Category: MLB

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

BOX SCORE

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

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

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

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

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

Another grounder made it a two-run rally.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still Rolling

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

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

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

The Hand Seems Fine

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

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

Walk This Way

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

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

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

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

---

Preview

Front row seat to the HR race

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

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

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

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

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

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

How’s Jazz’s shoulder?

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

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

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

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

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

Cam Schlittler’s debut?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Seattle’s pitching has been lights out

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cody Bellinger stays red-hot  

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

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

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

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

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

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

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Aaron Judge

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

Which Yankees pitcher will have the best start?

Will Warren

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

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

Randy Arozarena

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

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

Tired? Perhaps.

But personally invigorated? There seemed little doubt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The decline hasn’t been lost on Ohtani.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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

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

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

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

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

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

.@alexandracooper brought the energy for Sunday Night Baseball 😂

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

— espnW (@espnW) July 7, 2025

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

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

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

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

A number of fans seem to wish that they had.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

This year’s Subway Series was a true back-and-forth battle. 

The Yankees found themselves on top following the Bronx half of the rivalry, taking two out of three in their home ballpark last month. 

When the series turned to Citi Field this week, though, the Mets were ready to answer back. 

Both teams found themselves struggling a bit heading into the three-game weekend set, but the boys in orange and blue were able to build off the momentum of their series win over the Milwaukee Brewers. 

Jeff McNeil’s late-inning homer pushed them in front on Friday, then a nine RBI effort from Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo helped them secure the series victory on Saturday. 

Even running out a shorthanded bullpen game on Sunday, the Mets were able to rally and keep things close in the late innings, but closer Devin Williams worked a 1-2-3 ninth to salvage the finale for the Bombers.

Still, it was a tremendous effort in front of a rocking hometown crowd. 

“That was a hell of a series,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Even on a day like today the guys fought back, we went down and just kept fighting. The at-bats were there throughout the day, we just came up short today -- overall the whole series, I’m proud of the guys.”

The at-bats definitely were there throughout the contest -- the Mets made life very tough on Yankees All-Star Max Fried, who battled his way through five innings of work to earn his team-high 11th victory of the season. 

The ace southpaw has dominated this group over his career, but gave credit where it was due. 

“It’s a deep lineup over there,” he said. “You’ve got the top of the order of guys who can really do some damage, but every guy can get on base, they can run the bases, and they can do a lot of little things to create runs or have the big inning too. 

“You know you have to be on top of all facets of the game and be able to move the ball around because they like to see a lot of pitches and really grind you out.”

And it wasn’t just Fried who had nothing but positives to note about this relentless group -- Yankees captain Aaron Judge also offered high praise for the Mets after battling it out to a season-series split. 

He's hoping to see them again later this year in a potential Subway Series Fall Classic.

“They’ve got a great ballclub over there,” Judge said. “It starts with their manager Mendy, who I’ve seen for years over here, you know he’s gonna do everything he can to get the boys fired up and ready to go.

“They have a great pitching staff, their lineup is deep and they added a guy like Juan Soto in the middle so it’s always gonna be a tough matchup -- they are one of the toughest teams we’ve faced, hopefully looking forward to seeing them down the road.”

The New York Rangers’ Vladislav Gavrikov signing could have gone a slightly different way. 

At the start of the Free Agent Frenzy, the Rangers signed Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million contract. 

According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Rangers almost had to give up assets in order to bring Gavrikov on board. 

“With Gavrikov, they tried to do a sign-and-trade with the Rangers,” Friedman said. “It fell apart, it obviously didn’t happen. It makes me wonder if LA ever had a chance to re-sign him or if he was just determined to go to the Rangers.”

The Rangers were the favorites to land Gavrikov for weeks as, and despite the Kings engaging in contract extension negotiations with Gavrikov’s camp, he ultimately decided to hit the open market and quickly joined the Blueshirts. 

