As Adames’ former team held a celebration of life for Uecker before the Sunday’s series finale between the Giants and Brewers at American Family Field, the Milwaukee-turned-San Francisco star donned a special pair of cleats to honor his late friend, who died at age 90 on Jan. 16 earlier this year.
With the @Brewers holding a celebration of life for Bob Uecker this afternoon, Willy Adames honored the legendary broadcaster with custom cleats 🧡💛 pic.twitter.com/DUsNHxy6IA
The cleats, in Brewers colors, include Uecker’s iconic “Get up, get up, get outta here! Gone!” home run call, along with his famous title “Mr. Baseball” and a “thank you” to Milwaukee.
Adames and Uecker shared a special handshake together, and Adames’ father also was extremely close to the 2003 Ford C. Frick Award winner. Before Friday’s series opener, Adames reflected on his relationship and favorite moments with Uecker in a conversation with reporters.
“It feels like every day was an unbelievable moment with him,” Adames said. “I mean, his energy was insane, and it was unbelievable every day. I’d say [my best memory] when he was hanging out with my dad every time, and I was like, ‘How do you guys communicate? How do you guys talk to each other? How do you guys like each other so much?’
“It was just special. They had a really good relationship, so I think that made me appreciate [Uecker] more because he embraced my family, even though they didn’t speak the same language. They’d send each other gifts. I was like, ‘How do you guys like each other so much? I don’t understand what’s going on here.’ But obviously, he was that kind of person.”
It certainly has been an emotional return to Milwaukee for Adames, who homered twice in Friday’s 5-4 loss — one of which incredibly came on the first pitch after a standing ovation from Brewers fans.
Brewers fans give Willy Adames a standing ovation before his first at-bat…
While there are still ways to go in the Phillies‘ 2025 campaign, signs are pointing to an exciting day to look forward to next summer.
MLB is heading back to Iowa for the first time in four seasons for a revival of the Field of Dreams game, this time between the Phillies and Twins, according to reports from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and Dan Hayes.
Alternate site games are nothing new for the Phillies in recent years, having played at the Little League Classic twice (2018 and 2023) and traveled to London in 2024 for a two-game series against the Mets. It will be a home game for the Twins, who haven’t played at an alternate site since 2018.
Since the last game held at the famous location in Dyersville, Iowa, between the Cubs and Cardinals in 2022, the site has been sold and a new stadium constructed.
MLB’s 2026 schedule is set to release Tuesday, and subject to some further steps, it looks like the Phillies are heading to the iconic cornfield.
DYERSVILLE, IA – AUGUST 11: A general view during the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds at The MLB Field at Field of Dreams on Thursday, August 11, 2022 in Dyersville, Iowa. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler’s season is over.
Wheeler was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and will require additional surgery that’s expected to sideline him for six to eight months, the team announced Saturday.
Wheeler had a follow-up evaluation following a procedure Monday to remove a blood clot from his upper right arm. After receiving a second opinion, it was recommended that Wheeler undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the coming weeks. Such a surgery would threaten Wheeler’s ability to start the 2026 season on time.
“It’s disappointing, but everybody knows it’s out of our control,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “We’re happy he’s going to be healthy, because it’s a very serious thing that he went through.”
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a condition in which bones or muscle press on blood vessels in the upper chest, near the shoulder, causing pain or numbness. Repetitive arm movements are a common cause, making baseball players and swimmers more susceptible, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Decompression surgery involves removing bone or tissue that’s causing the constriction.
Wheeler had been experiencing some shoulder soreness for several starts, but after saying he felt “normal” following his last start in Washington on Aug. 15, he later started feeling “heaviness” in his shoulder. The Phillies trainers decided to get him evaluated because it was a different symptom for him.
They had Wheeler examined by Nationals team doctors, who discovered the blood clot. The Phillies believe the clot was an acute onset, not related to the previous shoulder soreness.
“He wasn’t exhibiting any of the symptoms that ultimately drove us to get the Washington Nationals docs involved. They were great. They expedited everything,” said Paul Buchheit, Philadelphia’s head athletic trainer. “But we do think they were independent. Typically these things have a cluster of symptoms or symptom patterns and he wasn’t exhibiting any of those until we had him evaluated.”
Buchheit said Wheeler can begin his rehab throwing program approximately eight weeks after the decompression surgery. What that process will look like is unknown at the moment, and it’s not front of mind for the Phillies’ front office yet.
“I’m glad he’s OK and the prognosis is he’ll be back relatively soon in the (2026) season, but it’s a long time before we get to that,” said Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations.
Wheeler, 35, was 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts across 149 2/3 innings this season. His 195 strikeouts lead the National League and he was widely considered a candidate in this year’s Cy Young Award race. He is a two-time runner-up for the Cy Young, finishing second in 2021 and ’24.
The loss of Wheeler is a blow for the Phillies, who have World Series aspirations and began the day with a 6-game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East.
“It’s never good to lose a Zack Wheeler, your No. 1 pitcher,” Dombrowski said. “I think we have starting pitching depth that’s capable of pitching well for us. Again, you’re never going to replace an individual like that. ... I’ve been in all different types of scenarios with pitchers being out. We have a good ballclub, and we’ll be looking for other people to step up and pick up the slack for us.”
The Phillies will rely on a trio of lefties — Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, as well as veteran righties Aaron Nola, who missed three months with ankle and rib injuries — and Taijuan Walker to carry the rotation.
