gregory Murrey, who died after falling from Turner Field’s upper deck three years earlier. Murrey fell over a rail that was 30 inches high — industry code standards mandated 26 inches or taller.
Foul ball netting
Until 2015, many ballparks had netting separating fans and the field only directly behind home plate. Following several incidents that season in which fans were hospitalized after being hit by foul balls, MLB encouraged teams to extend netting or screens to run dugout-to-dugout behind home plate in December 2015. Three years later, all 30 ballparks had netting reaching to the far ends of each dugout.
In 2019, a 2-year-old girl fractured her skull when struck by a foul ball at the Houston Astros’ stadium. The club later reached a settlement with the girl’s family. The following offseason, MLB announced seven major league teams would expand protective netting to the foul poles and 15 others would expand their netting generally to the area in the outfield where the stands begin to angle away from the field. The remaining eight clubs already had installed netting that extended substantially beyond the far end of the dugouts.
Alcohol sales
MLB does not mandate alcohol sales cutoffs, but most clubs have stopped selling alcohol around the end of the seventh inning for years. After new rules aimed at increasing the pace of play led to shorter game times in 2023, several clubs extended alcohol sales until the end of the eighth inning. Many of those teams have reverted back to the seventh-inning cutoff.
