Category: Baseball

Turner slugging away from home, outfield merry-go-round continues originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ARLINGTON, TX – A laugh, a shrug and a shake of the head is the reaction given Friday night from Trea Turner following the Phillies 9-1 win over the Texas Rangers. He went 2-for-4 with five RBI, a double and a home run.

That isn’t what particularly caused the response from Turner after the win … it was when the subject came up concerning his home and away power numbers.

Here’s the breakdown heading into Saturday’s game: Turner has 12 home runs on the road, none at Citizens Bank Park this season. His RBI totals are 14 at home compared with 37 on the road, and his slugging percentage is .500 on the road to .365 at home.

Pretty interesting when you consider Turner has played 58 games at home and 55 away and has only eight more at-bats on the road. Most of the rest of his numbers are comparable in the home and road splits, it’s just those power numbers.

“I have no idea to be honest with you,” Turner said of the disparity. “So I looked at my heat zones for home and away, and away I have a lot more zones. And then at home, I’m just hitting the ball away really well. I don’t think I’ve ever had that in my career to where I’ve always been good at pulling the ball. I take my hits the other way but at home it just seems like that outer third is kind of my sweet spot. I couldn’t tell you why. We were talking about it in the cage and I have no idea. Hopefully with a little adjustment the last few days, hopefully that kind of turns around and goes back to normal.”

In a nine-game stretch from July 27 to August 5, Turner hit a bit of a lull where he went 4-for-38 and saw his average dip down to .280. His last three games before Saturday, Turner has seemed to find a rhythm with six hits in 12 at-bats with a home run and six RBI.

“I have no idea what that is,” said Thomson of the road power surge. “I think it’s just coincidence, really. He’s hit home runs in CBP before. I don’t know what it is.”

Thomson’s extended plan for outfield rotation

The search for a “regular” outfield lineup continued Sunday as Nick Castellanos got a day off and the outfield consisted of Brandon Marsh in left, Harrison Bader in center and Max Kepler in right to go against Jacob deGrom.

“So, it was pre planned,” Thomson said. “I didn’t give it to you yesterday because I hadn’t seen Casty yet. This turf is, I like the turf because it plays a little bit more like grass than other turf but it’s pretty firm, pretty hard. So, I was trying to give all the outfielders one day off on it. That’s one thing. Plus, Bader’s had pretty good success against him. Three at-bats but he’s hit the ball hard twice and he’s got a couple of hits. I just felt it was a good day to give Casty the day off. I just thought, where we’re at, we’re trying to figure out who everybody is and how we’re going to align this thing. Just the matchup and the surface is probably the best day to do it.”

So, the question was posed, once you do figure it out, will there be pretty much a set starting outfield moving forward?

Thomson was non-committal.

“It’s probably just a day-to-day thing right now, unless somebody gets super-hot and then we have to go with the hot hand.”

Odds and ends

Thomson said that Jhoan Duran would see action Saturday, no matter what. “He needs to pitch today. Banks has had four days off, he’s had five days off. Although we had up last night and he got hot, he doesn’t like to go more than five days without seeing hitters. We’ll get him in tonight for sure. And Banks is really good when he pitches more often so we need to get him in too.”

On the pitching front, Thomson added that reliever David Robertson will join the team Sunday after his stint in Lehigh Valley. Aaron Nola will get another start there on Tuesday, and if all goes well it appears he will join the Phillies after that and possibly get a start next weekend. José Alvarado will pitch for the Iron Pigs on Sunday and then go again either Tuesday or Wednesday. He can rejoin the team on August 19th.

Rafael Devers' hot stretch at plate coincides with growing comfort at first base originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Rafael Devers, daily, is taking extra work to improve his defense at first base and get more comfortable at the position.

If the three-time MLB All-Star can get that to match his comfort level at the plate, there’s no limit on what the veteran slugger can do.

One day after making a pair of spectacular defensive plays, Devers went deep for a second consecutive day when he connected for a home run leading off the sixth inning.

It was the seventh time Devers has gone deep in 45 games in a Giants uniform, showing why president of baseball operations Buster Posey targeted him just before the trade deadline.

