Category: Baseball

When Major League Baseball’s trade deadline arrives next month, the Dodgers will almost certainly be on the lookout for help in the bullpen.

If their injury-plagued rotation takes any more hits, they might reluctantly have to explore the starting pitching market, as well.

But, when discussing the team’s deadline plans recently with The Times’ Bill Shaikin, the one potential area of offensive need that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman seemed unlikely to address was left field.

Michael Conforto might be struggling mightily this season after signing for $17 million this winter. But the Dodgers have remained bullish on his ability to eventually help.

“Never say never,” Friedman said when asked about the possibility of trading for a left fielder in the next month, “but I think we would hold a very high bar and find it very unlikely.”

Read more:Shaikin: What Mark Walter's ownership might mean for local fans watching the Dodgers and Lakers

On Tuesday night at Coors Field, Conforto gave such optimism some badly needed life.

In the Dodgers’ 9-7 win against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the veteran slugger went two for five with an early double and a go-ahead home run, keying the team’s six-run rally in the fourth with a three-run blast launched deep to right.

The performance marked Conforto’s first multi-hit effort since May 27, and his first with multiple extra-base hits since collecting three doubles on May 13.

It was his first game all season with more than one RBI.

The question now is whether Tuesday was a temporary blip, or a legitimate turning point for Conforto?

The answer could have important implications on the Dodgers’ roster construction for the second half of the season.

Conforto’s overall numbers are still not easy on the eyes. His .171 batting average is easily the worst among qualified big-league hitters. His negative-0.7 mark in wins above replacement (an all-encompassing stat not helped by his limited defensive range in left field) entering the day ranked 158th out of 161 such players.

Read more:Shaikin: Walker Buehler struggling to rediscover his Dodgers World Series magic with Red Sox

His playing time has also begun to decrease recently, with Conforto twice getting benched against right-handed pitchers last week in favor of fellow lefty hitter Hyeseong Kim in the outfield.

“I see [Conforto] playing a lot still,” manager Dave Roberts said then. “But I do think that in a meritocracy, in that vein, Hyeseong has earned opportunities.”

And yet, to this point, the Dodgers have sounded wary of shopping for a potential replacement ahead of the deadline.

“To date, obviously, Michael hasn’t performed up to what he expected or we expected,” Friedman said. “But, watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months.”

On Tuesday, the 32-year-old provided a blueprint for how.

One of Conforto’s primary weaknesses this season has been hitting the fastball. Entering Tuesday, he was batting just .174 against heaters, compared to a .283 average against them last year with the San Francisco Giants.

“That's probably the genesis of the whole deal,” Roberts said of Conforto’s struggles. “When you don't hit the fastball, that starts to lend to a little cheating, chasing on spin. And so we got to get him back on the heater.”

In his first at-bat against right-handed Rockies starter Germán Márquez, Conforto finally did, turning on an inside four-seamer for a double down the right-field line; just his third extra-base hit of June.

Power has been another missing piece of Conforto’s game. A four-time 20-home run hitter in his 10-year career, he entered Tuesday with only four long balls this season; all of them solo shots.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: It's time for Kiké Hernández to retire ... as a pitcher

But in the fourth inning, he came up with two aboard — after two misplays by Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia led to a pair of Dodgers runs that erased an early 2-0 deficit. Then, when Márquez flipped a 1-and-1 curveball low in the zone, Conforto found the barrel for his three-run blast, putting the Dodgers (49-31) in front 5-2.

Left-hander Justin Wrobleski made the lead stand up, yielding just two runs over five innings of bulk relief to lower his ERA to 3.54 in four outings this month. Shohei Ohtani added some insurance in the sixth with his National League-leading 27th home run, muscling a two-run drive the other way. And though the Rockies (18-61) scored four unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth innings to make it close late, Tanner Scott shut the door with a four-out save to seal the team’s 11th win in its last 15 games.

Conforto didn’t have another hit, grounding out with two aboard in the fifth, flying out with a runner at second in the seventh and grounding out again with a runner at second in the ninth.

