Category: MLB

The Mets' lineup was flummoxed by Zac Gallen again, picking up just four hits in their 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Mets' patience got them on the board in the third inning. After an inning-ending double play was overturned, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso worked long at-bats and walked to push across a run off of Gallen.

Gallen, who allowed just two hits and struck out eight Mets last week at Citi Field, settled down after the third. He retired 11 straight Mets after walking the three straight that pushed across a run. He pitched seven innings on a season-high 101 pitches (64 strikes), allowing the one run on two hits, three walks, and striking out six.

The only knocks Gallen allowed were a third-inning single from Francisco Alvarez and a Mark Vientos single in the seventh.

-David Peterson was cruising, getting through the first three innings without allowing a hit, before Randal Grichuk doubled on a ball that went through Vientos' legs. A walk and a passed ball later, the Diamondbacks got on the board after a Josh Naylor fielder's choice. Lindor then made a great stop to get Geraldo Perdomo out at first, but Naylor scored on the play.

The southpaw had trouble locating his pitches, pitching from behind in the count more often than in his previous outings. It came back to bite him in the sixth after walking Naylor, Peterson -- trying to get ahead in the count -- threw a 90 mph fastball over the heart of the plate and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. deposited it 383 feet over the left field wall (108.5 mph off the bat). It was only the third home run Peterson has allowed this season -- the first two coming on his first start of the season.

Peterson had moments of dominance, but ran out of gas by the end. He pitched six innings on a season-high 104 pitches (69 strikes), allowing four runs on five hits, and four walks while striking out six. It wasn't a bad outing, but his mistake to Gurriel sunk the Mets.

-Jose Butto pitched the seventh and allowed an unearned run thanks to a Tyrone Taylor error. Errors and defensive miscues led to three of Arizona's five runs. The right-hander finished the eighth, giving the Mets bullpen a reprieve with his two innings of work.

-The Mets offense did threaten in the ninth, getting two runners on with one out on a walk and a Starling Marte bloop single, but Brandon Nimmo lined out and Vientos popped out to end the game.

-Nimmo seemingly tweaked his knee playing a double down the left field line in the fourth inning. Trainers came out to help him, but Nimmo talked his way to staying in the game. He finished 0-for-4. He's now hitless in his last 14 at-bats.

Alvarez was the only one who could solve D-backs pitching, going 2-for-3, the only Met with a multi-hit game on Tuesday. Alonso, who entered the game with an NL-leading .349 average, went 0-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and three strikeouts. He did extend his on-base streak to 18 games, but his average dipped to .341.

Game MVP: Zac Gallen

Gurriel had himself a game, but Gallen gave the Diamondbacks exactly what they needed after Monday's loss. Gallen has now dominated the Mets this season, allowing just two runs on four hits in 13 innings across two starts.

Highlights

Pete Alonso works a bases loaded walk to give the Mets a 1-0 lead pic.twitter.com/64ajBkSmjx

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 7, 2025

Three strikeouts in the third for David Peterson! pic.twitter.com/qkW17my2cD

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 7, 2025

Brandon Nimmo is remaining in the game after appearing to tweak something in his leg while fielding a ball off the wall pic.twitter.com/kScaTArXo3

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 7, 2025

What's next

The Mets complete their three-game series with Arizona on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:40 p.m.

Kodai Senga (3-2, 1.38 ERA) will take the mound and be opposed by Merrill Kelly (3-1, 4.06 ERA).

Most of Tuesday’s game went according to plan for the Dodgers.

Tony Gonsolin produced a solid five-inning outing in his second start back from Tommy John surgery, giving up just two runs.

Shohei Ohtani posted another monster stat line at LoanDepot Park, hitting a tying, second-deck home run in the sixth and a tying double in the seventh in what he calls "one of my favorite stadiums” to play in.

Late in a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Miami Marlins, however, one of the Dodgers’ few early-season concerns finally caught up with them.

The team’s bullpen, quite simply, has been overworked through the first month-plus of the year, leading the majors by a wide margin with 157 innings pitched. And in a game that hung in the balance until the very end, the toll of that strain was unmistakably evident, with manager Dave Roberts turning to two of his lowest-leverage relievers in two of the night’s most critical sequences.

Trying to protect a one-run lead in the sixth, Roberts summoned right-hander Luis García — who promptly gave up two runs that put the Marlins ahead.

