Category: MLB

Despite struggling earlier in the week against the Blue Jays, the Yankees still turned to Luke Weaver on Friday night against the Mets while leading 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs.

But it quickly became yet another déjà vu situation.

Weaver walked Pete Alonso and then let up a go-ahead, two-run home run to Jeff McNeil as the Mets held on for the 6-5 win, handing the Yanks their fifth straight loss. After allowing home runs in now three straight games, Weaver was brutally honest about his recent performances.

"I said I've been feeling good, that just may be a lie now, I don't know," Weaver said. "It's hard to make sense of what's going on. Obviously, we can kind of nitpick it and feels as if, 'You can do this better and that better.' That may be true. But I also know that pitching in the game of baseball come in all different waves and middle-middle works sometimes by accident. All the many things inbetween.

"I think at this point I've got two options: I can sulk and feel bad for myself or I can foundationally grind and find a way to just be flat-out better. Flat-out better for myself, for my teammates, and for this team in general, the fans. I don't want to be too hard on myself, but at the end of the day, what else is there? I have to be able to process it. And competitively it's just devastating."

The right-hander had recently returned from the IL on June 20 after being out since May 31 with a hamstring strain. He let up go-ahead runs to the Orioles in his first game back, but then settled back to his regular self, allowing just one hit over his next three outings. New York then headed to Toronto and things fell off the rails.

Weaver entered Tuesday's game in the bottom of the seventh inning with two on base and one out in a 5-5 game, but allowed a grand slam to George Springer to blow the game open (becoming a 12-5 loss). The right-hander threw again Thursday in the eighth inning with the Yanks down 6-5 and lost to Springer again, letting up a two-run homer to result in an 8-5 loss.

After Friday's loss to the Mets, manager Aaron Boone was asked what's gone wrong for Weaver during this recent stretch of poor outings.

"Just that last bit of execution which is the fine line between being dominant and giving up some damage," Boone said. "I feel like physically he's in a really good place, the stuff is there. It's just that fine line, that's a big difference maker.

"Fully trust in him to get through that and he's got the make-up to handle this, he's been through a lot in his career as far as dealing with successes and failures. Because the stuff is where it needs to be I think, I think he'll get through that."

The Yankees can't afford for Weaver to be an unreliable piece of the bullpen, especially after Fernando Cruz landed on the IL on June 30. But Boone isn't worried about that becoming the case and expressed his confidence in Weaver being able to turn it around.

"You got to get out there and do it," Boone said. "One thing I know about Luke is he's not afraid, he likes the action. And again, it's sometimes just that fine line. We're talking about three pitches that have hurt him big time here this week. But you also have to take a step back and say that, it's three pitches that have hurt him.

"Obviously, in leverage that's a big deal. But it's not something where you're like, 'Man, the stuff's down, how do we get that going again?' That looks like it's all there, physically he seems to be in a really good place so that's why I trust he'll get through this."

Boone reiterated that he hasn't notice anything off mechanically with Weaver, and said he just needs to get pitches to the right spot and "execute."

The Yanks will look to flip the switch and snap their five game losing streak on Saturday at Citi Field at 4:10 p.m.

It's been well-documented by now, but Juan Soto's move from The Bronx to Queens this offseason was a seismic shift in the baseball landscape and ruffled some feathers in the process.

So when Soto made his return to Yankee Stadium in May when the Yankees hosted the Mets in this season's first installment of the Subway Series, he was predictably booed every chance Yankee fans got.

It might've worked, too, as Soto went 1-for-10 over the three games, often looking timid or uncertain in a series the Mets lost two out of three. It was the beginning of a slump that saw the right fielder's batting average fall as low as .224 due to a disappointing month of May.

Fast forward a month and a half later, on the Fourth of July, no less, for the Subway Series rematch and Soto couldn't have asked for a better go-around.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning after back-to-back home runs by Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge led off the game, Soto stepped up to the plate -- to a standing ovation -- with a runner on third base and a chance to do damage. Four pitches later, the 26-year-old deposited a two-run shot into the left-field stands to tie the game and send Citi Field into a frenzy.

"Right away, [Brandon Nimmo] gets us going and then Juan responds right away, just kind of getting the momentum right back," said manager Carlos Mendoza. "That was kind of the setting-the-tone moment, like, okay, they punched, we’re gonna punch back. Here we are."