Top prospect Andrew Painter would be next up if needed, but he has struggled in Triple-A this season, his first after missing two years while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Thomson said he hasn’t noticed a dour mood in the clubhouse after the players learned Wheeler wouldn’t be back. With a veteran club like the Phillies, he didn’t feel the need to have a team meeting to address losing one of its most important players six weeks before the postseason.
“They’re baseball players,” Thomson said. “They just kind of move on. We’ve got a game today. They’re not going to cancel it. We’ve got another one tomorrow. We just got to keep moving forward.”
Jeff McNeil opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the third inning, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos hit back-to-back HRs in the seventh, and then Starling Marte crushed a solo shot of his own two batters later. Vientos and McNeil would add on with back-to-back homers in the ninth, giving New York six home runs on the night.
It's the second time the Mets have hit six home runs in a game against the Braves this month, doing so previously on Aug. 12. After Saturday's win, their fifth in the last seven games, manager Carlos Mendoza discussed the difference he's seen in the offense as of late.
"Creating traffic and then feel like we’re doing a way better job with runners in scoring position," Mendoza said. "Putting the ball in play, using the whole field, picking each other up, and then continuing to add on… As a team offensively, you got to continue to add on. Controlling the strike zone, making better swing decisions. And then picking each other up, second and third and nobody out and Jeff gets that three-run homer, that was huge.
"Continue to have good at-bats and we know we’re a good offensive team and we’ve seen that the last few weeks."
Mendoza went on to say that he thinks the offense started to turn a corner during the Milwaukee series earlier in August and have been improving each series since.
"Even though we didn’t get the win, that weekend in Milwaukee against a pretty good pitching staff, we put some really good at-bats; we just didn’t finish games," Mendoza said. "Series after series, the Seattle series, we've been facing some really good arms and I feel like as a whole, we’ve put really good at-bats."
One of the key contributors Saturday night was Marte, who collected his fourth three-hit game of the season. Marte finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, two stolen bases, and an impressive outfield assist to complete the inning-ending double play. Mendoza gave Marte praise for his all-around contributions and how important he is to this team.
"He’s running around, but he’s a good player," Mendoza said. "When he’s healthy and feeling really good, that’s the type of performance we’ve seen defensively, offensively, the base running. This is a guy we will continue to protect because we need him healthy, but playing at that level, we need that."
He added on Marte's power: "He's more balanced, he's healthy. When he can stay on that back leg and create that much force, he's got quick hands, the ball jumps off his bat. The balance, he's trusting the swing decisions. The lower half is in a really good position that allows him to do damage."
The 36-year-old has looked like his vintage self recently, hitting .313 with four home runs over his last 15 games. After playing just 86 games in 2023 and 94 games last season, Marte was asked how this season feels now that he's healthy, saying he's willing to do all he can every game.
"It feels good to be in the spirit of competition, to be able to go out there and have the trust of the manager," Marte said through a translator. "No matter how I'm feeling, I'm going to go out there. If there are days that I can't walk, I'm still going to go out there and give my best and leave it all out there on the field, no matter how it is that I feel. But I feel like I'm competing right now."
Marte noted his approach has been to "put the ball in play" and credited hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes for helping him stay locked in at the plate. The veteran added that he's pleased with how the team has played in Atlanta and they'll have to continue with that "brand of baseball" down the stretch.
"It feels good. The way that we've been playing the last two nights, we've been taking a lot of pitches, but also taking advantage of pitchers' mistakes," Marte said through a translator. "And we've been playing the brand of baseball that we know we're capable of playing. We've been aggressive on the basepaths, we're being aggressive on pitches in the zone.
"And when that's able to click for us, we're able to show the team we're capable of being. To then finally achieve the goal that we've promised each other at the end of the day."
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani walks back to the dugout after striking out in the first inning of a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Saturday at Petco Park. (Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)
Dave Roberts does not believe his Dodgers team, amid another unexpected skid that has dropped them into second place in the standings, is suffering from a lack of effort.
What the manager did acknowledge, in the wake of a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Saturday night, is that their intent might be misplaced.
Right now, it’s clear the Dodgers are going through their latest offensive funk.
In two games against the Padres this weekend, they have managed only two runs (both via home runs from rookie infielder Alex Freeland) and five hits. They have failed to adjust against crafty veteran pitchers who, for the most part, have given them very few good pitches to attack.
As a result, they have squandered the division lead they retook just a week ago, going from two games up in the National League West after last weekend’s sweep of the Padres, to one game behind their Southern California rivals in the wake of consecutive and stunningly abject offensive displays at Petco Park.
And suddenly, they are facing a look-in-the-mirror moment, needing to recalibrate their approach with a more team-first mindset.
“This time of the season, it's not about the mechanics, your swing,” Roberts said. “It's about how, 'Can I help the team win?'"
Lately, in the case of too many stars throughout the lineup, the former is outweighing the latter.
Saturday brought the dynamic into clear focus.
A night after Yu Darvish navigated the Dodgers’ lineup in a six-inning, one-run, one-hit gem, Nestor Cortes — he of infamous October history, after giving up Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series last year with the New York Yankees — had a similarly clear plan of attack.
Or, more accurately, non-attack.
Rather than challenge the Dodgers over the plate with diminished stuff in just his fourth start since returning from an early-season elbow injury, the veteran left-hander pitched them carefully. Cutters and changeups away to a right-handed-heavy lineup. Sweepers to the other side of the zone against the Dodgers’ few lefty threats.
