Dylan Beavers (OF Orioles): Rostered in 2% of Yahoo leagues
This has to be the time. With just 45 days left in the season as of Friday, the Orioles can now safely promote Beavers and keep him Rookie of the Year eligible in 2026. The move should have happened the day after Ramón Laureano was traded, and Beavers being trapped in Triple-A has only become more ridiculous with Tyler O’Neill and Colton Cowser landing on the IL. The Orioles have used Dylan Carlson, Daniel Johnson, Greg Allen, Ryan Noda and Jeremiah Jackson to cover the outfield in recent days, even as Beavers has hit .305/.420/.518 with 18 homers and 23 steals for Triple-A Norfolk.
The 33rd overall pick in the 2022 draft, Beavers has taken a major step forward this year in simultaneously adding power and cutting back on his strikeouts. He fanned 23.5% of the time in a 2024 campaign spent mostly in Double-A. This year, he’s at just 17.9% and has barely more strikeouts (74) than walks (67) in 413 plate appearances. His power potential is still in question. He’s big-time flyball hitter with pretty average exit velocity numbers and only an average pull rate. Yanking more of his 360-foot flies down the right field line is going to be a must for him in the majors. Fortunately, Camden Yards is kind to left-handed power.
Beavers might not be someone who succeeds right away. His patience at the plate has been greatly rewarded with the tight, ABS-controlled strike zone in Triple-A, and he’ll be seeing pitchers with better stuff get strike calls off the corners in the majors. Hitting for average probably won’t happen immediately. Still, he’s been ready for his first look for weeks now, and even if he doesn’t thrive immediately, his basestealing ability could help him amass some mixed-league value.
Landen Roupp (SP Giants): Rostered in 29% of Yahoo leagues
Roupp missed most of 2023 and spent much of 2024 in the bullpen, throwing just 76 2/3 innings, making one wonder how he was going to hold up as a full-time starter for the Giants this season. He was already up to 101 1/3 innings -- just six off his career high from 2022 -- when he went on the IL last month with elbow inflammation. That’s not great, of course, but it did give him the break he probably needed to help remain strong into September.
The 26-year-old Roupp has impressed for the most part in his return to the rotation. He had a 4.73 ERA in his first eight starts, but his peripherals were better than that suggested. Since then, he’s come in at 5-3 with a 2.05 ERA in 12 turns. His 53/28 K/BB over 61 1/3 innings during the span isn’t great, but Roupp gets plenty of grounders with his sinker and can punch guys out with his curve or change when he gets to two strikes.
The Giants have tough road series next week in San Diego and Milwaukee, but after that, they’ll finish up with a pretty easy schedule and play six of their last 10 series at home. It bodes well for the team’s pitching and makes Roupp and Justin Verlander a little more interesting the rest of the way. Maybe hold Roupp out if he is activated to start against the Padres (he might make a second rehab start instead), but after that, he should be a nice play.
Nolan McLean (SP Mets): Rostered in 16% of Yahoo leagues
Looking for a boost, the Mets pulled the plug on Frankie Montas this week, sending him to the bullpen. Coming up in his place is the 24-year-old McLean, who will make his major league debut Saturday against the Mariners. He’s earned the chance by going 8-5 with a 2.45 ERA and a 127/50 K/BB in 113 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A this year. Since the beginning of July, he’s fanned 29.2% of the hitters he’s faced.
McLean has mostly thrown mid-90s fastballs and sinkers, mid-80s sliders and high-80s cutters this season. His curveball has gotten good reviews, but he’s used it just nine percent of the time in Triple-A. He’s more often around the strike zone with the other offerings, though walks still can be a problem. Fortunately, he gets plenty of grounders when hitters make contact against him, and he can erase some of those walks with double-play balls.
The danger with McLean in the majors is that he’ll rack up too high of pitch counts to get through five innings and qualify for wins. He should be pretty effective, though, and the Mets, on paper at least, have an excellent bullpen behind him, so if he does get through five with a lead, there’s a good chance it’ll be held on to. He seems well worth taking a chance on.
Waiver Wire Quick Hits
- Kyle Harrison has pitched 10 scoreless innings in his last two outings for Triple-A Worcester and has a 1.59 ERA in his last six starts, so it seems like time for Boston to give him a real shot. I’m not high on Red Sox starters for the most part, but Harrison is missing enough bats to be interesting.
- Cubs prospect Owen Caissie would have gotten the thumbs up here if he was due to play regularly, but he’s not likely to get that kind of opportunity unless an outfielder ahead of him gets hurt. Caissie, promoted to the majors for the first time Thursday as a result of Miguel Amaya’s ankle injury, was batting .289/.389/.586 with 22 homers in Triple-A and is very likely ready to contribute against right-handed pitchers.
The bullpen used to be a place where failed starters would go to kickstart their career or provide a path for a bounce-back. Mariano Rivera started 10 games for the Yankees in his rookie season. John Smoltz and Derek Lowe had strong seasons as starting pitchers before late-career moves to the bullpen. Edwin Diaz was a starting pitching prospect for three years in the Mariners' organization before they moved him to the bullpen in Double-A in 2016, and Mason Miller was a talented but oft-injured starting pitcher until the Athletics made him a full-time reliever in 2024.
However, the Miller move is a path that's becoming more common for young starting pitchers, like Hunter Brown, Garrett Crochet, or Joey Cantillo.
So far, Miller has stayed in the bullpen, unlike the three names I just alluded to, but when the Athletics initially moved him to the bullpen, it was to find a way for him to help their big league team more immediately. It just turned out that he was so dominant out of the bullpen that the team decided to keep him there. Garrett Crochet was similarly dominant out of the bullpen for the White Sox in 2021 and 2023, but he always viewed himself as a starter and is now an ace for the Red Sox.
Using the bullpen as a training ground for young starting pitchers is becoming more common because of the way a bullpen role forces a pitcher to simplify his approach. When I talked to Reid Detmers earlier this month about his move to the bullpen, he stressed that there was no time to mess around in the bullpen: "It's more of just attacking with my stuff. As a starter, you kind of work around guys, like you're trying to hit the corners and stuff. Where, in the bullpen, you need to attack."
Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius, who also spent his minor league career as a starter, told me something similar back in May: “I think the relief side of things has helped with some of my starts too, in just focusing on one pitch at a time and not projecting or looking ahead towards the next inning. It’s just gotten me into a mindset of, every inning, here’s my best stuff."
That's a similar mindset that Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Joey Cantillo adopted this season after pitching his first 28.1 innings out of the bullpen.