Read more:Dodgers place Teoscar Hernández on IL with groin injury, call up James Outman

With the score tied in the bottom of the 10th inning, Roberts turned to recent waiver claim JP Feyereisen — who yielded a bases-loaded walk-off single to Jesús Sánchez.

“We had a few guys that were down, and so that's kind of the cost of it,” said Roberts, who has warned of the danger of the unit’s rising usage over the last several weeks.

“Absolutely not [do] we want to lead the league in bullpen innings."

The Dodgers’ bullpen workload hasn’t gotten out of control by design. Injuries to the starting rotation have thrown a wrench into their early-season pitching plans. A lack of consistent length from those who have pitched (the Dodgers are dead last in innings from starting pitchers) hasn’t helped either.

Nonetheless, it has forced their most trusted arms to accrue significant mileage to this point. Kirby Yates and Alex Vesia are tied for the major league lead with 19 outings. Tanner Scott (18) and Anthony Banda (17) are right behind them. Evan Phillips entered the night having pitched in seven of the 14 games the team had played since his late April return from the injured list. And Blake Treinen appeared in eight of their opening 17 contests before going down last month with a forearm injury, currently residing on the injured list alongside another big name in Michael Kopech (who has been sidelined all season by a shoulder problem).

In the interest of having those arms available for the stretch of the season, many of them have been “redlined” now, as Roberts termed it, to try and keep their inning counts under some semblance of control. On Tuesday, it was Yates and Phillips who were both evidently unavailable, each having pitched full innings the night before.

Thus, even with the Dodgers (24-12) holding just a 3-2 lead at the start of the sixth, Roberts had to look elsewhere and called upon García, a right-hander signed this offseason to a minor-league contract before making the club coming out of spring training.

Granted, García had been decent while handling his own robust workload this season, the 13-year veteran entering the game with a 3.78 ERA over 17 outings. 

Read more:Mookie Betts overcame illness early in the season. Why his swing took time to catch up

But on Tuesday, his execution finally faltered. Designated hitter Agustin Ramírez led off with a first-pitch double. Connor Norby doubled him home on a two-strike line drive to left field that just evaded a leaping effort from Michael Conforto. Matt Mervis singled on a hanging slider. Just like that, the Marlins had a 4-3 lead.

But after Vesia, Banda and Scott posted zeroes to get the game to extras — Banda’s outing required a bases-loaded 5-2-3 double-play to end the eighth — Roberts was forced into another unappealing pitching decision in the bottom of the 10th.

Claimed off waivers last week from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Feyereisen entered to begin his second stint as a Dodger. In 10 outings with the team last year, he posted an 8.18 ERA.

Roberts tried to get creative, intentionally walking the leadoff man before setting up a five-man infield when a line-drive single loaded the bases.

But Sánchez blasted the second pitch he saw right through the defense, ending the game in walk-off fashion.

The Dodgers’ fears about their mounting bullpen workload had been finally realized.

They bore the inevitable cost that comes with trying to manage it.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees' offense turned a corner when they exploded for the best inning of their 2025 season with a 10-run frame in Tuesday's 12-3 win over the San Diego Padres to snap a three-game skid.

Takeaways

1. New York's bats needed a jolt and got one in the seventh inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into a nine-run lead. The Yankees' younger players -- Austin Wells (five), Ben Rice (two) and Anthony Volpe (one), among others -- notably led the charge with a combined eight RBI in the frame. Not to be overlooked, Jasson Dominguez's leadoff double sparked the frame and Trent Grisham's bases-loaded walk with one out were key moments in the inning. New York needs more production in general beyond Aaron Judge, and it not only got that but did so from its youth movement.
2. The seventh changed the narrative of what was a tight game, but Judge's earlier home run to get the Yankees on the board is worth noting. Judge tied the MLB lead with his 12th long ball of the early season when he homered off former Yankee Michael King on a 2-2 count in the fourth inning. The solo shot gave New York life before the eventual outburst, a move that should be expected from the captain as he builds on his MVP start to 2025 while slashing .412/.503/.772 through 36 games.
3. On both sides, the seventh inning was a jaw-dropping one. The Padres' bullpen allowed 10 runs in the frame after yielding only 26 over the previous 128.2 IP. Meanwhile, the Yankees' 10 runs scored in an inning are the most since July 28, 2015, when they totaled 11 in the second of a 21-5 win at the Texas Rangers.
4. It should be noted that Clarke Schmidt's start was solid. The right-hander gave the Yankees a chance to win in his fourth start of the season as he scattered two runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking one over six innings. Schmidt (4.79 ERA) threw 53 strikes on 85 pitches.

