Category: MLB

Here's what happened in Mets Land on Thursday, in case you missed it...

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• The Mets made three errors that led to five unearned runs in a sloppy 7-4 loss to the Marlins at Citi Field
• After the game, the players discussed the miscues that did them in
• Jonah Tongdiscussed his call-up and Friday's big league debut
• Frankie Montasneeds UCL surgery and will likely miss the entire 2026 season
• Francisco Alvarez suffered a fractured pinky when he was hit by a pitch in a rehab game on Wednesday, but should be back in action within a few days
• Ryan Helsleyis working to fix his pitch-tipping issues
• Unflappable Nolan McLean has that special, star-like quality
• Tylor Megillmade his latest minor league rehab start
• WATCH: What should Mets expect from Tong in his debut?

Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge's late-game heroics could be key to MLB success originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO — When Giants executives have talked about Bryce Eldridge‘s development this summer, they have often brought up his continued effort to get up to speed at first base. 

Eldridge has gotten strong reviews for the work he has done in recent months to improve his positioning, range and decision-making on the dirt. He is learning how to properly prepare for every pitch, but he also has learned that it’s not always a bad thing to let your mind wander.

A few weeks ago, Eldridge was standing at his position in the top of the ninth with the Sacramento River Cats trailing by three runs. He knew he was due up third in the bottom of the inning and was confident in the two guys ahead of him. 

“These guys are going to get on base and I’m going to tie this game,” he recalled during an interview for the “Giants Talk” Podcast. “I’m just thinking of what I’m going to do and what (the pitcher) is going to throw me. I ended up putting it over (the wall) and we ended up walking it off later in that game. That’s just kind of how I think in those situations.”

Eldridge’s premonition that night proved correct. He came up with runners on the corners and crushed a hanging splitter over the wall in left-center. Five days later, he had a similar moment, hitting a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth to give Sacramento a one-run lead.

Bryce Eldridge has FOUR homers in his last three games 🔥

pic.twitter.com/9dUFV42KbN

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 6, 2025

Meanwhile in Sacramento 👀

pic.twitter.com/3Mn09MzuDO

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 10, 2025

In July, shortly after returning from a Grade 2 hamstring strain, Eldridge hit a walk-off homer. Last Saturday, he hit a game-tying double off the top of the wall with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth. 

Eldridge’s big season — he has 23 homers and a .845 OPS in the minors — has been filled with game-changing swings in big moments, one of many reasons why the Giants are so confident he’ll be a franchise player for years to come. He’s the kind of talent that could lead them back to the postseason consistently, and once he’s there, it’s clear that Eldridge won’t shy away from the moment.

Through Thursday’s game, the 20-year-old is hitting .317 with a 1.147 OPS with runners in scoring position. That latter figure is the highest among Triple-A players with at least 50 at-bats, and Eldridge is tied for second in Triple-A with eight homers with a runner on second or third. It’s when the game is on the line, though, that he really turns it up. 

In situations deemed “late and close,” he is 6-for-19 with three homers and 10 RBI. He has a 1.277 OPS in those plate appearances. 

“I think that’s just something that I look forward to,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area. “That’s something that I dream about and when I get that opportunity, there’s not a bone in my body, there’s not a thought in my head, telling me that I’m not going to get the big hit in that moment. I think that’s just something that I’ve been blessed with, is wanting that moment. 

“It really just starts with the half inning or inning before and preparing myself and telling myself I’m going to get that at-bat in that situation and kind of envisioning in my head what I’m going to do.”

If that translates to the big league level, that could be Eldridge’s biggest contribution to the lineup. The Giants rank 29th in the big leagues in OPS in “late and close” situations, and they’re 23rd in OPS with runners in scoring position. 

President of baseball operations Buster Posey is hopeful that drafting and developing more contact-heavy players will help, but the biggest boost could come from a powerful first-rounder left by the previous regime. 

Eldridge’s feel for the moment was something that drew the Giants to him in the 2023 MLB draft. While representing Team USA at the Under-18 World Cup, he hit a three-run homer in the gold medal game and then took the mound for a scoreless inning.