"I think the biggest thing that I kind of put upon myself is like, 'Hey, you don't have time to settle in,'" he told me during a series against the Mets last week. "When you're coming out of the bullpen, you could be in the fifth inning, could be the fourth inning, could be the eighth inning. You don't know how many pitches you have. There's a sense of urgency from pitch one, like, 'Hey, let's get ahead; value each pitch.'"
Last year in the minor leagues, Cantillo posted a 15% walk rate, which was 6.13 BB/9 innings. This year, his walk rate dropped to 11.9% in his MLB innings but just 8.76% in his limited minor league sample size when he was moved into the starting rotation. While his new attack-centric mindset isn't transitioning to substantial gains in his walk rate and command stats right away, it is now a fixture in his mental approach when he's on the mound.
"I didn't do a great job of throwing strikes [earlier in the season]," he admitted. "It's kind of why I always say, everyone knows it, but this game is simple when you're getting ahead of guys and you're throwing strikes." His new attack mindset is slowly beginning to help with that.
"It's something I'm trying to bring to starting. You know, the start the other day [August 3rd against the Twins], I had a tough first inning, four hits to start the game, but I attacked in the zone to start the game and had a sense of urgency. You don't know how many pitches you're gonna have, even though it's a start, so let's attack from the beginning. Kind of bringing that mindset into it. But, at the end of the day, it's still baseball. You're still just trying to get outs."
While one of the components of getting those outs for Cantillo has been his new mindset, another has been a slight change in his approach.
"I've thrown a little less fastballs, and I'm trying to use my curveball more," he explained. "When they sent me down [to Triple-A in May], they stressed to throw that curveball more." As you can see from Alex Chamberlain's Pitch Leaderboard below, Cantillo has indeed started using his curveball more as a starter.
Alex Chamberlain Pitch Leaderboard
On the season, it's an above-average pitch by stuff and command. The pitch is 76.6 mph with 21 inches of vertical break and nearly nine inches of glove-side movement. That's the 96th percentile in baseball in terms of total break. However, he also has a well-above-average zone rate and an above-average strike rate on the pitch, which has led to a solid 34% CSW. Overall, the pitch doesn't miss many bats, but much of that has to do with its performance against righties. It actually grades out as his best pitch by Pitcher List's PLV grade.
Pitcher List
Against righties, Cantillo has just a 6.3% swinging strike rate (SwStr%) on his curve, and his command of the pitch is worse. Those numbers have been slightly better since Cantillo came back up as a starting pitcher, but much of that is likely due to sequencing. His usage in specific counts and location has not changed much, but he's keeping the curve away a little more often and using it in two-strike counts slightly more often to righties. Even in Cantillo's mind, the benefit of the curveball is more about keeping hitters guessing than anything.
"I need to have good fastball execution, good fastball command in the zone, and then throw that curveball to both sides of the plate," he explained. "When I'm landing that in the strike zone, I think it just gives hitters something else to have to think about before they see a fastball or change-up."
Against righties and lefties, the curve is his third most-used pitch. He has thrown it 25% of the time to righties as a starter, but he will primarily rely on his four-seam fastball and change-up, and he has used the curve just 18% of the time to lefties as a starter since he also mixes in a slider 17% of the time. "Out of the bullpen, I think there were times I didn't really throw the slider," recalled Cantillo. "Now that I'm pitching deeper into games, I'm gonna see a few more lefties, so I gotta start throwing that slider. You gotta put in the hitter's mind a little bit like, 'Hey, this guy throws this pitch a little bit' and establish that."
Perhaps that limited usage is what's making the slider impactful, but in his seven starts, the pitch has a 17% SwStr% against lefties, while not allowing a single hard-hit ball and producing just a .200 average and a .350 xwOBA. But it's a slower slider at 84 mph, so perhaps it plays well off the curveball to create some deception to lefties.
But both the slider and curve are complementary pieces to Cantillo's two main offerings: a four-seam fastball that he gets elite extension on and a dominant changeup.
While Cantillo is known more for his changeup, his fastball is his most-used pitch and is a unique offering since it has 7.4 feet of extension, which is among the most of any starter in baseball. Extension measures how far out in front, or how close to home, a pitcher releases the ball, with the MLB average being 6.5 feet. So, on average, Cantillo releases his fastball a foot closer to home plate than most pitchers, which means the pitch gets on a hitter faster and makes his 91.5 mph fastball seem closer to 93-94 mph.
Pitcher List
"I did a lot of Tom House when I was young, and a lot of that stuff was kind of about getting your hand far out there," recalled Cantillo. "Stride length was also really what we stressed when we were younger. Now, [extension] is not something I think about. It's just kind of how I throw. The extension plays, but that's not something I've ever really thought about or trained for. I'm thankful I have it, obviously."
Yet for Cantillo, the bigger focus with his four-seam fastball is getting back some of the velocity that he's lost this season: "I'm not quite throwing as hard as I used to, and I'm working on that stuff. It's little adjustments we're making day by day. I think for me, it's, can we continue to see that fastball get back up to where I know it can be back into the mid-90s and throwing it in the zone."
Again, Cantillo is stressing the need to attack the zone with his pitches. It's something he's even focusing on with his best pitch, his change-up.
Overall, on the season, the pitch has a 24.3% swinging strike rate, so you'd think a pitch that gets that many swings and misses is causing hitters to chase off the plate consistently. Yet, Cantillo has just a 31% chase rate on his changeup, which is 39th percentile in baseball. Part of his success on the pitch this season has been that he's actually throwing it in the strike zone more often and using it earlier in counts than he did last year.
"I think recently, the way it's played, and this was something that was told to me when I first came up last year, is eliminating the change-ups that are really down under the zone," Cantillo said. "I think it plays best in the zone. It's not like a super depthy pitch. Yes, it goes down, but the change of speed is what helps it play well. So really, I just trying to be aggressive with it and throw it in the strike zone."
When Cantillo says his changeup isn't super depthy, he's referring to the fact that the pitch gets only 14.7 inches of total break. That's below league average. His changeup drops only 33 inches, when you factor in gravity, which is almost an inch less than the normal changeup. He also gets over an inch less horizontal movement than comparable changeups, so the pitch tends to not grade out well in most pitch models.
Pitcher List
However, as Cantillo said, the key to his changeup is the velocity gap between that and his four-seam fastball and the way the two pitches tunnel out of his hand, so hitters can't tell the difference until it's too late. This is also where his elite extension comes into play because a hitter has less time to differentiate between those two pitches.
