Category: MLB

Kyle Harrison making progress as depth rotation option for Red Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Red Sox acquired four players from the Giants when they traded Rafael Devers to the West Coast.

One of those players has already been traded away. Another one has a 6.23 ERA in 14 appearances out of Boston’s bullpen. And one is still in rookie ball.

There is still hope for the fourth to make a positive contribution in 2025.

That player would be Kyle Harrison, the left-handed starting pitcher who on Wednesday completed his sixth consecutive start allowing two or fewer runs for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.

Facing the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate in Iowa on Wednesday, Harrison pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts and four walks in what was eventually a 1-0 loss for Worcester.

It was the latest outing in what’s been a strong turnaround following a rocky start with Worcester. After the cross-country trade, Harrison allowed 11 earned runs in 13 innings over his first three starts with the WooSox, giving him a 7.62 ERA. That came after Harrison posted a 3.46 ERA in six Triple-A starts for Sacramento this year.

Since then, though, Harrison has allowed just five earned runs over 28 1/3 innings, good for a clean 1.59 ERA over those six starts.

Harrison, who had a 4.56 ERA in eight appearances (four starts) at the major league level this season with San Francisco, is now 4-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 15 starts in Triple-A this year. He has not had tremendous length, averaging a bit more than 4 1/3 innings pitched per start in the minors. He’s also struggled a bit with command, issuing six walks in one outing on July 27 and averaging 2.7 walks per start with Worcester.

But his recent effectiveness at keeping runs off the board could make him an option for the Red Sox to consider down the stretch in August and September.

“If needed, we believe he can do it here,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to Wednesday night’s loss in Houston, according to The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey. “But right now, where we’re at, we feel comfortable with the guys that we have here. But he’s an option. … We’re deeper than people think. He’s part of it.”

Despite being without Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and even Hunter Dobbins, Cora is able to have a reliable rotation at the moment. With Garrett Crochet as the clear-cut No. 1 and Brayan Bello as the No. 2, the Red Sox are currently riding Lucas Giolito, Walker Buehler and the recently acquired Dustin May to round out the rotation.

Yet with Buehler — who took the loss on Wednesday after allowing four runs over six innings — having a very up-and-down season, and with May already doubling his career-high in innings pitched this season, the Red Sox may very well need a few starts out of somewhere else in some high-stakes games down the stretch. While Cooper Criswell may get the first call, Harrison has made some significant strides to earning that chance with Boston.

The start of Wednesday's game between the Mets and Braves at Citi Field has been delayed due to weather in the area, the team announced.

A new first-pitch time of 8:45 p.m. is currently set.

The pre-game ceremony to honor Pete Alonso breaking Darryl Strawberry's Mets home run record was postponed to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

David Peterson (7-5, 2.98 ERA) is the Mets' scheduled starter. For the Braves, it's former Met Carlos Carrasco (2-2, 6.18 ERA) as New York looks to build on Tuesday's historic night.

The victory snapped the team's seven-game losing streak.

After Wednesday's game, the Mets wrap up their series with the Braves on Thursday before hosting the Seattle Mariners this weekend.

Phillies' bats silent, defense poor in second straight loss to Reds originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CINCINNATI – The fundamentally sound baseball that helped the Phillies win eight of 10 games recently abandoned them Wednesday at Great American Ballpark. That helped the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-0 win.

The Phillies’ bats didn’t help either as they stayed quiet for the second consecutive game with just three hits, 10 strikeouts and five men left on base. Monday, their lone run came on a Bryce Harper solo shot in the ninth inning in a 6-1 loss. There was a total of five runs scored by the Phillies this series.

Starter Cristopher Sánchez was cruising in the fourth with two out and nobody on before a two-out walk to Austin Hays and an RBI double by Noelvi Marte. After getting through an easy fifth, Sánchez unraveled in the sixth and gave up several hits behind him.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz singled with one out. After Sánchez got Miguel Andujar to pop out to second, Hays doubled down the left field line to score De La Cruz. Marte then singled to score Hays, and that’s when the Phillies turned into Little League imitators in the field.

Marsh scooped Marte’s single on two hops and made a strong throw home to J.T. Realmuto, who leaped to knock it down. Error on Marsh.