His season-long woes are far from being rectified. His long-term role with the team, even in a best-case scenario, might be as more of a part-time player (especially if Kim continues to command more playing time).

But, if the Dodgers are truly hoping to avoid having to replace Conforto at the deadline, Tuesday at least represented a potential start.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Yankees' bullpen wasted Carlos Rodon's efforts, and the team's extra-inning woes continued, as New York fell 5-4 in the 11th inning.

New York entered the 11th batting .770 with a .270 OPS while driving in one run in extras all year. So, of course, the Yankees would push across a run, but it happened without a hit. After Cody Bellinger moved Aaron Judge -- the ghost runner -- to third on a sharp groundout, Judge scampered home on a wild pitch.

But it wasn't enough as the Yankees allowed two runs as the Reds clinched the three-game series.

Here are the takeaways...

-Tuesday saw the major league debut of Chase Burns, the Reds' flamethrowing righty, and No. 1 prospect, and he didn't disappoint. Burns struck out the first five batters he faced before Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s single in the second inning. Burns bounced back by getting Anthony Volpe to strike out swinging. Burns' fastball averaged around 96 mph and the combination of his heater and breaking pitches that ranged from 88-93 mph kept Yankees hitters off balance.

Burns would get through the order the first time with no problems, but Ben Rice led off the fourth inning by launching a 427-foot bomb on the first-pitch slider to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Yankees would get a couple of singles to put a runner in scoring position with two outs for Volpe. The Yankee shortstop hit a liner toward TJ Friedl, but the Reds center fielder made an ill-advised dive and let the ball get past him for a two-run triple.

That was all the runs the Yankees would get on Burns, though. The young phenom threw 81 pitches (53 strikes) across five innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight batters.

-Opposite the rookie was veteran Rodon, who had his second consecutive strong start. The southpaw scattered four hits and one walk over six innings (88 pitches/53 strikes) while striking out five, with the only inning where Rodon was in trouble coming in the fourth after a one-out double by Spencer Steer, but the Reds stranded him.

Rodon now has five starts this season of six-plus innings pitched without allowing a run. Tarik Skubal is the only pitcher with more such starts this year. His ERA dropped to 2.92 on the season with Tuesday's performance.

-Unfortunately for the Yanks, their bullpen could not hold the lead. Jonathan Loaisiga walked Tyler Stephenson after the home plate umpire squeezed him on a potential third strike. Then Rece Hinds and Jose Trevino singled to load the bases before Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined a double to left that cleared the bases -- helped by a Cody Bellinger bobble in the corner.

Loaisiga was pulled with what looked like an apparent injury, but the reliever was sitting in the dugout while Fernando Cruz finished the inning without allowing the go-ahead run to score.

The combination of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams pitched scoreless eighth and ninth, and Mark Leiter Jr. pitched a scoreless 10th. But Aaron Boone asked Leiter to pitch a second inning, and the right-hander couldn't do it, giving up a walk and three hits to allow the two runs that won the Reds the game.

-The Yankees' offense could not get going after that three-run fourth inning. While they did get seven hits, they were 1-for-7 with RISP and left four men on base.

Chisholm was the only hitter to have multiple hits (2-for-4) but was ejected between innings in the ninth after he argued balls and strikes after home plate umpire Mark Wegner called a low pitch a strike that would have pushed the count to 3-0. Chisholm would eventually strike out with a runner on first.

Judge went 1-for-5 with a run scored, and his batting average is now .364 on the season. He came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th, but the AL MVP popped out to second base to end the threat.

Game MVP: Reds bullpen

After Burns allowed the three runs, the Cincy bullpen allowed the one unearned run in six innings to allow the comeback.

Highlights

Ben Rice gets the Yanks on the board with a solo homer! pic.twitter.com/HTdUF5fjpH

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 25, 2025

Anthony Volpe brings in two more with a 2 RBI triple! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/IPOLhdKBfw

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 25, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and Reds complete their three-game set on Wednesday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.

Max Fried (9-2, 2.05 ERA) will take the mound while the Reds will send Brady Singer (7-5, 4.13 ERA) to the bump.

