Category: Baseball

The Mets continue a three-game series with the Pirates Saturday at 4:05 p.m. on SNY.

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

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Mets Notes

• After Friday's 9-1 loss, the Mets (48-35) are half of a game behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (48-34) in the National League East Division. New York is 3-11 in its past 14 games while cumulatively going 29-12 at home and 19-23 away from Citi Field this season as it enters Game 2 in Pittsburgh.
• Mets starter Paul Blackburn faces the Pirates (33-50), looking to rebound from this past Monday's 3-2 loss against the Atlanta Braves. Blackburn (0-2, 6.62 ERA) allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five, walking three and hitting one in 4.2 IP of his third start this season. He is opposed by Pirates southpaw Bailey Falter (6-3, 3.59 ERA).
• New York right fielder Juan Soto hit his 20th home run of the season in the series opener, a fourth-inning solo shot that was the Mets' lone run. He is slashing .329/.491/.768 with 11 home runs and 19 RBI in 25 June games. On the year, Soto has a .259/.397/.514 slash line with 46 RBI.

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Here's what happened Friday in Mets Land, in case you missed it...

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-The Mets' three-game set with the Pirates started Friday in Pittsburgh but ended in a 9-1 loss with left-hander David Petersonstruggling while the bats went quiet.

-The Mets' defeat followed a series split with the Atlanta Braves in which New York suffered another pitching injury but could turn out fine, as SNY's Andy Martinowrote.

-Right-hander Jonathan Pintaro is among the Mets' arms and opened up to SNY's Danny Abriano about his journey.

-Manager Carlos Mendoza explained New York's initial plan for right-hander Blade Tidwell, among other personnel moves.

-Speaking of roster changes, the Mets optioned outfielder Jared Young to Triple-A Syracuse and kept infielder Ronny Mauricio in New York with third baseman Mark Vientosreturning from the injured list.

-The Mets also placed right-hander Griffin Canning on the injured list while calling up left-hander Colin Poche amid a flurry of roster moves.

-In the minors, right-handers Jonah Tong and Nolan McLeanheadlined the latest Mets Prospect Roundup.

As the MLB trade deadline inches closer, The Mets Poddiscussed if Eugenio Suárez could be an option.

As someone who has permanent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) as a result of hearing damage from concerts, I must take exception to how loud the music is played at sporting events these days. Despite quotes from Dodger players and executives stating how "great" the loudness at Dodger Stadium is, they are putting the paying customers and employees at risk for hearing loss with the excessive volume. Entertaining the fans is one thing, assaulting the delicate instrument that is our ears is quite another. I'm sure they could turn it down to safer decibel levels and everyone will still have a good time.

Mark Furcick
San Pedro

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Dodger Stadium hosts a Military Appreciation Night, a Salvadoran Heritage Night, and a Guatemalan Heritage Night. But we will never see an Autism Spectrum Night. The ear-shattering sound system would cause fans to run from the stadium screaming in pain and terror.

I suffer from a condition called hyperacusis, where loud noises can cause ear pain lasting for days or even weeks. It's rare in the general population, but more common among autistic people. I love baseball, and used to love going to Dodger Stadium from the year it opened until 20-something years ago. But now I'd have to wear industrial-strength ear protection.

Russell Stone
Westchester

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I used to like bleacher seats but won’t sit there again — way too loud right under the sound system.

Bob Wieting
Simi Valley

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Sure it’s “entertainment.” Sure the players like the enthusiasm. But there are seats located beneath or near speakers that are simply painful to the ears.

Richard Melniker
Los Angeles

Pain at Pauley Pavilion

Thanks for the excellent article on loud music at Dodger Stadium, which reminded me of how annoying it was to watch UCLA basketball at Pauley Pavilion last season. Constant painfully loud rap and techno-music, measured at 90 decibels, which according to OSHA, can cause hearing damage from two hours of exposure. As an older alum, I would prefer to hear just the sound of the band playing and the cheers from the crowd.

Tony DeRiggi
Sacramento

Go to the bullpen

What genius decided to use position players to pitch in the ninth inning when the team was either way ahead or way behind in a game? It's embarrassing to see lousy pitching, bases loaded, and hitters scoring. Use a regular bullpen pitcher, and spare us, your fans, from flinching.

