Category: Baseball

DENVER (AP) — Ryan McMahon lined a two-run double off the top of the centerfield wall, Tanner Gordon got his first major league win and the scuffling Colorado Rockies stopped a five-game skid with a 3-2 victory over the AL East-leading New York Yankees on Friday night.

In front of a sellout crowd at Coors Field, the Rockies improved to 9-42, the most losses through 51 games since 1901. Colorado, which has yet to win a series this season, is 2-9 since Wayne Schaeffer replaced Bud Black as manager.

Aaron Judge hit his 17th homer of the season, a solo shot in the fifth of his first regular season game at Coors Field. He finished 2 for 4 and raised his major league-leading average to .398.

Gordon (1-1), a 27-year-old right-hander who entered with a 5.68 ERA, allowed two runs and five hits in six innings before turning it over to the bullpen.

After Jake Bird threw a perfect seventh, Seth Halvorsen worked his way out of trouble in the eighth by getting Judge to hit into a double play and striking out Ben Rice. Zach Agnos pitched around a one-out walk in the ninth for his third save.

New York went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and its last 14 batters failed to get a hit. The Yankees had won six of their previous seven games.

Clarke Schmidt (1-2) was cruising along until the fifth and had a 2-1 lead when he allowed two-out singles by Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman. He was taken out for Tim Hill, who surrendered the two-run double to McMahon.

Some of the loudest cheers of the night were for Judge and Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, who delivered a strike while throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

Key moment

The Yankees hit into two double plays, including a nifty turn by second baseman Adael Amador in the fourth.

Key stat

The Rockies are 2-2 this season while wearing their vibrant City Connect uniforms.

Up next

Yankees lefty Max Fried (6-0, 1.29 ERA) can tie Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt (7-3) for the major league lead in wins Saturday. Colorado will throw lefty Kyle Freeland (0-6, 5.68).

Wheeler overcomes ‘terrible' mound in Sacramento in another scoreless start originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Zack Wheeler could feel it before he even threw his first pitch Friday night.

The mound at Sutter Health Park, the minor-league stadium where the Athletics are playing their home games in 2025, was not the same as the big-league stadiums around baseball.

If you noticed Wheeler’s frustration in the first two innings of a 4-3 win over the A’s, it wasn’t over his command, it was about the mound.

“The mound was terrible. That was really it,” he said. “I felt great today and that’s why I was frustrated, because I felt great and the mound was bad.

“It was like cement right in front of the rubber and if you did break it up, there were little bumps in it. It probably doesn’t sound like a lot but when you’re used to pitching on similar mounds throughout the league, just that little difference messes with you. Couldn’t really get into the dirt to drive, was kinda throwing all arm tonight. It was a little different. I just had to make little adjustments out there as it went.

“It is what it is. It turned out good so gotta roll with it.”

Of course it did. Wheeler seems to overcome everything, rising level by level season by season. He’s been a Cy Young runner-up twice as a Phillie and is pitching even better this year than those. He’s rattled off 22⅔ straight scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 2.42 and has the lowest WHIP in the National League at 0.88.

Asked whether major-league games should be played in minor-league parks, Wheeler said, “Probably not the best idea but sometimes I guess you have to.” The A’s are in Sacramento from 2025-27 as they await the opening of their new ballpark in Las Vegas.

Wheeler’s night ended after 6⅔ innings because his pitch count was up to 108. Orion Kerkering entered and dispelled a two-on, two-out jam for the second straight outing.

“I envision him being that guy,” manager Rob Thomson said of Kerkering. “Also a full-inning guy but that was a big spot there and he got it done. Wheels was out of pitches.”

The Phillies were two outs away from shutting the A’s out when Jordan Romano allowed a three-run homer to lefty-hitting rookie Nick Kurtz. Romano’s velocity was down and he, too, appeared to have problems with the mound. He had made nine consecutive scoreless appearances with six 1-2-3 innings entering the night.