The game turned into a back-and-forth slugfest with the Yankees blasting four home runs and the Mets hitting three -- fitting for a July 4th match with no postgame fireworks. Soto did his part, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored, already vastly different than when these two teams met the first time, to help secure a 6-5 win.

"Any time you come through for the team it’s always great," Soto said.

After a red-hot month of June which earned him National League Player of the Month honors, Soto has kept it going so far in July, hitting .429 (6-for-14) in four games this month. He's now slashing .266/.399/.516 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 50 RBI.

"I just feel good right now," Soto said. "I’m seeing the ball really well. I feel like I’m trying to take my chances and when I swing the bat I’m trying to do damage every time and try to help the team to win some games."

Whatever was plaguing him for the first two months of the season seems to be totally gone at this point. And now the Yankees, like every other team in the majors, will have to deal with what happens next.

As for Soto and what it felt like playing for the Mets in a Subway Series at Citi Field for the first time in his career, the energy was definitely there.

"It’s just great. Great vibes," he said. "I feel like the fans showed up today and showed the love that they’ve been doing since Day 1, so really happy and exciting to play for those fans."

In the clubhouse after a gut-check win that featured a depleted pitching staff, the Mets weren’t trying to play it cool. They were jazzed, if you will, about beating the Yankees 6-5 with a late comeback in front of a raucous Citi Field crowd, convinced it said a lot about who they are as they pull themselves out of their June swoon.

And no one said it better than Reed Garrett, who came to the rescue with a six-out save on a day when Edwin Diaz and Ryne Stanek were unavailable, and reacted to the last out as if it were October.

“This is a huge series,” Garrett said. “To get those outs was big for me but it was also a great team win. I think it shows that if you back us into a corner, we’re going to fight our way out of it.”

Garrett wasn’t just speaking of Friday’s win, of course, but also the 3-14 stretch that had them reeling going into July. Suddenly they’ve won three straight games, however, and while they’re still very short on starting pitching, with no obvious starter for Sunday’s game, they’re feeling a lot better about themselves.

Beating the Yankees, even at a time when the team across town is in the midst of a five-game losing streak with worrisome bullpen problems, always seems to have that effect on the Mets.

“This was a huge game,” was the way Jeff McNeil put it, after delivering the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning off Luke Weaver. “It’s always a battle with them. It’s emotional. It’s a playoff atmosphere.”

The Subway Series games do always have that feel, with the crowd providing added energy and intensity, but this one seemed to have a little extra edge, maybe because of the Juan Soto factor.

He was playing in his first Subway Series games as a Met at Citi Field, and not only put on a show with three hits but changed the complexion of the game in his very first at-bat.

By then the Yankees had already stunned the Mets with home runs from the first two batters of the game, Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge, and with journeyman right-hander Justin Hagenman on the mound, there was plenty of reason to believe the game could turn into a rout.

But then up came Soto in the first inning, with Brandon Nimmo on third. The crowd, which sounded like 70-75 percent Mets fans, seemed to rise as one to give Soto a huge ovation, as if to remind Yankee fans that he’s their guy now and they love him.

When Soto promptly delivered on that ovation with a home run to left-center off Marcus Stroman, the crowd went bananas.

“Juan responded right away with a setting-the-tone moment,’’ manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was like, they punch us, we’re going to punch back.”

From there it was on. Cody Bellinger went deep to make it 3-2. Soto doubled and Alonso singled to tie it again at 3-3. Dominguez hit another long ball to make it 5-3 Yankees, then Brett Baty hit a bomb, and Citi Field was electric.

Mendoza was asked if he could appreciate the entertainment level even while living and dying with each pitch in the dugout.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “You appreciate the show. “You’re aware something special is happening, with the back and forth, the big crowd. It’s what you expect out of games like this.”

Of course, for a long time that looked like it might be small consolation, with the Mets trailing and short on arms. Mendoza went to Austin Warren to relieve Hagenman in the fifth and he promptly gave up the two-run shot to Dominguez.

In the seventh he turned to Huascar Brazoban, a disaster lately mostly because he couldn’t throw strikes. Yet on this day Brazoban found the form -- and the strike zone -- that made him such a weapon early in the season, and struck out both Judge and Bellinger to put up a scoreless seventh.

Still down 5-4, the Mets rallied, as Alonso worked a two-out walk off Weaver, and McNeil yanked a 3-2 change-up at the knees into the second deck in right field, saying afterward he had a feeling he might get the off-speed pitch in that spot.

“It’s his best pitch,” McNeil said.