“That was pretty cool,” Eldridge said. “That was a moment I’ll never forget.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Anthony Volpe was mired in the worst slump of his career and one of the worst in Yankees history.

The young shortstop entered Thursday's series opener against the White Sox 1 for his last 37. That .027 OBP (one hit, no walks) over his last 11 games was the lowest by a Yankee non-pitcher ever (minimum 30 plate appearances). That stretch led to him being benched in consecutive games for the first time in his career, but the Yankees are trying to get Volpe right, and starting him seems to be their solution.

And for at least one game, it worked.

Volpe went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the Yankees' 10-4 win in Chicago. 

"Hopefully, it’s something that will get him going," manager Aaron Boone said after the game.

But Thursday's performance wasn't always pretty for Volpe. His first at-bat saw him reach on a fielding error, but he stole second -- his first stolen base since Aug. 6 --  and scored on a Ben Rice single. He then finally got a knock, lacing a double down the left-field line in his second at-bat before singling through the right side in his third AB. Thursday was Volpe's first multi-hit game since Aug. 1.

Boone was asked if Volpe had changed anything at the plate and the Yankees skipper said he didn't because he noticed there were good at-bats being had during his slump.

"Going back the last four games, there’s been an at-bat in each game where he hasn’t got rewarded where he squared it up," Boone said. "But in and around that, he’s had some at-bats that haven’t gone well. Little more consistent, little more disciplined tonight and good to see him get results."

"Nothing [has changed]," Volpe said of his approach at the plate. "Sticking to my approach and staying on the pitches."

Volpe said mentally, he's kept his perspective during his recent rough stretch. He's felt the frustrations of his performance but felt that he was close to breaking through.

"It’s a balance. It’s obviously frustrating. At the end of the day, you want to get results and help the team. When you’re not doing that, it’s frustrating," he said. "At the same time, I felt like I was close and taking good swings, putting together some good at-bats. Just a balance." 

He added, "I was barreling up the ball and getting pitches I can drive. There’s some bad at-bats in there, but I felt good."

Any major leaguer can explain that the last thing a struggling hitter can do is take their offensive woes to the field with them. Volpe has often done that season, and it happened in Thursday's game. In the second inning, Volpe booted a grounder right at him, and it resulted in four unearned runs. It's Volpe's 18th error of the season, tied for the MLB lead.

To Volpe's credit, he didn't let it affect his defense for the rest of the game or at the plate. He picked up his two hits and even produced a sac fly to tack on a run in the later innings. 

"After the error there in the second inning, I thought he made three stellar plays. Good to see him bounce back from that," Boone said. "We need to get him going. He’s such an important part of what we do. Hopefully, this is something he can build on."

Boone says that it's hard for a young player to push past making an error in the majors but knows Volpe has that makeup, which is what helps him stand out.

"Wiring-wise, he’s made for it. Gotta keep playing. I feel like he’s always kinda done that," he said. "I think it’s an important trait to have in our business. You better be able to get past some failures or mistakes, or this game will sink ya." 

"Just part of the game. There’s no other alternative," Volpe said of burying a mistake.

It's been a tough season for Volpe. Although his numbers this year are close to what he did in his rookie campaign, three seasons in and the team, fans and Volpe himself expect more out of him. In 132 games, he's slashing .207/.271/.397 with an OPS of .668 to go along with 18 homers and 66 RBI. And that includes his defensive errors and miscues that have cost the Yankees games this year. 

But as the team gets ready for a postseason push, perhaps Thursday's game can unlock something in Volpe for the stretch run. 

Cody Bellinger, who had three hits, including a homer on Thursday, can attest to what a little confidence boost can do for a player.

"Confidence is huge," he told YES Network's Meredit Marakovits on the field after the win. "A lot of balls right at people lately. That’s tough when things aren’t going your way. Credit to him, honestly. He stays locked in, stays positive. He’s a great baseball player. It’s exciting for him, especially today."