Deborah R. Ishida
Beverly Hills

Ace in the hole

Considering his recent outings and record, you'd have to say Clayton Kershaw is now the Dodgers’ staff ace. Great story for him, maybe even worthy of comeback player of the year, if he keeps it up. Also more than a bit ironic, given the big money paid to the Dodgers’ underwhelming three free agent starters. Kershaw might be barely hitting 90 mph on the radar gun, but he’s pitching effectively, and more important, taking his turn in the rotation — which is a noteworthy achievement on this staff.

John Merryman
Redondo Beach

Envision it

Ever since he got his vision corrected in April, Max Muncy has been on a hitting tear! Which has me wondering … when can we expect a bobblehead night for his ophthalmologist?

Nick Rose
Newport Coast

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Memo to the Los Angeles Dodgers:

Find out who Max Muncy’s eye doctor is and send the rest of the team to him.

Ira M. Friedman
Beverly Hills

Thunderstruck

Congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder for winning the NBA title. One thing I noticed about this very young team is how mature and classy they are. They don’t make ridiculous gestures like some of the old veteran superstars i.e. "Night Night," "Ice in the Veins," etc. I hope you veterans can learn something from these young champions.

Paul Kawaguchi
Rosemead

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Email: sports@latimes.com

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Game 81. The halfway point of the 2025 season arrived at Angel Stadium — and the Angels, albeit squarely in contention at .500, were dealing with a bit of organizational uncertainty.

Angels General Manager Perry Minasian announced before Friday's game that manager Ron Washington would remain on medical leave for the rest of the season because of an undisclosed health issue.

Bench coach Ray Montgomery took over the reins on June 20 as the acting — now interim — manager as the Angels entered Friday as winners in seven of their last 10 games.

The Angels are in a much better spot than 2024. This time last season, after game 81, they were 11 games under .500 — squarely out of the postseason hunt.

Read more:Angels' Ron Washington will remain on medical leave for rest of season

Friday, however, even after losing 15-9 in a three-hour, 11-minute slog of a series opener against the Washington Nationals (34-48), the Angels (40-41) still are just two games out of the third American League wild card spot.

In a game where the Angels and Nationals combined for 24 runs and 30 hits — with the 19 hits and 15 runs given up by the Angels’ pitching staff representing season-worst marks — what ultimately separated the teams was the Angels' inability to come through with runners on base.

In the sixth and seventh innings — down one and two runs, respectively — the Angels had opportunities to take the lead or tie the game with runners in scoring position, but failed to capitalize. From there, the Nationals' lead would grow, with Hunter Strickland giving up four runs in the ninth as part of a 10-run barrage against the Angels' bullpen.

In the early innings, the Angels had plenty of opportunities against Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who struggled against the heart of the lineup.

Jo Adell struck a 92-mph fastball high and away to right field for a solo home run — his 18th overall and 11th in June — in the second. An inning later, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward received hanging breaking balls — a high curveball and slider, respectively — and pulled the ball for short-porch home runs.

Read more:Shaikin: Why many cost-conscious MLB owners are rooting for Angels' success

Three home runs across three innings helped the Angels build a three-run lead. Across 4 ⅓ innings of work against Irvin, the Angels' lineup continued to click. They tallied nine runs (eight earned to Irvin) on nine hits — just enough for an early lead as José Soriano tossed his worst outing of the season.

Soriano couldn’t exit the fifth against the Nationals. The shutdown pitching he had featured in his last three starts — giving up just two runs across 20 ⅔ innings — looked like a distant memory. The right-hander struck out four and walked two, while giving up eight earned runs and nine hits.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto (shoulder) returned to action, striking out in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.

Before the game, Neto said that he’d likely be able to hit before throwing — something he’s yet to do — after jamming his shoulder on a stolen base attempt Tuesday.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Jonah Tong continues to rise up the ranks of Mets prospects with his performance in Double-A this season, and Friday was another quality outing for the right-hander.

Tong struck out eight batters across six innings while allowing one run on three hits and three walks. While Tong didn't come away with the win, the Rumble Ponies pulled out the 3-1 win on Friday against Portland.