Without Stanek or Diaz available, Mendoza then gave the ball to Garrett, who has been struggling as well lately. But like Brazoban, he found his form and worked a 14-pitch scoreless eighth, leading Mendoza to pull Garrett aside and say, “give me everything you’ve got” as he sent him back out for the ninth.

“The initial plan wasn’t for Garrett to go two innings,” Mendoza said in the interview room.

“What was the initial plan?” a reporter asked.

Mendoza smiled sheepishly, ducked his head, and said, “I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.”

He didn’t want to diss anyone but his best option at that point, and the only reliever warming up, was left-hander Richard Lovelady, a recent waiver-wire pick-up who would have been a bad matchup against the Yankees.

Instead, Garrett delivered another clean inning. It was a tense ninth, all the more so because Judge loomed as the fourth batter up. That made McNeil’s one-out diving play on DJ Lemahieu’s one-hopper in the hole feel almost like something of a game-saver.

“If that ball gets through it’s a completely different inning,” Mendoza said.

“I knew Judge would get up if anybody got on,” said McNeil. “So I knew it was a big play.”

Sure enough, Garrett then got Dominguez on a routine ground ball to McNeil and the game ended with Judge in the on-deck circle.

Gut-check win, indeed. It might be too early to say the Mets have officially turned the corner after their three-week nightmare, but on Friday it clearly felt that way to them.

The Mets didn't have a lot of options on the mound in Friday's Subway Series opener against the Yankees, but they were able to patch things up towards the end with Reed Garrett the big hero as the struggling reliever got the last six outs and closed out the 6-5 win.

With his outing, Garrett was able to overcome some demons that have plagued him lately after an unbelievable two months to begin the season.

In 7.1 innings across the month of June, Garrett owned a 7.36 ERA and 2.05 WHIP before things really came crashing down on him in his previous outing against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 2 where he allowed four earned runs on three hits and a walk in 0.2 innings of what began as a close game.

Two days later, Garrett was right back out there in a one-run game late against the Yanks at Citi Field. But after pitching a clean eighth inning in what would've been a job well-done, manager Carlos Mendoza -- without Edwin Diaz or Ryne Stanek and a bullpen that has generally been taxed recently -- asked Garrett in between innings if the right-hander was up for one more.

"I was just making sure that he was physically feeling fine," Mendoza said of his conversation with Garrett in the dugout. "We’ve asked a lot out of him as of late."

When Garrett gave his skipper the go-ahead, Mendoza, who admitted that having Garrett pitch two innings wasn't his initial plan, told his pitcher, "give me everything you got here."

Garrett responded with a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to a nifty play by Jeff McNeil who hit the go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh, to strand Aaron Judge on deck and earn his third save of the season while giving the Mets the first win of the weekend series.

"It’s been a grind. The month of June was a grind," Garrett said. "…This is a huge series. This is what everybody in New York looks forward to so to get the last six (outs) was big for me and a little subtle reminder to keep going, keep fighting."

New York (NL) has now won three straight and improved to 32-13 at home. Meanwhile, New York (AL) dropped its fifth consecutive game as it manages problems of its own.

"I think we’ve shown a lot over the last month of just, like, who we are as a team," Garrett said. "I think if you back us into a corner, we’re going to fight our way out of it."

How Justin Verlander plans to rebound from 'embarrassing' outing in Giants' loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

WEST SACRAMENTO – Earlier in his career Justin Verlander was so dominant that he could blow teams away on days when he didn’t have his best stuff. Now at 42 years old and suffering through arguably the worst stretch of his storied career, Verlander has to work a bit harder and craftier than he once did.

That’s been the case all season since the three-time Cy Young Award winner inked a one-year deal, $15 million contract with the Giants in the offseason, and was the case Friday in Sacramento.

Coming off one of his most encouraging starts of the season – six innings, one run against the Chicago White Sox – Verlander’s momentum came to an abrupt halt on Friday night in the Giants’ 11-2 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, where the A’s tagged him for six runs and seven hits in just three innings, his second-shortest start of the 2025 MLB season.

“I felt like I was pretty easy to hit tonight,” said Verlander, who characterized his outing as ‘frankly embarrassing.’

“I need to be better than that. I thought I found something between starts that was going to help and send me in the right direction. It didn’t, so back to the drawing board.”

That’s been the sense around Verlander’s starts all season. For every step of improvement that he seems to make, there are two or three other mistake pitches that get pounded.