Who's the MVP?

Wells, who tied the game on a seventh-inning single through the right side with none out and delivered the exclamation point later in the frame when he launched his two-out grand slam off former Yankee Wandy Peralta.

Highlights

Aaron Judge homers to put the Yankees on the board! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wt0VCe4lsq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2025

Austin Wells hits an RBI single to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/z17r8FMFq0

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2025

RBI double for Ben Rice extends the lead! pic.twitter.com/y0Sid7FL3T

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2025

Cody Bellinger’s RBI single brings in another as the Yankees continue to pile it on in the 7th 🔥
pic.twitter.com/gMqNRPG5lm

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2025

AUSTIN WELLS GRAND SLAM.

Yankees have TEN runs in the 7th inning. 🤯

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/2C6FqvpTHK

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) May 7, 2025

What's next

Ace southpaw Max Fried (6-0, 1.01 ERA) takes the mound Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. as the Yankees (20-16) and Padres (23-12) play the rubber match. Right-hander Dylan Cease (1-2, 5.61 ERA) gets the ball for San Diego.

Prior to Tuesday's matchup between the Mets and Diamondbacks, manager Carlos Mendoza gave updates on a number of rehabbing players...

Ronny Mauricio moving up

Mauricio continues to play in the minor leagues, rehabbing from a knee injury he suffered over a year ago. The Mets skipper confirmed the prospect's next steps, saying that he is set to play for the St. Lucie Mets on Tuesday and then travel to play with Double-A Binghamton on Friday.

The 24-year-old has played in four minor league games with St. Lucie so far this season and has gotten off to a slow start. Entering Tuesday, he's 1-for-12 with a stolen base but has struck out five times. He is also playing the field at third base, second base and shortstop.

"Feeling good, playing defense, moving well, getting at-bats," Mendoza said of Mauricio's rehab so far. "That’s good to see."

Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas progressing well

Mendoza was also asked about Manaea and Montas' progress as they return from their individual injuries.

On Montas (lat), the Mets skipper said that he threw his third bullpen session on Tuesday and continues to progress and "feeling good." He reportedly remains on track for an early June debut.

As for Manaea (oblique), the southpaw threw up to 105 feet and is getting the intensity back up. He is also progressing well.

Manaea resumed playing catch on April 14 after getting a platelet-rich plasma injection, but is still a ways away from a potential rehab assignment. The Mets hope Manaea recovers from his sessions better than his last ramp-up, which led him to being shut down in mid-March after he continued to feel discomfort in his side during his February throwing progression.

The New York Rangers have a difficult decision on their hands. 

As part of the J.T. Miller trade, the Rangers either have to give up their first-round pick in 2025 or 2026. 

It will be given to the Pittsburgh Penguins due to a separate trade between the Vancouver Canucks and Penguins.

Rangers Hold 12th Overall Pick After Draft Lottery With A Big Decision To MakeThe New York Rangers will hold the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft on June 27. 

The Rangers hold the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, so should the team hold the pick or give it up in order to keep their 2026 selection?

One NHL insider believes it is too much of a risk to give up next year’s draft pick despite expectations of a comeback next season. 

“They have until 48 hours before the draft begins to decide whether or not they want to convey that pick, essentially to Pittsburgh,” NHL insider Frank Seravalli said. “I would do it solely because I think if things do go sideways next year, which I think they’re primed for a bounce back, but let’s just say on the off chance that it does go sideways, you definitely don’t want to have your team win the lottery, and it’s the Pittsburgh Penguins that hold a 2026 unprotected first-round pick, which is one of the huge boons of the deal.”

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury has not indicated on what direction he plans on going regarding this decision.

Early homers and Castellanos' late insurance help Wheeler and Phils to a win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

TAMPA, Fla. — The Phillies blew a save in four of Zack Wheeler’s first seven starts this season, and with just a one-run lead entering the eighth inning Tuesday and the desire of manager Rob Thomson to get top reliever Jose Alvarado a break, it looked like potentially more of the same.

That’s when three straight singles and a three-run homer from Nick Castellanos broke open a tight game, loosened everyone up and cut Wheeler’s night an inning or two short in an 8-4 Phillies win over the Rays.

Wheeler threw just 84 pitches through seven innings and would have gone back out for the eighth if not for the length of the Phillies’ four-run top half. He was his usual overpowering self, allowing just two runs with no walks and nine strikeouts.