Many even speculated that Gavrikov could have garnered more money, but he instead took a slight pay cut to sign with the Rangers. 

Vladislav Gavrikov Is The Most Important Piece Of The Rangers' Massive Defensive Reconstruction The New York Rangers made a substantial financial commitment, giving defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov a seven-year, $49 million contract. 

The 29-year-old defenseman is expected to play top-four minutes with the Rangers and could even possibly slot on the top-pairing alongside Adam Fox. 

This past season with the Kings, Gavrikov recorded five goals, 25 assists, and 30 points in 82 games while averaging 23:05 minutes.

Seattle Kraken restricted free agent Kaapo Kakko has filed for arbitration alongside 10 other RFAs.

Kakko is due for a raise from his expired $2.4-million contract he signed with the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old was acquired from the Rangers during the 2024-25 season, sending defenseman Will Borgen and a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Upon joining the Kraken, Kakko scored 10 goals and 30 points in 49 games, and after combining his stats with the Kraken and the Rangers, Kakko set a new career-high in points with 44. 

Although Kakko has filed for arbitration, he and the organization remain hopeful that they can come to an agreement before the arbitration meetings commence. 

The deadline for club-elected salary arbitration was on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Now the arbitration hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4. Arbitration hearings can become a bit nasty, with the team making the case of why they shouldn't be paid as highly as they'd want, and the player making the case for why they deserve the salary they desire.

Eleven players have elected for salary arbitration according to @NHLPA. ⬇️

Deadline for club elected salary arbitration is Sunday evening. pic.twitter.com/F2Lxclqn38

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 5, 2025

So far in Seattle, Kakko has developed great chemistry with Matty Beniers and developed relationships with fellow Finns, Eeli Tolvanen and rookie Jani Nyman. 

The Kraken have expressed a desire to find a solution, but have been open about the recent struggles while trying to find a middle ground. Arbitration will solve those issues and ensure a deal. 

Stay updated with the most interesting Kraken stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.

Kraken Extend Qualifying Offers To Evans, Kakko and KartyeThe Seattle Kraken have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ryker Evans, Kaapo Kakko and Tye Kartye.

The reserves and pitchers for this year’s All-Star Game were announced on Sunday night. 

Francisco Lindor was already set to represent the organization for the first time in his Mets career after being selected as the NL’s starting shortstop via fan voting. 

Now he’ll have two teammates joining him -- Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz. 

Surprisingly not on that list is Juan Soto, who has been widely regarded as one of the biggest snubs heading into this year’s event. 

Instead, we’ll see Miami’s Kyle Stowers, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll, Washington’s James Wood, and San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. serve as the NL’s outfield reserves next week in Atlanta. 

This snaps a four-year stretch in which Soto has participated in All-Star festivities. 

“Sometimes you’re going to make it and sometimes you don’t, that’s just part of baseball,” he told Dan Martin of the New York Post. “It looks like I didn’t [do enough this year]. I’ve just got to be better.”

Soto started his Mets career on a bit of a low note based on his incredibly high standards, but of late he’s been making a strong case for the honors. 

The big-money outfielder was particularly locked in during June -- securing the NL Player of the Month after slashing an incredible .322/.474/.722 with 11 home runs, 20 RBI, 25 walks, and 25 runs scored. 

His 11 homers tied the most he’s hit in a single month. He also joined Darryl Strawberry as just the second player in franchise history with 10-plus home runs and 20-plus walks in a calendar month.

Soto’s been able to carry that success over to the first few days of July -- he now finds himself 10th in baseball with 21 long balls, he’s driven in 52 runs, and is up to a much more respectable .904 OPS on the season.

Still, it appears his mid-season turnaround won’t be enough this year. 

“Everyone wants to be an All-Star and live the experience of being there,” he said. “I was glad I was able to be there four years in a row, if I didn’t make it this year, it’s no big deal. I’ll come back stronger next year.”