After Friday's start, Tong lowered his ERA slightly to a season-low 1.73 and has pitched to a minuscule 0.93 ERA in the month of June (five starts). In those five June starts, Tong has struck out at least eight batters in four of them.

Behind Tong, the offense was solid, accumulating eight hit,s including one from Jett Williams and two from Carson Benge. Benge made his fourth start with Double-A Binghamton on Friday and after going hitless in his first two games, he's now had at least one knock in back-to-back games. It's also notable that Benge, despite his two hitless games, has reached back in all four games with Binghamton as he's picked up five walks in that span.

Jonah Tong struck out 8 in 6 innings of one-run ball for Binghamton tonight

Final Line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K (92 pitches, 60 strikes) pic.twitter.com/oAkfyxshBw

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 28, 2025

Checking in with Triple-A Syracuse, Nolan McLean continues his rise up the Mets' farm system with another solid start on Friday.

Although he took the loss, McLean was sharp, allowing just two runs on four hits and three walks across six innings of work. He also struck out four batters.

In nine appearances (seven starts) with Syracuse, McLean has pitched to a 2.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. While he has not been a strikeout machine (45 strikeouts across 49.2 innings) in Triple-A, he has the potential to be better. Before being promoted, McLean struck out 30 batters in 26.1 innings with Binghamton.

Behind McLean, the offense was quiet. Syracuse picked up just one run on six hits and the litany of hitters with major league experience all went hitless. Luisangel Acuña finished 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout, while Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. The former Mets backstop is hitless in five games (0-for-14).

There was little reason to believe that Will Warren would provide much length. The pitch count told the story on Friday night -- the Yankees' right-hander needed a whopping 36 pitches to complete a peculiar first inning against the Athletics that included three walks and three strikeouts.

But the shaky start to Warren's outing didn't perturb him or force early movement in the bullpen. The rookie proceeded to throw 39 pitches across his next three innings, and his seven strikeouts over five scoreless frames did just the trick in the team's decently paced 3-0 victory in the Bronx.

The recovery job demonstrated further growth from Warren, who passed another big-league test as a reliable arm in the Yankees' rotation. He finished June with a sharp 2.86 ERA (five starts, 28.1 innings), and among AL pitchers who've logged at least 80 innings, his K/9 rate (11.54) currently ranks first.

"It's baseball. [That first inning] is going to happen. You try to take the positives," Warren said after the win. "Sometimes I'm good at executing the corners. Tonight, I was kind of spraying the ball a little bit. So it's like, 'Alright, let's throw it to the bigger part of the plate and let them put the ball in play'... I think we had a good game plan going on and we executed it."

Warren now owns a 4.37 ERA through 17 starts this season, and his 103 strikeouts rank first among AL rookies. The 26-year-old also leads the majors in called punchouts (38), and his fWAR ranks third among all rookies.

Judged for a walk?

Cody Bellinger bumped the Yankees' lead to 2-0 in the third inning with an RBI single to center that drove in Anthony Volpe. It was also a matchup that the Athletics wanted.

With one out and Volpe on second, the Athletics elected to intentionally walk Aaron Judge, and by taking the bat out of the superstar slugger's hands, Bellinger stepped up to the plate with a chance to do damage. He did just that, providing what turned out to be their first insurance run.

Nobody can seriously blame the Athletics for offering Judge a free pass to first -- creating a force out at any base -- and taking their chances with Bellinger in the box. But the lefty slugger has made opponents pay for that particular move. He's now 6-for-15 (.400) with two extra-base hits and seven RBI following an intentional walk to Judge this season.

"Understandable. [Judge is] the best hitter on the planet," Bellinger said. "For me, it's just like any other at-bat -- what's my plan and how can I execute in this situation? A baseball season is full of ups and downs... I like where we're at. I love this group of guys... I'm excited for the future, and just going to keep on rolling."

Funny enough, the Athletics were forced to pitch to Judge with the bases loaded in the fourth, but starter Mitch Spence worked out of the jam by striking out the Yankees' captain on an elevated cutter.