“The overthrow from Marsh, I understand it, Thomson said. “He’s trying to throw the guy out at the plate because that puts us down three and then we’re in a big hole. He was trying to throw it in the air and just threw it a little bit too high.”

Sánchez then picked it up and threw wildly to third, allowing Marte to score. Error on Sánchez. He was able to get the final out of the sixth but his night was over after allowing seven hits and three earned runs.

“On a personal note I think it was a bad start,” said Sánchez. “We lost the game. I always try to go out and have as many scoreless innings as I can to keep the team in the fight. Today just wasn’t the case.”

The Reds weren’t done after they chased Sánchez after 81 pitches. Jordan Romano came into the game in the seventh and gave up three hits and four runs, all coming on an Andujuar grand slam to left.

Oddly, the Reds scored all their runs in the game with two outs.

“We got to get the (bats) going, but we faced pretty good pitching on this trip,” said Rob Thomson. “But we got to find a way to beat good pitching.”

Cincinnati started Hunter Greene, a pitcher who hadn’t thrown in the big leagues since June 3 due to a groin injury. He also didn’t impress much in his rehab as in four minor league starts he allowed 10 hits, nine earned runs and four home runs in 13 innings. But he stymied the Phils by allowing no runs and just three hits in his six innings. He also struck out six.

“Power stuff,” said Thomson. “He had power fastball, power slider, then he broke out the split. He had really good stuff. He was on today. He was throwing strikes.”

A ten-game road trip through three cities started so promising, with a combined three-game sweep against the Texas Rangers then a win against the Reds in the series-opener. Perhaps a four-game visit to the lowly Washington Nationals will be just the remedy the team needs.

Plus, there could be reinforcement coming in the shape of Aaron Nola. He seems ready to return to the team on Sunday. That game would normally be a start for Ranger Suárez, but the team has yet to announce who their starter will be.

“Just two bad games,” said Bryce Harper. “Obviously we didn’t play well the last two. Got to clean that up going to D.C. Big weekend ahead and hopefully win the series there.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke on a variety of topics before Wednesday night's meeting with the Braves. Here's what he said...

---

McLean gets the call

The incessant chatter surrounding top prospects Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat as rotation replacements for an ineffective Frankie Montas has finally subsided. The Mets are moving the veteran right-hander to the bullpen, and calling up McLean to start Saturday's game against the Mariners at Citi Field.

McLean's big-league promotion seemed inevitable in recent weeks, as injuries and inconsistencies have hampered the Mets' pitching staff all summer long. 

While both youngsters "were in the conversation" for this necessary call-up, according to Mendoza, McLean had a clear edge as the No. 1 prospect in the system.

"There's a lot to like. We all see the pitches," Mendoza said. "Everyone talks about the sweeper, the mid-90s, the sinker, everything else. But the way he carries himself... It's just about how he carries himself, how he deals with adversity, his ability to navigate lineups. The way he fields his position, controls the running game... I'm excited to have him here."

Whether or not the Mets truly wanted McLean in the majors this early, the 24-year-old right-hander undoubtedly earned his promotion. He's thrived between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season, boasting a 2.45 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 127 strikeouts across 113.2 total innings.

The Mets love McLean's arsenal -- Mendoza mentioned a stellar sweep that complements a mid-90s fastball -- and his first full season since transitioning away from two-way player duties has exceeded expectations. 

When asked about McLean's potential in the batter's box, Mendoza dismissed it. He's going to stay on the mound, even though his role on the Mets' roster is currently undefined. For now, he's a rotation fixture. But the Mets will carefully monitor his workload, and it's possible McLean finds his way to the bullpen once the postseason nears.

"Every time you're able to call up a prospect, whether it's a position player or pitcher, the expectation here is to help us win games," Mendoza said. "That's what we'll get from a lot of these guys... We're going to need these guys. Shoutout to the development people... There's not just one guy, there's options."

McLean last pitched on Sunday, and was limited to four innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts (74 pitches). In 13 starts with Triple-A Syracuse this season, he held opposing hitters to a measly .184/.285/291 slash line.

The return of Blackburn

McLean's promotion wasn't the only news linked to the Mets' pitching staff on Wednesday. Paul Blackburn was officially activated off the injured list, after spending a handful of weeks rehabbing a shoulder issue.