Matt Strahm pitched a scoreless eighth and needed a big assist from Johan Rojas, who somehow tracked down a deep line drive over his head hit by Tyler Soderstrom for the final out with the tying run 90 feet away. The ball had a catch probability of just 11%, according to Statcast.

“I just went back as soon as I saw the ball,” Rojas said. “Keep running, keep running, keep running. I know this field is bigger, the warning track is bigger than normal. I just kept going. I said I have to catch that ball, have to help my team. Wheeler did a great job, the bullpen came in and did a great job, too.

“Our rotation, we’ve got the best in baseball. I love those guys.”

The Phillies’ starting staff has a 1.28 ERA during the eight-game winning streak. Most of that has been elite pitching but some of it is owed to the Phillies playing solid defense, making all the routine plays and even a few spectacular ones.

“It’s been huge,” Thomson said. “(Alec) Bohm had a really nice game at third base, a couple difficult balls he fielded cleanly. Trea (Turner) has been really good. Rojas’ catch was outstanding. That’s what you’ve gotta do in these kind of games because we didn’t get our bats going until late. You’ve gotta get good pitching, good defense and do the little things and that’s what we’re doing.”

The Phillies’ only offense until the ninth inning was Turner’s leadoff home run, his first with the team. The Phils added three more off A’s closer Mason Miller in the top of the ninth with an RBI double from Bohm and RBI singles by Rojas and Turner. Miller is one of the hardest throwers in the sport but the Phillies scored three times to chase him.

“Just taking what he gives you,” Turner said. “Kinda simplified it and hit the ball the other way. Not trying to do too much tonight, not trying to pull homers. Just made it tough on him, got the pitch count. That’s what you have to do against those guys because they’re so good. Take what they give you.”

Phillies lose shutout in 9th but hang on to close out 8th straight win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Home or road, the first-place Phillies keep chugging along, riding their first leadoff home run of the season, a game-saving catch by Johan Rojas and just enough from the bullpen to an eighth straight win, 4-3 over the Athletics on Friday night.

Trea Turner hit the fourth pitch of the game 426 feet over the wall in center field at Sutter Health Park to give ace Zack Wheeler a quick lead and Wheeler, Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm held the A’s scoreless through eight innings. Jordan Romano entered in the ninth with his team up four and gave three of them back on a Nick Kurtz home run but Tanner Banks recorded the 27th out for his first save as a Phillie.

Rojas’ catch was the play of the game. He got turned around on a deep line drive hit over his head by Tyler Soderstrom but recovered to corral it with the tying run on third base. The ball had a catch probability of just 11%, according to Statcast. Matt Strahm tipped his cap to the center fielder as he walked off the mound.

The Phillies are on fire in all phases — up and down the lineup, in the rotation and with solid defense and baserunning. They’re 33-18, the best record in the National League and a half-game behind the Tigers for the best mark in the majors. They’ve also won 12 of their last 13 road games and are tied with the Cubs for the best road record in the majors at 16-10.

Wheeler began his night with two backward K’s in a 1-2-3 bottom of the first and encountered little resistance until the bottom of the seventh. He went 6⅔ innings, didn’t allow a hit to the seven batters he faced with a man on base and was pulled after back-to-back walks in the seventh for Kerkering, who struck out Luis Urias to put a two-on, two-out threat to bed for the second straight outing.

Wheeler is up to 22⅔ straight scoreless innings and is 6-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He was the National League Cy Young runner-up in 2021 and 2024 and is certainly the favorite through 11 starts this season. He’s been even better than he was both those years and has the lowest WHIP in the NL at 0.88. Wheeler has allowed two runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts and the Phillies have won six.

He didn’t even have his sharpest fastball command, either, but still overpowered a young A’s lineup early with some of his best velocity of the year. Wheeler maxed out above 98 with his fastball, above 97 with his sinker and averaged more than 1 mph over his season average. Armed with six pitches, he kept the A’s off balance as the night progressed by mixing in more splitters, sweepers and curveballs the second and third times through.