With three more games in Chicago, the Yankees and their fans will see if Volpe can indeed build off of this.

The Mets, riding high after a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, had the chance to capitalize with the lowly, youthful Miami Marlins in town. But on Thursday night at Citi Field, the team pushing for the postseason played like the team that played nine rookies.

“We didn’t execute, we didn’t play a clean game, and they made us pay for it,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after the 7-4 defeat. “Didn’t do the little things, fundamentally, some routine plays there gave them some extra outs, some extra bases, and cost us a game.”

The tale of the tape: three Mets errors resulting in five unearned runs, including three unearned in the seventh to put the visitors ahead for good.

“Game got away from us there,” said Pete Alonso, who committed the first error of the seventh and was involved in another. “We gave the Marlins an opportunity, and they capitalized on every opportunity we gave them."

Mendoza dismissed the notion that this game was a bit of a hangover effort following the three-game sweep of the Phillies.

“I thought today the guys were in a good spot, prepared, just didn’t execute,” the skipper said. “Take the lead, we put pressure right away that first inning, and then it kinda gets away from us. We give up three runs in that third inning; we didn’t make routine plays.”

Playing with a 2-1 lead in the third, the Marlins had a runner on third and one out, and Jeff McNeil fielded a slow roller, and rather than taking the sure out at first, he fired home even though he had no chance to get the runner at the plate. The extra out came back to haunt them, as with two outs in the inning, Alonso fielded a grounder and threw to Clay Holmes covering first, but the starter had the ball pop out of his glove to score another run.

“I felt like I was in position to make the catch. It just kinda hit the part of my glove where it just jumped out of it,” Holmes said. “Goes in the pocket, it's probably an out, an easy catch. Kinda just stabbed at it, hit a part of the glove that was a little stiffer, and it just hopped out. 

“A routine play that I should make 10 out of 10 times, but I didn’t make it there.”

Holmes, who allowed a third run to score in the inning with a single to put Miami ahead 4-2, said he wasn’t expecting it to be an underhanded toss from Alonso, who threw the ball overhand and on a line.

“We didn’t make plays behind him,” Mendoza said of the starter’s five-inning outing. “He’s a ground ball pitcher, he’s gonna rely on the defense, and today we didn’t execute.”

In the seventh, after Alonso tied the game with a two-run home run, his 30th of the year, the sloppiness returned. After a leadoff single, Alonso fielded a grounder cleanly, but lost the ball as he went to transfer it to start a double play. A single to left should have loaded the bases, but Brandon Nimmo bobbled the ball, allowing the go-ahead run to score. 

A passed ball from catcher Hayden Senger put two runners in scoring position, setting up a one-out grounder to McNeil, and again with the infield in, another run scored as Liam Hicks' head-first dive just beat the tag. A sac fly plated the third run of the inning.

With 28 games left to play, dwelling on the loss isn’t in the plan ahead of three more against the Marlins over the weekend. 

“Good thing is we got another game tomorrow,” Alonso, who went 2-for-4 at the plate, said. “Learn from it, flush it, and full speed ahead.”

The Yankees hit three more home runs as they defeated the lowly White Sox, 10-4, on Thursday night in Chicago.

New York now has 33 home runs in their last 10 games. The Yanks have 21 games with 10-plus runs this season, the most in MLB. Thursday's victory extended their winning streak to five games, and they are now 4.0 games behind the idle Blue Jays for first place in the AL East.

Here are the takeaways...

-A day after smashing six longballs in the series finale against the Nationals, the Yankees got the scoring started early with a two-run shot from Cody Bellinger in the second inning. It's the 41st first-inning homer this season for the Yankees, which leads MLB. Jazz Chisholm Jr. would lead off the second with a solo shot to give the Yankees an early 3-0 lead. Ben Rice would tack on with an RBI single after Anthony Volpe reached on an error and stole second base.

-Will Warren worked into trouble in the first two innings. He escaped back-to-back two-out singles in the first inning, but the same wouldn't be said for the second. After Volpe booted a grounder, Warren walked and hit a batter to load the bases with one out. Warren struck out Mike Tauchman, but fell behind Miguel Vargas 2-0 before missing badly on a sinker, and the first baseman deposited the pitch over the wall for a grand slam to tie the game at 4-4.

