Category: Baseball

As the Yankees look to bounce back after back-to-back losses to the Boston Red Sox, manager Aaron Boone addressed a few big issues facing his club before Saturday's matinee in The Bronx.

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Aaron Judge progressing 

The Yankees slugger is still dealing with the effects of the flexor strain in his right arm, but he has progressed in his throwing program as the wait for his return to the outfield continues.

Boone said that he believes Judge was throwing with “a little more intensity” on Friday and was out to 150 feet. “I think we’re getting to introduce some paces, so hopefully we're getting close,” the skipper said.

With the reigning AL MVP limited to just hitting, Boone dismissed a question about whether the injury was impacting the slugger at the plate. “I don’t,” he said.

Giancarlo Stanton was in the lineup in right field for Saturday's game, his seventh start in the outfield since Judge's return from the IL.

But since coming back from the injury during the first week of August, the slugger has just 11 hits in 51 at-bats (.216) with a double and three home runs for a .412 slugging percentage and .806 OPS (boosted by 15 walks) through his first 15 games as a DH. 

In the 15 games before the injury, Judge had just 11 hits in 54 at-bats (.204) with three doubles and five homers for a .537 slugging percentage and an .836 OPS. He had nine walks to 21 strikeouts in that span compared to 14 since the injury.

Anthony Volpe could get a day soon

Boone said he didn’t consider giving Volpe a day off for Saturday’s game with Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet on the mound, but amid the shortstop’s struggles at the plate and in the field, it is something he is considering. 

“Especially now with [Jose] Caballero [able to play short], I gave him one the other day,” Boone said about a start for the trade deadline acquisition. “So those can be in play here, but wasn’t gonna do it with the lefty here.”

Volpe has struggled again at the plate this year as his .209 average entering Saturday's game matches his mark from his rookie season. His .403 slugging percentage is a career high, but his .276 on-base percentage is a career low.

The numbers have been particularly dire of late, as the 24-year-old has just eight hits in his last 18 games is slashing .127/.179/.254 for a .433 OPS with four walks and 18 strikeouts. 

Through his first 446 career games, Volpe is slashing .222/.285/.381 for a .666 OPS for an 84 OPS+ and 86 wRC+ (average is 100).

And his once-reliable fielding has abandoned him with 16 errors already this season (not including a mental error in Friday night's game) and a minus-7 outs above average (fourth percentile in MLB). On the other hand, his three defensive runs saved on the year are good for eighth among qualified shortstops. So he hasn't totally regressed.

On Friday, with a runner on second and nobody out in the ninth inning, Volpe fielded a grounder right at him and tried to get the runner at second rather than taking the out at first. Instead, the Sox got two on and nobody out.

“It’s obviously not the right play,” Boone said after the game Friday. “It’s a little bit of a heady play, too. He almost caught a guy off in scoring position there, and then he doesn’t come around to score anyway. He makes a really good play on the contact play. Are we going to really dive into that one a lot? I mean, I get it. It wasn’t an out, but it’s kind of a heads-up. Almost got a guy napping.” 

Fernando Cruz nearing return

The veteran right-hander is set to come back after a lengthy stint on the IL that has seen him sidelined since late June, either on Sunday or Monday, the skipper said. 

Cruz pitched to a .300 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in 33 innings over 32 appearances. He had 54 strikeouts to 14 walks, thanks to an absolutely wicked split-finger that had a 60.2 whiff percentage and .119 expected batting average against.

Matt Chapman returns from IL, back in Giants' lineup; Tyler Fitzgerald optioned originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Third baseman Matt Chapman is back in the Giants’ lineup after spending the minimum 10 days on the injured list due to right hand inflammation.

To make room on the 26-man roster, infielder/outfielder Tyler Fitzgerald was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento.

Chapman is batting sixth against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday at American Family Field.

Tonight's #SFGiants lineup ⬇️

⌚️: 4:10 p.m. PT
📍: Milwaukee, WI
📺: @NBCSGiants
📻: @KNBR | KSFN#SFGiants | @CocaColapic.twitter.com/l4tGgoK6RB

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) August 23, 2025

The 32-year-old five-time Gold Glove Award winner has had two stints on the IL this season because of the hand injury.

On Thursday, Chapman fielded grounders at Petco Park before the Giants’ series finale against the San Diego Padres, hinting that a return was imminent.

A good sign in San Diego: Chappy taking grounders 👏 pic.twitter.com/p6hPra21tx

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 21, 2025

In 96 games this season, Chapman is slashing .229/.337/.423 with 15 doubles, 16 homers and 44 RBI.