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nestor Cortes delivers against the Dodgers in the third inning Saturday. (Derrick Tuskan / Associated Press)
Effectively, he dared them to be patient, to shorten up their swings, to take what he was giving them and try to build rallies slowly and methodically — rather than with long balls that have primarily fueled the Dodgers’ offense, perhaps to a fault, for much of the season.
“He just kind of stayed away from us the whole time ... just picking at the outside corner the whole night,” catcher Will Smith said. “Credit to him. He pitched well. He certainly didn’t give us anything to hit.”
But rather than adjust, the Dodgers played into his hands. They tried to slug. They took big hacks at pitches that required more of a contact approach. And, while they did hit some balls hard — none more so than a deep fly ball from Freeman in the second inning that died at the warning track — all they came away with in Cortes’ six scoreless (and nearly perfect) innings was a sixth-inning single from Miguel Rojas.
In each of the Dodgers' other 19 at-bats against the Padres trade deadline acquisition, they recorded nothing but outs.
“[We have to] find a way to move the line forward, get hits, spoil pitches, compete,” Roberts said, after just the Dodgers’ second two-hit performance this season. “There’s a different level of trying. I think everyone's trying. But I think that [we need] the next level, of going with whatever swing you have that particular night and fighting and willing yourself to get some hits, get on base, create innings and score runs.
“It's not a lack of talent. Certainly not a lack of try. But we got to do more,” Roberts added. “You got to kind of understand what's happening in a ballgame and make your adjustments."
Indeed, the Dodgers’ recent inability to adjust at the plate has put them in a bind entering the stretch run of the season.
Even if they avoid a series sweep Sunday, they will only be tied atop the division. If they lose, they will face a two-game deficit in the standings with 31 games to go.
In either scenario, they will face a closing month that will demand more consistent offense in order to win the NL West.
Given the mechanical issues much of their lineup is facing at the moment — from Smith and his seven-for-50 slump over the last 15 games, to Teoscar Hernández and his 33% strikeout rate in August — the pressure to provide more competitive, team-minded at-bats is starting to mount.
“We are who we are. We've got a lot of guys that can leave the ballpark and that can hit homers,” Rojas said. “But we all know, too, that we can play better baseball than the way that we've been playing the last couple days. I feel like the offense is kind of inconsistent at times. We can always get better. We all know we need to get better if we want to win games in a consistent way."
By the time Rojas exemplified that approach in the sixth inning, shooting an 0-and-1 cutter the other way for the team’s first hit (and baserunner) of the night, Saturday’s game was already a lost cause.
Tyler Glasnow gave up three runs in the fourth, when bad command led to two walks that helped load the bases, Ramón Laureano laced a two-run single the other way, and Jake Cronenworth added a sacrifice fly.
Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers against the Padres in the fifth inning Saturday. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
The Padres’ dominant bullpen was looming, with Freeland’s pinch-hit homer in the eighth proving to be the only damage allowed.
What already felt like an unlikely comeback bid was then officially dashed by Xander Bogaerts’ two-run double off Justin Wrobleski in the eighth — giving the Padres (74-56) enough cushion to avoid using closer Robert Suarez for a second-straight game in the ninth.
“We needed to jump on [Cortes], put some runs up early on him,” Smith said. “But we just didn’t do that.”
Moving forward, however, Saturday’s game might have provided lessons. Even if the Dodgers aren’t swinging the bats the way they want to, there are still other ways to generate offense.
“I feel like a lot of swings that we took today weren't really good swings to get on base,” Rojas said. “It was a little more to do damage early in the count. And [Cortes] was able to capitalize on that.”
Again, Roberts didn’t necessarily fault his club for falling into such a trap. He knows he has a team that — when right — is built on slugging the baseball and punishing mistakes opposing pitchers make against them. He noted the personal work hitters are putting in every day to try and get their mechanics on track.
At the same time, though, “we're at the end of August,” he noted. “It's just about getting the job done and finding a way to find some production.”
“You have to, again, take what the pitcher gives you and try to create something. You can't always go for that big swing. You got to kind of shorten up [sometimes]. We have it in there, and we do it at times. But I just don't see us doing that collectively.”
The good news: Roberts could already feel a shift postgame. As he traversed a somber clubhouse, he said he heard smaller conversations among players featuring “some good things from our guys along those lines.”
“Players are saying the right things,” he insisted. “It's gonna change. It'll change."
Still, as a group, the reality is nonetheless clear.
The Dodgers (73-57) are once again a second-place team. For them, playoff baseball effectively starts now.
That means adjustments have to be made to opposing pitchers’ game plans. Mechanical impurities can no longer be an excuse for wasted at-bats.
“It’s a reminder — let’s just get back to being who we are, and doing those little things; scratching and clawing; finding ways and willing yourself, your team, your offense to score some runs,” Roberts said. “I do believe that that kind of desire will manifest itself. I do."
It better. Because there will be many more games like the past two, and the Dodgers (who reside in the second NL wild-card spot, five games clear of the cut line) might find themselves limping into October, facing a potentially daunting postseason path.
The Mets smashed six more home runs on Saturday and Clay Holmes pitched six innings for the first time in more than two months as New York defeated the Braves, 9-2, in Atlanta.
New York has hit 29 home runs in their last 11 games, including Saturday. Four Mets pitchers held the Braves to two runs on just five hits.
Here are the takeaways...