Warren would get into trouble one more time in the fifth, allowing two runners on with one out, but got two flyouts to end the White Sox threat.

The young right-hander did not have his best stuff, but if it weren't for the Volpe error, the ledger would have looked a lot different. He tossed 93 pitches (51 strikes) over five innings, allowing four runs (none earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters.

-Vargas would not get a chance to build on his grand slam as he would be injured in the fifth inning when a throw from third base was up the line and Judge ran through Vargas' glove hand. The ball would trickle into foul territory, allowing Riceto score from first base to give the Yankees a lead. Vargas would be removed with a wrist injury. After a Bellinger double that was almost caught at the wall, Giancarlo Stanton grounded into a fielder's choice, but Chisholm came through to score Judge from third on a sac fly.

Volpe would tack on in the eighth with a sac fly to put the Yankees up 7-4. Trent Grisham hit the knockout blow with a two-run shot, his 27th of the season, as the outfielder's career year continues. Paul Goldschmidt's sac fly in the ninth capped off the Yankees' scoring.

-In relief of Warren, Fernando Cruz made his second appearance since returning from the IL. He was much better this time through as he pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning and struck out one batter. Luke Weaver struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh, Devin Williams struck out the side in the eighth before giving way to Mark Leiter Jr. in the ninth, with the right-hander handling it on just 13 pitches with a strikeout.

-Volpe started at shortstop and batted ninth in the order in the midst of a 1-for-37 slump. In his first at-bat, he tried to bunt his way on but had to settle for reaching on an error. He would finally get off the schneid with a two-out double in his second at-bat. He would single in his third at-bat. Volpe finished 2-for-3, with an RBI, run scored and a stolen base. It's his first multi-hit game since Aug. 1 and his first stolen base since Aug. 6. 

-After a day off in the series finale with the Nationals, Stanton got the start in right field on Thursday. The slugger went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He and Goldschmidt (0-4, RBI, run scored) were the only starters to go hitless.

Game MVP: Yankees bullpen

After the Vargas grand slam, Yankees pitching allowed just two hits, with the bullpen giving up none. Cruz, Weaver, Williams and Leiter Jr. combined to pitch four scoreless innings and strike out seven batters.

Highlights

A 2-run first inning homer for Cody Bellinger! pic.twitter.com/pzmaJbxRYF

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 28, 2025

Turtleneck Jazz drills a solo shot! pic.twitter.com/RDyFhIowIq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 29, 2025

Ben Rice makes it 4-0! pic.twitter.com/Iflvwdw488

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 29, 2025

The Yankees take the lead as Ben Rice comes around to score on an error pic.twitter.com/T1MOrMDkj4

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 29, 2025

Anthony Volpe with a sac fly! pic.twitter.com/zJlFGsh8E3

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 29, 2025

Trent Grisham’s 27th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/p6WPrqOMe4

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 29, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and White Sox continue their four-game set on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:40 p.m.

Carlos Rodon (14-7, 3.24 ERA) will take the mound for New York, while Chicago will oppose him with Yoendrys Gomez (3-1, 4.73 ERA).

The Mets committed three errors and allowed five unearned runs as they failed to play a clean game in a 7-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Thursday night at Citi Field. 

New York fell to 72-62 on the season.

Here are the key takeaways...

- After Francisco Lindor singled to start the first, Pete Alonso smashed a double to the right-center gap on a ball that centerfielder Jakob Marsee nearly came up with for a sensational running grab, but it kicked off his glove. Marsee’s effort meant Lindor could only advance to third as he started to go back to tag up. But Brandon Nimmo capitalized by bouncing a two-RBI double down the first base line against a drawn-in infield off Marlins starter Adam Mazur.