Fitzgerald hasn’t been able to recreate the success he had last season, bouncing back and forth between the big leagues and Triple-A this season.

In 72 games with the Giants this year, the 27-year-old is hitting .217/.278/.327 with four homers and 14 RBI.

The Giants (61-68) enter Saturday’s game 7.5 games out of the final National League wild card spot, and hope is fading fast. But Chapman’s return might give them the shot in the arm they need to make one last push for the playoffs.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

The Mets look to build on Friday night's offensive explosion in the middle game of the three-game set with the Braves in Atlanta on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. on SNY.

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

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Mets Notes

• Francisco Lindor is on a 10-game hitting streak, in which he is slashing an absurd .512/.563/.907 with a 1.469 OPS with four home runs, five doubles and 8 RBI
• After a slow start to the second half, Juan Soto has seven homers and 13 RBI in his last 14 games with a 1.082 OPS
• Brett Baty, after a four-hit night Friday, is slashing .386/.449/.682 for a 1.131 OPS in the last 13 games with four dingers and seven RBI. He's raised his OPS+ to 113 on the year
• Clay Holmes makes his 26th start of the season, and has a 3.64 ERA and 1.344 WHIP in 131 innings with 105 strikeouts to 53 walks. He's posted a 4.88 ERA (3.73 FIP) over 27.2 innings since the break
• Cal Quantrill, recently claimed off waivers from Miami, makes his first start for Atlanta. He pitched to a 5.50 ERA and 1.386 WHIP in 109.2 innings over 24 starts with the Marlins. The righty tallied 82 strikeouts to 30 walks

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

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• The Mets pounded out a season-high 21 hits in a 12-7 beating of the Braves as they look to snap out of an August funk
• On the bump, Nolan McLean tossed a superb seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts: "This kid is special"
• It wasn't all great as Ryan Helsley struggled again, which has been an ongoing area of worry
• Carlos Mendoza said the team has to support Helsley through his rough patch
• Like McLean, could Brandon Sproat be the next for his MLB debut? SNY contributor Joe DeMayo tackled his evolution as a pitcher
• The Baseball Night in NY crew had their two cents on Sroat's timetable to join the Mets
• That gang also debated who returns next season: Pete Alonso or Edwin Diaz?
• Down on the farm, Tylor Megillhad another solid rehab start at Triple-A as he nears a big league return
• Before the game, Mendoza revealed Jeff McNeil had a precautionary MRI, but said Brandon Nimmo was improving
• New York reportedly signed catcher Ali Sanchez to a minor league deal

When will the Dodgers' hierarchy finally come to the same conclusion as everyone else in Dodger nation? Teoscar Hernández is a hack in right field, Michael Conforto needs a one-way ticket to the waiver wire and the Dodgers are a better team with Mookie Betts in right field.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

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Everyone is blaming Teoscar Hernández for the Monday night loss to the Rockies. It’s not Teoscar’s fault. A manager’s job is to put his players in the best position to perform at their best, Teoscar is not a right fielder, he’s better in left field. Everyone thinks that these are professional players and they should be able to play any position. Yeah, they can play any position, but it may not be their best performance. Quit juggling the players around and put them where they will perform at their best.

Paul Kawaguchi
Rosemead

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Teoscar Hernández was singled out for criticism over his poor defense in a game the Dodgers lost to the Rockies. Yes, he didn't do well in that game, but he has been very productive with his bat, with 74 RBIs and 20 home runs. Instead of making him the scapegoat for losing a game, why not point out the often awful bullpen performances. We are ahead in a game, then the relievers come in and blow the lead. They do this far more than Teoscar commits errors.

Deborah R. Ishida
Beverly Hills

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If the Dodgers crashed the Little League World Series, no one would blink. Like the kids, their leather is leaky, their arms are toast, their best hitter is their best pitcher, their silly celebrations are pure playground — shimmy shakes and sunflower seed showers. What's missing? A team mom and the minivan for postgame DQ runs.

Steve Ross
Carmel

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I think the heat is getting to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Not only was Michael Conforto in the lineup on Thursday with his .190 batting average but he was batting cleanup with his nine home runs and 27 RBIs while Andy Pages was further down the batting order. Since Shohei Ohtani was not in the lineup, I was shocked that the Dodgers scored nine runs.