So if the pitch doesn't rely on depth or movement for success, then he doesn't need to get chases out of the zone. That's why he's thrown the pitch in the strike zone 44% of the time in his seven starts, with 59% of his changeups being low in the strike zone and 36% being over the middle of the plate rather than on the inside or outside corner. When he was coming out of the bullpen, Cantillo had just a 38% zone rate on his changeup and was throwing it low in the zone 50% of the time, so the pitch is landing in the lower part of the strike zone more often, and a lot of that has to do with how he picks up his target and where he aims at release.
"For the most part, I'm trying to keep it simple and be pretty middle with [the changeup," Cantillo explained. "If I'm way ahead in the count, that's probably where I'll shift my sights down, but I think when I'm having the most success, it's very aggressive. No matter what the count is, I'm throwing it through the heart of the plate, through the catcher, and letting the action take it to where it is, but kind of stressing more contact with the pitch."
Part of the reason that Cantillo is able to succeed with a more contact-focused approach to his changeup is that he uses a unique "Vulcan" grip on it. The Vulcan change is named after the Vulcan symbol on Star Trek, where the ring finger and pinky finger are split together on one side, forming a "V" with the middle finger and pointer finger on the other side. The baseball is then jammed down into that "V" to create almost a split-finger change-up.
"My high school coach taught it to me, but I didn't have to throw it that much in high school, and I didn't know where it was going at all," smiled Cantillo. "Then, when I got drafted by the Padres, our throwing program was, like, 'You're gonna throw change-ups. No matter how far you throw, you're gonna throw change-ups every day at 90 feet.' The first couple of months of rookie ball, I'd throw it, and I had no idea where it was going. You're splitting it deep in your fingers, so the feel for it took a little bit, but I think it's like anything else. You start throwing it as hard as you can, and you get a feel for throwing it and making an adjustment. That's kind of a day-by-day thing. There are days when I gotta raise the sights, and there are days when I gotta lower the sights."
But Cantillo's time in the bullpen taught him how to attack with his changeup more effectively and efficiently than he had before, and it has led to success on that pitch that he's never had before. It also creates a potential building block for the 25-year-old and the Guardians to build off of.
"Honestly, I think [my goal for the final two months is] just continuing to get better," he stated last week. "There's been some inconsistencies, and I think, like everybody else here, I want to be as consistent as possible. That's what makes a good big leaguer."
Part of that consistency for Cantillo has come from a more solidified role. With Luis L. Ortiz on paid administrative leave following an investigation into illegal gambling and Shane Bieber traded to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline this year, there isn't much competition for Cantillo's spot in the rotation. He's getting the ball every five days for a Guardians team that has the third-best record in baseball over the last 30 days. Cleveland is now in possession of one of the final playoff spots in the American League, and the team has won four of the last six starts that Cantillo has made.
"Honestly, up here, it's, it's a good day if you win the baseball game," he declared. "You know, I contribute to the team once every five days. It's do your job, pitch deep into the game, give the team a chance to win. I think if I'm consistent, and in the process, I'm filling up the strike zone, being aggressive with the change-up, good things are going to happen."
With his next five starts projected to come against the Braves, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox, and Rays, good things could also happen for fantasy managers who roster Cantillo for the remainder of the season.
Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Francisco Lindoris heating up, slashing .545/.643/.909 over his last three games
Juan Soto has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games
Since returning from a stint in the minors, Francisco Alvarez has hit .280/.390/.580 with three home runs and four doubles in 59 plate appearances over 18 games
MARINERS
METS
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Following a rough stretch from Frankie Montas, the Mets shifted him to the bullpen and are turning to McLean, who will make his major league debut on Saturday.
The 24-year-old right-hander, who features an elite sweeper and mid-90s fastball that will touch 97 mph, was tremendous this season for Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.
In 113.2 innings, McLean had a 2.45 ERA and 1.12 WHIP with 127 strikeouts -- a rate of 10.1 K's per nine.
He tossed 109.2 innings last season, meaning he should have plenty left in the tank down the stretch if the Mets give him a long look in the rotation -- which manager Carlos Mendozahinted is likely.
Holmes had a short outing his last time out, making it through just 3.2 innings while allowing five runs.
It was Holmes' second start out of three where he tossed only 3.2 frames, with his other most recent start being a 5.0 inning performance where he was sharp -- Holmes gave up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out six in that one.
Holmes has thrown 126.0 innings this season as he pitches far beyond his previous high for innings during what is his first season transitioning from reliever to starter.
Still, when asked before Thursday's game whether the Mets were paying closer attention to Holmes' workload, Mendoza said no, adding that the expectation is that he's going to remain in the rotation.
Jun 25, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Juan Soto (22) is greeted by first baseman Pete Alonso (20) after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz - Imagn Images
Alonso has three homers and seven RBI over the last week, Soto has four homers in his last 12 games (and has hit safely in 11 of those contests), Nimmo had a pair of hits on Tuesday and reached base twice on Wednesday, and Lindor broke a long hitless streak on Wednesday as he reached base four times (two hits, two walks). He then went 3-for-4 with a homer, two singles, a stolen base, and two RBI on Thursday.
New York is getting more contributions from the catcher spot (Francisco Alvarez has been hot since returning from Triple-A) than they were earlier this season, taking a bit of pressure off the top four guys.
But the Mets still need their big boppers to step up if they hope to get where they want to go.
The Mariners have been red hot
The M's are 10-3 over their last 13 games, though they were knocked down a peg the last two days as they lost to the Orioles twice.
Still, Seattle is right there with the Astros for first place in the AL West, and have one of the most well-rounded teams in baseball.
Their offense added Eugenio Suarez at the deadline, and also features home run monster Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena, and Josh Naylor.
The Mariners' bullpen is led by closer Andres Munoz, who has a 1.34 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with 60 strikeouts in 47.0 innings this season.
As far as the rotation...
Seattle's starting rotation is outrageously good
The Mariners have one of the best starting staffs in baseball, and the Mets will get three of their four best this weekend.
Luis Castillo, who starts the series-opener, has a 3.19 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 120 strikeouts in 138.1 innings.
Bryan Woo, getting the ball on Saturday, flirted with a no-hitter against the Yankees back on July 10. Overall this season, he has a 3.08 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 145 strikeouts in 146 innings.
Starting the final game of the series will be George Kirby, who has some of the best command in the sport. Kirby has a 3.71 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, walking just 20 batters in 85.0 innings. His career walk rate is 1.3 per nine.
Predictions
Who will the MVP of the series be?
Francisco Lindor
Lindor looks to have righted the ship.
Which Mets pitcher will have the best start?
Sean Manaea
Manaea will rebound after a start to forget his last time out.
Which Mariners player will be a thorn in the Mets' side?