“His stuff looked pretty good. I think just every mistake he’s making he’s paying for it,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s throwing some balls down the middle, and (opponents) are getting some good swings. And other pitches, he’s making good pitches on and he’s not really getting away with much.”

Asked if Verlander might trying to be too fine with his pitches because his mistakes are getting hammered so well, Melvin didn’t think that is the case.

“He’s had a history of being able to recover but today just couldn’t do it,” said Melvin, referring to Verlander giving up all six of his runs in the first two innings. “I think he’s just making mistakes. I don’t think he’s trying to be too fine.”

Verlander bears a resume that will surely get him into the Hall of Fame but the pitcher he was during his dominant days is not the same pitcher he is now.

Rather than getting by on sheer athletic talent, Verlander is having to put in more work between starts and plans to continue down that path until he gets that elusive first win with the Orange and Black.

“I’m just not deceptive enough,” he said. “My stuff is OK. I know that I can still be successful with the given stuff that I have at this level. I’m just not deceptive enough right now, and I need to figure that out. I need to figure out how to blend stuff better. Mechanically I’m not delivering the pitch the way that I’m capable (of) to deceive the hitter. I’ve been working hard to figure that out since the start of the season.”

Part of that means getting comfortable with the pitches that are working and not stressing over the ones that aren’t.

“You have to adjust to what you have at that given time,” Verlander said. “The converse of looking at it that objectively is that I do think my stuff can be consistently great enough to be a great pitcher in this game, given the current landscape. But I need to make some adjustments. I’m trying everything I know how to do.”

As tough as the season has been – Verlander dropped to 0-5 with a 4.84 ERA following the loss to the A’s on the 4^th of July – the nine-time All-Star is confident that he still has time to turn things around for himself and the Giants.

“I’ve had a lot of crappy starts in my career,” Verlander acknowledged. “You work on something, and the only person that can really tell you if it’s going to be beneficial or not is the hitter in that situation where they’re reacting to the pitches in a real time situation. The reactions I saw tonight wasn’t good enough so that was not the answer.”

During his 20-year career in the majors, one of the most important lessons that Verlander has learned is to not let things linger, good or bad.

“I’m already on to the next thing,” Verlander said. “Threw some balls against the wall and felt some different mechanics that I’ve been thinking about. I’m optimistic that that’s going to be the next thing that works. This isn’t the first time. I’ve had two or three instances in my career where I’ve kind of had to reinvent the wheel and everything that I’ve known to try to fix something doesn’t work. I feel like I’m kind of there where it’s like, ‘Alright it’s time to throw (stuff) against the wall and see what works.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Denzel Clarke's 471-foot homer vs. Giants is evidence of his offensive progress originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Athletics rookie Denzel Clarke has been wowing the baseball world with his unreal catches, but his bat hasn’t kept up with his glove.

However, Clarke’s performance Friday night in the Athletics’ 11-2 win over the Giants at Sutter Health Park might be a sign that his bat is turning a corner.

The 25-year-old demolished a 471-foot homer off Giants reliever Mason Black in the seventh inning to push the Athletics’ lead to 11-0.

Denzel Clarke just BLASTED this ball 471 feet 😳 pic.twitter.com/EZmXczKJjT

— Athletics on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 5, 2025

The ball landed in the netting above the clubhouses in left-center field.

“I tagged that ball, which was dope,” Clarke told Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden on “A’s Cast” after the game. “Happy to help the team win on both sides of the ball today. So, it was dope.”

Clarke entered Friday’s game slashing .189/.239/.264 with two homers and six RBI, but after going 2-for-4 with a triple and the longer homer, he’s now slashing .200/.248/.318.

For Clarke, playing in his 36th big-league game, his approach has been simple.

“I think the biggest thing is just simplifying,” Clarke told Canvar and Braden. “The stuff is good here. These are the best pitchers in the world, so I’ve got to make sure I’m as simple as possible. And the biggest thing is I have long arms, long legs, I’m a tall dude, so I’ve got to make sure everything is compact. Totally just making the adjustments.”

DENZ DOES IT AGAIN pic.twitter.com/XLybk0nGmb

— Athletics (@Athletics) July 5, 2025

After a game in which starter JP Sears pitched six shutout innings and the Athletics’ offense pounded out 12 hits — including six doubles — the first question to manager Mark Kotsay was about Clarke and the progress he’s making.