“Sometimes they just explode out of his hand and you know he’s got his A-plus-plus stuff instead of his A-plus stuff,” Bryson Stott said last weekend after Wheeler beat the Pirates.

“A guy with that many pitches, that many strike pitches, he may save one or two the first time through the order and you think you’ve got him, and then he busts out the splitter, cutter or slider. That’s what the great ones do, they keep a pitch in their arsenal and start using it the second or third time through.”

Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez retired 17 of 18 Phillies from the second through seventh innings but Turner’s longball was enough to keep them ahead until Alec Bohm, Rojas and Turner added insurance with RBI knocks in the top of the ninth off closer Mason Miller.

Turner’s homer was his fourth of the season, first leadoff homer as a Phillie and would have been out in all 30 stadiums. He has been hitting for six weeks but the power is now accompanying all the table-setting. Turner has two doubles, two triples and two home runs in his last eight games. He said Wednesday night in Colorado that being hit in the elbow by two pitches in the span of four days in late April affected his mechanics of driving the ball but that he figured out a small tweak in the batting cage at Coors Field.

The Phillies are 20-5 since being swept by the Mets at Citi Field the third week of April and have won in all different ways these last three series. The last two victories have involved little offense but terrific pitching, minus Romano’s ninth inning Friday. The Phillies’ rotation has a 1.28 ERA during the eight-game winning streak, the equivalent of allowing one run every seven innings.

The eight straight wins are the Phillies’ most since Rob Thomson’s first eight games as manager in June 2022. They’ll look to make it nine — and eight series wins in the last nine — behind Cristopher Sanchez on Saturday night.

Phillies lose shutout in 9th but Romano hangs on to close out 8th straight win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Home or road, the first-place Phillies keep chugging along, riding their first leadoff home run of the season, a game-saving catch by Johan Rojas and just enough from the bullpen to an eighth straight win, 4-3 over the Athletics on Friday night.

Trea Turner hit the fourth pitch of the game 426 feet over the wall in center field at Sutter Health Park to give ace Zack Wheeler a quick lead and Wheeler, Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm held the A’s scoreless through eight innings. Jordan Romano entered in the ninth with his team up four and gave three of them back on a Nick Kurtz home run but Tanner Banks recorded the 27th out for his first save as a Phillie.

Rojas’ catch was the play of the game. He got turned around on a deep line drive hit over his head by Tyler Soderstrom but recovered to corral it with the tying run on third base. The ball had a catch probability of just 11%, according to Statcast. Matt Strahm tipped his cap to the center fielder as he walked off the mound.

The Phillies are on fire in all phases — up and down the lineup, in the rotation and with solid defense and baserunning. They’re 33-18, the best record in the National League and a half-game behind the Tigers for the best mark in the majors. They’ve also won 12 of their last 13 road games and are tied with the Cubs for the best road record in the majors at 16-10.

Wheeler began his night with two backward K’s in a 1-2-3 bottom of the first and encountered little resistance until the bottom of the seventh. He went 6⅔ innings, didn’t allow a hit to the seven batters he faced with a man on base and was pulled after back-to-back walks in the seventh for Kerkering, who struck out Luis Urias to put a two-on, two-out threat to bed for the second straight outing.

Wheeler is up to 22⅔ straight scoreless innings and is 6-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He was the National League Cy Young runner-up in 2021 and 2024 and is certainly the favorite through 11 starts this season. He’s been even better than he was both those years and has the lowest WHIP in the NL at 0.88. Wheeler has allowed two runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts and the Phillies have won six.

He didn’t even have his sharpest fastball command, either, but still overpowered a young A’s lineup early with some of his best velocity of the year. Wheeler maxed out above 98 with his fastball, above 97 with his sinker and averaged more than 1 mph over his season average. Armed with six pitches, he kept the A’s off balance as the night progressed by mixing in more splitters, sweepers and curveballs the second and third times through.