Eugenio Suarez
Suarez has just one homer since the M's traded for him. He's been too quiet.
Its Friday, August 15 and the Marlins (58-63) are in Boston to take on the Red Sox (66-56).
Sandy Alcantara is slated to take the mound for Miami against Lucas Giolito for Boston.
The Sox return home after losing two of three in Houston despite outscoring the Astros 21-12 over the three games. The Marlins lost two of three in Cleveland earlier this week including 9-4 Thursday evening. Edward Cabrera was rocked by the Guardians allowing five runs in just 5.1 innings.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Marlins at Red Sox
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 7:10PM EST
Site: Fenway Park
City: Boston, MA
Network/Streaming: FDSNFL, NESN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Marlins at the Red Sox
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Marlins (+140), Red Sox (-168)
Spread: Red Sox -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Marlins at Red Sox
Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: Sandy Alcantara vs. Lucas Giolito
Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (6-11, 6.55 ERA) Last outing: August 9 at Atlanta - 9.00 ERA, 5 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 4 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts
Red Sox: Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.77 ERA) Last outing: August 9 at San Diego - 7.71 ERA, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 6 Walks, and 1 Strikeouts
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Marlins at Red Sox
The Marlins have won 3 straight games at the Red Sox
The Red Sox's last 3 games against the Marlins have gone over the Total
The Red Sox are up 3.33 units on the Run Line in their last 5 at home
Trevor Story was 3-13 against Houston
Wilyer Abreu was 4-11 against Houston
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Marlins and the Red Sox
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Marlins and the Red Sox:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Miami Marlins at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0.
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Its Friday, August 15 and the Orioles (55-66) are in Houston to take on the Astros (68-53).
Brandon Young is slated to take the mound for Baltimore against Framber Valdez for Houston.
Houston had Thursday off following a series win in Space City over the Boston Red Sox. Hunter Brown was special on Wednesday throwing 6.2 innings of one-run ball to earn his tenth win of the season. Yainer Diaz smacked a two-run homer to pace the offense.
The Orioles arrive in Houston following back-to-back wins over the Seattle Mariners. Tomoyuki Sugano won his tenth game of the season Wednesday as the O's took the rubber game of the series, 5-3. Gunnar Henderson extended his hitting streak to six games with one hit in four trips to the plate.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Orioles at Astros
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 8:10PM EST
Site: Minute Maid Park
City: Houston, TX
Network/Streaming: MASN2, SCHN
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Orioles at the Astros
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Orioles (+196), Astros (-239)
Spread: Astros -1.5
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Orioles at Astros
Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: Brandon Young vs. Framber Valdez
Orioles: Brandon Young (0-6, 6.70 ERA) Last outing: August 9 vs. Athletics - 18.00 ERA, 6 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 2 Strikeouts
Astros: Framber Valdez (11-5, 2.97 ERA) Last outing: August 9 at Yankees - 6.35 ERA, 4 Earned Runs Allowed, 8 Hits Allowed, 4 Walks, and 1 Strikeouts
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Orioles at Astros
The Astros are 15-8 (.652) this season when Framber Valdez takes the mound
The Under is 9-2 (82%) in the Astros' home games this season with Framber Valdez starting
The Astros are up 3.24 units on the Run Line in their last 5 at home
Framber Valdez has struggled in his last 2 starts allowing 9 earned runs in 11.2 innings
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Orioles and the Astros
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Orioles and the Astros:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Houston Astros on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Baltimore Orioles at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
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Its Friday, August 15 and the Yankees (64-57) are in St. Louis to begin a series against the Cardinals (61-61).
Luis Gil is slated to take the mound for New York against Andre Pallante for St. Louis.
New York took two of three from the Twins in the Bronx earlier this week. The series win keeps them in possession of a Wild Card spot but 0.5 games over Cleveland and within 6.5 games of Toronto in the American League East.
After taking two of three from the Cubs last weekend, the Cards spit the bit this week losing two of three at Busch Stadium to the Rockies. Sitting at .500 for the season, St. Louis sits 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot in the National League.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
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Game details & how to watch Yankees at Cardinals
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 8:15PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: YES, FDSNMW
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Odds for the Yankees at the Cardinals
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Yankees (-132), Cardinals (+111)
Spread: Yankees -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Yankees at Cardinals
Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: Luis Gil vs. Andre Pallante
Yankees: Luis Gil (0-1, 7.27 ERA) Last outing: August 9 vs. Houston - 3.38 ERA, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 7 Strikeouts
Cardinals: Andre Pallante (6-9, 4.95 ERA) Last outing: August 9 vs. Cubs - 32.40 ERA, 6 Earned Runs Allowed, 7 Hits Allowed, 1 Walks, and 0 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Yankees at Cardinals
The Yankees have won 28 of 55 games following a defeat
In 2 starts since being activated off the disabled list, Luis Gil has struck out 10 hitters in just 8.2 innings
Giancarlo Stanton has hit in 5 straight games (9-17) with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs
It has been 3 games since the Cardinals last covered the Run Line
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Yankees and the Cardinals
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Yankees and the Cardinals:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the New York Yankees on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the St. Louis Cardinals at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 9.0.
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Its Friday, August 15 and the Brewers (76-44) are in Cincinnati to take on the Reds (64-58).
Winners of twelve in a row, the Brewers have not yet announced their starting pitcher for tonight's game. Nick Martinez gets the ball for Cincinnati.
There is no hotter team in baseball than the Brew Crew. Milwaukee is an incredible 45-16 since June 1. Let me do the math for you. That means they are winning 73.8% of the time they step between the lines. The Reds are a distant third in the National League's Central Division sitting 13 games behind the Brewers. They are, however, within 0.5 games in the race for the final Wild Card in the National League.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Brewers at Reds
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 6:40PM EST
Site: Great American Ball Park
City: Cincinnati, OH
Network/Streaming: Apple TV+
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Odds for the Brewers at the Reds
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Brewers (-145), Reds (+119)
Spread: Brewers -1.5 (+116)
Total: 9 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Brewers at Reds
Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: TBD vs. Nick Martinez
Brewers: TBD
Reds: Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.49 ERA) Last outing: August 9 at Pittsburgh - 1.29 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 4 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Brewers at Reds
The Brewers have won their last 3 games against divisional opponents
The Over is 4-1 in the Brewers' last 5 games against NL Central teams
The Brewers have covered in 4 of their last 5 games showing a profit of 4.28 units
Christian Yelich was 7-12 (.583) against the Pirates earlier this week
William Contreras has hit in 5-straight games (10-18)
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Brewers and the Reds
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Brewers and the Reds:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Milwaukee Brewers at -1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 9.