The veteran right-hander isn't returning to the rotation, however. Blackburn will be working as a reliever, and Mendoza appreciates his willingness to adjust his routine with a team-first mentality.

"He was in Syracuse, getting ready for a start earlier today. We got a hold of him, and kind of just presented the option. Do you want to stay [in Triple-A] and pitch, or do you want to come back and be in the bullpen? And without hesitation, he's like, 'I'll come back.' It says a lot about how much he wants to help us, and here he is."

Blackburn, who last pitched for the Mets on June 28, began a rehab assignment in mid-July and logged four outings in Triple-A. The 31-year-old was unreliable prior to his injury, though, as he produced a bloated 7.71 ERA and 1.98 WHIP across 18.2 innings (four starts, two relief outings).

In a corresponding move, the Mets optioned reliever Justin Hagenman, who delivered four clutch scoreless innings in Tuesday's beatdown of the Braves.

Vientos remains on bench

Mark Vientos has played just once over the last week, and his absence in the lineup hasn't been due to injury.

Mendoza said the slugging infielder -- who's hitting just .230 with a .277 on-base percentage this season -- is simply lower on the pecking order right now.

"It's where we're at. We've got four guys who are playing well," Mendoza said. "Only nine can play. So, it's a rotation spot. That's where we're at. But he's fine."

Amid unacceptable stretch, Giants left searching for answers after Padres sweep originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Willy Adames was playing about as far up the middle as is allowed under the new rules regarding shifts. The Giants shortstop was positioned perfectly. 

When the ball left Jake Cronenworth’s bat at 61 mph, Adames took a couple of steps toward the bag. In his mind, he scrolled through all the different ways he might be able to turn an inning-ending double play. There was an obvious first choice: Scoop the ball on one hop, race to tag second, and then make a strong throw to first. 

“Hell yeah,” Adames said later. “It was a double-play ball. It was a jam shot. You could have turned a double play in any direction.”

Adames never got the chance. 

Cronenworth’s soft liner hit second base and ricocheted into the outfield, scoring two runs. By the end of the inning, the Giants trailed 7-0. The game effectively was over. 

The Giants ended up falling 11-1, losing for the 13th time in 14 games at Oracle Park. Over their last five, all losses, they have scored five total runs. 

It’s a stretch that defies belief, and the Giants have been left searching for answers. This won’t pacify anyone watching, but they truly, honestly, do not know what has happened. They are healthy, and when they hit the road, they occasionally still look dangerous. They took four of six on their last trip and the lineup looked like, well, a normal lineup. 

But at home, the losses have been automatic. The frustration continues to build. 

“It feels like for the last two months, it’s the same story,” Adames said. “It feels like for some reason nothing positive is coming. It’s either a jam shot hitting the base with the bases loaded [that was] a double-play ball. Something negative is in the air. We haven’t been able to figure out how to beat it and how to be better out there. It seems that it’s been the same story. 

“It sucks. It’s bad, because we have a really good team in here but it hasn’t gone our way lately.”

Adames stood in front of a large pack of reporters for seven minutes on Wednesday afternoon and spoke openly about the skid that has all but mathematically ended the season. The Giants are three games under .500 for the first time and trail the first-place San Diego Padres by 10 games. They have been caught by an Arizona Diamondbacks team that has had unbelievably bad injury luck and went into full sell mode at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. 

It has been an unacceptable stretch of baseball, one that leads to obvious questions about the future.

It wasn’t long ago that president of baseball operations Buster Posey picked up Bob Melvin’s option for 2026, but this is a brand of ball that does not reflect well on a manager or his coaching staff. This will not be a comfortable six weeks no matter what the contracts say. 

Melvin on Wednesday began his postgame session by defending Heliot Ramos for spiking a throw into the grass during the seven-run second inning. 

“It wasn’t his fault,” Melvin said. “It was more of how we were positioned for the cut-off.”

It was a fair explanation, but it brings to mind other questions. Why after 120 games are the Giants still so sloppy on defense? Why are people forgetting things like the infield fly rule? Why is the lineup, as Melvin talked about at length before the game, so poorly prepared to hit fastballs?