“Sometimes they just explode out of his hand and you know he’s got his A-plus-plus stuff instead of his A-plus stuff,” Bryson Stott said last weekend after Wheeler beat the Pirates.

“A guy with that many pitches, that many strike pitches, he may save one or two the first time through the order and you think you’ve got him, and then he busts out the splitter, cutter or slider. That’s what the great ones do, they keep a pitch in their arsenal and start using it the second or third time through.”

Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez retired 17 of 18 Phillies from the second through seventh innings but Turner’s longball was enough to keep them ahead until Alec Bohm, Rojas and Turner added insurance with RBI knocks in the top of the ninth off closer Mason Miller.

Turner’s homer was his fourth of the season, first leadoff homer as a Phillie and would have been out in all 30 stadiums. He has been hitting for six weeks but the power is now accompanying all the table-setting. Turner has two doubles, two triples and two home runs in his last eight games. He said Wednesday night in Colorado that being hit in the elbow by two pitches in the span of four days in late April affected his mechanics of driving the ball but that he figured out a small tweak in the batting cage at Coors Field.

The Phillies are 20-5 since being swept by the Mets at Citi Field the third week of April and have won in all different ways these last three series. The last two victories have involved little offense but terrific pitching, minus Romano’s ninth inning Friday. The Phillies’ rotation has a 1.28 ERA during the eight-game winning streak, the equivalent of allowing one run every seven innings.

The eight straight wins are the Phillies’ most since Rob Thomson’s first eight games as manager in June 2022. They’ll look to make it nine — and eight series wins in the last nine — behind Cristopher Sanchez on Saturday night.

The series opener between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field was stopped in the top of the third inning due to rain.

No restart time was announced at the time of the rain delay.

The Dodgers were threatening to score the game's first run when the clouds opened up and heavy rain came pouring down. The defending champions had runners on second and third with two outs. Mets starter Griffin Canning had Freddie Freeman in a 3-1 count when officials stopped play and the tarp was rolled out.

This story is still developing...

Former Mets reliever Jake Diekman announced his retirement late Friday.

"The time has come for me to retire as a Major League Baseball player," Diekman wrote in a social media post. "Thank you, God, for this life and being able to live out my wildest dream."

Diekman was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, where he spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his career. The 38-year-old would go on to pitch for the Rangers, Diamondbacks, Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, White Sox, Rays before landing in Queens to play for the Mets in 2024.

He signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves this offseason but did not break camp with the team. He was later released by the organization in March.

"To the Diamondbacks, Royals, Athletics, Red Sox, White Sox, Rays and Mets, it was an honor to wear each and every uniform," he wrote. "The goal was always to try and win, not just for the front office and organization, but also for your city."

Diekman appeared in 705 career games, amassing a 27-34 record and a 3.91 ERA. He closed 19 games and struck out 764 batters across 602.1 innings. Last season with the Mets, he made 43 appearances, pitching to a 5.63 ERA and closing four games.

His most memorable Mets moment came during last year's Subway Series. On July 23, Diekman was called upon to hold a one-run lead against the Yankees in the ninth. The left-hander walked Juan Soto with out, allowing Aaron Judge to come up to the plate as the winning run. Diekman got to a 2-2 count and challenged Judge with an inside fastball that the soon-to-be AL MVP would swing through for the second out.

Diekman would get Ben Rice to ground out to finish off the 3-2 win.

Jake Diekman's full 9th-inning duel with Aaron Judge 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eWbWpgR05P

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 24, 2024

Cora doesn't name Devers as third base option after Bregman injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Don’t count on Rafael Devers to move back to third base as Alex Bregman’s injury replacement.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t mention Devers as a third base option while naming potential replacements after Friday’s 19-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

“Ceddanne (Rafaela) can play third, Sogey (Nick Sogard) can play third, (Abraham) Toro can play third,” Cora said. “I don’t know how much KC (Kristian Campbell) played last year. We know Connor (Wong) can do it. So in case of emergency, we can move KC to the outfield, Ceddanne to the infield, and go from there.