“Great day by Denzel,” Kotsay told reporters. “Outside of him not catching the ball that went over the wall — I asked him where his web was, but it didn’t come out — but then the very next play, he robs a line-drive base hit in the right-center gap. Overall, the way he’s swinging the bat, the continued progress he’s making, the ball to right center, for him to drive a ball that way and 2-0, have the ability to get the head out and hit a ball a really long way over the building shows the progress he’s making, for sure.”

Clarke still has a long way to go with the bat, but Friday’s performance proves he’s capable of being a two-way force for the Athletics.

The keys are simplifying and finding consistency.

The Mets pulled off a late-inning comeback, thanks to a seventh-inning home run by Jeff McNeil, to defeat the Yankees, 6-5, on Friday afternoon at Citi Field in the opener of Subway Series Round 2.

It was the Mets’ third straight win, and the Yankees’ fifth straight loss. The crosstown rivals are now 2-2 across four Subway Series games this season.

Here are the takeaways...

-- After trailing much of the day, the Mets rallied in the seventh on a two-out walk by Pete Alonso and the go-ahead homer by McNeil, who pulled a 3-2 changeup from Luke Weaver into the second deck of the right field seats. It was a huge win for the Mets, considering their pitching has been decimated by injuries.

-- Justin Hagenman, Austin Warren, and Huascar Brazobán kept them in the game, and then Reed Garrett closed it out with a six-out save. Garrett's role was crucial, considering that Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz were both unavailable after pitching the last two days.

-- Juan Soto had a monster day, going 3-for-4 with a two-run blast, a double that led to him scoring, and a single as well. He also just missed a second homer, just getting under a pitch from Tim Hill in the seventh that he mashed at 106.8 mph off the bat. Soto’s first-inning shot tied the game at 2-2 and changed the complexion of the game.

-- As noted by Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Soto’s first-inning homer was his 60th career opposite-field blast. Since the start of the 2018 season, that’s second-most in the majors, behind only Aaron Judge’s total of 90. The second-highest mark from a left-handed hitter during this span is 50, set by Bryce Harper.

-- Hagenman was roughed up by the Yankees in his fill-in start, giving up four runs in 4.1 innings. He was hurt mostly by the long ball, as Jasson Dominguez, Judge, and Cody Bellinger all hit solo homers against him. Dominguez and Judge led off the game with home runs, while Bellinger delivered his shot in the fourth.

-- Hagenman was pulled after a one-out single by DJ Lemahieu in the fifth, and then Austin Warren promptly gave up a two-run homer to Dominguez, his second of the game.

-- Marcus Stroman went five innings for the Yankees, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four (81 pitches). While he pitched okay, he couldn’t get Soto out. Soto’s two-run dinger and double led to all three runs against the veteran right-hander.

-- Dominguez is smoking-hot for the Yankees. His two homers on Friday followed a four-hit game against the Blue Jays on Thursday and gives him eight for the season. Since June 10, Dominguez is hitting .361 with five homers and 11 RBI. 

Game MVP: Jeff McNeil

He’s not the ideal No. 5 hitter behind Alonso, except he was on this day. He battled Weaver to a 3-2 count and then got a changeup, at 87 mph, that stayed up just enough for him to launch for his ninth homer this season. McNeil also made a great play in the ninth, diving to smother a high chopper off the bat of Lemahieu, and scrambling to his feet to throw him out for the second out of the inning.

Highlights

Juan Soto steps to the plate for the first time in the Citi Field edition of the Subway Series pic.twitter.com/7UZ9nONaHK

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

JUAN SOTO HOMERS AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM IN THE SUBWAY SERIES! pic.twitter.com/WvgivRxyDq

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Nine in a row retired by Justin Hagenman! pic.twitter.com/H59groqq09

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Juan Soto rips a 108.6-MPH double into the gap 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wdDRvZb2Mx

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Pete Alonso brings in Juan Soto with the go-ahead run! pic.twitter.com/dJZGKJGaVf

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Brett Baty with a home run to get the Mets back within one! pic.twitter.com/KGLWyoMIDG

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

Three strikeouts in the 7th for Huascar Brazobán! 💪 pic.twitter.com/GwCpD2PF8V

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

JEFF McNEIL GIVES THE METS THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/YuPZuDIHOH

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

JEFF McNEIL MAKES THE DIVING STOP AND THROWS OUT DJ LeMAHIEU! pic.twitter.com/uMwCLhkCie

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

AND THE BALLGAME IS OVER!

THE METS BEAT THE YANKEES! pic.twitter.com/GE4BNrAIDY

— SNY (@SNYtv) July 4, 2025

What's next

The Mets (51-38) and Yankees (48-40) will play the middle game of their holiday weekend set on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. on SNY.