-After a 21-hit barrage on Friday, the Mets' lineup wouldn't go that nuclear on Saturday, but they continued to get knocks against Cal Quantrill. Francisco Lindor extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a third-inning single to lead off. After a Juan Soto walk, they executed a double-steal to put runners on second and third and no outs. Pete Alonso grounded to the left side for the first out before Mark Vientos struck out swinging. The Mets were in danger of not getting a run, but Jeff McNeil, starting for the first time in three games, launched a towering three-run blast just inside the right field foul pole.
-The Braves almost answered the Mets' three-run third with a big inning of their own in the bottom half of the inning. After Holmes couldn't come down with the toss from Alonso, putting runners on first and third with one out, Starling Marte -- making just his sixth start in the outfield this season -- caught a fly ball in left before throwing a seed to Hayden Senger and getting Nacho Alvarez Jr. at home.
It wouldn't get easier for Holmes in the fourth. He walked back-to-back batters to start the inning and got Michael Harris II to hit a grounder to McNeil, who turned to try and get Ronald Acuña Jr. at second, but the former NL MVP slid in safely before the ball got there -- after it was overturned by replay. With the bases loaded and no outs, Marcell Ozuna got a sac fly to give the Braves their first run of the game. Drake Baldwin hit a slow chopper to Holmes to drive in another on the groundout. Holmes got Ozzie Albies to fly out to end the threat, but Atlanta picked up two runs without getting a hit in the fourth.
A 1-2-3 fifth and some stellar defense by Lindor and Tyrone Taylor in the sixth helped Holmes get through six innings for the first time since June 7. Coincidentally, the Mets had gone 62 games before a starter other than David Peterson went six-plus innings when Nolan McLean broke that on Friday. And now Mets starters have done so in back-to-back games.
Holmes had retired 10 straight batters before a one-out single in the seventh and left after a quality start. The right-hander tossed 94 pitches (54 strikes) through 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits, two walks and striking out four.
-After that three-run shot by McNeil, the Mets' offense was kept at bay by Quantrill and Braves relievers until the seventh, when Alonso hit a towering blast just inside the right field foul pole with Soto on first base to give the Mets a 5-2 lead. Vientos followed with a no-doubt homer to left field to put the Mets on top, 6-2.
It's Alonso's first home run (43 ABs) since the two-homer night when he broke Darryl Strawberry's franchise record. The Mets weren't done in the seventh as Marte hit a solo shot to give New York a four-spot in the inning. Marte was removed from left field in the seventh for Cedric Mullins, who played center and Taylor shifted to left. Vientos and McNeil would cap off the Mets' scoring with ninth-inning solo shots, the second of both slugger's games.
-In relief of Holmes, Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers and Edwin Diaz -- who hadn't pitched in a week -- picked up the final eight outs. Here how it broke down:
Soto: 0.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
Rogers: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Diaz: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K
-The 6-9 hitters went a combined 12-for-20 with six RBI in Friday's game, but didn't have the same success on Saturday. That part of the lineup went 4-for-17 with one RBI. Three of those hits came from Marte. Brett Baty, who had four hits, went hitless, while Taylor picked up just one hit after picking up three on Friday.
-Mets stole four bases on Quantrill, Marte having two of them. It's the first time they stole four bases in a game this season.
Game MVP: Starling Marte
The veteran outfielder not only went 3-for-3 with a homer, two stolen bases, but that assist in the outfield changed the tenor of the whole game.
Mets pitching prospect Jonah Tong made his second Triple-A start Saturday night and continued to impress, tossing six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts for Syracuse against Indianapolis.
The 22-year-old let up back-to-back singles to open the game, but got a double play and a strikeout to avoid early damage. He allowed a double and a walk in the second before retiring the next 12 batters, cruising through the fifth inning. Tong was tested in the sixth inning, finding himself in a jam with runners on second and third base. The righty maintained his composure after a mound visit and struck out Rafael Flores to end the frame and keep it a 3-0 game.
Overall, Tong allowed five hits and walked one over 88 pitches (63 strikes) with 21 swing-and-misses. His fastball topped out at 97.6 mph.
The top prospect dazzled in his first outing with Syracuse on Aug. 16, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. He allowed just three hits and two walks. Over two Triple-A starts, Tong has tossed 11.2 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts and 39 swing-and-misses (h/t Joe DeMayo).
While New York has been hesitant to promote prospects to the majors too early, Tong may be up sooner than later, according to the NY Post's Mike Puma.
"The wind has shifted in the Mets organization in recent days regarding Jonah Tong," Puma wrote Saturday evening. "His name is entering the conversation for this season."
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has also said he'd prefer to have a spot in the rotation open up for multiple starts, instead of a spot-start and the prospect being sent back down to the minors.
Fellow top pitching prospect Nolan McLean has impressed over his first two major league starts and it's been expected that Brandon Sproatwould be the next starter to be promoted. The Mets' rotation currently consists of Clay Holmes (pitching Saturday night), David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and McLean. To make room for Sproat or potentially even Tong, New York could move Holmes to the bullpen and then would have to make a decision on other bullpen pitchers like Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett, or Huascar Brazoban, who was recalled on Saturday.
Jonah Tong had another excellent outing for Triple-A Syracuse tonight 🔥
Staking starting pitcher Aaron Nola to a big lead hasn’t been a problem for the Phillies’ offense in his two starts against the Nationals since coming back from injury.
Saturday, Nola was able to hold it as his strong performance and another big showing by the offense helped the Phillies to a 6-4 win to improve to 75-54 on the season.