Bregman exited Friday’s game in the fifth inning after he pulled up awkwardly rounding first base. The prized offseason addition immediately removed himself from the game, prompting panic across Red Sox Nation.

Later, the Red Sox announced Bregman left the game with right quad tightness. He called the injury a “day-to-day” thing, which is encouraging given how the injury initially looked.

Cora may not need to find a long-term answer at third base after all, but his omission of Devers’ name is telling. Devers has already called out the Red Sox front office for asking him to play first base after moving him from third to designated hitter. It appears Cora and Co. are avoiding another difficult conversation with the veteran slugger.

They also may not want to disrupt Devers’ scorching-hot stretch as the DH. He blasted two homers and drove in eight runs in Friday’s blowout victory, bumping his OPS up to .972 in the process.

If Bregman has to be placed on the injured list, another option for Boston is promoting top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer. Although Mayer is primarily a shortstop, and he has recently spent his time at second base, he also has experience at the hot corner.

Watch “Felger & Mazz” discuss the third base drama below or on YouTube:

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided injury updates on a few recovering starting pitchers before Friday night's highly anticipated matchup with the Dodgers.

Here's what the manager said...

Frankie Montas

The veteran right-hander (lat) will begin a rehab assignment with High-A Brooklyn on Saturday, and be limited to two innings (30-35 pitches) of work in the start.

Montas threw live batting practice for the first time last week. The 32-year-old logged a 4.84 ERA across 150.2 innings last season.

Paul Blackburn

One step closer to a return to the majors, the veteran right-hander (knee) will make one more rehab start (seventh overall) with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old has produced a 3.91 ERA with 27 strikeouts across 23 innings in the minor league ranks this spring.

‘Efficient' Roupp continues strong May as Giants shut out Nationals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Of the Giants’ young pitchers, 23-year-olds Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison have generated headlines lately by turning strong relief outings into burgeoning starting opportunities.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Landen Roupp — who beat out both promising pitchers for San Francisco’s final Opening Day rotation spot — quietly has found a groove in his first full MLB season.

Roupp accelerated that positive momentum on Friday night, throwing six-plus scoreless innings to help the Giants grab a 4-0 shutout win over the Washington Nationals to begin a nine-game road trip.

With this outing in the nation’s capital, the 2021 12th-round pick improved his ERA to 1.64 in 22 innings during May — a strong response to an up-and-down first month of the season.

After the win, third baseman Matt Chapman detailed what he’s seen from Roupp as of late.

“I think he’s gaining more experience every time he goes out there. He’s getting more confident,” Chapman told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt and Ron Wotus on “Giants Postgame Live.” “He’s going to be somebody that we lean on. I think having a guy like [Logan] Webb at the top of our rotation for him to pick his brain and watch how he throws, because they both throw sinkers and have some similarities, so I think it’s been really big for him.

“He just seems to be getting better every time.”

"He seems to be getting better every time."

Matt Chapman likes what he's seen from Landen Roupp after another strong outing 👏 pic.twitter.com/aYhxOXUVN7

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 24, 2025

What’s even more impressive is Roupp’s success despite his curveball — his signature pitch — being relatively ineffective Friday. Roupp historically throws his curveball over 40 percent of the time, but he only tossed it for 17 of his 76 pitches (22 percent) against a Nationals lineup full of left-handed hitters, per Baseball Savant.

“This game gives me more confidence than the last one, just because of that reason,” Roupp told reporters postgame. “In the past, I haven’t been that good to lefties, just because I’ve never had four pitches. So throwing all of my pitches tonight really helped.”

That growing ability to rely consistently on other pitches has been a major factor behind Roupp’s recent surge as a whole. In particular, he credited his growth with his two-seam sinking fastball.