The Mets lost to the Braves, 7-4, on Tuesday night at a sweltering Citi Field, blowing a late 3-0 lead.

---

Here are the takeaways...

- The Mets' offense was quiet again early, failing to get a hit over the first three innings while striking out four times against Spencer Strider. The Mets' only runner across the first three frames was Juan Soto, who drew a two-out walk in the first.

But New York broke through in the fourth inning.

Soto drew a one-out walk and stole second, and Pete Alonso smoked a single to center that was hit too hard for Soto to score. After a Starling Marte walk loaded the bases, Jeff McNeil lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Soto and make it 1-0. Following a Luis Torrens walk that reloaded the bases, Brett Baty stayed back on a flat slider and flicked a two-run single to right field to make it 3-0 Mets.

- The Mets' bullpen gifted the Braves a go-ahead rally in the sixth inning. Huascar Brazoban started things by walking the bases loaded and allowing a sacrifice fly. He was relieved by Jose Castillo, who gave up a run-scoring infield single before drilling Michael Harris II with a pitch and allowing a game-tying single to Nick Allen.

Reed Garrett replaced Castillo and got Ronald Acuña Jr. to strike out for the second out. But with the bases loaded and a 1-2 count to Matt Olson, Garrett threw a fastball that caught too much plate -- with Olson drilling a two-run single to make it 5-3, Braves.

- Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect seventh inning in what was his Mets debut, but allowed two runs in the seventh -- allowing Atlanta to increase the lead to 7-3.

- Down by four in the ninth inning, the Mets got hits from McNeiland Jared Young with one out. Baty struck out looking after getting ahead 3-1 against Raisel Iglesias, but Ronny Mauricio delivered a run-scoring double to make it 7-4 and bring Francisco Lindor up as the tying run. However, Lindor grounded out to second base to end the game.

- Making his season debut (and Mets debut) after missing the first half of the season due to a lat strain, Frankie Montas came out throwing hard -- and kept it that way for the duration of his outing.

The right-hander's fastball sat at 97 mph in the first inning, topping out at 98, in an inning where he froze Acuña.on a fastball to start things. Montas then allowed a one-out walk and bloop hit before escaping by inducing a double play off the bat of Austin Riley.

Following a 1-2-3 second inning, Montas allowed a scratch single to Nick Allen and walked Acuña to find some trouble in the third, but he got Olson to fly out and struck out Marcell Ozuna swinging on a 98 mph fastball off the plate away to get out of the frame unscathed.

Montas was sharp the rest of the way, working around a one-out walk in the fourth and a one-out single in the fifth. He punctuated his outing by striking out Acuña swinging and getting Olson to fly out to end the fifth inning and his night.

Overall, Montas tossed 5.0 scoreless frames, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out five.

Montas' fastball was especially impressive, with 46 of them registering 94.8 mph or faster. It had life and precision all game.

Highlights

Frankie Montas freezes Ronald Acuña Jr. for his first Mets strikeout! pic.twitter.com/Qp9gYSwvbU

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 24, 2025

Brett Baty starts the 5-4-3 double play to get Frankie Montas through the first inning! pic.twitter.com/XjFvpInPzn

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 24, 2025

Two more strikeouts for Frankie Montas in the third ♨️ pic.twitter.com/tCPknlOkfg

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 24, 2025

The Mets score first on a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly! pic.twitter.com/cXMYnOg7Z6

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2025

Brett Baty with a two-run single!

It's a three-run inning for the Mets! 💪 pic.twitter.com/HX5ZtNQfig

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2025

Five scoreless innings and five strikeouts for Frankie Montas! pic.twitter.com/mT43D5T19Y

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 25, 2025

What's next

The Mets continue their series against the Braves on Wednesday at Citi Field at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes gets the start for New York against Didier Fuentes for Atlanta.

Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman's rehab start for Double-A Somerset did not go the way he wanted as the right-hander surrendered five runs on 10 hits and two walks on Tuesday night.

Stroman, in what might be his final tune-up before he returns to the Yanks' starting rotation after spending time on the shelf with left knee inflammation, went just 3.2 innings, throwing 65 pitches (41 strikes). He had just one strikeout, with four ground outs to two fly outs, pitching in terribly hot conditions as the game time temperature was 98 degrees.

Stroman began the first and second innings the same -- allowing the leadoff hitter to reach before getting the second batter to ground into a double play. But in each inning, he allowed traffic, surrendering a two-out run in the first.

Unfortunately, things didn't go his way in the third as the Erie SeaWolves tagged him for single, single, double, double, single to score four runs. He did get his third double play to end the inning.

The righty faced three batters in the fourth, getting a ground out and a strikeout before allowing a ground-rule double -- his fourth extra-base hit allowed -- ending his night.

The 34-year-old fared much better in his previous outing last Wednesday, when he retired the first 10 batters he faced with four strikeouts on his way to allowing two earned runs on two hits in 3.1 innings.

Stroman tossed 3.1 innings in his first rehab outing on June 11, allowing a run on one hit and two walks with four strikeouts.

Stroman made three starts in early April before landing on the IL, and he was not effective before getting injured. He allowed 12 runs on 12 hits and seven walks with just seven strikeouts in 9.1 innings, good for an 11.57 ERA.

In his debut season in The Bronx in 2024, the righty pitched to a 4.31 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 154.2 innings over 30 outings (29 starts). He had 113 strikeouts to 60 walks

Ranger Suarez dazzles yet again but outdueled by Phillies' nemesis originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

HOUSTON — Two of the best and most battle-tested lefties in baseball hooked up Tuesday night for the sort of pitchers’ duel any fan can enjoy, a tight game between a pair of first-place teams that was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth.

Ranger Suarez’ one and only mistake of the night came on his 98th pitch, an 84 mph full-count cutter to light-hitting Cooper Hummel, who entered the night with a .158 career batting average. Suarez wanted it up-and-in. It was over the middle, slightly away, and Hummel took it to the opposite field for a solo home run. That was the only offense from either side in a 1-0 Phillies loss.

“It’s just baseball,” Suarez said. “You can’t miss pitches at this level and I paid for it. I’m proud of it being a good start but you can’t miss pitches at this level.”

He deserved a better fate after tossing another absolute gem. Suarez allowed just four hits over 7⅔ innings and has a 2.08 ERA on the season. Of his last 61 innings, 54 have been scoreless and he’s gone 47 in a row without allowing multiple runs.

When he’s healthy, so many of Suarez’ starts look just like this one — quick outs, limited baserunners, impeccable defense. He started a double play to end the fourth inning when he caught a Jose Altuve liner back to the mound and tossed to first base. He made an even better snag on a line drive back to the mound the next inning by Cam Smith.

“It just seems like every night, there’s one or two plays that are Ranger Suarez plays,” manager Rob Thomson said.

The lefty snagged both without his own glove. Suarez, a Rawlings guy, used Cristopher Sanchez’ Wilson glove on Tuesday night because he forgot his own back home in Philly.

“Both plays were really tough and I got scared on both,” he said. “First play was coming to the crotch and the next one to the face. It was scary.”

Prior to the Hummel homer, Suarez had outdueled Framber Valdez, who the Phillies never hit. Valdez has faced the Phils five times, including twice in the 2022 World Series, and allowed five runs. These have been the lines:

• 5 IP, 0 R, 10 K
• 7 IP, 3 R
• 6⅓ IP, 1 R, 9 K
• 6 IP, 1 R, 9 K
• 7 IP, 0 R

The Phillies taxed him, particularly early, but couldn’t find the one hit they needed. They put two men on base with two outs in the first inning, had two on with nobody out in the second, a leadoff baserunner in the third, two on with one out in the fourth and again in the sixth.

“I thought our approach was pretty good,” Thomson said. “We weren’t getting out of the zone early and we had opportunities, it just didn’t happen. Valdez made pitches when he needed to.”

So did Suarez, just as he has for seven consecutive weeks. He has a 1.17 ERA in his last nine starts.

Suarez and Valdez will be the top two left-handed starting pitchers on the free-agent market this winter. Suarez turns 30 in August. Valdez turns 32 in November. Valdez has a better track record of durability but Suarez is pitching himself toward a $100 million contract, as well.

It’s been another stellar first half for a pitcher some thought might end up back in the bullpen, where the Phillies have less depth. Suffice it to say, that ain’t happening, but Suarez continues to say all the right things.

“That conversation was never brought up to me and I always wanted to be a starter this year,” Suarez said. “That’s my usual role and what I wanted to do but that being said, what I want is for this team to win. I’m open to do whatever it takes to help, if that’s relieving or whatever. I’m always open and willing to help this team.”

Francisco Alvarez's first game back with Triple-A Syracuse came to a premature end.

The catcher was removed after the top half of the first inning in Syracuse's game at the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night due to a heat/dizziness issue, SNY's Andy Martino reported. He was replaced by Jakson Reetz behind the plate for the home half of the first inning.

The game time temperature in Rochester was 90 degrees.

Alvarez saw one pitch in his fist at bat – a 91.2 mph sinker off the outside corner – which he hit rather weakly (72.6 mph off the bat) into a 4-3 double play.

In 35 games with the Mets, Alvarez posted a .236/.319/.333 slashline with three home runs and three doubles in 138 plate appearances. The 23-year-old was sent down to the minors on Sunday.

Francisco Alvarez was removed from the game for Triple-A Syracuse after he grounded into a double play in the first inning: pic.twitter.com/CqcH1rODxI

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) June 24, 2025

There’s one major reason the New York Rangers decided to send their 2025 12th overall pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins and keep their 2026 first-round pick. 

Part of the thinking for the Rangers in moving this year's pick is to potentially be able to use their 2026 first-rounder for a move at the trade deadline if they are in a position to contend according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

The Rangers had a choice as part of the conditions of a trade with the Vancouver Canucks involving J.T. Miller to either give up their 2025 or 2026 first-round pick. 

Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury has not spoken publicly since making this decision, so it’s unclear exactly where his head is at on this specific choice he made. 

It’s clear that he deemed having their 2026 first-round pick is more valuable than keeping the 12th overall pick whether they are competitive during the 2025-26 season or not. 

The Rangers Made The Right Decision To Give Away Their 2025 12th Overall Pick And Keep 2026 First-Round Pick There’s a lot to sort out when analyzing the New York Rangers’ move to transfer their 12th overall pick in this year’s draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins and keep their 2026 first-round pick. 

It’s a move that may be frustrating for fans in the short term but could pay dividends for the Rangers in the long term.

Over the past 24 hours, both Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns have publicly acknowledged the obvious: the bottom of the Mets order is not producing.

They’re right to identify the problem. But Stearns was also correct on Tuesday in suggesting that internal fixes were coming.

More vexing for the season’s long-term outlook is the state of the Mets’ pitching.

On the hitting side, the current active roster is probably not strong enough to shake off the recent trend of frequently recurring flat games. But a lengthier lineup by mid-summer is easy enough to imagine -- not tonight, not tomorrow, but soon enough to keep the Mets in contention to make the deep playoff run that until recently felt likely.

Mark Vientos should return from the injured list at the end of the week, and Francisco Alvarez is in Syracuse trying to get right. It’s not unreasonable to think that at least one of those dynamic young hitters will find himself over the next few months. Both have already proven that they can slug in the big leagues.

Jesse Winker, on the IL since May 5 with an oblique strain, will begin a rehab assignment next week. His return will help shore up the DH spot and further lengthen the lineup.

Beyond that, I expect the Mets to seek a center fielder at the trade deadline, with Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins and Boston’s Jarren Duran among those who might become available. Tyrone Taylor is a winning player, but another bat could push Jeff McNeil into the bottom third of the lineup, which is where he fits best.

It’s too early to say if the Mets will seek a third baseman. But let’s play fantasy baseball for a moment. If Arizona makes free-agent-to-be Eugenio Suarez available or Boston is willing to move Alex Bregman ($40 million this year, followed by an opt out or two more years at $40 million), the Mets could acquire one as a rental player and use Vientos at DH for the remainder of the year. Brett Baty’s swing would play at Fenway Park.

That is all speculative. Maybe the reality of tweaking the infield mix is more in the Jeimer Candelario category than the Bregman/Suarez lane. But the idea illustrates how many avenues, both internal and external, exist that could improve the offense beyond the continued excellence of Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor.

"We have some players who are getting healthy who I think will help there," Stearns said Tuesday. "I also think the players who have struggled in our lineup over the last month largely are better offensive players than we've seen so far. They themselves have demonstrated that over periods of this season.”

It’s not as easy to see how the Mets address a pitching staff that suddenly seems shaky and tired -- and which still leads baseball in staff earned run average, though likely not for long.

Most nights, the Mets simply aren’t able to match the ace-level opponents they have faced in recent series against Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Philadelphia. That makes it hard to end a losing streak, or kick off a winning one.

Tuesday brought the news that Sean Manaea will pitch for the remainder of the season with a "loose body" or floating bone fragment, in his elbow.

Manaea had a cortisone injection to address the discomfort, and the team still expects him to return shortly from the oblique injury that has delayed the start of his season. But Manaea is more hopeful than certain that the elbow issue will not impede him for the rest of the year.

Clay Holmes, moved into a starting role this year, has lately shown signs of fatigue. Tylor Megill struggled before injuring his elbow. The bullpen, asked to carry a heavy load, has seen its own share of injury and regression.

Looking for hope? David Peterson continues to develop into a top-of-the-rotation starter, and Kodai Senga (hamstring) will return. The Mets continue to employ one of the best pitching coaches in the sport, Jeremy Hefner, and a POBO who has done this before -- including last year.

As the Mets try to find their way back to consistent winning, they are forced to do so with diminished pitching. They have prospects who might contribute in the future, but are not ready now. And just like at every trade deadline, most contending teams will be looking for impact pitchers.

It won’t be easy to find a way back toward enjoying the best pitching staff in the league.

Francisco Alvarez's difficulties behind the plate reached a crescendo in the days before the Mets sent him down to Triple-A Syracuse.

His inability to get in front of a ball in the dirt, and indecisiveness on a rundown play contributed to a loss early last week in Atlanta.

Then, on Saturday in Philadelphia, a passed ball on Alvarez led to a run.

The 23-year-old also mashed a 452-foot homer on Saturday night, showing the immense potential he still has.

Overall, Alvarez is hitting just .236/.319/.333 with three home runs and three doubles in 138 plate appearances over 35 games this season. And his struggles at the plate and behind it simply became too much for the Mets to ignore, resulting in his demotion on Sunday.

"Alvy's a really talented player. He got to the big leagues at such a young age, performed at such a high level immediately that it's difficult to remember sometimes he is still young," President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said on Tuesday at Citi Field. "He's an age that good prospects -- industry-leading prospects -- are still in Double-A. And he's been playing in the big leagues for two-plus years.

"So this is not unusual. And I think getting him a little bit of a chance to reset, to work on both sides of the game -- and we do think there are performance improvements that are needed on both sides of the game. Giving him an opportunity to do that in a less pressurized environment where he's not doing it in front of 45,000 people every night, against really good pitching, catching pitchers with really good stuff. We thought this was the right time to do that, both for him and for the team as a whole."

Alvarez missed the first month of the season after needing surgery for a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.

It was the second time in as many years that he missed significant time due to an injury -- Alvarez missed a chunk of time in 2024 after tearing a ligament in his left thumb.

While it's possible the recovery from the hamate surgery has impacted Alvarez's power a bit, it's not an extra-base hit surge the Mets are seeking from him in the minors before calling him back up.

"There are certainly some goals, and yes, they're not statistical," Stearns explained. "And they're on both sides of the ball. We want to see him get back to the level of player that we know he can be -- that's what he wants to do as well."

Stearns also discussed Alvarez's receiving difficulties, and whether or not he could be carrying his offensive struggles with him behind the dish.

"I think for any player, when you struggle on one side of the ball, sometimes it can impact the other side of the ball," Stearns said. "And I don't know if that is happening, but it would be natural if it would. Alvy's really competitive. He cares a lot, and sometimes that level of emotion -- that competitive spirit -- can be tough to corral.

"There are things I think we can help him with -- on both sides of the ball -- receiving among them, to get him back to the level that we're accustomed to seeing."

What we learned as Christian Koss homer isn't enough in Giants' loss to Marlins originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — After a weekend of beautiful weather and a much-needed off day at home, the Giants returned to Oracle Park on Tuesday and immediately got reminded that June in San Francisco is a different animal. The first night against the Miami Marlins was one of the coldest of the season, and the bats went cold in a 4-2 loss. 

It was an extremely quiet offensive night, but Jung Hoo Lee drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth to bring the crowd back to life. After a Willy Adames strikeout, red-hot third baseman Casey Schmitt hit into a game-ending double play. 

Justin Verlander left with a 3-0 deficit, but the lower-leverage relievers did a nice job of keeping the game close. Spencer Bivens ran into trouble in the eighth inning of a two-run game when the Marlins got back-to-back no-out singles, but he struck out Kyle Stowers and Eric Wagamn before getting Liam Hicks to fly out to deep center. 

Joey Lucchesi put two on in the ninth, but got out of it. The lineup, however, never could catch up. 

The game was the first in a two-week stretch against some of MLB’s worst teams, one the Giants must take advantage of. Following this series, they visit the Chicago White Sox, who are 25-55. After a four-game series at Arizona, they’ll visit the Athletics for the first time in Sacramento. 

First Time Back

Verlander is just the third Giants pitcher — joining Ross Stripling and Slick Castleman (yes, Slick Castleman) — to go his first 11 starts without getting a win, and that continued Tuesday. The Marlins scored two in the second and one in the third, and while Verlander retired eight of the final nine he faced, the high early pitch count led to him departing after the top of the fifth. 

Connor Norby plates Eric Wagaman and it's 2-0 @Marlins! pic.twitter.com/hTqYIMBABR

— Marlins Radio Network (@MarlinsRadio) June 25, 2025

Verlander was charged with three earned in his return from the paternity list. He struck out five, but when the Marlins were rallying, he had some trouble putting them away with two strikes. Through a dozen starts, Verlander has a 4.52 ERA. If you take out his rookie season and the season he had Tommy John, Verlander has never won fewer than five games as a big leaguer, but he’ll head into the final days of June still looking for his first in orange and black. 

Second Chance

The Giants entered the night with just three homers in 250 at-bats from their second basemen, but Christian Koss smoked a breaking ball into the first row in the fifth, cutting the deficit to one. The homer was Koss’ second in the big leagues, joining the grand slam he hit on May 13. 

KOSS IS BOSS 💪 pic.twitter.com/YJhMzoUxBK

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 25, 2025

Koss and Brett Wisely will split time at second base for now, with Tyler Fitzgerald getting a mental reset in Triple-A and Schmitt needed at third base for at least a couple more weeks. Manager Bob Melvin went with the righty against righty Cal Quantrill because he has allowed an OPS over 1.000 to right-handed hitters this season, and it paid off. 

The Giants nearly tied the game later in the inning, but Matt Williams sent Rafael Devers home on an Heliot Ramos double and he was thrown out by 15 feet — with team RBI leader Wilmer Flores on deck. Devers has been dealing with some groin tightness and didn’t look all that comfortable after reaching the plate.

Still Searching

Lee had a 15 at-bat hitless streak going after a flyball to center in the second inning, but he caught a break the next time up. Teams have started to shift their shortstops over as far as they can because Lee hits so many grounders up the middle, and his hard grounder was headed for shortstop Otto Lopez’s glove when it hit Quantrill’s leg. Lee ended up with a single, his first hit since last Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians. 

Lee has been dropped in the order on this homestand, a reaction to what has become a lengthy slump, but he did reach base twice, something he had done just once in his previous eight starts.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

The Mets' current 1-9 stretch has had a lot to do with the struggles of the starting pitching, which has often put the team in deep holes early in games.

But lately, the struggles of the offense -- specifically the bottom four spots in the lineup -- have come to the forefront.

While the Mets are getting strong-to-elite production from the first five slots of the batting order (usually some combination of Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo,Juan Soto,Pete Alonso, andJeff McNeil) the six-through-nine slots have been feeble.

Ronny Mauricio (60 OPS+), Jared Young (71 OPS+), Tyrone Taylor (78 OPS+), Luis Torrens (80 OPS+), and Brett Baty (90 OPS+) have left a lot to be desired -- perhaps coloring how the Mets will go about things at the trade deadline in just over a month.

"Any time you go through a stretch like this, it's added information," president of baseball operations David Stearnssaid on Tuesday at Citi Field. "And so we're learning about our team. We saw a lot of really good things through the first two-plus months of the season, and now we're seeing the flipside of that. I still think we have a really good team. I think we're certainly much better than we've played over these last 10 days, 12 days.

"But any time you go through a stretch, it forces you to evaluate the team. Take it in as information, add that to what we already know and help us plot forward. Does it expose any singular spot? I don't think so right now. But it does add to our information about our team, which at this time of year can be valuable."

While the aforementioned five players are struggling badly right now, it's likely that Mauricio will be demoted to Triple-A Syracuse when Mark Vientos returns -- potentially as soon as this Thursday or Friday.

Additionally, Young will likely see his at-bats dramatically reduced (or possibly lose his roster spot) once Jesse Winker is back. And Winker is expected to begin a rehab assignment before the end of the weekend.

That's part of the calculus as Stearns forms a plan for how to attack the deadline.

"We have some players who are getting healthy who I think will help there," he noted. "I also think the players who have struggled in our lineup over the last month largely are better offensive players than we've seen so far. They themselves have demonstrated that over periods of this season.

"Clearly this month, however you want to define it, our bottom half of the lineup has not produced in a way that's helping us score runs. This is a team game, and so it's really tough to rely on three or four or even five guys to carry the load every single night. We know that to be a really good offensive team -- we certainly have the potential and the aspiration to be a really good offensive team -- we need one through nine contributing more nights than not.

One of the pain points for the Mets has been third base, but it's possible Baty harnesses something or that Vientos plays a solid enough defensive third base to stabilize the hot corner.

Either way, it will be surprising if the Mets don't bolster the offense via trade between now and the July 31 deadline.

An obvious target would be Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins, who is a pending free agent. But that would be contingent on Baltimore (currently 34-44 and in last place in the AL East) coming to the conclusion that their season isn't salvageable.

Similarly, a bunch of interesting names could be available if the Diamondbacks (40-38 but dealing with a season-ending injury to ace Corbin Burnes and a recent injury to MVP candidate Corbin Carroll) decide to sell.

Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly and third baseman/designated hitter Eugenio Suarez are both free agents at the end of the season, and would figure to be on the move if Arizona becomes a seller.

As Stearns explained, though, teams have been waiting longer than ever to chart a course.

"It's still really tough to tell," he said. "With our current playoff format, so many teams don't really decide how they're gonna approach the deadline until mid-July."

Stearns added: "Right now, I think it's very difficult to tell which teams are where. And we'll get more information as we go."

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo recap a terrible week for the Mets against the Braves and Phillies, while looking for light at the other end of the tunnel at Citi Field.

First up, the guys go through the team’s problems, including shaky starting pitching, lack of DH production, the revolving door at third base, the center field issue, and inconsistent scoring overall.

Later, Connor and Joe cover the Farm in all directions, including those moving down – Francisco Alvarez and Luisangel Acuña – and those moving up – Jacob Reimer, Carson Benge, and ColinHouck.

The show then wraps up by giving away Mets Pod hats and checking the Mailbag for questions answered about the current roster and the possibility of trading for Eugenio Suarez.

Be sure to subscribe to The Mets Pod at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.