- In the fifth, Alonso, with Juan Soto on first after his 108th walk of the season, got a 1-2 fastball up in the zone from reliever Lake Bachar and clobbered it to just left of center for a 425-foot two-run blast to level the score at four in the fifth. The no-doubter was the slugger's 30th of the season and gave him 108 RBI on the year.

- The bullpen got to work with the score tied and kept letting trouble find them. It started when Ryne Stanek walked the first two batters he faced, leading to a visit from pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. After Dane Myers failed to get the bunt down, Stanek got him to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play before a flyout to right ended the threat.

Gregory Soto wasn’t so lucky in the seventh as he immediately had runners on first and second after a leadoff single up the middle and an error from Alonso when the ball popped out of his glove as he started the transfer to throw to second on a slow roller.

Agustin Ramirez then laced a Gregory Soto slider off Lindor's glove for a single, with a run coming around to score when Nimmo bobbled the ball for the second error of the inning. After a passed ball put both runners in scoring position, the lefty got a strikeout, but a broken-bat grounder to the left of Jeff McNeil plated another run as Liam Hicks just got his hand in ahead of Hayden Senger's tag. 

Kevin Herget, recently recalled from Triple-A, entered with one out and runners on first and second, and allowed a sac fly to center and pop out to left to end the three-run Miami inning wth none earned. 

Hergert needed just 11 pitches for a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout and pitched around a leadoff infield single for a scoreless ninth with a strikeout. 

- Calvin Faucher came on to close the game in the ninth, getting pinch-hitter Starling Marte to fly out to center, Lindor swinging at a ball in the dirt, and Soto to ground out to second.

- Clay Holmes found himself in a spot of bother in the first with a one-out infield single followed by a single off the starter’s right foot that put runners on the corners. The righty limited the damage with a sac fly to the right-center gap and a 1-6-3 groundout on another ball that he deflected, this time off his glove.

After working around a two-out hit in the second, Holmes nicked the leadoff man on the foot with the first pitch of the third inning, Xavier Edwards quickly stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. Against the drawn-in infield, a slow tapper to second, Edwards scored to tie the game. On the play, McNeil should have thrown to first for the force, as he had no chance to get the speedy runner; his throw home was way late.

After a grounder to third put another man in scoring position, McNeil’s decision to throw home came around to hurt the Mets, as Alonso fielded a grounder, but his throw to first was a bit firm and surprised the covering Holmes, who dropped the ball, which rolled into foul territory, allowing another run to score and Troy Johnston to reach second. Otto Lopez took advantage with an RBI single to left to make it a three-run inning. Had McNeil simply flipped it to first and/or Holmes caught the ball, the damage would have just been one run.

Holmes issued a one-out walk in the fourth and a two-out single in the fifth, and with his pitch count at 88 (54 strikes), his night was done after just recording 15 outs. His final line: four runs (two earned), five hits, one walk, two strikeouts.

- It was not the night for some Mets who entered swinging hot bats: Mark Vientos, 15-for-38 with a 1.416 OPS his last 10 games, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts (0-for-1 RISP). Brett Baty, 18-for-50 with a 1.058 OPS in his last 15 games, struck out swinging twice as he went 1-for-4 (0-for-1 RISP). And Juan Soto, 13 RBI and a .915 OPS in his last 16 games, went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.

Lindor finished the night 3-for-5 with three singles. Alonso went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Nimmo finished 1-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout.

As a team, the Mets managed just seven hits while striking out 10 times with three walks (a HBP) and went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base.

- The bottom of the order didn't provide a punch, either: Cedric Mullins finished 0-for-3 with a walk, and had a bloop hit to center robbed from him with a runner on first and two down in the eighth when defensive replacement Derek Hill made a diving catch. McNeil went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. (0-for-1 RISP) and Senger went down looking in his first at-bat, but got a chance with runners on the corners and two down in the fourth, but he popped out to left field. He finished 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Highlights

Brandon Nimmo with a 2-run double to give the Mets a 2-1 lead in the 1st! pic.twitter.com/SsvtlkPL34

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 28, 2025

Pete Alonso's 30th homer of the season ties the game at 4-4! pic.twitter.com/r3IBFHSs0V

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 29, 2025

Upcoming schedule

The Mets and Marlins continue the four-game set on Friday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Jonah Tong will make his highly anticipated MLB debut for the home team. He's pitched to a 1.43 ERA and 0.924 WHIP with 179 strikeouts across 113.2 innings in the minors this year. The visitors are sending up their 6-foot-8 right-hander Eury Perez (3.44 ERA, 0.976 WHIP in 70.2 innings) for his 15th start of the campaign.  

