Category: Baseball

Travis d’Arnaud knows Jacob deGrom better than any other catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 times when they played together with the New York Mets, the most frequent backstop the former Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his career.

That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels well en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday night, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.

The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball hard enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.

D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up — and provided the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.

“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” said d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the score during a two-out rally in the sixth against relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center field to score Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.

“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud said, when asked about not being able to come through as a team with three, one-run losses against the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”

A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, wearing the '70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from injury creating a log jam in the outfield.

“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” said Montgomery, who watched the remainder of the game from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”

Read more:The Angels have used only five starting pitchers this season. Why that's significant

DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he often tests foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and five hits across five innings, striking out five and walking two.

Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his career), didn’t live up to the pitcher’s duel billing either. The Japanese southpaw labored through an almost-20 minute first inning — in which he gave up a two-run home run to Corey Seager — and never settled down during his five innings.

“I didn't have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi said in Japanese through an interpreter.

Before d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was bound to be the losing pitcher, giving up four runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the same strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out just four, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the first time he’d done so since late May against the Yankees.

But none of that mattered when Schanuel came to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was intentionally walked, washing away an 0-for-4 night with his walk-off walk.

“I didn't need a hit,” Schanuel said. “I put my pride aside.”

Reliever R&R

The Angels placed veteran right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder inflammation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run average for the Angels, said he felt his arm get stiff before pitching against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

During his outing, in which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old said the stiff sensation in his arm got worse, causing the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was called up from triple-A Salt Lake City in his place.

Read more:Angels' Ron Washington will remain on medical leave for rest of season

“We're just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland said, adding that he will get an MRI on Tuesday.

Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in right bicep) said he began throwing again on Monday — soft toss — after soft-tissue recovery helped “fully heal” the nerve.

“I don't think it's gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” said Stephenson, who is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.

Stephenson has thrown just one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second appearance back from Tommy John surgery on May 30.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one pitch away from a clean first inning Monday night.

Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare.

In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field — an inning which poor defense, questionable pitch calling and bad batted ball luck all also contributed to his 41-pitch collapse.

By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip.

Read more:How Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'elevated his game to another level' in his second year

“This is a time,” Roberts said afterward, as the Dodgers matched their longest losing streak of the season, “for us to kind of look at ourselves and be better.”

They certainly won’t want to look back on what transpired in the first inning Monday night.

Sal Frelick hammered a hanging curveball for a leadoff double. William Contreras drew a walk when Yamamoto couldn’t locate his splitter near the zone. And the two outs that followed — a fly ball from Jackson Chourio and grounder from Christian Yelich — proved to be only a temporary reprieve.

The pivotal moment came during the next at-bat when newly acquired Brewers slugger Andrew Vaughn came to the plate in his first game with the team. He got three straight sliders from Yamamoto to start, fanning on the first before laying off two that missed the zone next. Then, after a called strike on a fastball at the knees evened the count 2-and-2, catcher Will Smith dialed up another curveball from Yamamoto.

“I think we went to the well one too many times with the slider,” Roberts said, later adding: “He hits in-zone spin really well, medium-speed. And he sees four of them in an at-bat.”

Yamamoto’s execution of the pitch didn’t help.

What was supposed to be down and on the outside corner instead fluttered up and above the zone. What could have been a whiff to end the inning instead ended with Vaughn connecting on a mighty upper-cut swing. And what had been a scoreless early ballgame suddenly became a 3-0 Brewers lead, with Vaughn going deep to left to christen his Brewers debut with a home run.

“I think the [first] three sliders I threw were located pretty good,” Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But that last one, I elevated it. It got away from me.”

Somehow, the inning would only get worse from there.

Read more:'Really impressed.' Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way role going (mostly) well a month in

Despite entering the night coming off a first-career All-Star selection, and leading the majors in road ERA at 1.57, Yamamoto failed to settle down.

In a 1-and-2 count against Isaac Collins, he left a fastball down the middle that was hammered for a single. After falling behind 3-and-0 to Brice Turang, Yamamoto worked the count full only to miss badly with a fastball and issue an inning-extending walk. Suddenly, his pitch count was climbing out of control. And with the Dodgers stuck on two outs in the inning, Roberts began to get the bullpen to stir.

“My tempo wasn’t really good, I couldn’t get my rhythm,” said Yamamoto, whose overall ERA on the season rose to 2.77. “That was on me.”

Yamamoto appeared to finally find an escape route against Caleb Durbin, inducing a grounder with a splitter that was hit straight to shortstop Mookie Betts. But, in a rare defensive lapse at his new position, Betts spiked a throw to first that Freddie Freeman couldn’t corral. Collins came racing around from second to score. The inning stayed alive when it once again should’ve ended.