RHP Frankie Montas (0-1, 6.00 ERA) will pitch against his former team, while the Yankees counter with LHP Carlos Rodón (9-5, 2.95 ERA).

What we learned as Justin Verlander, Giants' offense ineffective vs. Athletics originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

WEST SACRAMENTO – The Justin Verlander saga added another disappointing chapter on the 4th of July, as the Athletics hammered the nine-time All-Star for a season-high six runs en route to an 11-2 blowout over the Giants on Friday night at Sutter Health Park.

Verlander gave up seven hits and had five strikeouts, while his ERA rose from 4.26 to 4.84. It all happened on the 20th anniversary of Verlander’s MLB debut.

Already viewed as one of the premier pitchers of his era, Verlander is making history for all the wrong reasons now. At 0-5, he’s off to the worst start of his 20-year MLB career and hasn’t won since Sept. 28, 2024, when he was still pitching with the Houston Astros.

After giving up a run in the first inning Verlander was tagged for four runs and four doubles in the second inning when the A’s extended their lead to 5-0.

The Giants weren’t expecting Verlander to be the dominant pitcher he had been previously but they certainly didn’t expect to go into July still waiting for the three-time Cy Young Award winner to get his first win with the Orange and Black.

Verlander began the game much more aggressively than he has been, throwing first-pitch strikes to seven of the first 11 batters he faced. The problem was that Verlander kept throwing the ball in the zone and the A’s were able to square him up and had several hard-hit balls in the first two innings, including four doubles and five runs.

Verlander threw 60 pitches in his brief night of work, 45 for strikes.

The Giants didn’t do much at the plate, either.

In what has been a season-long story, the Giants offense was mostly muted with Verlander on the mound.

Brett Wisely homered for San Francisco. Rafael Devers, Luis Matos and Dom Smith each doubled.

Instead of capitalizing on the momentum they built the last two days in Arizona, the Giants lost for the first time in four games this season against their former Bay Area rivals in front of the Athletics’ largest crowd at Sutter Health Park – 12,322.

Looking ahead, the Giants will have ace Logan Webb pitching on Saturday in what is a welcome-home game for the Rocklin native.

Here are the takeaways from a loss that drops the Giants to 47-42:

No support, no surprise

Verlander got Cain’d again.

All season long the Giants have failed to back the nine-time All-Star with much offense – 26 runs over his previous 13 starts, third-fewest in the National League – and Friday was no different.

A’s starter JP Sears, a solid but not necessarily an overwhelming pitcher, carried a perfect game into the fourth inning before Heliot Ramos drew a leadoff walk. Willy Adames followed with a single to break up the no-hit bid.

Things got really bad for the eyes in the fourth and fifth when the Giants got two on with no outs in both innings and failed to score.

Six of San Francisco’s nine hitters in the starting lineup struck out at least once. Patrick Bailey had a golden sombrero with four Ks.

Not even the small uprising in the ninth was enough to put a positive spin on this one.

Wisely ends shutout bid

Called up from the minors two weeks ago, Wisely helped the Giants avoid being shut out for the ninth time this season when he crushed a 1-0 fastball from A’s reliever for a 415-foot home run, Wisely’s first of the season.

Brett Wisely gets the Giants on the board pic.twitter.com/j5ucFFSPxd

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 5, 2025

Wisely, who flashed some nifty glove work a night earlier while filling in for injured third baseman Matt Chapman, hasn’t shown a lot of pop in his bat during his first two seasons in the bigs, but with the offense in the extended slump that it is, the Giants will take anything they can get.

San Francisco tacked on a second run when Smith doubled in the ninth and scored on an error.

Been here before

The Giants were the visiting team, although nearly every player on the 26-man roster had previously played at Sutter Health Park either with the Sacramento River Cats – San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate – on their way to the bigs or made a rehab appearance here.

Eight players alone have played with the River Cats this season, while 20 of the 26 on the roster played here with the River Cats at some point during their career. Assistant hitting coach Damon Minor and bullpen coach Gavrin Alston also worked with the Cats during their careers.

The one person with the least experience at the Sacramento ballpark is manager Bob Melvin, who never coached here while managing the Oakland A’s. He has coached a pair of exhibition games here but none in the regular season.