Stroman ready to return

Before the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn't willing to appoint Marcus Stroman as their starter for Sunday, but there's no longer any curiosity on the matter. Boone confirmed after the win that the veteran right-hander will be activated from the injured list and pitch the series finale.

Stroman, who went on the shelf in mid-April with left knee inflammation, didn't look too sharp during his June rehab assignment. In 10.1 total innings with Double-A Somerset (three starts), he allowed eight earned runs on 10 hits and five walks with nine strikeouts.

The 34-year-old struggled prior to his injury, producing a ghastly 11.57 ERA across 9.1 innings (three starts). He gave up five runs on four hits and three walks and logged only two outs against the Giants back on April 11.

Dave Roberts has a high bar for his $400 million baseball team.

Sure, the Dodgers entered Friday winners of 13 of their last 17, tied for the best overall record in baseball and leading the National League West by six games.

Sure, they already have one guaranteed All-Star in Shohei Ohtani, and seven other finalists who advanced to the second stage of fan voting that will begin next week.

But, in the eyes of their manager, “I still just don’t believe we’re playing our best baseball,” Roberts said Friday afternoon. “I don’t think we’ve played complete baseball for a stretch.”

On Friday night, that remained the case. Dustin May managed just four innings in a four-run start. The lineup produced only four total hits. Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández made run-scoring defensive blunders in the outfield. And the bullpen danced in and out of trouble down the stretch.

Read more:Why Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman have struggled at the plate lately for the Dodgers

But amid this soft portion of the team’s schedule, flawed performances have often still been enough.

And in Friday’s 5-4 win over the badly slumping Kansas City Royals, that once again proved to be the case.

May gave up a run in the first after Kiké Hernández airmailed a throw to the plate with two outs, negating Ohtani’s leadoff blast (his 29th home run of the season, and eighth to lead off a game).

The Royals added three more in the third after Teoscar Hernández let a hard-hit, but very much catchable, line drive get over his head in right to score one run, and Bobby Witt Jr. added a two-run homer with two outs in the inning.

“Obviously, tonight Dustin wasn’t sharp,” Roberts said. “And we certainly didn’t help him out defensively.”

And yet, the Dodgers (52-31) still wound up with the lead entering the latter innings. Max Muncy continued his two-month-long tear with a two-run homer in the second, giving him 12 long balls and 46 RBIs in his last 42 games. 

Ohtani tied the score with an RBI triple in the fifth, before being driven home on a Mookie Betts single in the next at-bat.

In the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, the Royals (38-44) stranded a runner in scoring position — frustrating missed chances for a team trying to snap a 10-game home losing streak.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth, the game came down to a bases-loaded, one-out opportunity, with struggling rookie prospect Jac Caglianone at the plate.

Caglianone, the sixth overall pick in last year's draft, swung at a first-pitch slider from Tanner Scott that was up and out of the zone. His ground ball went right to second baseman Tommy Edman, who initiated a game-ending double play that required Freddie Freeman to make a sprawling scoop at first base.

“That was a sweet double play,” said Scott, who has converted eight straight saves this month with a 1.35 earned-run average. “Freddie’s pretty good. He’s got a Gold Glove for a reason. He’s a special player.”

“Incredible," Muncy added. "I don’t know how he did that one."

Freeman, of course, has also epitomized the Dodgers’ inconsistent play of late, going 0 for 4 on Friday to lower his batting average over the last 21 games to .152. Betts, too, has been slumping, hitting just .194 over his last 18 games despite his go-ahead single Friday.

“We haven’t gotten everyone to click at the same time,” Muncy said. “But we’ve had enough guys to take over on certain nights, that we’ve been able to kind of roll through it.”

May, meanwhile, has fallen into an extended funk, giving up 15 earned runs in his last 21 innings to raise his season ERA to 4.68.

“I mean, it’s just [crappy] all around,” he said, after yielding six hits and three walks in his 84-pitch outing. “Don’t know what to say.”

Mix in the bad defense, and virtually nonexistent offense from the lineup late in the game (a ninth-inning walk from Muncy was the team’s only base runner after Betts’ go-ahead single), and the Dodgers found themselves in what’s been a familiar situation of late: grinding through a dogfight against an inferior opponent. Playing the type of sloppy baseball that usually portends a mid-season slump. Yet doing just enough anyway to take sole possession of the best record in the majors.