“He pitched up and down, in and out, he was commanding the ball all over the place,” Thomson said. “He was really good.”

The only runs Wheeler allowed came on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth from Yandy Diaz on a 95 mph sinker over the middle. Wheeler has uncharacteristically allowed one home run in each of his eight starts this season, four of them on sinkers. He allowed just five homers total on the sinker from 2022-24.

“I just haven’t faced that many righties,” he said of the sinker, his primary weapon against same-handed hitters. “It’s always kinda been that way but I feel like it’s a lot more this year than years prior. I guess it’s not as crisp. I just need to be a little more careful with it.”

One of the best at reading swings and making in-game adjustments, Wheeler responded by pumping more four-seam fastballs than usual, throwing 42 of them compared to just five sinkers. The first eight of his nine K’s came on four-seamers.

“You don’t really recognize it when you’re out there, but I knew (the fastball) was pretty good tonight and I was locating it for the most part,” Wheeler said. “There was some stuff in there that I got away with but I just knew it was flying well.”

Diaz’ home run would not have been out in any of the other 29 stadiums, according to Statcast, but it had just enough distance to clear the wall at Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays are playing in 2025 because of the devastation to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton last October.

Wheeler (3-1, 3.35 ERA) has given up two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts. He has the lowest expected ERA in all of baseball based on quality of contact allowed, indicating he’s been even better than his already ace-like traditional numbers.

“That’s him, that’s J.T. (Realmuto). They’re seeing things back there and they’re really good at making adjustments,” Thomson said. “And when you can command the baseball like Wheels can, you can do those types of things.”

With his 10th double and fourth homer as part of a three-hit night, Castellanos is up to 21 RBI, second on the team to Kyle Schwarber, who homered and drove in a pair himself, reaching base four of five times.

The four runs of insurance Castellanos provided were crucial because the Phillies’ bullpen has allowed 14 runs in 21⅔ innings this season after Wheeler has exited a start. Castellanos leads the National League this season in batting average vs. fastballs (.400 entering the night) and line drive rate (34.3% compared to a league average of 23.3%). His homer Tuesday was on a fastball but the double came on a sweeper and the single vs. a changeup.

The Phillies scored their first three runs in the top of the second, which Schwarber led off with a homer, his fifth in seven games. Four batters later, Alec Bohm hit a two-run shot to right field, his first of the season and first in 165 plate appearances dating back to last Sept. 20 at Citi Field.

Bohm has had trouble driving the ball to the pull-side and as a result, pitchers are routinely challenging him on the inner half. Why let the 6-foot-5 Bohm get his arms extended?

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen tried to do exactly that to Bohm with two outs in the second inning Tuesday, throwing a couple of 96 mph sinkers that were too far inside as Bohm ran a 3-0 count. One strike later, Rasmussen missed a spot with a cutter that caught too much of the outside corner and Bohm made him pay, hitting it 342 feet over the wall in right field for a line-drive two-run homer. He was all smiles as he crossed the plate and celebrated with Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott.

“You get to this point in the season without playing very well, obviously it feels good to start producing a little bit,” Bohm said. “I feel like I’ve been doing the right things. It’s easy to look up at the scoreboard and say, ‘Oh, he’s having a bad year.’ The numbers are the numbers and they don’t necessarily define who we are each day.”

Bohm is on a bit of a roll. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games, batting .310 over that span.

Does the home run total matter to him?

“That’s the game nowadays, everybody wants home runs,” he said. “I feel like when I go up there trying to do that stuff, I never end up doing it. That’s not when I’m at my best. When I kinda just stick within myself, what happened today is what can happen for me. I’m not gonna go up there searching for home runs and trying to do that. I’m just trying to put myself in a good position and hit the ball hard.”

The Phillies played a crisp game defensively, a good sign after miscues at second base, third base and shortstop cost them on Sunday. Stott dove to his right twice to end innings by fielding tough grounders. Bryce Harper left his feet to snag a short hop in the bottom of the first. Bohm and Stott combined on a rapid 5-4-3 double play to end the seventh.

The Phillies look to win their fourth straight series on Wednesday night behind Cristopher Sanchez. They are 7-2 since reaching their low-point at .500 two weekends ago in Chicago.

Diaz left Tuesday’s game after an awkward swing in the sixth inning, appearing to injure his groin. He’s by far the Rays’ best hitter and is routinely toward the top of the league in hard-hit rate, so that could be a big deal the rest of the series.