The Giants’ roots were evident in the crowd, too. Several fans wore bright orange shirts and cheered for the away team.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Matt Chapman's expected return to Giants lineup from IL outlined by Bob Melvin originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

WEST SACRAMENTO – Giants manager Bob Melvin said that he expects third baseman Matt Chapman to be activated off the Injured List in time to play against the Athletics on Saturday.

Chapman, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, has been out since June 9 with right hand inflammation. The 32-year-old had a .243 batting average with 12 home runs and 30 RBIs before he got hurt.

The Giants have missed both his bat and glove, although Brett Wisely made a Chapman-esque play to get an out during the Giants’ win over the Diamondbacks on Thursday in Arizona.

Melvin said Chapman has been taking live batting practice and hitting off a high-velocity pitching machine. The veteran third baseman lobbied to be activated Friday so that he could play against his former team.

Instead, Chapman remained with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate and is scheduled to play Friday in Reno with the River Cats because the coaching staff wanted him to get some playing time before rejoining the big-league club.

“Obviously, he wanted to get back right away but it’s been a month,” Melvin explained. “We want to get him on the field, get some at-bats and see how he feels the next day. We anticipate him being here tomorrow to play. That’s what we anticipate.”

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to the media ahead of Friday's home series opener with the crosstown rival Yankees. Here's what he said...

---

Buttó lands on IL with illness, update on Núñez

Another day, another pitcher on the injured list. The latest victim is José Buttó, who's been placed on the 15-day IL (retroactive to July 1) with what the Mets are calling an undisclosed illness. Mendoza doesn't fear the right-handed reliever will miss extended time -- they expect him back right after the All-Star break. In a corresponding move, Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.

The announcement of Buttó's illness comes less than 24 hours after the Mets announced 15-day IL stints for both Paul Blackburn (shoulder impingement) and Dedniel Núñez (elbow sprain). The news is far worse for Núñez -- MRI results revealed some significant ligament damage and he could undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery.

A decision on Núñez won't come until next week, however. Mendoza said the 29-year-old reliever will meet with a doctor then, due to the holiday weekend. As for Blackburn, who was slotted to face the Yankees on Friday, he's in the midst of a shutdown period of three-to-five days.

Pitching plan remains fluid

While the Mets could've turned to a few top prospects like Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat to contribute on the mound this weekend, they've tasked Justin Hagenman with starting Friday's game. Frankie Montas is still slated to make his third start of the season on Saturday, but the pitching plan for Sunday's series finale remains up in the air.

"We've got to get through today, we've got to get through tomorrow. And then after the game Saturday, we'll have a better idea for Sunday," Mendoza said of their mindset.

The good news is that rotation reinforcements aren't too far away. Kodai Senga (hamstring strain) will begin his rehab assignment on Saturday with Double-A Binghamton and throw between 60-65 pitches, according to Mendoza. If all goes well in the outing, the Mets could bring him back before the All-Star break.

The Mets also shared a positive update on Tylor Megill, who's been shut down for three weeks with an elbow sprain. The veteran right-hander is expected to restart a throwing program on Saturday, playing catch off flat ground.

Alvarez rediscovering pop in Triple-A

The Mets still have a long-term vision with catcher Francisco Alvarez, who was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse in late June due to inadequate big-league production this season. But the change in scenery appears to be paying off for the 24-year-old, as he's showcasing some long-lost power at the plate.

In eight games (27 at-bats) with Syracuse, Alvarez has collected four extra-base hits -- three home runs and one double -- and Mendoza is pleased with the progress reports that he's received from the coaching staff.

"Very encouraging. Not only the results they've seen, but just how he's going about his business," Mendoza said. "We know he's an extremely hard worker. Since Day 1, the mentality has been, 'Okay, let's get to work.' Defensively, the receiving and blocking. Offensively, driving the baseball. There's a lot of positive coming out of Triple-A...

"When you watch his at-bats the past few games, it's like back to the old version of when he first came up to the big leagues. But as far as what he's trying to do, he's hitting the ball hard, consistently to all fields... As far as the batting stance, it looks like he's going back to what he used to do... But again, positive results."

A new Subway Series with fireworks

Coming off back-to-back wins against the Brewers, in which they clinched their first series win in three weeks, the Mets are looking for three straight victories for the first time since June 10-12. So, it's only fitting that the rival Yankees -- limping into this weekend's highly-anticipated series after losing four straight against the Blue Jays -- stand in the way of a long-craved winning streak.