“Getting it in the zone — when my two-seam is in the zone, it makes my other stuff better,” Roupp explained. Uncoincidentally, his sinkers were in the zone 70 percent of the time on Friday night.

Likewise, Giants manager Bob Melvin emphasized Roupp’s command as a primary reason for his strong month on the mound.

“Just more efficient throwing strikes and after getting ahead, doesn’t pick — he’s still trying to pound the zone,” Melvin detailed. “That’s why he came out of that game with 76 pitches. He was so efficient that it looked like new territory maybe for him in the seventh inning like that, but with the pitch count and the way he was pitching, it was easy to let him go back out there.”

Melvin took the ball from Roupp after he surrendered a double and a walk to start the seventh inning during a 2-0 game at the time. But Randy Rodriguez, another second-year righty having a stellar May, induced a strikeout and a double play to escape the jam and help cement Roupp’s third win of the season.

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Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. hits homer on first pitch since return from injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Ronald Acuña Jr. crushed his first pitch 467 feet for a home run in his dramatic return to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Making his first appearance in almost one year, the 2023 NL MVP was activated from the injured list and restored to the Braves’ lineup almost one year after he tore his left ACL.

Acuña, in his customary leadoff position in the lineup, turned on a fastball from San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta’ and sent the ball into the seats in left-center. Acuña hesitated briefly on his jog around the bases for a shuffle step.

Infielder Orlando Arcia, a 2023 All-Star, was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Acuña, who started in right field.

Acuña said through translator Franco Garcia he was “super excited, super happy” to make his return and added “I couldn’t sleep that much” after receiving the news of his return on Thursday.

Braves manager Brian Snitker announced after Thursday night’s 8-7 loss at Washington that Acuña would make his season debut on Friday night.

Snitker said Friday it felt good to make out his first lineup of 2025 that included Acuña.

“He’s one of those players that you better not go get a beer or whatever, because you might miss something really cool, you know?” Snitker said. “I mean, he’s that type of force, I think, in the game. I think he’s going to energize everybody. Gonna energize the fans. Gonna energize his teammates.”

Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, hurt his left knee last May 26 and had surgery on June 6. The 27-year-old played six games in the minors on a rehab assignment, going 6 for 15 with two home runs.

Acuña played in only 49 games last season, batting .250 with four homers, 15 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .716 OPS.

This is Acuña’s second comeback from a major knee injury. He tore his right ACL on July 10, 2021, and returned the following April. When asked Friday what is different about this rehabilitation process, he said “Patience. The patience, for sure. … I just think I’m in a much better place.”

Atlanta entered 24-25 after an 0-7 start.

“It’s huge,” third baseman Austin Riley said. “The talent is there. The energy he brings, having Ronald up there at the top of the lineup. … he can change a game at any point.”

Acuña was a unanimous NL MVP in 2023 when he hit .336 with 41 home runs, 106 RBIs and a league-leading 1.012 OPS. Acuña also stole 73 bases that year to become the only player with 40 homers and 70 steals in one season.

Arcia, 30, was a 2023 NL All-Star when he hit .264 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs. Arcia lost his starting job due to an inability to compensate at the plate while suffering a defensive decline. He hit only .194 in 31 at-bats this season.

Snitker said he hopes Arcia would ccept a minor league assignment if he does not land another job in the majors.

“I think we all know that it’s a business,” Acuña said of Arcia getting cut. “I’m happy to be back but I’m sorry that’s the move.”

Nick Allen has taken over as the starting shortstop. Snitker said Luke Williams is the backup shortstop and Eli White, a part-time starter in the outfield, will see more time in the infield.

Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. hits homer on first pitch since return from injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Ronald Acuña Jr. crushed his first pitch 467 feet for a home run in his dramatic return to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Making his first appearance in almost one year, the 2023 NL MVP was activated from the injured list and restored to the Braves’ lineup almost one year after he tore his left ACL.