Tylor Megill completed an uneven start with Triple-A on Thursday night, but showed some resiliency by pitching four innings for Syracuse.

After a clean first inning, Megill came out for the second with a hefty 8-0 lead against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, the Mets right-hander was rudely welcomed by a solo shot from Jose Rojas. The big right-hander then walked three straight batters to load the bases with no outs. Megill almost got out of the jam when he struck out Andrew Velazaquez and Spencer Jones back-to-back, but a walk to J.C. Escarra and a single to Brennen Davis drove in two runs. But that would be all the runs allowed by Megill as he got T.J. Rumfield to fly out to end the inning.

Megill would allow just one more hit in his final two innings as he gutted through four innings. 

Tossing 70 pitches (42 strikes), Megill allowed three runs on four hits, four walks while striking out four hitters. 

Thursday was Megill's fourth rehab start, second with Syracuse, and this is the first time the right-hander has allowed a run. In his four outings, Megill has allowed three total runs across 14 innings pitched. He's struck out 21 batters in that span. In his last start with Triple-A, Megill allowed just one hit and walked one batter across five shutout innings. 

It's unclear what the next steps are for Megill after his latest rehab start, but with the rosters expanding on Sept. 1, Megill could be a candidate to rejoin the Mets in the starting rotation or bullpen.

Earlier this week, the Mets were hinting at Ryan Helsley potentially tipping his pitches, but the veteran right-hander fully believes that's the cause of his issues since arriving in Queens.

“I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I feel like my stuff’s too good to get hit around as consistently as it has since I’ve been here,” Helsley told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. “We’ve played mostly teams in the hunt, and a lot of teams nowadays will have guys who look specifically for those things. It’s pretty glaring and obvious when I’m doing it.” 

After a few good outings since being traded to the Mets at the trade deadline, the 31-year-old has struggled mightily. In just his last five outings, he's allowed seven runs across 3.2 innings. His last appearance, Tuesday against the Phillies, saw Helsley allow the tying runs in the eighth inning, and he could only get one out.

That outing prompted manager Carlos Mendoza to intimate that teams have a tell on Helsley. 

"Too good of a stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, get really good takes on sliders. We got to look back and see what we’re missing," Mendoza said at the time. "For teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something is going on here. We have to figure it out."

“A hundred’s not going to play the same when guys know it’s coming,” Helsley said.

Helsley told Will Sammon of The Athletic that this isn't the first time he's battled tipping issues. When he was with the Cardinals last season, he ran into some trouble with it, especially against the Cubs. And he actually knows what the problem is, but fixing it won't be easy. 

He said the tip is a subconscious habit and he can correct it in bullpen sessions, but it hasn't yet translated to the mound consistently, especially with the pitch clock and being unable to step off.

“I think I know how to fix it," Helsley told The Athletic. "So it’s just being able to enforce that and that being my mental norm versus what I was doing to get my body to accept that and reinforce that.”

Entering Thursday's series opener against the Marlins, Helsley has pitched to a 10.38 ERA. He allowed only 12 runs in 36 appearances (36 innings) with the Cardinals this season, but has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in 11 games (8.2 innings) with the Mets. The apparent pitch tipping issues and his own command problems have compounded what has been a tough stint with the Mets, but he hopes it's only a matter of time before he can be effective again.

“My stuff is as good as it’s ever been on paper,” Helsley said. “It’s kind of an anomaly and weird in itself because as a pitcher, when you feel locked in and you feel great, you expect to put up good numbers. Obviously, I came here to try to help the team win but I haven’t done that yet. So that part stinks. But I’m trying to get this locked in and be someone who can help.”

Slide over, Steve Garvey. It appears another former Major League Baseball slugger with Southland ties will run for political office.

Mark Teixeira, who batted a robust .358 in a two-month stint with the Angels in 2008 before signing a longterm lucrative contract with the New York Yankees, announced his campaign for Texas' 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Teixeira, an avowed conservative who has lived in or near Dallas much of his adult life, said he is "ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty."

Garvey is also a Republican, and he lost in a landslide to Democrat Adam Schiff for California's open seat in the U.S. Senate last November. Despite being a beloved former Dodgers great, Garvey, 75, held few public events and struggled to gain traction with voters in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office in nearly two decades.

Read more:Shaikin: How Shohei Ohtani turned the Dodgers into a global entertainment gateway

Unlike Garvey, Teixeira, 45, is running in a heavily Republican district that Chip Roy won by 26% of the vote in November. Teixeira's announcement follows Roy’s decision not to seek re-election because he is running for the office of the Texas Attorney General.

Teixeira, a former first baseman, played 14 seasons for four MLB teams — the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Angels and Yankees. He retired after the 2016 season with 409 career home runs.

The Angels acquired him from the Braves in a trade late in the 2008 season, and he helped them to the only 100-win season in franchise history by hitting 13 home runs and driving in 43 runs while batting .358 in 54 games.

Teixeira also performed well in the American League Division Series, batting .467 with a .550 on-base percentage, although the Angels fell in four games to the Boston Red Sox. He was a free agent after the season and Angels owner Arte Moreno offered him $160 million over eight years before retracting the offer two weeks later.

Several other teams made similar if not more lucrative offers, and Teixeira signed with the Yankees for $180 million over eight years. The slugging switch-hitter helped New York to the 2009 World Series championship, leading the AL with 39 homers and 122 runs batted in.

Read more:Lakers brass shows up at EuroBasket 2025 in Poland, watch Luka Doncic's Slovenia team lose

The Yankees defeated the Angels in the AL Championship Series before beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The following season, Teixeira spoke highly of the Angels despite leaving Anaheim for the greener pastures of New York.

“I hope there are no hard feelings between Arte and myself,” Teixeira told The Times' Mike DiGiovanna. “I loved that organization. Arte, [Manager Mike] Scioscia, it’s first class, top to bottom. But your wife and kids being happy is more important than your personal desires.”

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.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga will not pitch for the rest of the season due to right flexor strain, manager Aaron Boone announced ahead of Thursday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox.

The right-handed veteran underwent tests last week after reporting soreness in his right elbow/triceps area, and the injury will end his season. However, as of now, the team is hopeful he will not need any surgery or procedure. The Yanks hold a club option for the 2026 season for the 30-year-old.

Loáisiga's arm issue came two days after he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while dealing with back stiffness that sent him to the IL on Aug. 3. 

Injuries have been a big issue for the righty of late, as the same injury limited him to just three games during the 2024 season. An elbow procedure this past March kept him out of action this year until May, and the back issue landed him on the IL earlier this month.

In all, he made 30 appearances out of the Yanks' bullpen this season and pitched to a 4.25 ERA and 1.483 WHIP, surrendering 15 runs (14 earned) on 34 hits and 10 walks with 25 strikeouts. 

Ryan Yarbrough out of the bullpen

Yarbrough, who has been out since mid-June with a right oblique issue, is set to return to the active roster, and the plan is to use the left-hander out of the bullpen, Boone said Thursday.

In his last outing at Triple-A, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. In three appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yarbrough has pitched to a 4.09 ERA and 0.909 WHIP with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

The 33-year-old made 16 appearances (eight starts), pitching to a 3.90 ERA and 1.175 WHIP in 55.1 innings with 49 strikeouts to 17 walks at the big-league level this season. Opponent batters have had slightly better luck against him when he came on in relief, as Yarbrough's allowed a .720 OPS in 65 plate appearances out of the bullpen, compared to a .691 OPS in 161 times up as the starter.