Last Sunday, in Nola’s first start after being sidelined for three months with ankle and rib injuries, the Phillies climbed out to a 6-0 lead before Nola gave up six to the Nationals in what eventually became an 11-9 Phillies win.
Saturday was different, as Nola maintained good control with his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curve and kept the Nationals off balance through his six innings of work. He allowed five hits, two earned runs, walked one and struck out six in his 97-pitch night.
“I felt good, body felt good, ankle and rib were normal today,” said Nola, who picked up his second win of the season. “The ball felt like it was coming out better than it has been. It felt good to get a win for the guys and go for the series win tomorrow.
“I feel like when the velocity is up a little bit like that I’m on top of it a little bit more and I get a little jump before it gets to the plate and you get away with a little bit more. The fastball felt really good and I felt like it set up some other stuff, especially my curve ball.”
After failing to get a hit in the first three innings off Washington’s starter Mitchell Parker, the Phillies erupted for five in the fourth on five hits — including RBI doubles from J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm and a three-run home run from Edmundo Sosa, who got the start at second base against the left-handed Parker. Trea Turner slugged his 14th homer of the season, and just his second at Citizens Bank Park, in the fifth to close out the scoring for the Phillies.
Nola pretty much breezed through his first five innings in which he allowed just one unearned run. After giving up a dribbler of an infield single to Dylan Crews, Drew Millas hit a hard grounder to Weston Wilson at first. Wilson bobbled it, and instead of taking the sure out at first, tried to fire to second to get Crews. The ball hit off his hand and both runners advanced. Crews scored on a groundout by Brady House before Nola struck out Robert Hassell III to end the inning.
Nola gave up solo home runs to CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia, Jr. in the sixth before calling it a night with a 6-3 lead.
“He looked really good tonight,” said Rob Thomson. “He touched 94 (MPH). The command on his fastball was really good. Curve ball was sharp. He mixed in his changeup late. He had some rollovers on that. Great job in the fifth inning getting out of that little jam he had after we scored five. No fault of his own. I thought he was great.”
A strong performance from Nola was just what the organization craved on the day it was announced that ace Zack Wheeler would miss the rest of the season and need surgery for venous thoracic outlet syndrome. The timeline for recovery from surgery is six-to-eight months.
While Thomson will have to develop a new master plan with his ace starter now sidelined, his job is made a lot easier when the offense continues to perform as they have scored 50 runs over their last six games.
“I saw that and it’s tough to lose him,” said Nola of Wheeler. “Especially of his caliber and this part of the season, too. It’s tough for the team and the city and the organization, but we’re going to do our best to pick him up and go win as many more baseball games as possible and try to win the division.”
This past week, Sosa said he has been putting time in with hitting coach Kevin Long to try to get back to a more comfortable spot in his stance. It paid off as he clubbed his seventh home run of the season.
“During the last five days I’ve been working with the coaches and they told me something they noticed something that I was staying back on my body,” said Sosa. “We were working on that. We’re just focused on staying in a more athletic position to hit with my body. We were working every day on that adjustment. I feel stronger with my legs and I feel like now I’m in a good position to hit.”
After blowing his first save as a Phillie on Friday, closer Jhoan Duran stood in front of the media and said he’d be ready to go the next day if the team needed him. They did, and he was. Kind of. Duran preserved the Phillies sixth win in their last eight games, but it didn’t come without a little angst. After getting Millas to ground out, Duran gave up a double to House and then a single to Hassell III to put runners at first and third. But Duran struck out leadoff hitter James Wood and got Abrams to fly out to left to finish off the Nationals.
It was the type of inning Duran needed after Friday. It was the kind of day the organization had to have as they move forward without Wheeler.
Painter’s time coming?
With the news Saturday of Wheeler being out for the season, it would seem almost inevitable that top prospect Andrew Painter would be called up at some point soon. The question of Painter’s promotion has been one manager Rob Thomson has been asked just about all season.
And just a couple of weeks ago, it seemed as though Painter wasn’t going to be an option, even when Thomson professed his desire to use a six-man rotation. That’s because Taijuan Walker had been pitching so well that the spot appeared to be his. Now, with Wheeler being out, the Painter questions once again arise.
Friday, Painter pitched five innings and allowed four hits, one run and struck out five. He also issued four walks. His command has been the biggest concern this season while at Lehigh Valley.
“Very good,” said Thomson on Painter’s outing. “I watched the game. I thought he was much better yesterday. I know he walked four guys, but he didn’t miss by much. The fastball command was much better. Stuff is still really good and velocity is really, really good. It was encouraging.”
Asked if Painter was approaching a time where he may be shut down, Thomson was adamant. “Nope. We planned it out so that he could go the rest of the season and just be a normal pitcher.”
Whether that is in Philadelphia or the Lehigh Valley remains to be seen.
“I think we just have to go day to day right now,” said Thomson.
The loss clinched another series win for the Red Sox, who are now 7-1 against the Yankees this season. The win also pushed their lead in the wild card standings to 1.5 games.
"It sucks. It feels real crappy," manager Aaron Boone said after the loss. "We gotta get past it. We can sit here and dwell on it, [but] we gotta play better. We gotta play better against these quality opponents in our division, but we can't go erase what's been a really crappy weekend so far for us, other than putting our best foot forward tomorrow and going and salvaging one and being in control of what we have in the pen and getting to write the story the rest of the way, but we gotta go do it."