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Its Friday, August 15 and the Pirates (51-71) are in Chicago to open a three-game series against the Cubs (68-52).
The Bucs have yet to announce their starter for tonight's game. Colin Rea takes the ball for Chicago.
The Pirates had Thursday off to lick their wounds following a three-game beatdown at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. Pirates' pitching allowed 33 runs while the offense scratched out just six runs in the series.
The Cubs concluded their series with Toronto north of the border yesterday with a 2-1 loss. Matthew Boyd went seven innings and allowed but two hits and two runs but it was not enough as Max Scherzer was just that much better. Chicago now sits eight games back of Milwaukee in the National League Central Division but remains 4.5 games up in the race for a Wild Card spot.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Pirates at Cubs
Date: Friday, August 15, 2025
Time: 2:20PM EST
Site: Wrigley Field
City: Chicago, IL
Network/Streaming: SNP, MARQ, MLBN
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Odds for the Pirates at the Cubs
The latest odds as of Friday:
Moneyline: Pirates (+162), Cubs (-196)
Spread: Cubs -1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Pirates at Cubs
Pitching matchup for August 15, 2025: TBD vs. Colin Rea
Pirates: TBD
Cubs: Colin Rea (9-5, 4.09 ERA) Last outing: August 9 at St. Louis - 1.50 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 3 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 6 Strikeouts
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Pirates at Cubs
The Cubs have a winning record (9-6) in home games against divisional opponents this season
Each of the Cubs' last 4 home games against the Pirates have stayed under the Total
The Cubs have failed to cover in their last 4 games against the Pirates
Kyle Tucker was 0-11 in the series against Toronto
Nico Hoerner was 4-12 against Toronto
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for today’s game between the Pirates and the Cubs
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday's game between the Pirates and the Cubs:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Chicago Cubs on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Pittsburgh Pirates at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the under on the Game Total of 9.0.
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Padres and Dodgers benches clear after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch by Dodgers pitcher Jack Little in the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 19. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Three years later, the quote still resonates.
When it comes to the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, late Padres owner Peter Seidler framed the dynamic best.
“The Dodgers are the dragon up the freeway we’re trying to slay,” Seidler said back in August 2022, during an in-game interview with ESPN as the two teams played a Sunday Night Baseball game at Chavez Ravine.
“We have a lot of respect for them, obviously. But our goal, and San Diego knows this as well, is to win a championship.”
And from that pursuit, one of baseball’s most heated modern rivalries has sprouted.
To the rest of the baseball world, the Padres have been a plucky feel-good story over the last half-decade. They’re a small-market team that has become an annual postseason contender. They have an aggressive front office, a roster full of big personalities, and an ever-pulsing current of emotion and intensity reverberating from the dugout through their frenzied home crowds.
In Los Angeles, however, the perspective couldn’t be more different. The Dodgers have long been the ruling power in the National League West, champions of the division 11 times in the last 12 years. The Padres, on the other hand, are the rebels who won’t surrender, the barbarians at the door trying to steal away their crown.
“I just think that it starts with them wanting to overtake us,” manager Dave Roberts said this week, ahead of the Padres' latest visit to Dodger Stadium on Friday. “I think that we've clearly dominated the division in the last decade … But I think that they're trying to overtake us. I think that with that, that certainly brings out emotion.”
While the Dodgers have quelled similar challenges during their decade-long reign in the division, the Padres have proved to be a different kind of foil — coupling a contrast in style and culture with enough staying power to fuel increasingly contentious bouts.
“It’s just two contrasting styles,” third baseman Max Muncy said, “that have just grown into this beast.”
This year, more tinder has been added to the fire, thanks to a flurry of hit batters and a benches-clearing melee during a series at Dodger Stadium in June.
And this week, ahead of a 10-day stretch in which the clubs will play their final two regular-season series, the Padres provided another plot twist, erasing what once felt like an insurmountable nine-game deficit in the standings to arrive in Los Angeles with a stunning NL West lead.
The dragon, of course, hasn’t been slayed yet. The Dodgers are still the defending World Series champions, even if their recent middling form has complicated their title defense.
Still, the conquest that Seidler — who died after the 2023 season at age 63 — long envisioned has never seemed so attainable.
The threat posed by the Padres has never felt so real.
“I feel like we’ve just been facing each other in [a lot of] big spots,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “Ever since that [playoff] series in ‘22, this team took it a little bit personal over the next couple years. Obviously last year, going through them to go all the way to the World Series was a big part [of our run]. But it feels every time we face each other, even in the regular season, it’s a big spot.”
While the Dodgers and Padres have shared a division ever since the latter’s founding in 1969, much of their co-existence featured very little shared history.
For most of the Padres’ first half-century, the club was mired in perpetual mediocrity. Before 2020, they’d made the playoffs only five times. Where the Dodgers boast eight World Series titles, the Padres own the distinction of the league’s oldest team to have never won it once.
There was one close division race between the clubs in 1996, when the Padres swept the Dodgers in the final series of the season to claim the NL West by one game. In 2006, they tied atop the standings but both flamed out in the playoffs.
After that, the Dodgers ascended to annual contender status. The Padres, meanwhile, searched for an identity amid a 13-year playoff drought.
At the start of 2019, one finally arrived.
While Manny Machado was productive during his brief Dodgers tenure at the end of 2018, helping the club win a second straight NL pennant, his style of play was an awkward fit with the team. He wouldn’t always hustle, and wouldn’t always apologize for it. He burnished his reputation as an occasionally dirty player, and never seemed too interested in trying to change it.
The Dodgers never really planned to bring him back as a free agent. But they also didn’t expect him to wind up in San Diego, where he signed a $300-million deal with the Padres ahead of the 2019 season.
"It's about bringing a championship to San Diego," Padres general manager AJ Preller said the day Machado was introduced. "A lot of people over the last few years have been very patient as we've tried to build something that's going to stand up long term. Obviously, it's an exclamation point here today with the signing of Manny."
And in the six years since, the Padres have been crafted in his fiery image; built around similarly unabashed stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jurickson Profar and Joe Musgrove.
The Padres' Manny Machado follows through on a two-run home run in Game 1 of the 2024 NLDS against the Dodgers. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
That ascent began in 2020. The Padres embraced their "Slam Diego" moniker, adopting a noticeable, fiery edge. They weren't afraid to flip bats or talk smack or taunt fans. Their brand of baseball, at least in the eyes of that dragon up the freeway, was rooted in their persona as much as anything; a sharp juxtaposition to the Dodgers’ more subdued, even-keeled approach.
“When you look at what the Padres have become, it’s a team that plays with very high energy, very high emotion. And they’ve created an atmosphere down there that drives off that,” Muncy said. “We are almost the opposite. We play on very little emotion. And I just think those two styles contrast very differently. You started seeing that in the games.”
The Dodgers’ perpetual perch atop the standings stoked San Diego, too, making the Padres' performance in the long-dormant rivalry a manifestation of their championship ambitions.
“When I was there, we always wanted to beat the Dodgers,” said Blake Snell, who played for San Diego from 2021 to 2023 and will face them for the first time since joining the Dodgers on Saturday in Los Angeles. “Because that’s the team you gotta go through to get to the World Series.”
That dynamic was evident in the 2022 playoffs, when the underdog Padres conjured an intensity the Dodgers couldn’t match.
It was at the forefront of last year’s October rematch, too, when the Padres ran away with a Game 2 victory punctuated by Machado throwing a ball toward Roberts in the Dodgers’ dugout, and the Chavez Ravine crowd showering trash near Padres players on the field.
“What I got out of it was a bunch of dudes that showed up in front of a big, hostile crowd with stuff being thrown at them and said, ‘We're going to talk with our play; we're not going to back down,’” Padres manager Mike Shildt said that night.
“That is kind of part of their game,” Muncy countered ahead of Game 3. “Trying to get under your skin and trying to have the emotion come out and get you to do something that you're not normally doing.”
This time, the Dodgers responded, prevailing in a five-game series that Roberts compared to a “street fight.” On the verge of a potential slaying, his team instead breathed fire back.
"I just felt last year, where they were going, how they were kind of feeling, and our mindset and psyche, we needed to kind of match their intensity,” Roberts said.
The fight is no longer confined to press conference taunts. This year, the rivalry boiled over into physical clashes. And at the center were the two respective managers.
Over the years, there’s been plenty of pettiness imbued into Dodgers-Padres games, from a scoreboard graphic of a crying Clayton Kershaw at Petco Park, to Will Smith’s description of the since-departed Profar as “kind of irrelevant” last year.
But this June, the antagonism was ratcheted up, after the teams combined for 11 hit batters — and not-so-veiled accusations of intentionality — over seven games played in a 11-day stretch.
The Padres took exception to three different plunkings of Tatis. The Dodgers were dubious of two balls that pelted Shohei Ohtani. By the time Tatis was hit in the hand in the final game of the latter series, Shildt had seen enough, shouting in Roberts’ direction as he walked onto the field to check on his star player.
Roberts responded in kind, racing out to meet Shildt with a slight, but nonetheless surprising, shove. Suddenly, the benches had cleared. Roberts and Shildt continued jawing through it all.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts yells at San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt after benches clear in the ninth inning of a June 19 game at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“After a while, enough’s enough,” Shildt said afterward. “Intentional, unintentional, the fact of the matter is we took exception with it. I responded.”
“I felt that he was trying to make it personal with me,” Roberts countered in his postgame press conference. “Which then, I take it personal.”
Machado delivered the most memorable quote of the night, cautioning the Dodgers to “set a little candle up for Tati” and “pray” he hadn’t suffered a serious injury (X-rays on Tatis’ hand came back negative).
But in the aftermath, all the attention centered on Roberts and Shildt, who were each suspended by the league for one game.
“It’s ultimately about the defense of our team,” Shildt said the next day when asked about Roberts. “And anybody that is going to take the steps that I feel are inappropriate against our team, then I will take action. I’m not a personal guy. I’m not a grudge guy. But I am a foxhole guy.”
Roberts snapped back when asked about Shildt (whom he said he has spoken with since the incident) this week.
"It definitely added to the intensity of the series, when you've got two managers going at it,” Roberts said. “And I never want to make it about me, I really don't. I just took offense to his response towards me. I thought it was directed at me. But for me, I just want to go out and play good baseball. That's kind of where my head's at."
Given the Dodgers’ struggles of late, simply stacking wins has never been a bigger priority. Over the next week and a half, they could reclaim a division lead they have so clumsily squandered, or enter the final month of the season with substantial ground to make up.
“We can’t make it more than what it is,” Mookie Betts said. “It’s another series in August. Obviously, we all know it’s big and X, Y and Z, but we can’t make it that way. We have to just look at it as the same game as today and play our game and not try to get too high or too low.”
"I'm not a grudge guy. But I am a foxhole guy," said San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, walking with Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez and utilityman Kike Hernandez after a bench clearing in the ninth inning of a June 19 game. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Still, the Dodgers won't feign passivity this time. Not as long as the Padres continue to lean into their trademark intensity.
"They told me right away, obviously, we don't like those guys a whole lot," newly-acquired Padres reliever Mason Miller said on Foul Territory last week, of the message he received from his new teammates upon being traded to San Diego at the deadline. “I haven't really [experienced] a rivalry to that extent.”
Roberts wasn’t surprised to hear it.
“We think about whoever we're playing,” he said. “I do think it's one of those things where, they're very hyper-focused on us. But I guess it's a compliment. Still, we've got to match their intensity. Because they want to beat us more than anything."
SAN FRANCISCO — At 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Giants manager Bob Melvin was asked if it might be time to start playing some younger guys over veterans who might not be part of the 2026 mix.
“Not yet,” Melvin said.
He admitted that every day that went by changed the math a little, but added that hopefully the final game against the San Diego Padres would be the one where the Giants would “break out of it.”
At 3:30 p.m., the messaging had changed a bit.
“We might be at the point here pretty soon where we give some guys some days off and look at some other guys,” he said after the blowout. “I still hate to admit that we’re at that point.”
In the hours between Melvin’s media sessions, his team lost 11-1 and played some of the ugliest baseball of the season. Losers of 13 of their last 14 home games, the Giants are three games under .500 and five out of the final NL playoff spot.
The New York Mets, who seemingly take a gut punch every night, are single-handedly keeping the Giants alive, although their postseason odds have dipped to 3.5 percent, per FanGraphs. Managers in this situation like to say that their team is one good week away from being back in it, and that’s fair, but right now it’s hard to see how the Giants might put that week together over the final quarter of the season.
They still have 41 games to play, though, and there are things they can accomplish other than trying to get back above .500. Here are five ways they can make the most of this finishing stretch, one that, as Melvin hinted, might include a lot of new faces:
Bryce watch
The biggest question this August and September will be whether the Giants let top prospect Bryce Eldridge get used to life in the big leagues. There are key decision-makers in the front office who would prefer to see him continue to learn in Triple-A and sharpen his skills at first base, but there has been increased talk internally in recent weeks about the possibility of calling him up.