As summed up by Roberts, who seemed unimpressed with the performance but took consolation in the victory: "We’re finding ways to win baseball games, which is most important.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With the recent rash of injuries to the Mets' rotation, David Peterson has become the one arm the team should be able to depend on to have quality outings, but that hasn't been the case of late.

After he allowed five runs in his last start against the Phillies, Peterson took the mound against the Pirates on Friday night and had a similar ineffective performance.

His stuff was flat and the Pirates hitters were all over Peterson's pitches as he gave up a four-run inning en route to the Mets' eventual 9-1 loss to start the weekend series.

Heading into the Phillies game, Peterson was sporting a 2.60 ERA. Even after his dud against the Phillies, Peterson still had a sub-3.00 ERA, but his back-to-back poor outings are a bit concerning for a Mets team that needs him to guide this rotation until reinforcements arrive.

So, what exactly happened to Peterson on Friday? Manager Carlos Mendoza had a few thoughts.

"The fastball, he’s having a hard time locating on the glove side," he said after the game. "The changeup is just floating in the strike zone, he’s having a hard time seeing that fade and the same thing with the slider. The sharpness, getting backdoor to the right-handed hitters. Just one of those stretches, back-to-back outings, we’ll get to go back, watch film and make some adjustments."

In that four-run inning, the Pirates had eight batted balls and seven were hit at 101 mph or harder.

Mendoza was asked if he had the same assessment after the Phillies start, and the second-year skipper said he did. Philadelphia produced a ton of hard contact on Peterson's pitches and everything was up in the zone, just like on Friday.

"When he’s good, he’s able to get the changeup [down]," Mendoza explained. "Weak groundball, weak contact [is what we saw] the past couple of outings. In general, felt like he was fighting to find the sharpness on his pitches."

The Mets left-hander agreed with his manager's take on his performance on Friday.

"Didn’t feel like I had my best command, didn’t execute some pitches and they took advantage," Peterson said.

Took advantage is exactly what the Pirates did, as they scored five runs on seven hits and three walks across 4.2 innings against the left-hander. It's the second start this season in which Peterson has allowed at least five runs. He didn't have any such outing a year ago.

Mendoza said he's sure Peterson is healthy when he was asked, but pointed out that he believes there's a mechanical issue with his pitcher. Peterson and Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner have been working on his mechanics in between starts in the bullpen, but it didn't translate on the field Friday.

Peterson said his sessions with Hefner are nothing new and that it's just things he and the staff check back on constantly throughout the season, but acknowledged his mechanics were off.

"I didn’t necessarily stay on line and got too rotational in the second inning," he said. "Just trying to square that away and we’ll work on it again."

The Mets entered the weekend series with a half-game lead in the NL East over the Phillies, and going up against a below-.500 club in the Pirates was supposed to help New York collect wins. If the Mets are to weather this current storm of injuries to their pitchers, Peterson needs to be better and the left-hander knows it. But he's ready to work on his mechanics before his next time on the mound.

"I look at it one start at a time. It’s about getting back to good mechanics and feeling like I’m in the right spot," Peterson said. "I take what I need to do better, take what I did well from tonight and move on and prepare for the next one."

David Peterson allowed a big inning for the second consecutive start and the Mets' offense couldn't recover as they fell to the Pirates, 9-1, on Friday night at PNC Park.

After a 20-minute delay to start the game, the Mets' offense never got going. They had just six hits, went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

Here are the takeaways...

-Peterson looked to bounce back from his shaky start last weekend against the Phillies, but he had similar results in this one. After allowing a five-run inning in Philadelphia, Peterson allowed four runs in the second. The Pirates started with a walk and back-to-back singles with one out to get on the board. A double from Alexander Canario caught Juan Soto by surprise and went over his head to drive in another run. An Isiah Kiner-Falefa single and a hard forceout by Tommy Pham put up two more runs as Peterson finally got out of the second, allowing four. The Pirates put up five hits in that inning off Peterson, who threw 34 pitches -- the most he's allowed in one inning this season.