Rafi goes deep two games in a row 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Zm1GHgFwyU

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 9, 2025

“I think it’s just him being Devers at this point,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said in the aftermath of Saturday’s 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals at Oracle Park. “He’s just a really good hitter who knows what his strengths are.”

That was the scouting report on Devers before joining San Francisco: A well-accomplished slugger with a career .277 batting average who has clubbed 10 or more home runs in each of his 10 MLB seasons.

Things didn’t start well for Devers with his new team on the West Coast. He had some inconsistencies at the plate and in the field, leading some to question the trade with Boston.

A lot of that noise has been muted lately.

Devers is playing a lot more effectively at first base and is currently one of the hottest hitters in Melvin’s lineup.

After ending July in a 0-for-14 funk, Devers has found a nice rhythm at the plate. In eight games this month, he has gone 9-for-28 (.321) with three home runs, eight walks and seven RBIs.

In the 45 games since his acquisition from the Red Sox, Devers has 22 RBIs.

“Just basically doing the same thing that I’ve done all year, just making sure that I take advantage of all my at-bats,” Devers said through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “I don’t think that it’s necessary for me to change anything. I’m just being the type of player that I am. Things are beginning to work out for me.”

That includes playing first base, one of the issues that led to his exit from Boston. He was reluctant to play a position he had never played before at the big league level.

Devers faced early criticism from the media and Giants fans but has quieted that chatter with some smooth fielding. That included a heads-up play Friday when the Nationals loaded the bases and hit a grounder to first that Devers snagged and wisely threw home to get the out.

“Every single day, I’m always making sure that I work at first and make sure that I’m ready for everything that’s going to be thrown my way,” said Devers, who had two hits and two walks as the Giants’ designated hitter on Saturday.

Rafi Devers Gold Glove loading? 👀 pic.twitter.com/AZ4xBzcHQG

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 9, 2025

It’s worth noting that Devers’ comfort level on defense has coincided with his output at the plate. It makes sense that less stress and concerns in one area would translate into success in other areas.

Devers isn’t sure if that’s what’s happening but acknowledged that playing in the field keeps him more engaged.

“I really don’t know if that’s something that’s working out. I just know that when I play first base, I’m more involved in the game,” Devers said. “You’re thinking about different aspects of the game, not just thinking about your next at-bat.”

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The Yankees are going through it right now. 

They were defeated by the Houston Astros in extra innings on Friday night, cutting their lead for the final wild card spot in the American League to just a half game. 

They've now dropped six of their last seven games, and with each loss, Aaron Boone’s seat seemingly gets hotter and hotter. 

The boos have been loud and heavy lately in the Bronx. 

Joe Torre has been there before; he understands what the long-time skipper is going through. 

“People always ask me who I root for, I root for people,” he told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod at Old Timers' Day. “I feel for Aaron, I’ve been in that place before -- you’re trying to rearrange the furniture and hopefully it makes a difference.”

Though things aren’t looking good right now, Torre remains confident in the team under Boone’s leadership.

The four-time World Series champ certainly knows what it takes. 

“This club is too good to not have a run, there’s still time left,” he said. “If it were Sept. 1, I’d be more concerned, but I have a lot of confidence -- Booney has been down this road before, he’s a third-generation major leaguer.

“I feel that they’re going to make a run and will be where they are supposed to be at the end of things.”

Wille Randolph. 

Jorge Posada. 

Tino Martinez.

Johnny Damon.

That’s just a few of the Yankees stars who were in attendance at the Stadium on Saturday afternoon for this year’s Old Timers’ Day festivities. 

It’s the 77th annual Old Timers' Day game, but the first since 2019.

The event also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 2000 World Series championship.

While that team and all the great memories they shared were a hot topic of discussion, so was the current state of the organization as they fight through a brutally tough stretch. 

The Yankees currently find themselves trailing the Blue Jays and Red Sox in the AL East and hold a slim advantage for the final wild card spot after dropping Friday’s series opener in extra innings to the Astros.  

“They’re going through a tough time,” Damon told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod. 