Early homers and Castellanos' late insurance help Wheeler and Phils to a win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

TAMPA, Fla. — The Phillies blew a save in four of Zack Wheeler’s first seven starts this season, and with just a one-run lead entering the eighth inning Tuesday and the desire of manager Rob Thomson to get top reliever Jose Alvarado a break, it looked like potentially more of the same.

That’s when three straight singles and a three-run homer from Nick Castellanos broke open a tight game, loosened everyone up and cut Wheeler’s night an inning or two short in an 8-4 Phillies win.

Wheeler threw just 84 pitches through seven innings and would have gone back out for the eighth if not for the length of the Phillies’ four-run half-inning. He was his usual overpowering self, allowing just two runs with no walks and nine strikeouts.

“He pitched up and down, in and out, he was commanding the ball all over the place,” Thomson said. “He was really good.”

The only runs Wheeler allowed came on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth from Yandy Diaz on a 95 mph sinker over the middle. Wheeler has uncharacteristically allowed one home run in each of his eight starts this season, four of them on sinkers. He allowed just five homers total on the sinker from 2022-24.

“I just haven’t faced that many righties,” he said of the sinker, his primary weapon against same-handed hitters. “It’s always kinda been that way but I feel like it’s a lot more this year than years prior. I guess it’s not as crisp. I just need to be a little more careful with it.”

One of the best at reading swings and making in-game adjustments, Wheeler responded by pumping more four-seam fastballs than usual, throwing 42 of them compared to just five sinkers. The first eight of his nine K’s came on four-seamers.

“You don’t really recognize it when you’re out there, but I knew (the fastball) was pretty good tonight and I was locating it for the most part,” Wheeler said. “There was some stuff in there that I got away with but I just knew it was flying well.”

Diaz’ home run would not have been out in any of the other 29 stadiums, according to Statcast, but it had just enough distance to clear the wall at Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays are playing in 2025 because of the devastation to Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton last October.

Wheeler (3-1, 3.35 ERA) has given up two runs or fewer in six of his eight starts. He has the lowest expected ERA in all of baseball based on quality of contact allowed, indicating he’s been even better than his already ace-like traditional numbers.

“That’s him, that’s J.T. They’re seeing things back there and they’re really good at making adjustments,” Thomson said. “And when you can command the baseball like Wheels can, you can do those types of things.”

With his 10th double and fourth homer as part of a three-hit night, Castellanos is up to 21 RBI, second on the team to Kyle Schwarber, who homered and drove in a pair himself, reaching base four of five times.

The four runs of insurance Castellanos provided were crucial because the Phillies’ bullpen has allowed 14 runs in 21⅔ innings this season after Wheeler has exited a start. Castellanos leads the National League this season in batting average vs. fastballs (.400 entering the night) and line drive rate (34.3% compared to a league average of 23.3%). His homer Tuesday was on a fastball but the double came on a sweeper and the single vs. a changeup.

The Phillies scored their first three runs in the top of the second, which Schwarber led off with a homer, his fifth in seven games. Four batters later, Alec Bohm hit a two-run shot to right field, his first of the season and first in 165 plate appearances dating back to last Sept. 20 at Citi Field.

Bohm has had trouble driving the ball to the pull-side and as a result, pitchers are routinely challenging him on the inner half. Why let the 6-foot-5 Bohm get his arms extended?

Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen tried to do exactly that to Bohm with two outs in the second inning Tuesday, throwing a couple of 96 mph sinkers that were too far inside as Bohm ran a 3-0 count. One strike later, Rasmussen missed a spot with a cutter that caught too much of the outside corner and Bohm made him pay, hitting it 342 feet over the wall in right field for a line-drive two-run homer. He was all smiles as he crossed the plate and celebrated with Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott.

“You get to this point in the season without playing very well, obviously it feels good to start producing a little bit,” Bohm said. “I feel like I’ve been doing the right things. It’s easy to look up at the scoreboard and say, ‘Oh, he’s having a bad year.’ The numbers are the numbers and they don’t necessarily define who we are each day.”

Bohm is on a bit of a roll. He has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games, batting .310 over that span.

Does the home run total matter to him?

“That’s the game nowadays, everybody wants home runs,” he said. “I feel like when I go up there trying to do that stuff, I never end up doing it. That’s not when I’m at my best. When I kinda just stick within myself, what happened today is what can happen for me. I’m not gonna go up there searching for home runs and trying to do that. I’m just trying to put myself in a good position and hit the ball hard.”