Eldridge still has some holes in his game — that’s the case with any 20-year-old — but even Giants people who believe he could benefit from finishing the Triple-A season rave about his makeup and work ethic. He has done nothing but impress, and even if the strikeouts might be high — he’s at 33 percent in Triple-A — there’s little doubt within the organization that the power would immediately translate.
A few Eldridge homers in September would go a long way in terms of energizing the fan base, and if the Giants believe Eldridge is going to be on the 2026 Opening Day roster regardless, they might benefit from getting any initial hoopla and jitters out of the way now.
Ultimately, this is up to president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, who has a unique perspective. He was a superstar prospect himself, and he didn’t feel he benefited much from his September cameo in 2009. He poured cold water on Eldridge rumors after the deadline, but that’s getting harder and harder to do.
Figure out who they are
The Giants discussed a Marco Luciano promotion when they needed a right-handed-hitting outfielder on Tuesday but instead went with Tyler Fitzgerald. Luciano’s defense in Triple-A has continued to be an issue, and it’s entirely possible the Giants have just decided that ship has sailed. Luciano, now an outfielder, hasn’t played a single game in the big leagues this season.
He is part of a group that debuted under Farhan Zaidi but never stuck, joining Luis Matos and Wade Meckler, in particular. They’re all running out of options and taking up 40-man spots, and the Giants need to make some final evaluations. This is a good time to do that.
Grant McCray is further behind in terms of minor league options, but he’s also part of that class that has plenty of experience at Triple-A at this point. With Casey Schmitt’s emergence, Fitzgerald’s future looks like it’ll come in a utility role, and if that’s the case, he should get more experience in the outfield.
Schmitt is the one member of that 2023-24 group of call-ups that looks locked in. He had four hits when he was moved up to the No. 2 spot against a lefty on Tuesday, and he has earned the right to continue hitting in front of some of the veterans in the lineup.
The newcomers
Blade Tidwell has 16 strikeouts through two Triple-A starts. The right-hander, acquired in the Tyler Rogers trade, should probably be the one to get the call the next time a rotation spot is needed.
The Giants already are taking a look at Drew Gilbert, who has started all but one game since being called up from Triple-A. Gilbert is 1-for-17 but looks comfortable in right field, and he can play center, too.
Jesus Rodriguez, acquired in the Camilo Doval trade, has been limited to DH duty because of shoulder soreness, but if he’s capable of catching later this season, he should join Patrick Bailey at the big league level. The 23-year-old is a .307 career hitter in the minors and, as a right-handed hitter, is an obvious partner for Bailey next spring.
Protect the arms
It’s impossible to be positive right now, but the 2026 Giants actually will have a nice head start in their bid to get to the postseason.
Logan Webb is still in his prime and All-Star Robbie Ray is under team control for one more season. Landen Roupp was better than anyone on the staff in the weeks before he got hurt, and if he goes into next spring healthy, that’s a strong top three.
But there are reasons for the Giants to be careful with all three over the next six weeks.
Webb has earned the right to choose his own adventure, and he has made it clear he would like to reach 200 strikeouts — he’s 32 away — for the first time. If he wants to lead the league in innings for a third straight season, it shouldn’t be hard to win the race. There’s no reason, though, for the Giants to keep pushing him quite this hard. He has thrown 317 pitches over his last three starts.
Ray threw 113 pitches — his most since Tommy John surgery — on Tuesday but felt strong at the end. Afterward, Melvin admitted that the recent workloads have been in part because the Giants are desperate to win behind their aces and in part because their bullpen lost two key arms at the deadline.
But what’s done is done.
It’s time to save some of the co-aces’ bullets and also be careful with Roupp, who has doubled his 2024 big league workload. He will return to the rotation Friday and there are no longer concerns about where his innings total will end up since he missed a few starts and got a chance to rest, but the Giants need to make sure he’s in a good spot heading into 2026. The same is true for relievers Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller, who should play huge roles next year.
Find a way to entertain
The Giants have looked lifeless on this homestand, and that’s perhaps the most disappointing aspect. They drew 180,000 fans over the five-game losing streak and those who continue to fill the ballpark are absolutely desperate for reasons to stand and cheer. They gave Justin Verlander a nice ovation when he reached 3,500 strikeouts on Sunday and did the same for Gilbert’s first hit on Monday.
The offense has been horrible, but there are ways to at least try to manufacture some more excitement. For example, would it kill the Giants to at least attempt to run a little bit more?
They’re last in the National League in stolen bases, and when pushed about it, Melvin points out that they don’t get many baserunners most nights and don’t want to kill those rare potential rallies. But the numbers tell a different story.
They haven’t been caught trying to steal since June 25, but over the 41 games since, they have just nine attempts. Nine! And they’re nine-for-nine! Sure, they’re not reaching base at the desired clip, but they still have 216 singles and 122 walks over those 41 games. There have been plenty of opportunities to take off.
They should consider this another way to get a head start on 2026. At some point, a team that plays 81 games a year at Oracle Park needs to actually commit to playing a more athletic brand of baseball.
After their shocking loss on Wednesday, the Mets had Thursday's game all mapped out perfectly for them.
Starter Kodai Senga pitched into the sixth inning -- a rare feat of late -- and they had Tyler Rogers, Ryan Helsley and Edwin Diaz set up to close out the win. Well, as has often been the case this season, the plan didn't work and the Mets could not hold down another late lead.
Sure, Rogers allowed an inherited runner to score and tie the game in the sixth, but with another one-run lead in the eighth, Helsley allowed two runs in the Mets' eventual 4-3 loss to the Braves. The loss clinched a series win for Atlanta and the Mets' fifth consecutive series loss, tied for their longest such streak this season. They've also lost three straight home series and are 2-13 over their last 15 games dating back to July 28, their worst record in any 15-game span since May/June of 2018.
"Obviously, we’re not playing well but too much talent. We’re going through a really tough time now," manager Carlos Mendoza said of his team after Thursday's loss. "There’s a lot of good players there. We just have to get through this. We can’t look at the standings. We know where we’re at, not playing well, but right in the thick of things. We have to find a way."
"There are a lot of guys doing good things and then there are a couple of guys that are not. Sticking together is the most important thing," Francisco Lindor said after the game. "It’s tough. You have to be put in a situation where no matter what happens, we stick together, fight for each other, play for each other. It’s a test we’re going through. Big adversity. Everyone here has a sense of urgency to win and try to win."
Lindor had his best game in a while on Thursday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and being the catalyst for the Mets' offense. But, again, it wasn't enough.