He allowed eight batted balls, seven of which were hit at 101 mph or harder.

Peterson would settle down over the next two innings, but the Pirates would bat around the left-hander again in the fifth. A two-out double by Ke'Bryan Hayes scored Pittsburgh's fifth run of the game and knocked Peterson out of the game. This is the second straight start Peterson has allowed at least five runs. He didn't allow that many runs in a start all of last season.

Peterson finished throwing 91 pitches (56 strikes), allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five across 4.2 innings.

-Blade Tidwell, called up on Friday to take Griffin Canning's place on the roster, relieved Peterson and was hurt by the big inning. After getting the final out of the fifth, Tidwell would allow a three-run bomb to Bryan Reynolds in the sixth to push the Pirates' lead to 8-1.

Tidwell was asked to soak up innings for the Mets and the young right-hander did just that. He pitched 3.1 innings (73 pitches/48 strikes), allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out one.

-Juan Soto entered Friday's game with one career homer at PNC Park, but he changed that with a fourth-inning solo shot that put the Mets on the board. It was his 20th homer of the season, and it's his most through his team's first 83 games. That was the lone highlight of offense from the Mets, but they had their chances.

In the sixth, they had runners on first and second with one out and couldn't get a run across. Mark Vientos struck out to end that threat. Vientos made his return from the IL and had a rough night at the plate - the DH went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

Brett Baty went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, and Ronny Mauricio was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo both had one hit apiece to round out the Mets' offense.

Manager Carlos Mendoza waved the white flag in the seventh, pulling Francisco Lindor and Soto from the game.

Game MVP: Bryan Reynolds

Reynolds went 2-for-5 and drove in three runs to lead the Pirates' charge.

Highlights

Juan Soto hits his 20th homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/qeAsFwCFTB

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 28, 2025

What's next

The Mets and Pirates continue their series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.

Paul Blackburn (0-2, 6.62 ERA) will take the mound and go up against Bailey Falter (6-3, 3.59 ERA).

The Yankees opened their brief three-game homestand on a positive note, shutting out the Athletics, 3-0, on Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The start to Will Warren's outing was anything but economical. The rookie right-hander fell behind immediately, walking the leadoff hitter after a nine-pitch battle and then allowing two more hitters to ultimately reach base on balls. But sandwiched in between the free passes were a pair of strikeouts, and he wound up escaping the bases-loaded jam with a third punchout of former Yankees infielder Gio Urshela. Warren needed a whopping 36 pitches to complete the first inning.

-- In his 500th career game, Jazz Chisholm Jr. brought out the power bat. He gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the second with a solo home run off A's starter Mitch Spence that struck the facing of the second deck in right. The blast was No. 12 on the year for Chisholm, who's hitting a robust .325 with 14 RBI since coming off the injured list in early June (21 games).

-- The Yankees bumped their lead to 2-0 in the third, when Cody Bellinger drove in Anthony Volpe with an RBI single to center. It was a matchup the A's preferred with a runner on second, as they intentionally walked Aaron Judge with two outs to bring Bellinger to the plate. While the A's can't regret taking the bat out of Judge's hands, Bellinger is now hitting 6-for-15 (.400) with two extra-base hits and seven RBI following an intentional walk to Judge.

-- Further damage was inflicted on Spence in the fourth. With one out, the Yankees loaded the bases via a pair of walks and a catcher's interference error, and then DJ LeMahieu made the score 3-0 with an infield single that deflected off Spence's throwing hand. This time around, the A's were forced to pitch to Judge with no base open, but Spence worked out of trouble by striking out the Yankees' captain on an elevated cutter.

-- The prolonged first inning from Warren surprisingly didn't prevent him from qualifying for the win. He retired the A's in order on 11 pitches in the second, outlasted six of seven batters between the third and fourth innings, and worked around a leadoff double and walk in the fifth by inducing a strikeout, flyout, and groundout. Warren threw 100 pitches across five scoreless frames, striking out seven with four walks and two hits allowed.