The Phillies played a crisp game defensively, a good sign after miscues at second base, third base and shortstop cost them on Sunday. Stott dove to his right twice to end innings by fielding tough grounders. Bryce Harper left his feet to snag a short hop in the bottom of the first. Bohm and Stott combined on a rapid 5-4-3 double play to end the seventh.

The Phillies look to win their fourth straight series on Wednesday night behind Cristopher Sanchez. They are 7-2 since reaching their low-point at .500 two weekends ago in Chicago.

Diaz left Tuesday’s game after an awkward swing in the sixth inning, appearing to injure his groin. He’s by far the Rays’ best hitter and is routinely toward the top of the league in line drive rate, so that could be a big deal the rest of the series.

The Dodgers put outfielder Teoscar Hernández on the injured list Tuesday with a left groin strain, a day after Hernández injured himself chasing down a fly ball in right field and left the game early.

James Outman was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Hernández on the roster.

According to manager Dave Roberts, Hernández was diagnosed specifically with a Grade-1 adductor strain. While there was no immediate timeline for Hernández to return, Roberts acknowledged that “he’s going to be inactive for a while.”

“It’s certainly [going to be several] weeks,” Roberts said. “But I just don’t know how long.”

Read more:Mookie Betts overcame illness early in the season. Why his swing took time to catch up

In the third inning of Monday’s win over the Miami Marlins, Hernández broke hard for a line drive in the gap and stretched at full sprint to make the catch.

After returning to the dugout between innings, Hernández was removed from the game, reporting tightness in both his hamstring and adductor to the team’s training staff. He was sent for an MRI exam on Tuesday.

“He’s a guy that just doesn’t come out of games by way of injury,” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “That’s a little concerning given the person.”

Back with the Dodgers this season after re-signing with the club on a three-year, $66 million contract as a free agent this winter, Hernández had been one of the lineup’s most consistent run producers early this year.

He was batting .315, well above his career .264 average. He had nine home runs, tied with Shohei Ohtani for most on the team. He’d collected 34 RBIs in just 33 games, most in the majors.

“He’s had a huge impact,” Roberts said. “He’s certainly going to be missed.”

Indeed, the Dodgers — who are also unlikely to get Tommy Edman back from an ankle injury before the end of this trip — now have yet another lineup hole to fill.

For now, Roberts said he expects “more of a platoon-based roster” as the team works around the two injuries. On Tuesday, Hyeseong Kim was playing second base (where Edman has seen most of his playing time this year) and Outman was in center (regular center fielder Andy Pages shifted to Hernández’s position in right field). Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor can move around the diamond as well.

Outman is just two years removed from a third-place finish in National League rookie of the year voting, when he hit .248 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs in 2023. 

But last year, he struggled in brief stints on the big-league roster, batting .147 with only four home runs in 53 games. With Oklahoma City this season, he started the year a woeful 10 for 66, before heating up the last three weeks with a .359 average and five home runs in his last 17 games.

“It’s up to him to go out there and relax and know that and be comfortable in this environment and be free and go play,” Roberts said of the now 27-year-old outfielder, who tried to simplify his swing during spring camp. “The last couple weeks he’s been very productive, taking good at-bats. So hopefully that continues here.”

Read more:Hyeseong Kim shares joyful moment to remember with Shohei Ohtani in Dodgers' win

Two other players joined the Dodgers from triple A on Tuesday.

Reliever JP Feyereisen was called up, with fellow right-hander Yoendrys Gómez getting designated for assignment.

Starting pitcher Landon Knack also joined the big-league club, and will be activated to pitch in the series finale against the Marlins on Wednesday.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

What we learned as Giants' nine-run 11th-inning eruption fuels win over Cubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — For the third time in four starts, the bullpen let Justin Verlander down. This time, the Giants at least found a way to come away with the win, and somehow, the rare extra-innings blowout. 

Ryan Walker couldn’t close out what would have been Verlander’s first win as a Giant — and 263rd in the big leagues — but the Giants got the game to the 11th and then broke through with nine runs (seriously) in the 11th inning. With a 14-5 win, they evened this series against the highest-scoring team in the big leagues.The Giants led by four early and Verlander walked off with a two-run lead. Walker, who has gotten off to an unexpectedly rough start, gave it back in the ninth. 