“Teams are not afraid of us anymore,” Randolph added. “We need to get that mojo back to where when they come into Yankee Stadium and places like that, they know they’re going to be in for a big fight.”

Though things are looking bleak, there is still plenty of baseball to be played.

“They’re struggling right now, but they’re still in the hunt,” Martinez said. “As long as you’re there this time of year and you can improve from here, they have a chance, but they have to minimize the mistakes and play better baseball.”

“It’s more of an attitude than anything,” Posada added. “They have to get a little angry, hopefully a fight or something to get them going -- they need to have that chip on their shoulder, they need to play like that.”

It’s been a tough stretch for New York baseball. 

Despite adding a handful of big pieces ahead of the trade deadline, both the Mets and the Yankees have remained in their deep slumps over the past week.

The Mets now sit 3.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East after dropping their fifth consecutive game in frustrating fashion on Friday night. 

The Yanks were knocked off by the rival Houston Astros in the series opener Friday too, and they now find themselves with just a half-game lead for the final AL wild card spot. 

They are 3.5 games back of the Red Sox for second in the AL East and 6.5 games behind the Blue Jays for first. 

Things are not looking good for either World Series hopeful team right now, but a former New York baseball legend is confident they'll be able to turn things around down the stretch.

“I think the Mets are going to be okay,” Dwight Gooden told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod at Yankees Old Timers' Day. “I still like to say pitching wins, you have to have consistent pitching because the lineup is nice, but they have to get more consistent.

“The main thing is they have to stay healthy because they are right there -- once you get into the postseason, it’s the hottest team that wins, not always the best, so I think they’ll be okay, they just have to get more consistent.”  

Gooden feels the same way about the Yankees, who he says are playing not to lose.

“You just have to have confidence you’re going to win,” he said. “When you go out there and try not to lose, you put a lot of pressure on yourself -- they just have to take things one game at a time, sometimes all it takes is getting back to the basics.”

Both teams will look to get back on track on Saturday. 

The Mets face off with right-hander Tobias Myers in Milwaukee, while Luis Gil makes his second start of the season against ace left-hander Framber Valdez in the Bronx.

What we learned as Carson Whisenhunt allows three homers in Giants' loss to Nats originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Rafael Devers homered for the second consecutive day and reached base four times, but the Giants’ offense was otherwise muffled in a 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday at Oracle Park.

One day after putting up five runs during a shutout victory in the series opener, the Giants generated good traffic on the bases but couldn’t cash in on the opportunities. Manager Bob Melvin’s club stranded seven runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the third.

Devers provided one of the few offensive highlights with his 22nd home run of the season and seventh in a Giants uniform. He also singled and walked twice.

Wilmer Flores added a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth to drive in San Francisco’s other run.

It didn’t help that the guy holding down the Giants’ offense was rookie Brad Lord, whose only career victories came in relief. Lord allowed four hits and one run over six innings.

San Francisco needed much more from its offense on a day when top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt lasted four innings in his third career MLB start. Whisenhunt allowed three runs — all solo homers — and five hits in four innings while striking out five with three walks.

Carson Seymour helped ease the pain of the afternoon with three innings of solid relief. He allowed one run and four hits.

Shortstop Willy Adames gave the Oracle Park crowd a jolt with a defensive gem in the eighth inning, chasing down Daylen Lile’s grounder up the middle, making a 360-degree spin and then throwing to first base for the out.

Heliot Ramos singled twice to extend his career-high on-base streak to 22 games.

Here are the takeaways from Saturday’s loss that drops the Giants to 59-58:

Serving it up

Whisenhunt had surrendered two home runs through his first two starts this season but was battered for three solo shots in the first three innings against the Nationals.

The rookie pitcher seemed to settle down after James Wood hit his third pitch out of Oracle Park in the first inning, pitching out of a mini-jam in the second.

LEADOFF WOOD pic.twitter.com/GERCDmzzfn

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 9, 2025

Things really went south in the third when Washington’s batters were squaring up nicely and hitting almost every pitch hard. The back-to-back homers by Paul DeJong and Josh Bell – both estimated longer than 420 feet – gave the Nats a comfortable lead.