Crochet dominated the Yankees again, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out 11 batters across seven innings. But the Yankees skipper doesn't put it on just the pitching they've faced in this series. For him, it's his own offense and pitching that is the story of the three losses.
"We haven’t generated much here in this series. They shut us down…we have to find a way to scratch out some runs," he said. "The story is getting shut down. Not generating much offensively and struggling to keep them down."
Young right-hander Will Warren is the latest Yankees pitcher to struggle in this series. He allowed five runs across four innings before recently-acquired pitcher Paul Blackburn gave up seven runs in the ninth inning to make Saturday's loss a laugher.
"We've got to beat them," Warren said after the game. "We're capable of beating them, we're just not playing like we should."
"It's not ideal," Giancarlo Stanton said of the loss. "Unacceptable. We all know that. We just got to get tomorrow."
"It’s baseball, but it comes down to we got to play better," Aaron Judge said of his team's play against the Red Sox this season. "Doesn’t matter who we’re facing, whether it’s the Rays, Red Sox, Tigers, whoever. We gotta go out there with our best and we didn’t do that today or the last couple of days."
Judge went 1-for-4 with a double, only the second extra-base hit the Yankees got on Saturday -- the other being Stanton's solo shot off of Crochet. But in the three-game series, he's only 2-for-11 with a walk and four strikeouts.
It was brought to Judge's attention that he's said this team has "got to play better" a lot recently, and the reigning AL MVP said he feels like he's been saying it since Opening Day because he always feels the team can be better and that it's on the players to make it happen.
"Coaches can’t fix that, fans can’t fix that, media can’t fix that. It’s the players in this room," he said. "We have to step up. That’s what it comes down to."
He later added, "It’s baseball, it’s a tough game, we just have to keep stepping up. We have to get dirty, do the little things to put ourselves in the best position. Can’t give teams extra outs, if teams are going to give us a chance to score, we got to capitalize. We didn’t do that, especially these last three games. That’s what it comes down to. We have to show up tomorrow and start doing our thing."
In the three losses, the Red Sox have scored 19 runs while the Yankees have pushed across just four. That's less than the five errors they've committed in the first three games of this series.
After Sunday's series finale, the Yankees have three more games against the Red Sox, but this time in Boston. But that's too forward-thinking, as Judge said; they need to figure out how to get a win on Sunday.
Mets' Frankie Montas, who was placed on the 15-day IL earlier Saturday with a UCL injury in his right elbow, will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.
Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters prior to the team's game against the Atlanta Braves that Montas' UCL injury is "pretty significant" and it's "possible" the pitcher could need Tommy John surgery.
"He's got a pretty significant injury there," Mendoza said. "We've got multiple doctors looking at it to see what we're dealing with. The first read was that he's got a pretty big injury there."
Mendoza said Montas "expressed soreness in the lower bicep area" on Friday and played catch before getting an MRI. He added that Montas was "pretty devastated" upon getting the bad news.
It was a tough season on the mound for Montas, who started the year on the IL and didn't debut until June. He finished with a 3-2 record, a 6.28 ERA, and a 1.60 WHIP. The 32-year-old was recently moved to the bullpen to allow the team to call up Nolan McLean, but didn't find success there either over two outings.
Montas signed a two-year, $34 million deal with New York during the offseason and was expected to play a key role in the pitching rotation both this year and in 2026. He has a player option for the 2026 season, but will likely miss most of the year if he gets Tommy John surgery.
Carlos Mendoza says that Frankie Montas' UCL injury is "pretty significant" and Tommy John Surgery is possible.
The presence of a team leader shouldn’t be undermined.
After spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list due to right hand inflammation, Giants third baseman Matt Chapman made his return to the field against an MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday at American Family Field.
San Francisco, entering Saturday on a four-game losing skid and 7.5 games out of the final National League wild-card spot, was in desperate need of a pick-me-up.
Insert Chapman, whose presence on the field not only reinforced the Giants’ leaky defense but also reignited San Francisco’s bats in a much-needed 7-1 win in Milwaukee.
Offensively, second baseman Casey Schmitt led the way, hitting a three-run homer and doubling in a run.
In fitting style, Schmitt didn’t hesitate to credit Chapman’s leadership, which surely will be vital as the Giants make one last push for the MLB playoffs.
“He’s the leader here,” Schmitt said. “So, having that guy back on the field, and he’s been here with us.
“But having him back on the field, it just makes us that much better. I know we’re all really glad to see him back over there [to] just keep things going.”
The Yankees' bats continued to slump, Will Warren struggled, and the Red Sox turned the game into a laugher late, as New York fell 12-1 on Saturday afternoon in The Bronx.
A seven-run ninth inning inflated the score after the Yankees had two on with one out in the previous half inning, but again, they couldn’t get the big hit when it mattered. The home team managed just seven hits and two walks compared to 17 hits and five walks (plus a hit batter) for the visitors.
Garrett Crochet just ate the Yanks’ lunch, save one pitch in the fourth inning, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over seven innings with 11 strikeouts on 103 pitches (72 strikes).
With the loss, New York's eighth straight to Boston, the Yankees are now 69-60 (37-28 at home) on the year and 1.5 games behind the Red Sox (71-59).
Here are the takeaways...
- Warren allowed a single and a walk with a strikeout through two frames, but got into a spot of bother with one out in the second when back-to-back singles put runners at the corners. After falling behind 2-0 to Alex Bregman, the Yanks’ infield came for a visit to see if Warren could regroup, but he walked the Sox third baseman on a full count, one pitch after another defensive miscue as catcher Austin Wells whiffed on a pop-up behind home plate, battling a high sky. Warren got Jarren Duran swinging at a curveball in the dirt, but hung a sweeper right over the plate to Trevor Story, who lined it down the line in left for a two-RBI double to open the scoring.