The nine runs are a franchise record for the most runs the Giants have ever scored in an extra inning. They scored eight in games in 1929 and 1940.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) May 7, 2025

Walker’s first blown save as a closer came at the end of the last road trip and cost Verlander a win. He was wobbly at the start of the ensuing homestand, but by the end of it, the Giants felt their closer was back to form.

The ninth started with a walk of speedy Pete Crow-Armstrong. After a strikeout, Walker issued a free pass to pinch-hitter Carson Kelly and then gave up an RBI single to longtime Giants nemesis Justin Turner. That put runners on the corners with one out, but Walker responded with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Ian Happ. 

With Kyle Tucker coming up, Bob Melvin turned to lefty Erik Miller, who was looking for his first career save but was a better matchup against the Cubs star. Walker wasn’t happy as he walked off the mound, and the pain in the dugout and clubhouse got worse when Tucker lined Miller’s first pitch up the middle to tie the game. 

Miller got it to the 11th and Heliot Ramos’ double was followed by a Patrick Bailey RBI single to get the Giants back ahead. Eight consecutive Giants reached in the 11th before the Cubs recorded an out.

PATTY BARRELS. GIANTS LEAD. 💪 pic.twitter.com/mW2bIflp8i

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 7, 2025

We'll take it 😈 pic.twitter.com/JhEw8vPTig

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 7, 2025

Another insurance run courtesy of JHL 🤌 pic.twitter.com/18ISNjzVsP

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 7, 2025

Chappy adds to the lead 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ju01B1y5a1

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 7, 2025

 

The Giants set a Wrigley Field record for most runs in an extra inning. The previous mark was seven, set by the New York Giants in 1921.

Here are the takeaways from a win that pushes the Giants’ record to 23-14:

The Wait Continues

Verlander was coming off three consecutive quality starts, and while he didn’t reach that standard Tuesday, he wasn’t far from it. Over five innings, Verlander gave up three earned on five hits and two walks. He struck out three, getting Ian Happ on a slider, Seiya Suzuki on a 96 mph fastball and Michael Busch on a slider. 

Verlander had an uneven start to the season, but he has lived up to expectations over the last few weeks. In his last four starts, he has thrown 23 1/3 innings and allowed just six earned runs, but he has watched the bullpen blow the lead in each of his last three starts. In the other one, the lineup got shut out. 

Verlander is in his 20th big league season, and only once previously has he gone winless through his first seven starts. This is the first time he has gone eight starts to begin a year without picking up a win. 

Wind, Meet Windy

Jung Hoo Lee certainly seems to like the big stage. Lee hit three homers when the Giants visited Yankee Stadium last month, and on Tuesday, he added Wrigley Field to his book.

With a runner on in the third, veteran Colin Rea grooved a 94 mph fastball to Lee, who hit a 105 mph laser a half-dozen rows up in right. The blast was his first since his two-homer game at Yankee Stadium on April 13.

Jung Hoo Lee goes yard at Wrigley 💥 pic.twitter.com/OKJHF8IZo7

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 7, 2025

Lee hit two homers and slugged .331 in 37 games as a rookie. Wednesday’s series finale will be his 37th as a sophomore, and he’s currently at four homers and a .507 slugging percentage, which ranks 13th in the National League.

Elite In The Middle

On the last road trip, the Giants paid for extending Verlander. Melvin was much more careful on Tuesday, turning to one of the league’s best bullpens after just 82 pitches from his starter, and early on it looked like the right move. 

Randy Rodriguez gave up a hit and walked one in the sixth, but also struck out a pair. With the tying run on first, he whiffed Miguel Amaya on three pitches. Rodriguez lowered his ERA to 1.15.

Camilo Doval’s ERA is down to 1.62 after a 1-2-3 seventh inning. He needed just seven pitches to get through his frame, continuing what has been a remarkable stretch for the former closer. Over his last 12 appearances, Doval has allowed just one hit over 11 1/3 innings.

Those two got the ball to Tyler Rogers, who had a clean eighth. It all went off the rails a few minutes later, though.

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Early on in the 2024-25 season, there were rumors linking Brady Tkachuk to the New York Rangers. 

According to Larry Brooks of The New York Post in December, the Rangers made Brady Tkachuk their primary trade target.

Senators general manager Steve Staios quickly shot down these rumors while Ottawa owner Michael Andlauer even accused the Rangers of soft tampering. 

Senators General Manager Reportedly Planned To Meet Brady Tkachuk Over Rangers Trade RumorThe Senators are reportedly not happy about the Brady Tkachuk trade rumors linking him to the Rangers.