They got the starting pitching they desperately needed, and just enough offense to hand the lead to their rebuilt bullpen. But the Mets couldn't put it all together.
"Today we got starting pitching, got timely hitting, just couldn’t close it out," Mendoza said. "When you go through stretches like this, overall, we haven’t been able to put it together."
"Obviously, if we lose it’s a little bit gloomier; if we win it’s a little more cheerful," Senga said of the mood surrounding the team via an interpreter. "I think the reason why we're not able to come out on top at the end is because we're all missing a little bit, that one little bit to put us on top. And I think that starts with the preparation. If we can all prepare as best we can and go into tomorrow and the next day, we have a better chance of winning."
That "little bit" could mean any number of things. In Thursday's loss, Cedric Mullins took an awkward route on a liner from Michael Harris II that tied the game. A better route could have kept Harris at first base and not in scoring position for Ozzie Albies' go-ahead double. Or Juan Soto throwing to second to try and get Albies on said double instead of hitting the cutoff man to try and catch Harris, who was running back to second to try and tag up, at home plate.
Or, as Senga pointed out, the fastball Albies smashed to tie the game at 1-1. A fastball thrown to a hitter looking for a fastball.
All of those little things are contributing to the worst stretch of the Mets' season. They have blown nine different leads over their last six games, and lost 13 of their last 15 games. New York's record now stands at 64-57, just seven games over. 500, their lowest watermark since April 19 when they were 14-7.
A recurring theme between Mendoza and the players during this stretch is that they are too talented not to play better and turn their season around. While that may be true, it's getting dicey with fewer than 40 games to go in the season. The loss has allowed the Reds to be just 0.5 games behind them for the final wild card spot, with the Mariners, who hold an AL wild card slot, coming to town for a weekend series.
The Mets lost their 13th game in their last 15 contests on Thursday night, falling 4-3 to the Atlanta Braves. New York scored early and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning, but, as they've experienced a lot recently, that lead was not safe.
Ryan Helsley, one of David Stearns' trade deadline acquisitions to bolster the bullpen, entered in the eighth inning and Atlanta took advantage. Helsley allowed a one-out walk to Marcell Ozuna and then left a slider over the middle for Michael Harris II to drive a double to center field and tie the game at 3-3. Two pitches later, the right-hander gave up a line drive double to Ozzie Albies as the Braves went up, 4-3.
It's the second straight save Helsley has blown. He previously allowed one run in the eighth inning to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 10, in what ended up being a 7-6 loss. After the loss, manager Carlos Mendoza noted how Helsley is having issues with his slider and the team is trying to sort that out so he can be the piece in the bullpen they envisioned.
"The fastball's been getting hit, and it's a plus-plus fastball, right, but I think he's leaving that slider in the middle of the strike zone, Mendoza said. "That's kind of like the big difference for me. You see that pitch today to Harris, that slider. They're going to get ready for 100 (mph), and when that slider stays right there in the middle of the zone, good hitters are going to make him pay for it.
"We just got to get him to continue to finish those pitches, especially the breaking ball, the slider in this case. So that way the fastball when he throws it, he can use it effectively. This guy's elite, man, we just got to get him back on track."
Since coming over from St. Louis, Helsley is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA, allowing seven runs (three earned) over 5.0 IP. The veteran acknowledged that he's been throwing lots of hittable pitches and is hoping to make adjustments to his slider so it can be better located.
"Leaving too good of pitches [over the plate]," Helsley said. "The pitch to Michael Harris, you know right down the middle, breaking ball, and he put a good swing on it. The pitch to Albies was actually a ball, a couple balls below the zone, and he put a weird swing on it but ended up a good result. Just got to keep working and try to figure it out."
"Just leaving it up," Helsley added about his slider. "Feels good, the shape's there. Just got to change the sights a little bit, I think, to get it in a better location."
Helsley was asked if it's been a bit of an adjustment for him in his new role with the Mets, and said he's still "trying to figure out" pitching in the eighth inning as the set-up man to Edwin Diaz, instead of his traditional closer role.
"Just trying to figure out that role and that routine to be ready when my name's called. I just haven't been good," Helsley said.
He added, "For everybody else to do their job and you not to do yours, it sucks. You never want to be that guy and be the reason the team loses. All of the guys did a great job tonight, offense did a good job, just wasn't able to pull through."
The Mets (64-57) have now lost each of their last seven one-run games and are 32-30 in one-run games this season. They'll hope to save their season before it's too late, but it'll be a tough task at hand with the hot Seattle Mariners (67-55) coming to town for a three-game series this weekend.
The Mets and Braves played the final game of a three-game series on Thursday night at Citi Field.
Here are the takeaways...
- With the Mets leading, 3-2, in the eighth inning, Ryan Helsley coughed up the lead. After getting Drake Baldwin to fly out to lead off, Helsley walked Marcell Ozuna before serving up back-to-back run-scoring doubles -- the first to Michael Harris II, the second to Ozzie Albies -- as Atlanta went ahead, 4-3.
- The Mets didn't muster much after falling behind, with Lindor's one-out single in the eighth the only time they reached base the rest of the way.
- Francisco Lindorbroke a scoreless tie in the third, smoking a solo homer to center field off Braves starter Bryce Elder to give New York a 1-0 lead. It was Lindor's 22nd home run of the season.
- The inning after being staked to a lead, Kodai Senga gave up a game-tying homer to Albies with two outs in the fourth.
It was a very strong performance for Senga overall, though, as he allowed two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out seven in 5.2 innings. The second run scored after Senga exited with runners on first and third and two outs in the sixth.
Facing Albies, Tyler Rogers allowed a run-scoring single to left field before ending the inning by inducing a dribbler in front of the plate.
- New York responded immediately in the bottom of the frame, almost entirely on the legs of Lindor. With one out, Lindor roped a single to left-center. He promptly stole second base and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Drake Baldwin.Following a Juan Soto walk, Brandon Nimmo ripped a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Lindor with the tying run.
Soto then stole second base and came around to score on a single by Pete Alonso to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. It was Alonso's 99th RBI on the season.
Meanwhile, the stolen base by Soto was the Mets' 36th straight attempt without getting caught, which set a new franchise record.
Game MVP: Francisco Lindor
Lindor did all he could in defeat, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two singles, a stolen base, and two runs scored.
Francisco Lindor steals second and it's the Mets' 35th consecutive stolen base without being caught, tying a franchise record pic.twitter.com/kqc6uUBJTR
Juan Soto with his 19th stolen base of the season and it's the Mets' 36th consecutive stolen base without being caught, a new franchise record pic.twitter.com/V6wmMcyB57