Warren was right back in a jam two pitches into the fourth: Ceddanne Rafaela cranked a ground-rule double to center and David Hamilton singled to left to cover the corners. After the Yankee righty hit Carlos Narváez with a 1-2 pitch, a Roman Anthony sac fly to deep center was followed by Bregman’s sac fly to deep left, doubling Boston’s advantage.
Warren's first pitch of the fifth was deposited into the right field seats by Story, as a sinker over the plate was sent out in a hurry (106.2 mph, 373 feet). And that would be the end of his day. His final line: 4.0 innings, seven hits, five runs, three walks, and three strikeouts on 69 pitches (41 strikes). His ERA is now 4.47 on the year.
- Giancarlo Stanton started off the bottom of the fourth by driving a Crochet fastball 370 feet to right-center for his 16th home run of the season. The slugger smoked the ball (103.7 mph off the bat) that just snuck over the wall for a homer that only would have happened in The Bronx
He got his seventh start of the year in right field and caught the first ball hit at him, but looked less than convincing catching the first-inning liner. In the later innings Red Sox clearly made an effort to try and take an extra base on every ball hit to right and did so successfully each time. At the plate, he finished the day 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.
- Aaron Judge went down swinging on a high, 99 mph fastball his first time up against Crochet, and came within inches of a double down the line in left before going down swinging on a cutter in his second at-bat. Judge just missed a two-run home run in the fifth, taking a 98 mph fastball on the outer portion of the plate to right, but it went for a hard-hit (104.1 mph), 338-foot flyout to the wall.
He laced a one-out double into the right-center gap in the eighth (115.7 mph) off Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert.He finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Cody Bellinger notched a two-out infield single in the first off Crochet but went down looking to end the third and slammed his helmet down after disagreeing with the call on a pitch that caught the corner. He finished 2-for-4 with a strikeout, adding a single off Weissert.
- The Yankees got a runner in scoring position with one out in the second on an errant throw on a fielder’s choice, after not having a runner reach second on Friday night. After Jose Caballero worked a walk, there were two men on and two two-out for Wells, but the catcher got jammed and flared out to the shortstop just behind second.
The Yankees finished the day 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position (the lone hit not netting a run) with eight runners left on base. Stanton and pinch-hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. had chances for a late rally with the corners covered in the eighth, but both went down swinging.
- Anthony Volpe, who has been struggling mightily at the plate, lined out to shortstop first at-bat and tried to bunt for a hit with a runner on first and one out in the fourth, and was thrown out at first. (The official scorer at The Stadium tried to save the shortstop some indignity, judging it to be a sac bunt.) He finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout looking and committed his 17th error of the year on a bad throw. He is now slashing .208/.274/.400 and again heard boos from the Bronx faithful.
- Amed Rosario added two singles in three at-bats and is now 6-for-11 in seven games in pinstripes before being lifted for a pinch hitter.
- Paul Goldschmidt, who just wears out lefties, was hitless with a strikeout his first two trips before singling up the middle off Crochet. Finished 1-for-3. He was lifted for a pinch-hit to start the eighth, with Ben Rice flying out.
- Trent Grisham went 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Caballero finished 0-for-2 with a strikeout and two walks.
- Wells went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The catcher is now slashing .209/.264/.420 on the year.
- The bullpen was called upon to get 15 outs. Tim Hill got the first five, allowing two singles with a double play and two strikeouts mixed in. Ex-Met Paul Blackburn, in his Yankee debut, got the next four before allowing a runner on a leadoff walk, but quickly erased it with a 6-4-3 double play. Blackburn saved a run when he smartly backed up third on Hamilton’s two-out triple before stranding him there.
A lead-off double off the top of the wall in right by Anthony led to two more Red Sox runs with three straight one-out singles. A two-out single plated another run before an infield hit to Volpe led to a throwing error to score another. Blackburn then compounded things by balking in a run and then hanging a sweeper to Narváez, who deposited into the visitor's bullpen for a 414-foot two-run homer.
Blackburn, in what may end up being his lone appearance for the Yanks, was charged with seven runs (all earned) on eight hits and two walks in 3.1 innings with a strikeout on 71 pitches (44 strikes).
Who's the MVP? Garret Crochet
Boston's starter was simply terrific and had just a 30 percent called-strike whiff rate, but allowed just five hard-hit balls all game.
The Yanks will look to avoid the four-game sweep on Sunday night. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m.
Left-hander Carlos Rodon (3.24 ERA and 1.068 WHIP in 152.2 innings) takes the ball for his 27th start of the season. He has racked up 169 strikeouts (to 60 walks) this year, good for fourth most in the American League. His 6.072 hits per nine innings are tops in the AL.
Righty Dustin May (4.59 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 119.2 innings) climbs the hill for the visitors, for his 22nd start of the year and fourth since arriving in Boston in a trade. May has found a bit of form with his new club, allowing five runs on 19 hits in 15.2 innings with 17 strikeouts to four walks.
The Mets recalled right-hander Huascar Brazoban from Triple-A before Saturday's game against the Braves in Atlanta.
In a corresponding move, New York placed Frankie Montas on the 15-day IL with a right elbow UCL injury. The move is retroactive to Aug. 22.
The Mets optioned Brazoban at the end of July after a string of ineffective outings. In his last appearance (July 28 against the Pares), Brazoban allowed one run on three hits and one walk in just 0.2 innings.
"You hate to send a guy down, especially a guy who, since Day 1, he's been huge for us," Carlos Mendozasaid at the time. "But we're going to use this time to continue to build him for a potential role here, because we told him you're going to be back here.
"The plan is for him to have more of a scripted throwing program where it's like throwing 35 pitches, maybe three days off, and at the big league level, you're not going to be able to do that. That's the plan with him."
In 51.2 innings of work this season with the big league club, Brazoban has pitched to a 3.83 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.
Since being optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, Brazoban has made seven appearances. Over that span, he's allowed eight runs on 13 hits and two walks across 10.2 innings. Most of that damage came in his third appearance with Syracuse, where he allowed seven runs in one inning of work. His last appearances (Aug. 20), Brazoban dominated, striking out four batters across two scoreless innings and allowing just one hit.
As for Montas, the injury comes at a time when his role has shifted. After returning to the team in late June after starting the season on the IL with a right lat strain, the right-hander made seven starts and was largely ineffective. He was then moved to the bullpen to facilitate the call-up of Nolan McLean, but Montas' bullpen work was also ineffective.
In nine appearances (seven starts) with the Mets this season, Montas has pitched to a 3-2 record, a 6.28 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.
The Phillies announced Saturday that pitcher Zack Wheeler will be out for the rest of the season.
A statement from the team said: Wheeler was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, and the recommendation is to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the coming weeks. Details of the surgery are forthcoming. The timeline of recovery from the surgery is generally 6-8 months.
Wheeler had been dealing with something unknown in the shoulder since around the All-Star break and it caused him to be moved back a few days on a start. A dip in velocity and command heightened questions about what may be wrong, but it was after a start in Washington on August 15, in which Wheeler pitched five innings, gave up two runs and struck out six, where concerns grew. Though Wheeler said he felt really good during his outing, after the game he described “heaviness” in the shoulder area. That’s when red flags went up.
“Yeah, so that’s it (heaviness),” said Phillies head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit. “They weren’t very subtle but having some heaviness and fullness was one of the symptoms where we said, ‘hey let’s get this looked at’.
“He had a venous thoracic outlet syndrome, so it’s not the same as, say, a neurological vascular outlet, so the recovery can be a little bit different. The fact that he wasn’t dealing with this, it was more of an acute issue, that also is in his favor that he wasn’t dealing with this for a long time prior to going under for the procedure. He wasn’t exhibiting any of the symptoms that ultimately drove us to get the Washington Nationals docs involved in evaluating it, which they were great, by the way in expediting everything. We do think they were independent. Typically, these things kind of have a cluster of symptom patterns. He wasn’t exhibiting any of those until we had him evaluated.”
Wheeler underwent a thrombolysis procedure to remove the blood clot on August 18.
“He’s doing well,” said Buchheit. “He’s doing fine. (There were) two second opinions and they were the leaders in the industry on this topic.”
The human aspect of something like this always comes first, and from management to players that is first and foremost on everyone’s mind. After that, however, there is the business of baseball and the absence of Wheeler is a huge blow to this baseball team.
“He’ll miss this season, but then we figure he’ll come back in the six-to-eight-month time period and come back and be the Zack Wheeler of old,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “That’s what we were told. Unless something unanticipated happens, he’ll be able to come back and pitch like he has before this.”
Dombrowski said he hasn’t spoken to Wheeler but has shared texts. He also said Wheeler was at the ballpark Friday.
How the rest of the season will play out with the starting staff is now a little more mysterious. Manager Rob Thomson was on the cusp of implementing a six-man rotation just before Wheeler went out. Now, it’s all in a bit of flux.
“I found out a little bit more last night and he’s healthy,” said an obviously relieved Thomson. “It’s disappointing to lose him but we have a lot of depth on our club. So, the six-to-eight-month recovery was encouraging to me. I talked to him yesterday; he was in here yesterday.
“Our offense has kicked in. The three lefties threw very well. I was proud of (Taijuan Walker) getting us through five innings last night. We’ll see what (Aaron Nola) has today, I’m expecting more out of him today. I think they’ve responded very well (to not having Wheeler).”
While the tail-end of the recovery period takes Wheeler to about the beginning of next season, it really is all speculation at this point. So many factors will come into play over that time but for the time being, positivity seems to be prominent.
“If you have symptoms from a neurological perspective, they may be present for a long time and it takes a while to evaluate, treat through,” said Buchheit. “A lot of times you don’t go to surgical options right away. With Zack it was an acute onset. He doesn’t have that long, protracted time period where he’s been battling things. The surgeons say that he’s going to have a really good prognosis with this.
“The protocols on this are pretty general. A guy can start throwing, maybe eight weeks after the procedure. But that all really depends on how he’s presenting, how the procedure goes and how he’s doing in the rehab process.”
In the meantime, we will see how it all plays out without their ace’s presence. Does Andrew Painter get the long-awaited call-up? Is there someone else in the wings? Is there another game-plan? That is the challenge facing upper management.
“It’s disappointing but I think everyone knows it’s out of our control,” said Thomson. “We’re happy that he’s going to be healthy cause it’s a very serious thing that he went through. They’re baseball players and they kind of move on. We’ve got a game today and they’re not going to cancel it and we’ve got another game tomorrow.