RING RING pic.twitter.com/irdcXhK2Yb

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 9, 2025

All three home runs came off sinkers, which have been Whisenhunt’s most effective pitch this season.

Devers heating up

Devers’ career with the Giants got off to a shaky start but the three-time AL All-Star has been dialing in at the plate lately and has homered in the last two games and three of the last six.

Rafi goes deep two games in a row 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Zm1GHgFwyU

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 9, 2025

This is the hitter whom the Giants believed they were getting when they traded for him in June, a game-changing bat with the capabilities of carrying an offense. Devers also showed good patience at the plate, drawing two walks.

Lucky No. 13

Clean-up hitter Dominic Smith’s fourth-inning double extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by a Giants player since Brandon Belt’s 14-game stretch in 2021.

During the streak, Smith has wielded one of the hottest bats in manager Bob Mevlin’s lineup, going 16-for-44 (.390) with three extra-base hits and three walks while raising his batting average from .235 to .280.

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Jen Pawol breaks MLB's gender barrier as first female umpire to work regular-season game originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jen Pawol has made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in the major leagues.

Pawol’s much-anticipated debut came as the first base umpire for Saturday’s first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. She enjoyed a quiet first inning, watching as Braves right-hander Hurston Waldrep struck out the first two batters before Agustin Ramirez lined out to third baseman Nacho Alvarez.

The Braves also were set down in order by Miami right-hander Ryan Gusto in the bottom of the first inning, with no calls from Pawol needed at first base.

As the first base umpire, Pawol’s responsibility was to check Waldrep’s hands for foreign substances following the inning. During that brief encounter she also appeared to receive a warm greeting from Braves catcher Sean Murphy on his way to the dugout.

Pawol’s first real test came in the third inning when she called Braves catcher Sean Murphy safe on a close play. Replays indicated Murphy may have been out, but Marlins manager Clayton McCullough did not challenge the call.

Pawol also showed she will make animated calls. When Miami’s Xavier Edwards grounded into a double play, Pawol pumped her fist and lifted her leg when she called Edwards out in the third inning.

Pawol couldn’t help but notice her debut was being watched closely. Fans responded with a warm ovation when the video board focused on the umpire between innings, forcing her to take a quick glance at her image.

Pawol will work third base in Saturday night’s second game of the doubleheader. She will be in the spotlight when she calls pitches behind the plate in Sunday’s final game of the series.

There was much anticipation for her historic debut on Saturday. A crowd of photographers gathered while waiting for the umpires to walk onto the field from their entry ramp near the Marlins dugout.

McCullough and Braves bench coach Walt Weiss greeted Pawol when lineups were exchanged at home plate before the game. Pawol then jogged down the first base line. She shook hands with Marlins first base coach Tyler Smarslok before taking her position on the right field line for the first pitch.

Pawol said Thursday she was “overcome with emotion” when notified she would make her Major League Baseball debut this weekend.

“It was super emotional to finally be living that phone call that I’d been hoping for and working towards for quite a while, and I just felt super full — I feel like a fully charged battery ready to go,” Pawol said.

Pawol, 48, has been working in the minor leagues since she was assigned to the Gulf Coast League in 2016. She was assigned the Triple-A championship game in 2023 and worked spring training games in 2024 and again this year.

Pawol, who is from New Jersey, had only a few days to prepare for Saturday’s doubleheader. She said she was told of her long-awaited promotion during a Wednesday conference call with director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry.

Pawol was a three-time all-conference softball selection pick at Hofstra. She worked as an NCAA softball umpire from 2010-16.

Pawol’s rise to make MLB history came 28 years after the NBA gender barrier for game officials was broken and 10 years after the NFL hired its first full-time female official. The men’s soccer World Cup first hired a female referee three years ago. The NHL has not had any women as on-ice officials.

The Mets continue a three-game series against the Brewers at American Family Field on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...

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Mets Notes

• Frankie Montas has allowed four or more runs in four of his seven starts since returning from the IL
• Jeff McNeil is hitting .260 with a .362 OBP and .702 OPS over his last 15 games
• Tobias Myers is expected to take the ball for the Brewers in place of the injured Logan Henderson
• The Mets enter play 3.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East 

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Athletics place Luis Severino on IL with oblique strain, call up Hogan Harris originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Athletics placed ace Luis Severino on the injured list ahead of Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Severino lands on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 6, with a left oblique strain. To replace the 31-year-old on the roster, the Athletics recalled lefty Hogan Harris from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Severino, who was the Green and Gold’s Opening Day starter, has gone 6-11 with a 4.82 ERA in 24 starts, including 103 strikeouts and 44 walks in 136 1/3 innings pitched.

Harris, who returns to West Sacramento for a third stint after being optioned to Las Vegas on July 23, is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 41 1/3 innings pitched.

On Tuesday, Severino, who was linked to heavy trade rumors earlier this summer, gave up three earned runs over six innings on the way to securing his fourth consecutive win.

As it stands, the Athletics are last in the AL West, 15 games behind the first-place Houston Astros.

It remains to be seen exactly how long Severino will be out, but surely manager Mark Kotsay and Co. will hope their ace returns soon and picks up where he left off.

They’ve played 18 respective big-league seasons. They’ve combined for nearly 6,500 strikeouts and 435 career wins. They each have two World Series titles, and three individual Cy Young Awards. And one day, they’ll share immortal plaques in Cooperstown, future first-ballot Hall of Famers who defined their generation of pitchers.

For Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer, there’s nothing left to prove.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there’s nothing left to play for.

On Friday night at Dodger Stadium, in a pitcher’s duel that saw both veteran aces turn in vintage performances, two players who have meant so much to the sport’s past found themselves in the center of its present.

They were both pitching for first-place teams. They were both effective despite their diminished stuff. They were both wrapped up in what felt like a pivotal game at the start of each team's late-season push.

“I think it's going to be kind of quiet intensity from both of them,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “I think that they both are obviously great competitors.”

And in the Dodgers’ 5-1 win over Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays, it was Kershaw who proved to be a fraction better.

Over his six innings, the 37-year-old left-hander navigated traffic and limited damage, giving up seven hits and one walk, but only one run, thanks to four well-timed strikeouts and three crucial double-plays turned behind him.

The 41-year-old Scherzer, meanwhile, saw what had been a scoreless night shattered in the span of two swings in the fifth, with Shohei Ohtani hitting a two-out double before Mookie Betts belted a go-ahead, two-run homer.

The Dodgers (67-49) eventually pulled away late, scoring three times against the Blue Jays’ bullpen in the seventh.

But up until then, the night’s two starting pitchers were hardly separable.

“I don't know,” Roberts said, “if you're gonna see this one again.”

Early on, Scherzer appeared to be the one on the ropes. In the first, the Dodgers loaded the bases against him on two singles and a walk. Scherzer appeared to be battling his command, missing the zone on seven of 14 pitches at one point. And the side was only retired after Teoscar Hernández missed a couple of fastballs left over the heart of the plate, before eventually striking out on a slider in the dirt.

Kershaw, by comparison, needed only 11 pitches in a clean opening frame.

From there, however, the tables started to turn.

Kershaw quickly ran into trouble in the second. Bo Bichette hit a squibber past Freddie Freeman for a leadoff double. The Blue Jays (68-49) opened the scoring on Addison Barger’s RBI single off a hanging two-strike curveball. Two more base hits from Ty France and Daulton Varsho loaded the bases. Kershaw escaped the jam, but only with the help of a diving play by Betts at shortstop, who snared a line drive from Myles Straw before doubling off France at second for an inning-ending double-play.

Kershaw encountered more traffic in the third (working around a Davis Schneider leadoff single), the fourth (when Barger’s one-out hit was erased by a France double-play grounder), the fifth (when second baseman Alex Freeland helped strand a runner with a sprinting catch in shallow right field) and the sixth (when a leadoff walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was canceled out by yet another double-play grounder).

But after getting through each new threat unscathed, he ended his 74-pitch night with a 3.14 season earned-run average — the lowest it has been since late June.

Scherzer, meanwhile, bounced back from his shaky first inning by finding a midgame groove. Starting with his strikeout of Hernández, he retired nine consecutive batters. And even after Andy Pages led off the fifth with a single, it appeared Scherzer had caught a break, with Pages getting doubled-off at first base on a Freeland pop-up after getting back to the bag late following an attempted steal of second.

Five pitches later, though, Scherzer hung a 2-and-2 slider that Ohtani drove to right field for a double off the wall. Then Betts came to the plate and continued his recent — and long-awaited — turnaround offensively, ambushing a first-pitch slider for his first home run since July 5.

Since a career-worst 0-for-22 skid ended Tuesday, Betts is six-for-his-last-11 with three extra-base hits and, just as encouragingly, one walk to zero strikeouts.

Read more:‘Straight grinder.’ How new Dodger Alex Call became one of MLB’s toughest at-bats

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 Mets blew an early two-run lead with a mistake-filled fifth inning, but they were in position to tie the game in the ninth against the Brewers on Friday night.

Facing All-Star closer Trevor Megill, Starling Marte lined a two-out double to keep the Mets' hopes alive. Down by a run, Jeff McNeil then hit a soft single to center fielder Blake Perkins. Perksin got to the ball quickly and launched a one-hop throw to home plate to get Marte and end the game.

"Hell of a play by Perkins," Mendoza said after the loss. "We know he’s a solid defender with a plus-plus arm. Showed it right there, came in and attacked that single on a perfect one-hop to the plate to win the game."

The loss on a play at the plate was just another in a string of disappointing losses for the Mets, who have now dropped five in a row and nine of their last 10 games. But could it have been prevented?

With Marte at second base and two outs in a one-run game, the Mets were sending the veteran slugger on a hit no matter what. So, should they have lifted him for a faster runner, like Tyrone Taylor? Marte's spring speed is in the 28th percentile of MLB, while Taylor is in the 95th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.

Mendoza was asked if he considered using Taylor for Marte in that situation.

The second-year skipper said he didn't and that Marte is "a good runner too."

BLAKE PERKINS!

The @Brewers win it on a play at the plate! pic.twitter.com/66kyAz0EYL

— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2025

Marte, 36, has been hampered by leg injuries in recent years and has been relegated to the DH role, which he was on Friday. Perhaps Perkins still makes the play with Taylor running, but that will have to be left for the "what if" of the Mets' 2025 season.

For Marte, there was nothing he could do on that play and gave props to Perkins.

"He was able to make a great play right there, able to get the ball in quick. Tremendous throw on one bounce. You have to give him credit over there," Marte said. "I don't think I could have done anything differently. I ran the bases well, my sprint speed was up in a situation like that. At the end of the day, it was a great throw. There’s nothing you can do but give him credit."

Managerial decisions aside, the Mets have a larger problem on their hands. The offense has stalled, especially from their top four hitters (Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo). Soto and Marte provided solo homers in Friday's loss, but the team as a whole just could not get anything going throughout the game.

They finished with only five hits, two coming in that final inning. The top four hits combined to go 1-for-14 with two walks and six strikeouts. Since June 30, the Mets are 30th in runs scored (3.91), 29th in average (.224) and 29th in OPS (.666).

Those stats have raised questions about the effectiveness of the staff under Mendoza, including the hitting coach, something that president of baseball operations David Stearns gave a vote of confidence for before the series opener.

And that confidence is present with the players.

"This is a good team ... we haven’t been hitting the last few games. This is a team that continues to work hard, that has a great amount of talent," Marte said of the team's struggles. "Right now we’re hitting a low point in the season, but I know and I’m confident this team is able to turn it around because we work hard and give 100 percent day in and day out and we show up. Right now it’s not going the way we want, but eventually it’s going to turn and it’s going to turn quickly."

After Friday's games, the Mets sit 3.5 games behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East and 3.5 in front of the Reds for the final wild card spot with two more against the MLB-best Brewers coming up.

Aaron Boone's decision to pitch struggling Yankees reliever Devin Williams in the 10th inning of Friday's series opener against the Houston Astros backfired when the right-hander turned New York's 2-2 tie into a 5-2 deficit and eventual 5-3 loss, but the bullpen options were limited, the manager explained.

"We're kind of short down there at that point," Boone said after Williams (3-5, 5.73 ERA) allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits (one home run) in one inning -- his latest implosion. "You get five innings out of the starter. You're trying to get back in it and get through and staying away from (David) Bednar today. So, then you're probably even lighter, staying away.

"So, then you're down to lefties and then it's that little right lane there for Devin. So, didn't work out tonight."

With Bednar unavailable after throwing 42 pitches in 1.2 IP of Wednesday's 3-2 win at the Texas Rangers, Bednar and fellow right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. were only available in case of emergency, Boone added.

"Obviously, right now, several struggles now in a row," Boone said of Williams, who has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits (three home runs) in 4.2 IP over his past five appearances. "So, we just try and find softer landing spots.

"Harder to do that right now when you have shorter outings by the starter. You're piecing it together and you've got a guy down. You don't always have that opportunity. So, we'll try and find good spots for him getting back to being a part of the 'pen, which he should be."

Where Williams will fit into the rest of the three-game set remains to be seen, with the Yankees (61-55) losing five of their past six games and primed for more high-leverage situations against the Astros (65-51).

"Yeah, I mean, look -- it's no fun," Boone said of Williams' struggles. "It's tough. But, again, he can hopefully lean on he's been there -- he's been down that road before a little bit, too. He's been through some struggles and come out on the other side and found some real consistency for a couple of months. So, hopefully, he can draw on that as we move forward here."

The Yankees blew this weekend's series opener against the Houston Astros as Devin Williams allowed three runs and a comeback attempt fell short in the 10th inning of Friday's 5-3 loss.

Takeaways

1. Cam Schlittler continues to give the Yankees a chance. New York's 24-year-old RHP allowed a two-run homer to Jose Altuve with one out in the first inning but kept the Astros at bay otherwise, following with 4.2 shutout frames through the fifth. Schlittler (1-2, 4.38 ERA) scattered seven hits, allowed two runs and struck out three while walking one and hitting another on 97 pitches (66 strikes). After losing five of their past six games, the Yankees needed their starting pitcher to give at least five strong and Schlittler did just that.
2. Until the 10th inning, the same could be said about New York's bullpen. Yerry De los Santos (1.2), Camilo Doval (1.1), Luke Weaver (1) took the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings and combined to allow one hit in four scoreless frames. Aside from Williams, the Yankees' bullpen stepped up.
3. At this point, what more is there to be said about Williams? Aaron Boone keeps putting Williams in high-leverage situations and is getting the same results. Williams, who allowed Carlos Correa's go-ahead RBI single to score the ghost-running Altuve (who took third base after a wild pitch) and Taylor Trammel's two-run homer with two outs, is simply not fit for the role. In Williams' past five appearances, he has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on seven hits (three homers) over 4.2 IP. What more is there to see from Williams in these spots that has Boone going to him?
4. The Yankees fought, including a two-run sixth inning between RBI singles by Ben Rice and Aaron Judge, before Anthony Volpe's own RBI single in the 10th inning kept New York's hopes alive. With two outs in the fourth inning, Cody Bellinger's throw from right field on Cam Smith's single caught Trammel out at home and prevented the Astros' potential 3-0 lead. The Yankees showed fight and made the plays to pull out a win, but Williams' 10th-inning implosion was the difference.

Who's the MVP?

Correa, who reached base four times (two hits, two walks) and delivered the go-ahead RBI single that pushed the Astros ahead -- and sparked Williams' unraveling.

Highlights

Ben Rice gets the Yankees on the board! pic.twitter.com/INafQlITR0

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 9, 2025

Aaron Judge ties the game with an RBI single 💪 pic.twitter.com/WtHFiOpkrP

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 9, 2025

What's next

The Yankees (61-55) and Astros (65-51) continue their three-game series with Saturday's 2:05 p.m. start. New York RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 13.50 ERA) and Houston LHP Framber Valdez (11-5, 2.83 ERA) are set to take the mound.