-- Tim Hill took over for Warren in the sixth, and quickly ran into trouble after giving up a leadoff single and seeing Chisholm boot a grounder at third just three pitches later. But the crafty lefty kept the A's off the board, inducing a double-play grounder of Urshela and a strikeout of JJ Bleday. The seventh inning belonged to Fernando Cruz, who retired the side on 16 pitches, and then Luke Weaver -- making his third appearance since returning from the IL last week -- struck out one in a scoreless eighth. Devin Williams was tasked with the ninth and earned his 11th save by striking out one.

Game MVP: Will Warren

The Yankees couldn't have asked for more from Warren, who overcame a first-inning mess and went on to pitch five scoreless frames. His season ERA now sits at 4.37 across 17 starts (80.1 innings).

Highlights

Jazz Chisholm Jr. second deck! pic.twitter.com/k2qvQHTtAi

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 27, 2025

Cody Bellinger drives in Anthony Volpe after Aaron Judge is intentionally walked! pic.twitter.com/CPVHJmi8o0

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 28, 2025

DJ LeMahieu makes it 3-0! pic.twitter.com/m8Dl3vKmRv

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 28, 2025

What's next

The Yankees (47-34) will play the middle game of their series on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Clarke Schmidt (4-3, 2.84 ERA) is slated to take the mound, opposite left-hander JP Sears (5-7, 5.44 ERA).

Phillies' offense alive and well in late-night blowout win over Braves  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Phillies’ offense was alive and well late Friday night in rainy Atlanta.

After scoring a single run over three games and being swept by the Astros, the Phillies began their series against the Braves by tallying a season-high 13 runs. They moved to 48-34 on the year with a 13-0 win. Every member of the Phillies’ starting lineup recorded a hit. 

The downpour at Truist Park delayed proceedings over two hours and the game did not finish until after midnight. Atlanta’s pitchers obviously had a tougher time than the Phillies’ with the wet weather. 

Mick Abel was supposed to start, but the delay caused Phillies manager Rob Thomson to opt for a bullpen game instead. Tanner Banks opened and threw two clean innings. 

The Braves stuck with their starter and he had a dreadful outing. Bryce Elder only managed six outs and allowed 10 runs (nine earned), eight hits and four walks. 

Trea Turner led off the evening with a double and Kyle Schwarber walked. A bases-loaded, two-out J.T. Realmuto free pass eventually brought home the Phils’ first run.  

Turner ripped another shot to deep left field in the second inning, nailing a solo home run. Three batters later, Nick Castellanos blasted the Phillies to a 5-0 lead by lacing a juicy first-pitch sinker 445 feet to dead center. 

Elder’s misery continued in the third. After Realmuto and Bryson Stott singled, Otto Kemp slammed a hanging slider for his first big-league home run. 

The Phils didn’t mind seeing a new pitcher. The first batter Michael Petersen faced was Schwarber and the Phils’ slugger hammered his 25th homer of the season.

The remainder of the game contained zero drama and the Phillies had no need to use high-leverage bullpen arms. Taijuan Walker and Alan Rangel combined for seven scoreless innings out of the ‘pen. Turner bashed his second homer on a 52.4 mph offering from position player Luke Williams in the ninth inning.

The Phillies will search for a series win on Saturday night. The scheduled starters are the Phils’ Jesus Luzardo (7-3, 4.08 ERA) and the Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach (6-4, 3.21 ERA). 

Spencer Jones didn't waste any time proving that his recent promotion to the Triple-A level was warranted.

In his first at-bat for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday night, the Yankees' top prospect showed off his pop, crushing a full-count fastball to dead center for a solo home run against the Red Sox's affiliate. The ball traveled 397 feet, with an exit velocity of 110 mph.

Jones, who's ranked the Yankees' second-best prospect by MLB Pipeline, officially made the move from Double-A Somerset on Friday afternoon. The behemoth 24-year-old thrived in Double-A, posting a .274/.389/.594 slash line with 16 homers and 32 RBI across 49 games.

The red-hot start to his Triple-A stint doesn't come as much of a surprise. Jones entered Friday with a laudable .321 average and 1.039 OPS in June (21 games).

Jones' first Triple-A dinger can be watched below.

SPENCER JONES HOMERS IN HIS FIRST TRIPLE-A AT-BAT! pic.twitter.com/BEcJCsd39U

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 27, 2025

The start of the series opener between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park was delayed due to inclement weather, including lightning in the area.