The mistakes are piling up, and that has to be particularly annoying to Posey. After he traded two of his best relievers and his starting right fielder at the deadline two weeks ago, Posey said he had talked to Melvin about the need to play a cleaner brand of baseball over the final two months. 

“We talk about being a pitching and defense team. We’ve pitched well but our defense has not been good — really, all year,” Melvin said. “That’s the main part that we need to clean up. That’s the part that really looks bad, when you play games like this.”

Melvin has six weeks to get the ship in order, and Posey has that much time to evaluate. At the moment, it feels like he needs to take a closer look at just about every part of the organization, which is a baffling place to be for a clubhouse that was full of energy for the first three months of the season. They have no idea how it all went so wrong so fast. 

“It’s just, like, every day, something happens,” Adames said. “Everybody feels the same way, or at least some of the guys feel the same way. It feels like in the dugout we kind of, like, lose the energy right away and from [there] it’s hard to come back when you don’t have it. It’s just tough. We have to be better. That’s the bottom line. We have to play better baseball, that’s how it is.”

Adames said this is the hardest stretch he has experienced as a big leaguer. He struggled at the plate early this season, but he was able to keep a smile on his face every day because the team was winning. Right now, just about the entire team is struggling, and it’s hard to find a light at the end of the tunnel. 

At some point during his seven minutes, Adames repeated something that Giants ace Logan Webb said earlier this week, and that other veterans have mentioned. “I don’t even know how to describe it,” he said. 

The Giants are at a loss. They show up every day thinking things will get better, because things have to get better. Nine innings later, they sit in a silent clubhouse, trying to make sense of another loss. 

“It’s a tough spot to be in,” Adames said. “We’ve got to do something different. We’ve got to figure it out.”

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Questions about Suárez arise, Reds show love for Schwarber originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

CINCINNATI – In the latest round of health updates on his team, manager Rob Thomson didn’t shed much light at all on whether anything is wrong with starter Ranger Suárez.

In his Tuesday start, the lefthander got tagged for 10 hits and six earned runs during his 5.1 innings of work. It continued an alarming stretch for Suárez, who has compiled a 6.11 earned run average over his last six outings, which amounts to 35 1/3 innings.

“I haven’t talked to him today,” said Thomson. “We’re going to meet with him after we’re done here (pregame meeting with media). Just see how he’s doing, how he’s feeling. He hasn’t said anything to the trainers yet.”

Suárez said often after his outing Tuesday that he felt fine and that there is nothing physically wrong with him at this time. He did complain of back and shoulder pain after a start in Atlanta back in late June, but reiterated after his most recent start that he feels way better than he did back then.

With Aaron Nola seemingly ready to get back to the big club following his rehab, things could be changing quickly. Tuesday, Nola went 5 2/3 innings and allowed four hits and two earned run in his 84 pitches. He struck out 11, including striking out the side three times.

“Well, he’s feeling good,” Thomson said. “I haven’t talked to him but he told Paul (Buchheit, head athletic trainer) that he’s feeling good. He was going to work out today in Lehigh and then meet us in Washington.”

Low voltage offense

The Phillies have been battling against a little bit of a power outage early in games recently, but it seems to be just another one of those things that happen in the game of baseball.

Tuesday against the Cincinnati Reds, the Phillies didn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning when Nick Castellanos hit a bouncer to short that got past Elly De La Cruz and was ruled a hit.

Monday, they also didn’t get their first hit until the fifth inning. That followed two games in Texas against the Rangers in which the first hits didn’t come until the fourth and third innings.

Thomson had no explanation when asked about it, as he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I hope we score five runs in the first tomorrow.”

The wanted man

The Cincinnati Reds organization put on a full court press these past few days, the likes of which would make the 76ers jealous.

Their aim? Kyle Schwarber.

Tuesday, before the Phillies 6-1 loss to the Reds, there was Schwarber, crouching behind home plate to receive ceremonial first pitches from his father, Greg, and his youth baseball coach, Ron Groh. Greg Schwarber is the president of the local little league where Kyle played.

Schwarber, who will be a free agent following this season, was also presented with the keys to the city before Wednesday’s game. The Phillies designated hitter grew up in Middletown, Ohio, which is about 40 miles from Cincinnati.

While the Phillies, including president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, manager Rob Thomson and teammates, have professed their desire to keep Schwarber a Phillie, there is no doubt teams are doing some recruiting when the Schwarber comes to their town. Cincinnati was just a little more blatant in their pursuit.

As Pete Alonso was breaking the Mets' all-time home run record on Tuesday night at Citi Field, the struggles of Clay Holmes got lost in the shuffle.

After being given a 5-1 lead entering the top of the fourth, Holmes couldn't get through the inning as he dealt with command issues. He allowed four runs in the frame, exiting with two outs after throwing 85 pitches (just 46 strikes) over 3.2 innings.

Overall on Tuesday, Holmes gave up five runs on six hits while walking five and striking out four.

It was the second time in his last three starts that Holmes didn't make it past the fourth inning, with the other start during that stretch -- a strong, economical effort where he threw 75 pitches over 5.0 innings while allowing two runs -- kind of coloring why the situation with him is such a confounding one.

Holmes has been effective at times recently, with the above start and a 5.0 inning, one-run outing against the Giants on July 25 standing out.

But even when he's pitching well, he's been limited to just 5.0 innings by design as the Mets manage his workload in what is his first season since transitioning from being a long-time impact reliever.

That means that even when Holmes' stuff is doing what he wants it to do, the bullpen is given a heavy load.

It's a situation that seems untenable, and stands out more given how Holmes has pitched since July 8.

In 32.2 innings over seven starts during that span, Holmes has allowed 41 hits while pitching to a 5.79 ERA.

Holmes is up to 126.0 innings pitched this season after throwing 63.0 innings each of the last two years. His previous career-high for innings came in 2021, when he threw 70.0.

Before the season, Holmes said his goal was to throw at least 160 innings.

"It's hard to just put arbitrary numbers on things and say, 'If you hit this number, that's all you can handle.' I don't believe in that," Holmes said in December. "I think there's definitely things you need to monitor, to see how your body's holding up and the strength and mobility things. ... I want to throw as many innings as I can."

The Mets have said recently that Holmes is fine physically, and his fastball maxed out at 96.3 mph during his start on Tuesday. So it's clear he still has the ability to be effective this season. But it's hard to make the argument that he should remain in the rotation for much longer.

However, the Mets are facing several issues when it comes to potentially having Holmes switch to the bullpen sooner rather than later.

One issue is that Frankie Montas has been moved from the rotation to the bullpen, and is being replaced in the rotation by Nolan McLean. That means that if the Mets slide Holmes to relief for the remainder of the year, they will need another starting pitcher to take his place.

That could be easy enough, sinceBrandon Sproathas been dominating for Triple-A Syracuse over the last month-plus and could conceivably be that guy. But there would be a roster crunch in that scenario.

Ahead of Wednesday's game, the Mets are expected to call up Paul Blackburn for a bullpen role. The move for Blackburn will likely be optioning Justin Hagenman to Syracuse. When McLean is promoted ahead of Saturday's start, New York could possibly DFA Blackburn to make room on the 26-man roster.

If the next move after that is to slide Holmes to the bullpen and call someone up to replace him in the rotation, the Mets would have a hard decision on their hands.

Of all the pitchers in the regular eight-man bullpen, the only one with minor league options is Reed Garrett, who has a 2.59 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. So he's obviously going nowhere.

That leaves Ryne Stanek (5.31 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) as the potential DFA candidate if Holmes is moved to the bullpen soon. But Stanek has shown he can be a difference-maker when he's on, including during last year's run to Game 6 of the NLCS.

Because of all that, the Mets could perhaps wait until Sept. 1 to slide Holmes to a relief role.

At that point, active rosters will expand to 28, which would theoretically allow the Mets to put Holmes in the 'pen, call someone up to replace him in the rotation, keep Stanek, and still have one active roster spot left for an extra position player.

If the Mets choose the above route, they will have to send Holmes out to start two or three more times -- something that would be easier to handle if their other starters not named David Peterson began pitching into the sixth inning and beyond.

In an ideal world, the Mets reach the playoffs and have Holmes in the bullpen as a multi-inning weapon when they get there. But they're going to have to do some finessing between now and then in high-stress games, with someone's roster spot possibly on the line if things go haywire.

Roman Anthony keeps putting himself on short lists with Hall of Famers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

In the modern era of social media hype trains, rare is the athlete who can actually live up to the billing.

Roman Anthony, though? He has somehow exceeded even the loftiest of expectations placed upon him prior to his MLB debut this season.

The ascent of Boston’s former No. 1 prospect was accentuated on Tuesday night in Houston, when the 21-year-old turned in an ultra-rare stat line with four walks, four runs scored and a home run for good measure. (Anthony did technically strike out on a check swing on a 3-2 pitch in his third plate appearance, though the call certainly could have gone either way.)

According to the Red Sox’ media relations team, Anthony is the third-youngest player since 1901 to have four or more walks and at least one home run in a game, and the youngest to do so since Ted Williams did it for the Red Sox in 1939. Williams was 70 days younger than Anthony when he accomplished that unique feat, and only Mel Ott (at 20 years, 124 days) did it at a younger age.

Barry Bonds turned in that stat line when he was almost a year older than Anthony’s current age.

Anthony also was the first leadoff hitter since at least 1920 to score four or more runs, take four or more walks, and hit at least one homer in a single game.

Yesterday, Roman Anthony of @RedSox became the first leadoff hitter in the live-ball era to have a game with 4+ runs, 4+ walks and a home run. pic.twitter.com/IHwdJBFAql

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 13, 2025

While that stat line may be a bit of an oddity, it’s merely one of several short lists that Anthony has been joining lately — with most of them filled only with current or future Hall of Famers.

The Red Sox also noted that Anthony became the second-youngest player in franchise history to score four or more runs in a game. Only Bobby Doerr — a 1986 inductee of the Hall of Fame whose retired No. 1 hangs forever in right field at Fenway — did so at a younger age (back in 1938 and 1939).

The Red Sox were happy to share more Anthony stats, including the fact that he has the fourth-best on-base percentage of any player since 1950 through 52 career games at .406. Ahead of him on that list: Willie McCovey (.429), Albert Pujols (.416) and Juan Soto (.413).

That note also stated that Anthony is the third-youngest major leaguer since 1901 to record 30 or more walks and score 30 or more runs in their first 52 games, with only Juan Soto (19 years old) and Jason Heyward (20) doing so at a younger age.

Here’s one more, from former Red Sox media relations manager J.P. Long: Anthony has reach based the second-most times among players under 22 years old in their first 52 games with 89. That’s two fewer than Pujols and one more than Soto.

Since 2000, most times on base in first 52 career games, all before turning 22:

91 Albert Pujols
89 ROMAN ANTHONY
88 Juan Soto
88 Jason Heyward
87 Fernando Tatis Jr.

— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) August 13, 2025

All of those tidbits came after Tuesday night’s game broadcast displayed an eye-popping stat: Anthony became the first Red Sox player since Ted Williams with 20-plus extra-base hits and 20-plus walks in his first 51 career games.

Any time any player becomes the first to do anything since Ted Williams, it’s going to draw plenty of attention. Yet the even-keeled Anthony — who signed an eight-year, $130 million extension with Boston last week — seemingly hasn’t been impacted by any of the increasing attention he’s continued to bring upon himself with his nightly performances.

It’s all perhaps even more impressive, considering Anthony started his MLB career on an ice-cold streak. He had just two hits in his first nine games, and from his call-up date on June 9 until June 25, Anthony was just 5-for-44 (.114) with a .291 OBP and .518 OPS.

Since that date, Anthony is hitting .341 with a .445 OBP and .967 OPS. And since being moved to the leadoff spot in the lineup on July 27, he’s hit .340 with a 1.028 OPS.

The Red Sox noted that since June 28, Anthony has the second-highest OBP, third-highest batting average and 10th-highest OPS in the majors.

Needless to say, Red Sox manager Alex Cora has enjoyed the show from the dugout.

“With him, everything is fast, right? Except his at-bats. He slows down everything,” Cora said during his weekly interview with WEEI on Wednesday. “I’m very impressed, just the way he controls the strike zone is something that when you start looking around the league, Juan Soto, he does that. He did it from the get-go. That’s what Roman is doing.”

Cora added: “It’s just fun to watch.”

At such a young age, Anthony obviously has a very, very long way to go before the story of his career is written. Yet as each passing night makes clear, it would have been nearly impossible for Anthony to have written a better opening chapter.

What we learned as Giants are swept by Padres at Oracle Park after blowout loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — Exactly two months ago, on a beautiful night in Los Angeles, the Giants moved into a tie for first place. 

On Wednesday, they got a standing ovation from Oracle Park in the seventh when a sacrifice fly cut their deficit against the San Diego Padres to 10 runs.

That’s where this 2025 MLB season has gone. 

Looking to avoid a sweep, the Giants instead played one of their ugliest games of the year. Kai-Wei Teng lasted just five outs and the Giants kicked the ball around early while falling behind 10-0 through the first five innings. 

The 11-1 loss dropped them a season-high three games under .500 and was their fifth straight. They have scored five total runs in those five games, and their MLB playoff hopes are in a coma. 

Two months after they moved into a tie atop the West, the Giants fell 10 back of the Padres, who are a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers after an easy sweep. With the loss, the Giants got caught in the West standings by the Arizona Diamondbacks, with both teams sitting six games out of the final wild-card spot. 

Seven-Run Second

The second inning included three walks, a two-run single that hit second base, a throwing error when Heliot Ramos spiked a ball into the grass in left field, and a passed ball that scored a run. There was some bad luck for Teng, particularly the soft liner from Jake Cronenworth that hit second base and ricocheted into left field. Fernando Tatis also hit a seeing-eye grounder that could have been an inning-ending double play in brighter times. 

Capitalize 🤌 pic.twitter.com/s9sI24URtJ

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 13, 2025

But right now, everything that can go wrong will go wrong, and Teng certainly didn’t help himself. He threw 32 of 53 pitches for strikes and ran deep counts. When he was in the zone, his pitches were up and center-cut. 

Teng pitched well on Friday, earning another shot, but the Giants figure to look elsewhere the next time that rotation spot comes around. Blade Tidwell, Hayden Birdsong and Carson Whisenhunt are all in the Triple-A rotation, and Tidwell — who is on the 40-man roster — probably is ready for another shot in the big leagues. 

The Giants Have Lost 13 Of Their Last 14 Home Games

That’s hard to do.

No Seriously, That’s Really Hard to Do

This is the first time in San Francisco Giants history that they have lost 13 of 14 at home. The New York Giants did it in 1940 and also 1901.

Losing 13 of 14 under any circumstance is hard to swallow. Doing it with a $200 million roster that’s pretty much completely healthy and is playing in front of good crowds — the Giants drew 35,080 Wednesday — is completely unacceptable. It’s the kind of thing that should lead to organizational meetings on the off day to figure out if heads need to roll. 

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The Mets are turning to one of their top prospects in the starting rotation, promoting right-handerNolan McLean to make Saturday's start against the Mariners at Citi Field, reports SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino.

McLean will be replacing Frankie Montas, following Montas' move to the bullpen earlier this week.

Featuring an elite sweeper and mid-90s fastball, McLean has been dominant this season for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.

In 113.2 innings, McLean has a 2.45 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 127 strikeouts -- a rate of 10.1 K's per nine.

He tossed 109.2 innings last season, meaning he should have plenty left in the tank down the stretch if the Mets give him a long look in the rotation -- which seems likely.

The No. 4 prospect in New York's farm system on SNY contributor Joe DeMayo's latest Top 30 list, McLean has excelled this year in what is his first season since transitioning from being a two-way player.

"McLean will throw five pitches, headlined by his mid-80s sweeper, which is one of the nastiest pitches in minor league baseball that has generated a 30 percent whiff rate at Triple-A," DeMayo recently wrote about McLean. "He mixes in two fastball shapes in a sinker and four-seamer that average around 95 mph and will touch 97. He also has a cutter and a curve ball that he can really spin, but only throws nine percent of the time."

While McLean is the first top pitching prospect up, fellow right-hander Brandon Sproat could possibly join him at some point before the end of the season.

Sproat, who features a fastball that reaches triple digits, has honed his skills over the last month-plus for Syracuse, including a recent stretch where he allowed just two runs in 33.0 innings.