Acuña, in his customary leadoff position in the lineup, turned on a fastball from San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta’ and sent the ball into the seats in left-center. Acuña hesitated briefly on his jog around the bases for a shuffle step.

Infielder Orlando Arcia, a 2023 All-Star, was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for Acuña, who started in right field.

Acuña said through translator Franco Garcia he was “super excited, super happy” to make his return and added “I couldn’t sleep that much” after receiving the news of his return on Thursday.

Braves manager Brian Snitker announced after Thursday night’s 8-7 loss at Washington that Acuña would make his season debut on Friday night.

Snitker said Friday it felt good to make out his first lineup of 2025 that included Acuña.

“He’s one of those players that you better not go get a beer or whatever, because you might miss something really cool, you know?” Snitker said. “I mean, he’s that type of force, I think, in the game. I think he’s going to energize everybody. Gonna energize the fans. Gonna energize his teammates.”

Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, hurt his left knee last May 26 and had surgery on June 6. The 27-year-old played six games in the minors on a rehab assignment, going 6 for 15 with two home runs.

Acuña played in only 49 games last season, batting .250 with four homers, 15 RBIs, 16 stolen bases and a .716 OPS.

This is Acuña’s second comeback from a major knee injury. He tore his right ACL on July 10, 2021, and returned the following April. When asked Friday what is different about this rehabilitation process, he said “Patience. The patience, for sure. … I just think I’m in a much better place.”

Atlanta entered 24-25 after an 0-7 start.

“It’s huge,” third baseman Austin Riley said. “The talent is there. The energy he brings, having Ronald up there at the top of the lineup. … he can change a game at any point.”

Acuña was a unanimous NL MVP in 2023 when he hit .336 with 41 home runs, 106 RBIs and a league-leading 1.012 OPS. Acuña also stole 73 bases that year to become the only player with 40 homers and 70 steals in one season.

Arcia, 30, was a 2023 NL All-Star when he hit .264 with 17 homers and 65 RBIs. Arcia lost his starting job due to an inability to compensate at the plate while suffering a defensive decline. He hit only .194 in 31 at-bats this season.

Snitker said he hopes Arcia would ccept a minor league assignment if he does not land another job in the majors.

“I think we all know that it’s a business,” Acuña said of Arcia getting cut. “I’m happy to be back but I’m sorry that’s the move.”

Nick Allen has taken over as the starting shortstop. Snitker said Luke Williams is the backup shortstop and Eli White, a part-time starter in the outfield, will see more time in the infield.

Devers makes Red Sox history after monster two-HR game vs. Orioles originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Rafael Devers is one of the hottest hitters in the MLB right now.

The Boston Red Sox slugger blasted two home runs in Game 1 of a day/night doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on Friday.

The Red Sox earned a 19-5 win as a result. They are back to .500 with a 26-26 record entering the second game of the doubleheader.

Devers’ first homer was a three-run shot that gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead in the sixth inning.

Devers continued to dominate at the plate in the eighth inning with a grand slam, which bolstered Boston’s advantage to 16-3.

Overall, Devers went 4-for-6 with two home runs, eight RBI, three runs scored and one strikeout.

The 28-year-old veteran made some history, too. His two homers gave him 212 for his career, passing Rico Petrocelli for sole possession of 10th place on the Red Sox all-time home run leaderboard.

1. Ted Williams, 521
2. David Ortiz, 483
3. Carl Yastrzemski, 452
4. Jim Rice, 382
5. Dwight Evans, 379
6. Manny Ramirez, 274
7. Mo Vaughn, 230
8. Bobby Doerr, 223
9. Jimmie Foxx, 222,
10. Rafael Devers, 212

After a slow start to the season, Devers has been red-hot of late. In fact, he’s hitting .397 with five home runs, 20 RBI, 15 walks and nine runs scored in 68 at-bats during the month of May. For the season, Devers is batting .299 with 12 homers and 47 RBI.