The Pirates announced a new start time of approximately 7 p.m.

The Mets enter this series after two straight wins to split their four-game series with the Atlanta Braves.

David Peterson (5-3, 2.98 ERA) will look to keep the Mets' winning ways going. In his last start, Peterson was roughed up by the Phillies, allowing five runs over four innings in the loss last Sunday. Friday marks the return of Mark Vientos, who was activated off the IL prior to the game. He's starting at DH and hitting in the No. 6 spot for the Mets.

The Pirates are sending Mitch Keller (1-10, 4.02 ERA) to the mound. The veteran right-hander pitched well in his last start -- Saturday vs. the Rangers -- having allowed just two runs on three hits through 5.2 innings, but Keller took the loss.

While the All-Star break is still two-plus weeks away, the Yankees have already reached the midway point of their season.

Before their home series opener against the Athletics on Friday -- Game 81 of 162, the halfway mark -- manager Aaron Boone was asked about his overall impressions of the club, which enters the final weekend of June with the seventh-best record in MLB (46-34) and a narrow half-game lead in the AL East standings.

In one word, Boone shrewdly labeled the Yankees' campaign as "incomplete," acknowledging the few peaks and valleys they've encountered through three months of action. But the skipper still expressed confidence in the group, despite their recent downtown that's exposed some warts.

"We've put ourselves in a pretty good spot here through this first half with some of the ups and downs," Boone said. "You kind of obsess with trying to do better in everything. It's a little bit of a boring answer, but you're always trying to get individuals better. You're trying to be better as a team in everything you do. That's kind of what the work is, day in and day out."

The Yankees wouldn't be sitting atop the division -- as tight as the race currently is, with the Rays and Blue Jays looming -- without exceptional starting pitching, and Boone mentioned the rotation as their obvious strength. And the level of production from the unit is worthy of acclaim.

In spite of injuries to key starters, the Yankees' rotation has brushed its volatile reputation aside and exceeded expectations. Their season ERA of 3.43 ranks sixth-best in the majors, their opponents' BABIP of .262 ranks third, and their 445 total strikeouts rank fourth. They also have MLB's wins leader in Max Fried (10), a candidate to start the All-Star Game.

"I've been really pleased with how the starting pitching's rounded into form," Boone said. "Especially leaving spring training, we left with a lot of question marks around there with two major injuries happening to our rotation. The rotation has really stepped up and been a consistent group for us."

Of course, the Yankees won't see one of their camp casualties take the mound at any point this season -- veteran ace Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March. But reinforcements are on the way, as right-handers Luis Gil (lat) and Marcus Stroman (knee) and nearing returns from months-long ailments.

Carlos Rodon has also resembled his former All-Star self, pitching to a sharp 2.92 ERA across 17 starts with added pressure and responsibility. Clarke Schmidt has thrived too, posting a career-low 2.84 ERA since his mid-April season debut, and rookie Will Warren has largely stepped up as a reliable back-end option.

As for the bullpen, Boone believes the group has been "mostly solid," but still has a chance to be "excellent" in the second half. Call it a fair assessment, as the Yankees navigated an injury to Luke Weaver this month and troubling inconsistency from Devin Williams in the springtime. But, to the bullpen's credit, they own a 3.53 ERA -- best for 10th in the bigs.

While the debate on whether the Yankees have been better off without Juan Soto remains somewhat fervent, the 2025 numbers clearly indicate that they've adjusted well to his crosstown departure and absence in the heart of the lineup. The offense ranks second-best in OPS (.786) and home runs (121), plus they've scored the fifth-most runs (407).

The most glaring issue from their June swoon has been poor fundamentals, both in the field and on the basepaths. Boone likes the team's balance and athleticism -- upgrades when compared to the 2024 roster's composition -- but they'll need to play a much cleaner and more-polished brand of baseball in order to defend their AL pennant.

"I sit here very convicted that we have a really good club with tremendous capabilities, but we've got to go realize that potential," Boone said. "Now we get to go hopefully make it happen here the rest of the way in the second half, and ultimately become the team we ultimately want to be."