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Mets and Orioles play a three-game series in Baltimore starting on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. on SNY.

---

5 things to watch

The pitching staff is stabilizing

The Mets entered this past weekend's series against the Yankees with their pitching situation being akin to a giant shrug emoji. That was due to the avalanche of recent injuries and a postponement early last week that resulted in a doubleheader.

The plan, which resulted in two Mets wins as the team showed serious moxie, meant bullpen games on Friday and Sunday that were sandwiched around a Frankie Montas start on Saturday in what was his first time on the mound after correcting pitch-tipping issues.

New York has made it through the worst, and reinforcements are on the way. Additionally, every key reliever except for Huascar Brazoban will be on at least two full days of rest when this series starts.

Against the Orioles, the Mets will have Clay Holmes starting on Tuesday, David Peterson getting the ball on Wednesday, and likely Montas taking the mound on Thursday.

When the Mets travel to Kansas City this weekend for their final three games before the All-Star break, the expectation is that Kodai Senga will come off the IL to pitch on Friday or Saturday, with Sean Manaea penciled in for his season debut on Sunday.

The offense is coming around

Since shaking off the terrible run they had to end June, New York's offense has been humming along during their recent 4-1 stretch.

While winning four of five games against the Brewers and Yankees (and beating up on some really good starting pitching along the way), the Mets have scored 32 runs -- an average of 6.4 runs per game.

The top of the lineup has continued to do much of the damage, but Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty have been hitting better as well.

Mauricio went 4-for-10 with a double and two runs scored against the Yanks over the weekend, and Baty went 3-for-6 with a homer.

Mark Vientos still hasn't found his form since coming off the IL, but he hit into a lot of hard luck on Saturday -- a possible sign that things are about to turn for him.

Jesse Winker's return

Winker last played on May 4, which is when he suffered an oblique injury that threw the Mets' designated hitter situation into disarray.

After looking sharp at the plate during a rehab assignment, Winker is set to be activated from the IL ahead of Tuesday's game.

And it's possible Winker's activation is coming at the perfect time, with the status of Starling Marte up in the air after his knee issue flared up.

Winker wasn't crushing it at the plate before he got injured, but he was solidly above average, with an OPS+ of 112.

His return should help lengthen the lineup in a serious way.

Baltimore's pitching has been among the worst in baseball

The Orioles entered this season as the AL East favorites of many, but the year has been a nightmare for them -- due in large part to their starting rotation.

While losing ace Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks in free agency, the O's didn't really do much to improve their rotation during the offseason. Their big signings were Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton.

Then they were hit with injuries to Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, and -- most recently -- Zach Eflin.

Baltimore enters this series having allowed 453 runs this season. That is the second-most in the AL (better than only the Athletics) and fifth-most in the majors (the Diamondbacks, Nationals, and Rockies have all surrendered more).

The O's will trot out Brandon Young (7.02 ERA, 1.98 WHIP), Sugano (4.44 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), and Morton (5.47 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) this week against the Mets.

Orioles are looking to stave off a sell-off

With a record of 40-49, the Orioles are in last place in the AL East and 7.5 games behind the Mariners for the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

That means that their six-game stretch against the Mets and Marlins before the All-Star break could be determinative when it comes to what they do at the trade deadline.

If Baltimore decides to sell, it's likely that CF Cedric Mullins and 1B/OF/DH Ryan O'Hearn -- both free agents at the end of the season -- should be on the move.

Mullins could be an intriguing possibility for the Mets, who are in need of more offense in center.

The 30-year-old has a modest OPS+ of 102, but has clubbed 13 home runs.

Predictions

Who will the MVP of the series be?

Mark Vientos

The hits will start to fall for Vientos at Camden Yards.

Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?

David Peterson

Peterson returned to form in his last start, holding the Brewers to one earned run in 6.2 innings.

Which Orioles player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?

Jackson Holliday

Holliday is coming off a 4-for-4 performance against the Braves on Sunday.