Read more:Clayton Kershaw grateful for ‘weird but cool’ All-Star selection as ‘Legend Pick’

“I can't make an error right there,” said Betts, who has had a couple misplays in recent weeks after making just one error in a 61-game stretch from mid-April to late June. “Regardless of the situation, I need to make that play."

Yamamoto’s leash finally ran out on pitch 41, when Andruw Monasterio lobbed a bloop RBI single down the right-field line in the next at-bat. As another run scored, Roberts came walking out of the dugout to give the team’s season-long ace an unimaginably early hook.

“He’s usually pretty good about finding his way out of it, or minimizing some damage to kind of reset and get back out there and give us a little bit more length,” Roberts said of Yamamoto. “But today it just didn’t happen.”

The two teams played the final eight innings. But the result already seemed well in hand.

The Dodgers’ lineup was shorthanded, missing Teoscar Hernández with a bruised foot and Tommy Edman with a pinky toe fracture (both are expected back in the lineup by Wednesday). Before the game, Kiké Hernández was also put on the injured list with an elbow injury that had been bothering him since he made an awkward slide in Cleveland in late May, and flared up to the point of requiring a cortisone shot this past weekend. Not to be forgotten, Max Muncy also remains sidelined by his bum knee.

In their places the Dodgers started James Outman in center field (who was called up from triple A pregame), Miguel Rojas at third base and Hyeseong Kim at second against Brewers All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta.

The outcome was predictable: Six innings of shutout ball in which the Dodgers managed only five hits, one walk and struck out seven times.

“We got to pitch better, we got to defend better, we got to take more competitive at-bats,” Roberts said. “And we’re just not doing any of those things right now.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Craziness, good and bad all rolled into Phillies loss to Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN FRANCISCO – On a typically chilly summer night in the Bay Area, it was hoped that there wouldn’t be much action going on in the Phillies bullpen. Not that the work wouldn’t have kept the relievers warm, with Taijuan Walker once again thrusting into the starter’s role for Tuesday’s game in which he will see limited innings.

With snubbed All-Star Cristopher Sánchez on the mound, that didn’t appear to be an imminent problem against the San Francisco Giants on Monday. But when Sánchez was already at 59 thrown pitches through three innings, and had to continuously work out of precarious situations, many had to wonder what the immediate future may hold for the pitching staff.

In a game filled with defensive miscues, a ball careening off an infield cutout for a double, a run-saving ground-rule double, a run scoring on a wild pitch and a bunch of umpire missed calls, Sánchez pushed all that aside and settled in for a gutty, grinding and outstanding performance through seven innings. Erratic pitching from Orion Kerkering and very questionable calls from the home plate umpire led to a 3-1 loss for the Phillies in the opener of a six-game road trip.

“In the second inning, where they loaded the bases, he did a great job getting out of that with just one run,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Just getting behind guys early. I thought he was really good and battled through a couple of rough jams and I didn’t think there were that many balls hit hard off him. He got a lot of swings and misses, a lot of soft contact, ground balls. I thought he did a great job getting through seven.”

Sánchez allowed just one run in the second, though he gave up consecutive singles and a walk to begin the inning. A strikeout, a run-scoring fielders’ choice and a groundout ended what could have been worse.

Then in the third, a fly ball to short right with one out somehow landed between an incoming Nick Castellanos and an outgoing Bryson Stott. An out later, Matt Chapman hit a rocket to center that turned Brandon Marsh around twice before bouncing over the shortest part of the outfield wall for a ground-rule double. With runners on second and third, Sánchez struck out Wilmer Flores to end that threat. 

From there he settled into the form that should have been All-Star rewarded, retiring 12 of the next 15 batters he faced, racking up 105 pitches and saving strain on a bullpen that will almost certainly have just that on Tuesday.

But the Phillies offense couldn’t reward him with much support, as the lone run they scraped across came when Bryson Stott led off the inning with a double, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a wild pitch by starter Landen Roupp. 

“I think it went well,” said Sánchez. “I was sticking to the plan that we had to attack hitters early on. It was teamwork with J.T. (Realmuto) tonight, too. That motivates me a lot (not being named to All-Star team). We might not be going through our best stretch hitting right now so that motivates me a lot too, to have my team’s back and hold on and throw as many scoreless innings as I can to get games close and give our team a chance to win.” 

Adding to the strangeness of the night were two horribly called strikes on Bryce Harper by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. The first came with a man on in the fifth on a ball clearly above the strike zone. The second on an 0-1 pitch in the eighth with a runner on and no outs. That totally changed Harper’s approach and led to a ground out to the pitcher.

Then Kerkering, after hitting leadoff batter Willy Adames, appeared to strikeout Matt Chapman not once but twice on pitches clearly in the zone, but Cuzzi saw otherwise, setting up the winning half inning where the Giants scored twice with just one ball leaving the infield, courtesy of a pair of fielders’ choices. 

“I feel like anytime I complain it’s pretty obvious,” said Harper of the missed calls. “He knows he missed them. Sometimes that happens. Umpire took over the game. I couldn’t say much more, I didn’t want to. I barely said anything to him when I walked off the first time on the strike three that was up. I respect Phil, I like Phil a lot. But obviously that doesn’t help us in that situation. He’s got to do better.”

As for his night, in which he had a hit and a walk in four plate appearances, Harper is feeling better after striking out five of his last six at-bats. “I felt confident today, felt really good where I was,” he said. “That’s going to be in for some good counts and be in some good situations.” 

His manager agreed. “I think he got a couple of swings off that I really liked,” said Thomson. “It looked normal. He was balanced and a lot of bat speed. Nice to see him get a base hit his first at-bat, walks, hopefully we’re making strides here.”

During all the craziness of the game, there were some positives to be taken. Kerkering’s work in the eighth, however, was not one of them.

“I haven’t seen the pitches yet, I haven’t looked at the tape, but he (Kerkering) was having trouble gripping the ball, for whatever reason, the ball was a little bit slick,” said Thomson. “It was more on his slider than his fastball. 

More than any other sport, you have to live to play another day in baseball. Sánchez’ effort allowed the Phillies to do just that.

Walker with a rested bullpen is the best case scenario Thomson could have asked for. Well, that and a win on Monday. But, sometimes, you just have to take what you can get. No matter the strange form in which it comes.

“Every time I’m on the mound I’m just thinking about going as late as I can in the game so we don’t have to go to the bullpen as often,” Sánchez said. It was certainly needed last night.

Clayton Kershaw has been an All-Star 10 times before.

But no selection surprised him quite like this year’s.

Included on the National League All-Star team as a “Legend Pick” by Commissioner Rob Manfred in recognition of his career accomplishments, Kershaw did not get any advance warning from Manfred or anyone in the league office that he would be in the "Midsummer Classic."

When manager Dave Roberts gathered his Dodgers team to announce the club’s All-Star selections on Sunday, Kershaw forgot that the “Legend Pick” — which has been used in the past for players such as Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera — was even a thing.

Read more:'Really impressed.' Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way role going (mostly) well a month in

Thus, when Roberts announced Kershaw’s name, the 37-year-old was caught more than a little off-guard — having made just nine starts this season since returning from offseason toe and knee surgeries.

“Obviously, I don’t deserve to get to go this season, haven’t pitched very much,” he deadpanned. “I don’t know if Doc was going for the surprise factor or not. But I had no idea until he said it.”

But by Monday, the meaningfulness of what he described as a “tremendous honor” had also set in, with Kershaw expressing gratitude for what will be his 11th career selection, tied for the most among active players with Mike Trout.

“You never take for granted getting to go to an All-Star Game, regardless of the circumstances,” Kershaw said. “At the end of the day, it’s weird but cool, so I’m just going to enjoy it.”

While Kershaw’s limited workload would normally not warrant an All-Star selection, his stats haven’t been too far off that pace this year: A 4-0 record, 3.43 ERA and 1.254 WHIP in what is the 18th season of his future Hall of Fame career.

“I think there’s some good and some bad,” Kershaw said of his season so far. “I wouldn’t say happy, but I wouldn’t say disappointed either. I would say kind of right in the middle.”

The highlight of the campaign, of course, came in Kershaw’s last start, when he became the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 career strikeouts.

But at this stage of his career, Kershaw’s real satisfaction has been with his health — finally past the various back, elbow, shoulder, knee and toe injuries that had plagued him over the last several seasons.

“I think the biggest thing is just the mental toll [that takes on you],” Kershaw said. “Anyone that has been dealing with stuff, I think it’s always in the back of your head. You wake up and you test it and you move around and you test it to see if it hurts, see how bad it hurts. [Now], instead of wondering if you can pitch, it’s just a matter of how you’re going to pitch. I don’t think I took into appreciation the mental toll that takes over time. So to just worry about pitching is nice, for sure.”

It has also allowed Kershaw “to get the reps and go back out and be able to feel OK in between starts to work on some stuff,” he said. “Figure out some different things mechanically and pitch-wise and stuff.”

Long-term, Kershaw still hasn’t decided if this will be his final season.

“I don’t know what is going to happen in the future,” he said. “I really have no idea when it comes to the years beyond this one. So I’m just trying to enjoy it, be part of a really good team this year.”

When it comes to next week’s All-Star Game, he isn’t even sure if he’ll pitch in the showcase exhibition, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Read more:Shaikin: LAX won't say who designed its iconic murals, but the Dodgers will. Why?

“I’d love to pitch but I don’t want to take an inning away from somebody who’s never done it before or this is their first year or whatever,” he said. “I’ll enjoy just to hang or pitch or whatever.”

On Monday, Kershaw’s focus was instead on his final start of the first half: A scheduled Tuesday outing against the Milwaukee Brewers and their 23-year-old rookie starlet, Jacob Misiorowski.

Kershaw, 14 years Misiorowski’s senior, laughed when asked what it’s like to be the elder statesman in such high-profile matchups now.

“I saw a couple highlights [of him], know he throws hard,” Kershaw said. “But so does everybody. Except me.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets' reinforcements are coming. After battling without a handful of their regulars for a significant stretch this season, the Mets are hopeful that they’ll be able to get some big pieces back in action this week.

Jesse Winker is first on the list. The lefty slugger has been sidelined since May 4 with an oblique injury, but he played back-to-back games down in Syracuse this past weekend and could rejoin the team for the three-game set in Baltimore.

Winker will be evaluated before anything is confirmed, but he is coming off a strong showing in his potential final rehab appearance. He reached base three times and launched a two-run homer Sunday in Triple-A.

Getting him back in the mix would be a huge boost for this offense, especially as Starling Marte deals with a knee issue that flared up late in Sunday’s Subway Series finale.

Later in the week, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea could return. Senga was a bit rusty during his rehab appearance Saturday in Double-A, but he said that he felt fine afterwards and, as long as everything comes back well the rest of the week, could rejoin the rotation in Kanas City.

The same goes for Manaea, who is still looking to make his season debut. The lefty has been dealing with elbow and oblique issues since spring training, but he is expected to make one final rehab appearance Tuesday in Syracuse, before potentially rejoining the team for the first-half finale.

He has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) while striking out 18 over 15 rehab innings.

"Getting them back is huge," Carlos Mendoza said. "It’s exciting."

"It’s almost like a trade deadline acquisition," Francisco Lindor added. “Those are some really good guys we definitely need and miss. That being said, the guys here have done a fantastic job stepping in while they were out.

"The way they’ve maneuvered through lineups, the way they have stuck together, it’s been really good to see. It’s adversity -- whenever somebody goes down, someone else has to step up and get the job done, and that’s what the guys have done."

Pitching prospects continue to quickly rise through the Mets' system. Two of the team's draft picks from last year received the call to Double-A on Monday.

Left-hander Jonathan Santucci, a second-round pick, is one of them. Santucci had a bit of a rough start to his first full year with the organization, but he has pitched to a 1.35 ERA over his past nine appearances in Brooklyn. 

The 22-year-old allowed runs in just four of those outings and has 57 strikeouts. This stretch has helped him lower his ERA to 3.46 on the year. 

SNY's Joe DeMayo had this to say about Santucci as he ranked him 15th on his updated Top 30:

“Santucci comes equipped with a fastball that will get up to 96 mph, a plus slider, and a changeup that he has a feel for and flashes plus but needs to find consistency. He’ll need some work on his command, but is athletic and has a starter’s build with an easily repeatable delivery.”

Thirteenth-round pick RJ Gordon out of the University of Oregon also received a promotion. Gordon is a 23-year-old right-hander who has pitched just as well as Santucci -- putting together a 3.06 ERA and 1.34 WHIP while striking out 76 batters and walking just 31 across 67.2 innings of work.

The pair joins a Binghamton staff headlined by top-100 prospect Jonah Tong. Tong's season continued this weekend, striking out 11 batters in 5.2 innings of two-run ball.

Phillies notes: Turner snubbed, Sánchez overlooked, Walker returns to rotation originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN FRANCISCO – If there was some disappointment in Trea Turner not being announced as a reserve for the National League in next week’s All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, it wasn’t really easy to find in the Phillies clubhouse before their series-opening meeting with the San Francisco Giants.

Despite leading the National League with 109 hits, and 31 multi-hit games going into Monday, Turner’s name wasn’t announced and, for now, he won’t be making his fourth appearance in the Summer Classic.

“I really wasn’t that surprised,” said Turner. “I think my teammates were more surprised than I was. It’s a hard position to get in, especially with the younger guys playing so well.” And when you are 32 and have played 11 seasons in the league, a snub like this maybe doesn’t hit home as hard as it would in year’s past.”

For Turner, that seems to be the case.

“My family does (want him playing in All-Star Game),” he said. “A lot of awards for me now, I’ve realized, are for the people around me. They probably want me to get those more than I. I just want to play baseball, do my job, do it well, win a championship. Four days at home would be nice. It’s a long season and we don’t get many days off so, for sure, I’m looking forward to going home, spending time with the family, maybe playing a little golf and just hang out and relax and kind of reset for the second half.”

Turner is pleasantly satisfied with what he’s done for the season thus far, following a game-plan that was laid out back in the spring. Though he still wants more. “Defense, for sure, just because where I’ve been at I feel like the defense has been pretty good,” he said. “Even when I make a mistake I feel like I put it behind me real quick and the next few games go right back to playing good. I like that it hasn’t kind of snowballed from that aspect.

“Hitting has been pretty good. I’d like to get going a little bit more but I think I’m doing a lot of things well that I hadn’t done the last couple seasons. I’m hitting the ball the other way better, not striking out very much so I think those two things are great. Consistency is there. I would like more power. Just extra base hits and getting hot in the sense that I feel like that I’ve been pretty steady for a while now and I haven’t gone on that crazy stretch where you kind of go unconscious. But I also think that’s kind of a good thing to be super steady, especially in the leadoff spot where I’m trying to get on base and score some runs.”

For the younger guys on the team, Turner appeared to be much more questionable about their snubs than his own.

“I’m shocked by Sánchy (Christopher Sánchez), honestly,” Turner said. “I couldn’t believe Sánchy didn’t get in and then I thought Ranger (Suárez) had a real shot as well. I think the voting happened a few weeks ago and so much changes in those two, three weeks leading up.

“I don’t remember Sánchy’s numbers when we were voting or when the fans were voting but I can’t believe he’s not there. Hopefully he’ll get added for somebody because he deserves it. He’s having a great season. I think he’s probably a top five pitcher in the NL. For him for sure.”

Sánchez entered his start on Monday with a 7-2 record and a 2.68 ERA, while Suárez posted numbers of 7-2 with a 1.99 ERA.

Speaking of Suárez, who was on an 85-pitch limit on Saturday due to soreness in his shoulder and back, manager Rob Thomson said: “Ranger is fine. Just kind of normal stuff. His workload in June was so high. For me, personally, it just sends up a red flag.”

Taijuan Walker’s return to Phillies rotation

On Tuesday, starter, reliever, starter, reliever and now starter Taijuan Walker will take the mound for his ninth start of the season. That all came about on Friday when the team announced that Mick Abel was being sent down to the minors, opening a spot in the rotation.

“It’s a lot, just going back and forth,” said Walker. “My whole career I’ve been a starter, love starting, want to start. But we have a good problem here where we have a lot of good starters, kids coming up that are going to be really good. So it’s one of those things, odd man out, or in. My job has been to go pitch and I’ve always been a team first guy and whatever that looks like. You want to start but just try to help the team any way I can, whether that’s relieving or starting. I go out there and just try to do the job the best that I can.”

As for how long he’ll be able to go out there against the Giants on what promises to be another chilly San Francisco night, Walker knows what’s expected of him and plans to meet the requirements.

“I always prided myself on giving what the team asks,” he said. “If they need an inning I’ll give them an inning. If they need four innings, I’ll give them four innings. But also being smart about it. I haven’t thrown more than 50 pitches in probably over a month. So I have to be smart with the pitch count tomorrow and hopefully keep it low through the innings and try to get through four innings.” Asked if there is a pitch count, Walker said, “probably 60ish.”

What we learned as Giants' opportunistic offense capitalizes in win vs. Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — With the exception of right field, where Luis Matos started in place of Mike Yastrzemski because a lefty was on the mound, the Giants had their ‘A’ lineup on the field Monday night. Casey Schmitt returned from the IL and went right into the lineup at second base, and if all goes according to plan, that might be the look for the rest of the 2025 MLB season. 

The first night with the alignment was not exactly an offensive explosion, but in the eighth inning, the group broke out. Well, kind of. 

Willy Adames got grazed by a pitch to lead off the inning and Matt Chapman took advantage of a generous Phil Cuzzi strike zone, staying alive long enough to poke a single into right. After Wilmer Flores was hit by a pitch, Schmitt hit a fielder’s choice grounder up the middle that brought the go-ahead run home.

A run is a run 😏 pic.twitter.com/NTXZyq2Gbj

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 8, 2025

Another grounder made it a two-run rally.

Just how they drew it up 😅 pic.twitter.com/SKEzkyhskL

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 8, 2025

It wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t matter. The Giants won 3-1, taking the first game of this series from a Philadelphia Phillies squad that’s in first in the NL East. 

In what has become a theme of the season, the Giants wasted an early opportunity to build a healthy lead. They loaded the bases with no outs in the second, but Jung Hoo Lee struck out and Matos and Patrick Bailey grounded out. The Matos ball looked like a potential inning-ending double play, but Phillies shortstop Trea Turner kicked it, allowing a run to score. 

That was it until the fifth, when the Phillies plated the tying run on a pair of Giants mistakes. They got the go-ahead runner to third two innings later, but left-hander Joey Lucchesi struck out Turner. After the early missed opportunity, the Giants went down quietly against Phillies lefty Christopher Sanchez, who has 20 strikeouts in two starts against them this season. 

After the Giants took the lead, the Phillies got the leadoff runner on in the top of the ninth. Camilo Doval got out of it, getting Bryson Stott to bounce into a game-ending double play. 

Still Rolling

Landen Roupp screamed into his glove as he came off the mound in the fifth, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why he was so upset. The lone run on his line came in an unfortunate way. 

Bryson Stott got a leadoff double after hitting a grounder that took a bizarre hop and bounced off the inside of Flores’ heel at first. After a grounder to the right side moved Stott over, Roupp spiked a changeup for a wild pitch. 

Roupp has allowed fewer than two runs in five of seven starts at Oracle Park this season. He lowered his ERA for the season to 3.39. 

The Hand Seems Fine

Last Thursday, Chapman hit off a pitching machine ramped up to high velocity, hopeful that his sprained hand would feel fine. That session led to a one-game rehab assignment and a return to the lineup, and on Monday, Chapman showed the form that put him in the All-Star mix before he got hurt in early June.

The third baseman had a 110 mph single in his first at-bat and a 107 mph double in the third, hitting the latter ball so hard up the middle that it knuckled away from Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh and landed on the warning track. His single in the eighth was 103 mph. 

Walk This Way

Ryan Walker was put on ice during the Diamondbacks series last week. He worked on his mechanics as the staff gave him a few days off to regroup after a rough weekend in Chicago. 

It’s clear that Walker has fallen behind others — including Spencer Bivens — in the bullpen mix, but he looked like his old self on Monday. He breezed through a 1-2-3 inning, getting a pair of soft grounders before he blew a 97 mph fastball past Max Kepler. Walker hit 97 mph three times in the inning and showed much better command of a sinker that has gotten away from him often in the first half. 

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Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Yankees and Mariners play a three-game series in the Bronx starting on Tuesday night...

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Preview

Front row seat to the HR race

Aaron Judge has taken the HR-crown the past few years, but he’s facing some tough competition this time around. 

Seattle backstop Cal Raleigh is in the midst of a historic season -- lifting a career-high 35 homers through just 88 games. 

Judge is not far behind him with his 33 on the year, but what Raleigh is doing is simply incredible. 

We aren’t even at the All-Star break yet, and the 28-year-old is just 13 homers away from tying Salvador Perez’s all-time record by a catcher for a full season. 

He’s four away from tying Barry Bonds’ record for the first-half. 

Raleigh has been on a cold streak -- homering just three times in his last 12 games, but you know he'll be up for this series going head-to-head against Judge.

How’s Jazz’s shoulder?

Jazz Chisholm was out of Sunday’s lineup due to a sore right shoulder.

The newly appointed AL All-Star told reporters it’s nothing to worry about, but he’s been dealing with the issue for about three weeks now. 

It’s proven to have no hinderance on him while swinging a bat, but has caused him some issues throwing and in the field.

While he didn’t want to make it an excuse, that could be a cause for Chisholm’s recent struggles defensively. 

The 27-year-old likely won’t miss anytime, but this is certainly something to keep an eye on until the Bombers add some help at the hot corner. 

Cam Schlittler’s debut?

With Clarke Schmidt expected to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, it appears the Yanks may be turning to another one of their young arms for the time being. 

Nothing has been made official yet, but Schlittler is expected to receive the call to make his big-league debut for the middle game later this week. 

The 24-year-old is coming off a rough outing down in Somerset, but he has otherwise thrown pretty well to this point this season. 

Schlittler has a 2.82 ERA while striking out 99 batters over 15 outings between Double-A and Triple-A. 

He can touch up to 97 mph on his fastball and has been developing a sweeper.

If he can find some success in his first career outing, perhaps he can stick in the big-leagues for now.

Seattle’s pitching has been lights out

The Mariners’ pitching is why this team can be so dangerous. 

They are coming off a historic showing in their weekend sweep of the Pirates. 

Seattle’s staff is the first in MLB history to allow no runs, strike out 36+ batters, and issue less than four walks over a three-game span. 

It wasn’t just the starters, the bullpen was dominant as well, led by All-Star closer Andres Munoz.

The up-and-down Yankees offense will certainly have their hands full in this one. 

Logan Gilbert, Logan Evans, and Bryan Woo are scheduled to take the ball for the M’s. 

Cody Bellinger stays red-hot  

Bellinger has been on a heater the past few weeks for the Yanks.

The outfielder drove in runs in each of the first two games in this weekend's Subway Series, and then he had two more knocks on Sunday.

The biggest impact came with his glove, though, as he made a tremendous shoestring catch to rob Juan Soto of a hit in the seventh and then unleashed a perfect throw to double up Francisco Lindor at first.

Bellinger now has hits in 17 of his last 20 games.

He's hitting a .303 with a triple, eight doubles, five homers, 15 RBI, and a .849 OPS since the beginning of June.

For the Yanks offense to get rolling again and breakthrough against this sizzling pitching staff, they'll need Bellinger to keep doing his thing.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Aaron Judge

Who else but the Captain, who has tremendous number against two of the three scheduled starters.

Which Yankees pitcher will have the best start?

Will Warren

Warren was knocked around his last time out, but was spectacular in five June starts.

Which Blue Jays player will be a thorn in Yankees' side?

Randy Arozarena

Arozarena has been hot and has 13 homers in his career against the Bombers.

His breaths were heavy. His answers were interrupted by deep inhales. And beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead.

Tired? Perhaps.

But personally invigorated? There seemed little doubt.

For the newly turned 31-year-old Shohei Ohtani, the deep breaths and sweat drips were just a sign of another day’s work in his return to full-time two-way duties, coming as he spoke to reporters following his latest game as both starting pitcher and designated hitter for the Dodgers on Saturday.

Read more:Shaikin: LAX won't say who designed its iconic murals, but the Dodgers will. Why?

“As long as I can play the way I want to play,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton as he celebrated his birthday, “I usually spend my birthday just like any other day."

The way Ohtani wants to play, of course, is exactly how he’s been doing it for the last month. After being unable to pitch for the first year and a half of his Dodgers tenure — limited only to hitting while recovering from a second career Tommy John surgery — he is finally back to being a fully healthy two-way star, taking the mound once per week in addition to leading off the lineup every day.

Four weeks into his return to pitching, the results have been (mostly) positive for the reigning National League MVP.

In six innings as a pitcher, he has given up just one run, four hits and one walk while striking out six batters (a quality start by any definition of the term, if considered as one pitching outing).

And as a hitter, he is still posting MVP-caliber numbers, entering Monday leading the National League with 30 home runs and a .610 slugging percentage, while ranking second in OPS (.990, behind only teammate Will Smith), 13th in RBIs (56) and 23rd in batting average (.278).

“He's just handling it the right way,” manager Dave Roberts said a few weeks ago, personally amazed at watching Ohtani’s two-way talents up close for the first time. “He's just unflappable."

The most encouraging signs over the last month have been with Ohtani’s progression on the mound.

Even after a second major elbow surgery, he is still routinely eclipsing 100 mph with his fastball, while commanding it in different parts of the strike zone. He has quickly rediscovered the feel for his breaking stuff, generating whiffs with his sweeper and traditional slider. He’s also doing it with a new, slightly lowered arm angle, one that Roberts said he didn’t develop by accident.

“He understands his delivery and what he's trying to do,” Roberts said. “So obviously coming off the second Tommy John, I think this probably puts his arm in the best position, [where he] feels best. I like where he's at.”

The only missing piece to Ohtani’s pitching remains the length of his outings.

So far, he has yet to pitch past the second inning. And while Roberts called it “feasible” for him to get stretched out to five or six innings, the team still doesn’t “know what that's going to be,” he said.

Read more:Dodgers pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Yoshinobu Yamamoto named to all-star game roster

"In a rehab progression, it's really important to just take one step at a time,” Ohtani echoed. “There are times when I may be able to go another inning, but it's really important not to take unnecessary risks and make sure that I can progress consistently. It's always been this way in terms of my rehab progression. So I'm following what the team is also asking me as well."

The big question, to this point, is how much Ohtani’s return to pitching has impacted his potency with the bat.

At various points since June 10, when Ohtani ramped up to three innings in his final simulated live session before returning to game action as a pitcher, Roberts has noted some normal instances of fatigue that Ohtani has felt.

The slugger’s hitting numbers have ticked down in that span as well, with Ohtani batting only .239 since that day — albeit with seven home runs in 24 games and a robust .919 OPS.

On days he pitches, Ohtani has still gone 5 for 16 with a double, triple and home run. On the days immediately after a pitching outing, however, he is 0 for 12 with less hard contact than his thunderous swing usually produces.

There have also been incremental drops in some of Ohtani’s underlying numbers, including exit velocity (95.5 mph average before May 10; 93.3 mph average since) and swing speed (76.3 mph before; 75.8 mph since) according to data from Baseball Savant.

The decline hasn’t been lost on Ohtani.

On Saturday, he said he doesn’t “feel too bad at the plate” physically, but acknowledged he hasn’t punished mistakes as well as he typically does.

“Usually, it's a matter of just a little bit of a difference in the way that I'm swinging,” he said. “So just have to find it in the cage work, and hopefully be able to apply that on the field."

Roberts also downplayed the notion as the product of a small sample size, insisting he hasn’t seen “much of a difference” in Ohtani at the plate since he resumed his two-way duties.

“I think he's still taking good at-bats,” Roberts said. “I still don't mind where he's at right now.”

Read more:Shohei Ohtani wows early, but Dodgers' bullpen falters in loss to Astros

It will, nonetheless, be a dynamic the Dodgers closely monitor as Ohtani continues to try and maximize his dual talents. The longer his offensive numbers drag down, the more caution the club could exercise in his long-term pitching plan.

His bat, after all, remains the single most valuable tool on the team’s entire roster — with the Dodgers wanting to ensure, above all else, he can be a force at the plate as they try to defend their World Series title.

But, on the whole, his pitching progress has been stark during his first month back as a two-way player, and his overall production is still among the best in baseball; with his 4.4 total wins above replacement, according to Fangraphs, trailing only breakout Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong for the best mark in the NL.

“[I’ve been] really, really impressed,” Roberts said Saturday, after getting his latest look at two-way Ohtani, “how he's continuing to get better and better each time out.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Alex Cooper appeared to thoroughly enjoy herself during her seventh-inning stretch performance Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Not everyone on hand for the Chicago Cubs' game against the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to feel the same way about the "Call Her Daddy" podcast host's throaty, off-key and completely tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

The MLB tradition of singing the classic tune between the top and bottom of the seventh inning was popularized by the legendary late Chicago White Sox and Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, whose vocals weren't close to pristine but were unquestionably earnest.

Cooper was cheered as she was announced over the loudspeaker as the latest guest to lead the stadium in the tradition.

"All right, Daddy Gang and Cubs fans, are you ready? You've never seen something like this," Cooper said with a laugh before launching into the song with the intro made famous by Caray: "Ah one! Ah two! Ah three!"

For many fans in attendance, the performance went downhill from there. Cooper belted out the song in an unnaturally low key and overly dramatic fashion, laughing often as she and two companions attempted to accompany the vocal performance with a few dance moves.

.@alexandracooper brought the energy for Sunday Night Baseball 😂

📺 Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN pic.twitter.com/gZbjVMQvuD

— espnW (@espnW) July 7, 2025

For what might have been intended as a big finish, the backup dancers attempted to hoist Cooper onto their shoulders.

Cooper was clearly having a blast. And to be clear, a number of folks at the stadium could be heard singing along as they would during any seventh-inning stretch. But as this clip from the performance shows, there were many others who expressed their displeasure with Cooper's intentionally bizarre performance.

Cooper's appearance at Wrigley was part of the "Big Al’s Takeover" promotion, with fans who purchased a special ticket package receiving a commemorative Cubs jersey with Cooper's Unwell branding on the back.

"You don’t want to miss Alex lead the crowd in 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' during the seventh-inning stretch," an article on the Cubs website had promised.

A number of fans seem to wish that they had.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Casey Schmitt activated from IL, playing second base; Tyler Fitzgerald optioned  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants made three roster moves ahead of Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park.

San Francisco activated infielder Casey Schmitt from the 10-day injured list, and he is hitting sixth and making his first start of the season at second base. 

The Giants also announced that they optioned infielder Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A Sacramento as the corresponding roster move.

Additionally, catcher Logan Porter cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed a minor-league contract with the Giants.

Schmitt, who started 29 games at second base between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, has been sidelined since late June with a left wrist injury after getting hit by a pitch.

Casey Schmitt and the Oracle Park crowd weren't happy after this hit by pitch 😡 pic.twitter.com/vIvGT1Vfbh

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 26, 2025

Before his injury, the 26-year-old served as the Giants’ third baseman after taking over for then-injured Matt Chapman.

Schmitt is batting .276/.360/.439 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 98 plate appearances.

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