June was a month to forget for both teams. The Mets and Yankees endured losing skids of six-plus games, fell out of first place in their respective divisions, and struggled to regain dominant form amid slumps and injuries. Call it a Big Apple circus with concerns from fans in Queens and the Bronx.

At the moment, the Mets are riding momentum. But meetings with the Yankees always feature drama, and Mendoza is fully aware of the stakes and bragging rights.

"We're facing a lot of adversity, but every team goes through it," Mendoza said. "Here we are, the beginning of another Subway Series, and our job is to compete and win a baseball game... [The Yankees are] dealing with injuries as well, from what I can tell. But still a really good team... When you look at that roster, that's a really good team. I know they've been through a stretch like what we've been going through."

Luzardo roughed up against Reds, knows there's ‘no excuse' for recent struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

You just don’t expect that kind of starting pitching performance. Not the way things have gone this season. And that has nothing to do with anything on the Phillies staff. No, that’s just how good of a season Reds’ lefty Andrew Abbott is having. He didn’t have it Friday, though, at sun-soaked Citizens Bank Park.

Problem was, Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo had even less of it and when it was all totaled, an expected pitcher’s duel turned into a slugfest that fell the way of the Reds, 9-6.

Abbott entered Friday having allowed more than one earned run in a game just twice, while boasting a 1.79 ERA. The most runs he had allowed in an inning was three, which happened to him just twice this season. So when the Phillies’ righty-heavy lineup jumped on him for three runs in the first, including a two-run homer by Nick Castellanos, something more than America’s birthdays seemed to be on the celebration list for Phillies’ fans. 

Whether pitch-tipping was an issue again for Luzardo or the fact that he was facing a very sturdy Reds lineup – or a combination of the two – wasted the Phillies opening inning onslaught. Luzardo gave up one in the second before allowing the first six runners of the third inning to reach base, with five of them scoring. He exited after not recording an out in the frame.

While we have become starting pitching spoiled with the performance of that crew in the month of June, there is legitimacy in having some concerns for the 27-year-old. His pitch count over his last five starts has been very high – 466 pitches in 24.2 innings – and he’ll be close to 100 innings pitched on the season when the team welcomes the All-Star break after next weekend. Luzardo has gone over 100 innings in a season just twice in his seven seasons.

“My breaking ball wasn’t landing for strikes and basically had to go at the zone with fastballs later on, so I need to find ways to limit that and obviously find the zone a lot more,” said Luzardo. “I feel great. I still feel strong and healthy, which is a positive. But I need to find a way to limit deep counts and the pitch count and try to get out of innings as fast as possible.

“When my breaking ball isn’t landing for strikes that’s a big avenue for me to getting strikes throughout counts. So I think that when that’s not falling it makes it a lot tougher. I just need to find ways to make it work.” 

A smattering of boos, quickly drowned out by “appreciate the effort” applause greeted Luzardo when he gave the ball to Thomson and headed to the showers. The boos were no doubt coming from an understandable spoiled bunch, as they watched the Phillies starters combine for a 2.35 ERA in 27 starts during June. It is the 5th-lowest ERA by any Phillies rotation in a full month since 1969.

“I thought he was real good in the first inning,” said Rob Thomson of Luzardo. “In the second he had that long inning and they were laying off his slider a little bit, and his changeup and he just lost command.

“He shouldn’t be (uncomfortable pitching with runners on base). He’s experienced. He needs to get back in the zone a little bit more. Induce some swings and some contact. I don’t think he’s hunting strikeouts. He has to be a little bit more efficient.”

The Phillies offense did its part, posting 14 hits, including two each by Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto.  With two on and one out in the eighth against righty Tony Santillan, Schwarber hit a laser, no more than 10-feet high, but directly to right right fielder Rece Hinds. After a walk to Harper – the unintentional-intentional kind – loaded the bases, Alec Bohm struck out looking on a 2-2 fastball that ended the threat and sent many home to enjoy their holiday barbecues.

“I still have all the confidence in the world in Luzardo,” Thomson said. “Everybody’s going to have bad outings here and there. I think we’re still fine.”

It helps to look ahead a bit and know that Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler will be closing out the series against Cincinnati. In the meantime, getting Luzardo right is a priority.

“We tinkered a lot with coming out of the stretch with the whole pitch tipping thing,” Luzardo said. “We made a big change in terms of my hands. So it’s just more of getting comfortable. We’re already midseason so there’s no adjustment period, just have to figure it out. But I think out of the stretch, maybe the change caused a little as opposed to my windup being the same that it’s always been. There’s no excuse for it.”