When addressing the constant trade rumors around his name during exit interviews, Tkachuk made sure to emphasize that he has no intention of leaving the Senators organization. 

“Obviously it’s a lie,” Tkachuk said. “All those articles, stories … It’s just not true. But I think it’s on me if I let that bother me or take me off what I’m trying to do. Everyone knows that I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Seeing this fan base, this excitement, see how much they rallied around us, everybody’s waiting for it. Everybody wants to accomplish the same thing and win the Stanley Cup.”

In response to the soft tampering accusations made by Andlauer, the Rangers denied any sort of wrongdoing. 

“This is an irresponsible accusation, and we defer to the commissioner’s office,” a Rangers spokesperson said in reply to Andlauer’s comment. 

The Senators ended up making the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Meanwhile, the Rangers regressed from their Presidents’ Trophy-winning season and missed the playoffs altogether, marking a catastrophe of a year.

It likely won’t mean bringing in Tkachuk, but Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury will certainly be busy this summer.

MLB Power Rankings roundup: Red Sox slipping amid inconsistent start originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Red Sox can’t get out of their own way.

After going 81-81 during the 2024 MLB season, Boston has remained mediocre at 18-18 to begin 2025. Alex Cora’s group is 4-9 in one-run games, and the bullpen hasn’t helped matters with a league-leading eight blown saves. On top of those ongoing issues, the Red Sox must find a replacement for Triston Casas after the first baseman went down with a season-ending knee injury.

While it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Boston so far, it’s reassuring that the American League East has arguably been the worst division in baseball. The Red Sox are only 1.5 games behind the first-place New York Yankees as of Tuesday.

So, how do the Red Sox stack up against the rest of the league? Here’s where they rank amongst the 30 MLB teams, according to several national outlets:

The Athletic (Chad Jennings): 12th

“Honestly, Casas had not been very good. Negative WAR. Below-average offensive numbers. Just a brutal start to the season. But last week’s knee injury left the Red Sox with a glaring hole at first base, a position at which they have no obvious replacement. Getting Bryan Bello and Lucas Giolito off the IL should stabilize the rotation — Bello has been great through three starts — but the Red Sox now face a curious decision at first, and they seem hesitant or unwilling to move Rafael Devers to the position. Is there a way to get creative with top prospects Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer (neither of whom plays first)? Will they add someone? The Red Sox clearly were banking on Casas turning things around, but injuries continue to plague him, and an uneven Red Sox season is now left with a fresh dose of uncertainty.”

CBS Sports (Matt Snyder): 16th

“Tanner Houck was an All-Star last season. He had a 2.18 ERA through 16 starts. His numbers are brutal right now, but he looked great last time out and a lot of the horrible numbers could be pinned on one start. It’s worth watching.”

Bleacher Report (Joel Reuter):15th

“The Red Sox still sit second in the AL East standings even after a pair of series losses last week, and they welcomed catcher Conner Wong back to the active roster on Friday. How many teams are regretting not signing Alex Bregman while watching him hit .317/.396/.583 with 13 doubles, eight home runs and 27 RBI through his first 35 games in a Red Sox uniform?”

MLB.com (Will Leitch): 12th

“Some cracks are starting to show with the Red Sox’s pitching. The bullpen has been blowing leads like crazy lately, but even more worrisome is the shoulder inflammation that put Walker Buehler on the injured list. The team is trying to stay optimistic.

“We don’t think it’s that serious,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Miss two starts and hopefully come back as soon as the [15] days are over.”

“But we are talking about shoulder inflammation here, with a pitcher who doesn’t exactly have the cleanest injury history.”

USA TODAY (Gabe Lacques): 11th

“Just brutal to lose Triston Casas for the season with a gruesome patella injury.”

theScore: 15th

“Boston’s off to an inconsistent start, as the club’s left multiple wins on the table. The Red Sox are 4-9 in one-run games and haven’t overcome a deficit of more than two runs on the season. They’ll attempt to piece things together at first base following Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury.”

FOX Sports (Rowan Kavner): 13th

“The potential for greatness is still there. The results, so far, have not been there. The offense has the second-most strikeouts and third-highest whiff rate in MLB and just lost Triston Casas for the season, the defense leads the league in errors, and the pitching staff has been mediocre overall. There are still plenty of reasons for optimism. Kristian Campbell looks like the best rookie in the sport, new additions Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman have looked like stars, and eventually top prospect Roman Anthony should enter the fold. I still expect better days ahead.”