Devers switched from third base to designated hitter this season after the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman as a free agent back in February. Bregman left Friday’s first game with a right quad injury, and if he misses any time, it will be interesting to see if Devers plays third base.

Mayer feels ‘really good' at second base, staying ready for MLB call-up originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

WORCESTER — Marcelo Mayer speaks the way he fields: cool, calm, and collected with unwavering confidence.

The Boston Red Sox’ top infield prospect has been playing second base at Triple-A Worcester in preparation for a potential call-up to the majors. Predominantly a shortstop, he looked smooth taking grounders at second before Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader against the Durham Bulls at Polar Park.

After his pregame workout, Mayer spoke on his comfort level at second base compared to his natural position.

“I feel good. I feel solid,” Mayer told NBC Sports Boston. “Obviously, I’ve played shortstop my whole life, with a little bit of third and second base. But as far as comfortability, I feel really good over there.”

That’s great news for the big-league club, because it may need Mayer to take over at second soon. Fellow top prospect Kristian Campbell, Boston’s primary second baseman, has gotten work at first base since Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.

Whether it’s Campbell, Mayer, or any other promising young player, moving them around the diamond while they’re still developing can be risky. Even veterans, like Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers, are often reluctant to disrupt their routine by switching positions.

Mayer, though? He doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest.

“I think it just depends on the person,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of people that are capable of doing it. There’s a lot of athletic players in the league that are able to play a lot of positions at a high level. So I’m not really sure if that affects you. I think they do a really good job of making sure that you get work in your positions to stay ready, whenever that is.”

The numbers suggest Mayer is ready. The 22-year-old entered Friday’s doubleheader slashing .265/.344/.452 with eight homers and a minor-league-leading 41 RBI. He crushed a two-run shot in his second at-bat of the day.

With Campbell potentially moving to first, shortstop Trevor Story struggling mightily, and Alex Bregman exiting Friday’s game vs. Baltimore with an injury, Mayer’s promotion to The Show seems imminent. While thoughts of his Fenway Park debut might be hard to ignore, Mayer says he has no problem staying focused on his current task.

“I don’t really see it as a balance,” Mayer said. “To me, it’s just making sure that I get my work done here while I’m down here and making sure that I get as good as possible so that my transition to the big leagues is that much easier, and just making sure that I stay on top of my stuff. Staying ready.”

Calling up Mayer could give Boston a much-needed jolt amid its mediocre 26-26 season. That said, countless elite prospects have had rude awakenings upon reaching the majors. Jackson Holliday, for example, hit just .189 with a .565 OPS in 60 games as a highly-touted rookie last year with the Orioles.

Fairly or not, Mayer and No. 1 ranked prospect Roman Anthony will be counted on to help revitalize a franchise that has clinched just one postseason berth since its 2018 World Series title. Asked whether he feels any pressure from those lofty expectations, the laid-back Southern Californian gave an on-brand answer.

“Not really. That’s not really the way that we see it,” he said. “I’m just focused on, like I said, right now getting better every single day and making sure that when my time is called that I’m ready to go. That I can do whatever I can to help the team win, and hopefully that’s enough.”

Mayer has the clearer path to big-league playing time, but Anthony shouldn’t be far behind. The 21-year-old continues to rake for Worcester, hitting .316/.449/.510 with six homers and 18 RBI through 43 games.

An outfield logjam in Boston has kept Anthony in the minors, but he should be hitting balls over the Green Monster alongside Mayer at some point this season — and for many years to come.

“He’s the man. To have him on our team is a blessing, to have him in this org,” Mayer said of Anthony. “The way that he carries himself, the way that he plays within the lines, it’s truly incredible. Just to have him be that close to me and part of this org, it’s special.”

Anthony went 2-for-3 with a walk and scored the game-tying run on a Jhostynxon Garcia single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mayer scored on Vaughn Grissom’s walk-off single as Worcester beat Durham, 5-4.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Marcelo Mayer below, also featuring the best postgame spreads he has gotten from big-leaguers during their rehab stints: