Category: MLB

If anyone in the Mets' lineup was grappling with early-season pressure to come up clutch at the plate against the division-rival Marlins this week, ample relief was provided by Pete Alonso.

The veteran slugger, who broke Monday's game wide open with a mammoth grand slam, played the role of hero again on Wednesday, delivering a game-tying home run in the eighth inning that helped propel New York to a thrilling 6-5 road win over Miami in 11 innings.

Perhaps the moment couldn't have belonged to anyone but Alonso. Before the eighth began and the dramatic nine-pitch at-bat developed, he'd produced two hits -- a pair of doubles -- that also made up half of the Mets' hit total. Alonso was simply dialed in, and the 415-foot three-run shot to dead center off Marlins reliever Calvin Faucher reaffirmed the impression.

"I'm just happy I was able to come through for the team right there. Today was obviously a really important game for us," Alonso said after the game. "I'm just looking to get a good pitch to hit over the middle of the plate. Thankfully for me, I was fighting off some really tough pitches there. He came at me with his best stuff. He located some good ones, especially early in the count. I was able to stay under control and let the ball show up where I wanted it to."

With two monster swings, Alonso ignited a spark that the Mets desperately needed. Entering the rubber game at loanDepot Park, they were hitting a collective .179 through five games, with a measly .125 (4-for-32) average with runners in scoring position. The hitting woes were still apparent on Wednesday -- defensive miscues also piled up -- but Alonso's bat bailed them out. He channeled the comeback energy that defined the Mets' exciting 2024 turnaround and postseason run.

"There's a lot of guys from last year that know how to do that. This is a talented bunch," Alonso said. "For us, we never think we're out of any game. That's one of the great characteristics about this club. That's just a testament to the character of every single one of these guys. We don't give up until the last out's made."

It won't be long until Alonso officially stamps himself as the Mets' king slugger -- he's now 15 homers of tying David Wright for the most long balls in franchise history.

In the meantime, Alonso is enjoying a strong start to a prove-it season with heightened expectations. He's slashing .286/.423/.667 with a team-high four extra-base hits and eight RBI in 21 at-bats.

"When he's doing that, getting the barrel and making contact, we know the power is real," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Alonso. "First at-bat today, smoked a ball in the gap. Then that homer in the eighth was pretty impressive. You see him take walks, laying off some tough pitches. When things are going his way, that's what we see."

"IT'S OUTTA HERE! PETE ALONSO TIES THE GAME WITH A THREE-RUN HOMER!"

Gary and Keith on the call for Pete Alonso's game-tying home run in the 8th 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/UpzJbVFjqA

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2025

The Yankees' bats were kept in check by Zac Gallen, picking up just three hits against the right-hander before the offense woke up late in their 4-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on a cold, windy night in The Bronx on Wednesday.

Here are the takeaways...

-Carlos Rodon's second start of the season wasn't as good as his first, but if you tuned in for the first couple of innings, you'd be surprised by how well the southpaw recovered.

In the first, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. smashed a 94.2 mph fastball up in the zone that went into the second deck in left field. In the second, Rodon had some tough luck, reaching for a groundball up the middle that, if he let go, could have been a double play. Instead, everyone was safe. Arizona would caash in with a sac fly to push their lead to 3-0, and then Ketel Marte -- who signed a big extension earlier in the day -- gave the D-backs a four-run lead with a two-out, seeing-eye single.

After that, Rodon was cruising. He wound up completing six innings, allowing the four runs on three hits and four walks with five strikeouts. Impressive, considering how poorly Rodon pitched.

-But even if Rodon allowed just one run, it wouldn't have mattered, considering how well Gallen pitched. The Arizona right-hander entered Wednesday with two career starts against the Yankees, and he was dominant. He hadn't allowed a run in 12 innings against the Bombers, and he continued his dominance.

Gallen got into trouble just once in this game, which came in the second inning after a Jazz Chisholm Jr. single and Austin Wells double, but Jasson Dominguez and Ben Rice struck out swinging on knuckle curves. The Yankees struck out seven times on Gallens' knuckle curve and 13 times in total against him. Gallen allowed just three hits in 6.2 innings (101 pitches/64 strikes) without allowing a walk.

-Even when Gallen was out of the game, the Yankees struggled. Joe Mantiply pitched a perfect inning and Ryan Thompson got an out before he allowed back-to-back singles in the top of the ninth. Arizona went to AJ Puk to close out the game, but the southpaw allowed a first-pitch homer to Anthony Volpe to cut their lead to 4-3. The comeback bid ended when Wells and Dominguez went down in order.

It was Volpe's fourth home run of the season and he had just one of the team's six hits. Cody Bellinger (1-4), Aaron Judge (1-4) and Wells (2-4) were the only players to register a hit.

Arizona's lineup wasn't much better -- they produced just three hits against Rodon. Yoendrys Gomez allowed three walks while striking out one in three innings of work.

Highlights

The Yankees have life in the 9th!

Anthony Volpe with a 3-run shot to cut it to 1! pic.twitter.com/rFEMDMgWPm

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 3, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and Diamondbacks complete their three-game series on Thursday. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Carlos Carrasco will make his first start with the Yankees, opposing veteran Merrill Kelly.

The Mets wrapped up their season-opening road trip with much-needed momentum, rallying late to defeat the Miami Marlins in 11 innings, 6-5, on Wednesday night at loanDepot Park.

Here are the takeaways...

-- It didn't take long for the Mets to draw first blood. After a one-out single from Juan Soto in the first inning, Pete Alonso smacked a double to the right-center field gap to give them a 1-0 lead. With the stadium's retractable roof open, the wind kept a few deep flies from going over the fence, and Mark Vientos was a victim in the second when his loud shot to left-center surprisingly didn't reach the warning track.

-- Clay Holmes struggled with command in his first start of the season, and the issues unfortunately made the trip to Miami. While he threw first-pitch strikes to 10 of the first 12 batters, he fell behind in counts and ran into trouble. His third inning could've been far worse, though -- the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs and only scored twice. An errant throw home from Vientos on a grounder extended that jam.

-- The fourth inning went smoothly for Holmes, as he sent the Marlins down in order on 11 pitches. But the newly-converted starter wasn't allowed to complete the fifth. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza took the ball with two runners on and two outs, marking Holmes' second straight outing that lasted 4.2 innings. He allowed one earned run on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts (85 pitches).

-- The Mets couldn't inflict damage on Marlins starter Connor Gillispie, who completed five innings with six strikeouts. Alonso was the only one who found success -- his pair of doubles were half of their hits against the right-hander.

-- Sloppy defense returned in the seventh inning when reliever A.J. Minter balked a runner over to third after allowing a leadoff double. Moments later, another grounder to Vientos went awry. By misjudging a high chopper that was assumed foul, the Marlins scored their third run and the batter reached first on an infield single. Ryne Stanek also gave up an inherited run, bumping Miami's lead to 4-1.

-- Just when it looked like the Mets didn't have a late rally in their bones, they conveniently defied expectations. Luis Torrens led off the eighth with a pinch-hit single, and Francisco Lindor then advanced him to third with a much-needed single to right. A fielder's choice grounder from Soto left Torrens dead at home, but Alonso eventually played the role of hero once again, crushing a game-tying, three-run homer to center.

-- The drama found its way into the bottom half of the eighth when closer Edwin Diaz entered the tied game. After allowing an infield single, a stolen base, and a wild pitch, a Marlins run seemed inevitable. But a Griffin Conine grounder to second resulted in a bang-bang play at home when Torrens tagged out Xavier Edwards on a throw from Brett Baty. Initially ruled safe, a Mets challenge overturned the call. A scoreless ninth sent the game into extra innings.

-- New York was unable to cash a run in the 10th with runners on the corners and no outs, but the offense came through in the 11th. With the bases juiced and no outs, Jesse Winker drew a four-pitch walk to give the Mets a 5-4 lead. Then, Vientos hit a grounder to shortstop that was booted, allowing Alonso to score and all runners to advance. Miami managed to stop the bleeding by inducing a double-play grounder and flyout.

-- Following two shutout innings of relief from Jose Butto, the Mets called upon Danny Young to begin the 11th. He walked his first batter and struck out his second, and then Huascar Brazobán entered with the task of cleaning up the mess. He luckily did just that, closing the door with a flyout and strikeout.

-- On a personal level, the game was memorable for Mets catcher Hayden Senger, who doubled to right-center in the fifth for his first big league hit. A pretty cool story for the 27-year-old rookie -- he was taken in the 24th round of the 2018 draft and made the Opening Day roster after playing 402 games in the team's minor league system.

Game MVP: Pete Alonso

Alonso broke open Monday's game with a mammoth grand slam, and his three-run shot on Wednesday once again provided relief to a Mets lineup that was struggling to find a rhythm and deliver a clutch hit. The veteran slugger is now hitting .286 with eight RBI in 21 at-bats.

Highlights

Pete Alonso brings Juan Soto all the way home from first with an RBI double! 💪 pic.twitter.com/r6UuP3PGvu

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

Clay Holmes gets back-to-back strikeouts to escape further damage in the third pic.twitter.com/iKQJxR5KiE

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

Pete Alonso leads off the fourth inning with his second double of the day! pic.twitter.com/Mzp5Ciln0R

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

Hayden Senger has his first MLB hit! 💪 pic.twitter.com/EVmaUThUs3

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

A.J. Minter was called for a balk after stumbling in his pitching motion.

Minter and Carlos Mendoza argued that Minter released the ball and that the pitch should have counted. pic.twitter.com/bEl36wlyrj

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

Three unassisted.

Pete Alonso with the double dive for the out! pic.twitter.com/FLpChodihZ

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!!!

PETE ALONSO TIES THE GAME WITH A THREE-RUN HOMER!!!! pic.twitter.com/xCIP3pgmVB

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

Jesse Winker walks in the go-ahead run in the 11th! 🚶 pic.twitter.com/GjHGi0gcGD

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 2, 2025

AND THE BALLGAME IS OVER!!!!

HUASCAR BRAZOBÁN GETS HIS FIRST MLB SAVE AND THE METS WIN 6-5 IN 11 INNINGS! pic.twitter.com/lhDCKHo8Sm

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 3, 2025

What's next

The Mets (3-3) will spend Thursday's off day settling back into the New York area and preparing for Friday's highly-anticipated home opener against the Toronto Blue Jays at 3:10 p.m.

Tylor Megill is slated to make his second start of the season, opposite Kevin Gausman on SNY.

Wheeler dominates as Phillies collect series win over Rockies originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Zack Wheeler took the mound Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park for his first home start of the season, where he dominated for seven innings, allowing one run on three hits.

The Phillies’ ace collected his first win in 2025 with a 5-1 feat over the Rockies and put a bow on the outing with his 26th-career double-digit strikeout game (10).

What, did you expect anything different?

Rob Thomson certainly knows it’s the standard at this point in Wheeler’s career.

“He was great,” the Phillies manager said after the win. “It seems like the same thing every night, you know?”

The only standout was Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman hitting a home run off of Phillies starting pitching in back-to-back games. The Rockies have two runs through two games in this series — and they both belong to him.

Now 4-1 on the young season, the Phillies secured back-to-back series wins to open their 2025 campaign. It marks the 20th time in franchise history.

Slowly — and emphasis on slowly — but surely, the offense is finding ways to score against opposing starting pitchers. Prior to Wednesday, 23 of the Phillies’ 25 runs came against bullpen arms.

The club added to that production against Rockies left-hander, Kyle Freeland, who came into the game with a 0.00 ERA after pitching six scoreless innings to open his season against the Rays.

After an Alec Bohm single a la torpedo bat in the fourth inning, Kyle Schwarber kept his early hot streak alive with an RBI double. It’s the first time the Phillies scored first through five games.

Schwarber crossed the plate shortly after, when J.T. Realmuto dribbled a knuckle curve a few feet out of the batter’s box.

Aggression at the plate, awareness on the base paths and complete consistency early on has shown it doesn’t matter where Schwarber’s name is penciled in the lineup — the designated hitter is going to produce.

He’s currently leading the club in runs batted in (7), home runs (3) and runs (5 — tied with Bryson Stott).

But at the moment, what is somehow more impressive, is the heater Edmundo Sosa is on.

Sosa made his first start at second base this season and collected a mere three hits and two RBI. He now has four consecutive multi-hit games and is leading the team in hits (9).

It’s a good, yet difficult situation to be in when a bench player is producing at this caliber. He started in place of Trea Turner for three games while the shortstop was dealing with a hip issue — he’s now back. He started in place of Bryson Stott today with the club facing off against a lefty — that won’t be the case for the next handful of games. What’s a manager to do?

“I’m going to call MLB and see if we can play 10,” Thomson jokingly replied when asked if he’s going to try to get Sosa in the lineup for Thursday’s series finale against the Rockies.

It doesn’t hurt to ask, right?

There is still cause for concern regarding the lineup and the inability to do more damage against opposing starters. In the fifth inning, they loaded the bases with no outs in the heart of the order — and left them stranded with three consecutive punch outs from Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Schwarber.

But when you’re finding ways to win this early and often to start the season — a problem like this can get tossed to the wayside … for now.

The Yankees have entered the 2025 season banking on a young core to blossom without long stretches of growing pains. And while it's still far too early to draw conclusions on what these players will produce by the end of the 162-game marathon, the first week's worth of results are at least encouraging.

Call it a small sample size -- because it very much is -- but the Yankees' crop of homegrown talent is providing pop in the lineup that's not just connected to the torpedo bat craze. Between youngsters Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and Ben Rice are seven home runs in just 39 total at-bats, and top prospect Jasson Dominguez joined the party with his first blast of the year on Tuesday.

With ample help from captain Aaron Judge, the Yankees hit a league-record 18 homers through their first four games. The questions and doubts surrounding the team's ability to reach base consistently and deliver in the clutch still exist, but the youth movement is already embracing a rather tall order.

"It's four games, but certainly been encouraged by Austin, Volpe," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks. "Even before Dominguez had two hits and the homer yesterday, not a ton of results for him necessarily in the first few games, but I thought his at-bats were really good....

"I feel like those guys are all better hitters than they've been in the past, and continue to improve. We're relying on those guys heavily. We need them to be this and better. I've been encouraged by what we've seen from our younger players. They've kind of carried their spring training into the early days of the season so far."

The new faces in pinstripes are also pulling their weight, as Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have combined to hit .310 with two homers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is also off to a hot start with three round-trippers in his first March and April with the club. From top to bottom, the Yankees are barreling pitches.

New York's goal of defending its American League pennant and capturing that elusive championship is undoubtedly contingent upon the veterans living up to their career marks. But the 26-and-under group is bearing plenty of responsibility too. The Yankees' six true homegrown players in last week's Opening Day lineup were their most in five decades.

Aaron Boone on pulling Jasson Dominguez for defense late in games when he could come up to bat again

"My expectation is that [Dominguez] becomes an outstanding defensive left fielder. You can't guard for everything but I want his development to go as best as possible" pic.twitter.com/ENyjxJo9sW

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) April 2, 2025

Starting pitcher Frankie Montas has been sidelined with a high-grade lat strain since his first bullpen session of the spring in mid-February, but he recently took a crucial step in his recovery.

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, who spoke with reporters ahead of Wednesday’s series finale against he Marlins in Miami, Montas has resumed throwing from 60 feet.

The Mets originally announced back in February that the veteran right-hander would be shut down from throwing for six-to-eight weeks. Montas, who received a PRP injection as part of his treatment, just passed the six-week mark of that timeline.

“Everything is good from that end,” Mendoza said, adding that Montas is currently home with his wife as the couple awaits the birth of their child.

Montas, 32, signed a two-year deal with the Mets this offseason. A nine-year veteran, Montas has a 4.09 career ERA, averaging 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

The Mets are adding to their depth, signing first baseman Jon Singleton and infielder Niko Goodrum to minor league deals.

Both players will report to Triple-A Syracuse.

Singleton, 33, had 405 plate appearances over 119 games for the Astros last season, posting a .234/.321/.386 triple slash (103 OPS+).

In five big league seasons with the Astros and Brewers, Singleton has hit .198/.301/.347 with 29 home runs in 269 games.

Goodrum, 33, played in 13 major league games last season split between the Angels and Rays. He has also played for the Twins, Tigers, and Astros since making his debut in 2017.

He has a career .680 OPS across 415 big league games, and is capable of playing all four infield positions and all three outfield positions.

Why Giants' 5-1 start to season is good omen for 2025 playoff run originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

We’re not in an even year, but …

The Giants’ 5-1 start on the road to begin the 2025 MLB season has San Francisco and its fans excited for what’s to come over the next 156 games.

After all, the Giants have an enticing history in campaigns where they start with at least a 5-1 record, dating back to 2000.

Interesting! pic.twitter.com/evgf4PbsjW

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) April 2, 2025

The last two times San Francisco started 5-1 led to a pair of parades. The Giants would love lightning to strike a third time.

Nevertheless, the enthusiasm surrounding the franchise is well warranted. San Francisco completed a three-game sweep of the Astros on Wednesday, and outscored Houston and the Cincinnati Reds 30-16 over the opening six games.

The starter in Wednesday’s 6-3 win, righty Landen Roupp, summarized the good vibes in the Giants’ clubhouse after he tossed four innings – and collected eight strikeouts to three earned runs – in Houston.

Landen Roupp on the trip: “If you don’t know by now, we’re pretty good and we’re going to be good.” It will be a Happy Flight home.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 2, 2025

Oddly enough, yet not surprisingly, San Francisco still has a long way to go in the overly competitive NL West, simply because of Southern California. Both the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the routinely sturdy San Diego Padres started 7-0 over their first week of play.

And because of that, the Giants are third in the division, whereas they might be off to the races elsewhere – like the AL Central, where the Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox all started with 2-4 records.

The good news: The Giants are off to their best start since 2014

The bad news: This division pic.twitter.com/4RmNAB2aVV

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) April 2, 2025

San Francisco obviously must keep the ball rolling over the next 156 games to have a serious shot at MLB playoff success, an arena the Giants haven’t reached since the 2021 season. But they surely achieved a good omen through six games.

Starting with a 5-1 record is nothing to snooze at, as history shows. The Giants seem to be for real in 2025.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

The Dodgers gladly — perhaps even gleefully — defer to the New York Mets.

In large part because of heavily deferred contracts to Shohei Ohtani and other top players, the Dodgers have a payroll slightly lower than that of their National League rival who signed outfielder Juan Soto to a record 15-year, $765-million contract this offseason.

The opening day payrolls of every Major League Baseball team and a trove of other information pertaining to cold, hard cash was calculated by the Associated Press and USA Today. Some surprises are evident, but the overriding theme as usual is up, UP, UP!

The AP calculates the Mets at $322.6 million and the Dodgers at $319.5 million, while USA Today drilled down to the last dollar, with the Mets at $323,099,999 and the Dodgers at $321,287,291. Both calculations put the payrolls of the NL powerhouses within 1% of one another.

The average MLB salary rose 3.6% from a year ago to $5,160,245 — the first time the $5-million barrier was broken. Soto crashed through the ceiling with his salary of $61.875 million, breaking the previous high of $43.3 million shared by former Mets pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

Read more:How the Dodgers benefit from salary deferrals and signing bonuses to build their roster

Contributing mightily to the rise in average salaries are the Dodgers, who increased payroll an MLB-high $69 million, primarily by doling out contracts to free agents Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Michael Conforto and Kirby Yates. Close behind were the Baltimore Orioles ($66-million increase), Arizona Diamondbacks ($55 million) and San Diego Padres ($47 million) — whose number spiked Wednesday when they announced second-year center fielder Jackson Merrill agreed to a nine-year, $135-million contract.

But the central takeaway from the shower of Monopoly money is the Dodgers’ extensive use of deferred salaries that substantially lower the present-day value of contracts. The New York Yankees can have their torpedo bats, because the Dodgers' extensive use of deferred money wins innovation of the year.

Ohtani is deferring $68 million of his $70-million annual salary every year of the 10-year, $700-million contract he signed before the 2024 season. The massive deferral lowers the team's luxury tax commitment and penalties in addition to simply decreasing payroll.

Other Dodgers whose contracts include deferrals reads like the heart of the batting order: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith and Tommy Edman. Oh, and Snell, the two-time Cy Young Award winner whose five-year, $182-million contract was the largest the team doled out during the offseason and includes $13 million deferred every year.

The Dodgers have been accused of gaming the system, although MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and players union boss Tony Clark said during spring training that the contract deferrals don't break any rules.

Read more:The Dodgers have a record-setting payroll. Could their spending impact future CBA talks?

The collective bargaining agreement will expire after the 2026 season, however, and the creative use of deferrals certainly will be a point of discussion. Manfred said as much during a February news conference.

“It’s clear we have fans in some markets that are concerned about the ability of the team in their market to compete with the financial resources of the Dodgers,” he said. “I think that disparity, as it should be, is certainly at the top of my list of concerns about what’s going on in the sport.

"When I say I can’t be critical of the Dodgers, they are doing what the system wants. If I’m going to be critical of something, it’s not going to be the Dodgers. It’s going to be the system.”

The Dodgers and Mets aren't the only big spenders. Seven other teams had opening day payrolls exceeding $200 million, according to USA Today: the Yankees at $293,488,972; Philadelphia Phillies at $284,210,820; Toronto Blue Jays at $239,642,532; Texas Rangers at $220,541,332; Houston Astros at $220,217,813; Atlanta Braves at $214,836,398; and Padres at $208,909,333.

The Angels rank No. 13 at $190,508,096, which includes $38 million owed to injured third baseman Anthony Rendon.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani is a $100-million man this year. Salary not included

The payrolls of five teams are under $100 million: the Pittsburgh Pirates at $87,645,246; Chicago White Sox at $82,279,825; Tampa Bay Rays at $79,216,312; Athletics at $73,118,981; and Miami Marlins at $67,412,619.

The top 50 out of 953 players on opening day rosters will make 29% of the salaries, a percentage that has held steady for three years, according to the AP. The top 100 earn 48%.

Fifteen players will make $30 million or more and another 51 will make $20 million to $30 million. A total of 526 players will make $1 million or more and 35 players will make the $760,000 minimum.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.