Jeff Hershow
Woodland Hills

Fallen Angels

Once again, here we are — August, staring down the end of another miserable season with the Angels circling the drain. Same story, different year. We fans sit around pretending it’ll turn out differently, and yet, by the time the standings settle, the Angels are once again headed for the basement of the division.

The talent’s been wasted, the momentum squandered, and hope has been crushed before Labor Day. The truth is, it isn’t just bad luck or a rough patch. The rot starts at the top. Owner Arte Moreno has turned what should be one of baseball’s marquee franchises into a punchline. His record speaks for itself: no postseason wins in more than a decade, a revolving door of managers and GMs, and enough ill-conceived signings to keep sports talk radio in business for years.

The saddest part? Fans keep showing up, hoping for change, while Moreno cashes the checks and delivers mediocrity. Anaheim deserves better. The players deserve better. Baseball deserves better.

Until ownership changes — or at least changes its attitude — don’t expect the Angels to fly. They’re grounded, and it looks like they’re comfortable staying that way.

Brian Hews
Orange

Trip to nowhere

It's so ironic that Frank McCourt's Gondola to Dodger Stadium project is hopelessly mired in red-tape.
After all, under his brilliant leadership as owner, all he did was drive the franchise into the red!

Jack Wolf
Los Angeles

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Does anyone think that anything Frank McCourt would do for Los Angeles is for anyone else but himself? It’s just another expensive project with funds L.A. could use for any number of other essential projects. Put this proposal in the parking lot where he and it belong.

Bob Goldstone
Corona Del Mar

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The home team was one strike from victory Friday night, when the Petco Park video board suddenly erupted in hues of pink and mint, flashing the preferred accompaniment to any game against the Dodgers: BEAT LA.

Then came the 102-mph fastball, then a swing and a miss, and the San Diego Padres had indeed beaten the Dodgers.

For Dodgers fans who thought the National League West had been won last weekend at Dodger Stadium, this just in from San Diego: The NL West is tied.

These were words in this publication just five days ago: “The Dodgers now lead the National League West by two games, but it feels like 20.”

The Dodgers had just swept the Padres, their only competition for the division title. The Dodgers were 8-2 against the Padres this season. There was a blue wave of emotion. The thing that happened last is the thing you remember best.

Read more:Dodgers held to three hits in loss to Padres, falling back into tie for first place

“It’s natural,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s the great thing about fandom. People get excited. That’s a great thing about sports.”

The feeling in the clubhouse last weekend?

“In here? We played a great series, but there’s still a lot of baseball left to play,” Roberts said. “It wasn’t going to be won or lost then, and it’s not going to be won or lost this weekend.”

The trouble is not with the emotion. The trouble is with the schedule.

The number of games left after this weekend: 31. The number of Dodgers-Padres games left after this weekend: 0.

This is baseball’s best rivalry, with a division title and potential first-round playoff bye on the line. The Dodgers and Padres should be facing each other to wrap up the season, with all that emotion bursting forth.

Instead, the Dodgers finish the regular season against another traditional rival, the (checks notes) Seattle Mariners.

There has been plenty of emotion among the Dodgers and Padres fan bases already this year, mostly in the form of angst.

The Dodgers won the winter, and Padres fans wondered why their team was not keeping up with the competition.

The Padres won the trade deadline, and Dodgers fans wondered why their team was not keeping up with the competition.

For the Dodgers, the cliche is about to be put to a real-life test: Getting a player off the injured list is just like getting a player in a trade.

Reliever Tanner Scott was activated Friday. Reliever Kirby Yates could be activated as soon as Saturday.

Infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernández could be activated next week, followed in some order by relievers Michael Kopech and Brock Stewart, infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim, infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman and third baseman Max Muncy.

On Friday, infielder Alex Freeland hit his first major league home run, but infielder Buddy Kennedy (.287 OPS) went hitless, and the Dodgers burned their backup catcher to bat for him. They trusted outfielder Justin Dean to pinch-run and play center field, but not to bat.

“This is our club right now,” Roberts said. “We have guys coming back.”

On a hot August night, Petco Park was its usual lively self, with its usual sellout crowd, with Dodgers fans drowning out chants of “Let’s Go Padres” and Padres fans returning the favor at the sound of “Let’s Go Dodgers.”

Amid intensity fit for October, the Dodgers and Padres each let a strong starting pitcher — Blake Snell for L.A., Yu Darvish for San Diego — continue rather than reflexively remove him for the third time through the lineup.

How do you win in October, with pitchers like Snell and Darvish lined up?

Is it with the home run?

Only one major league team has more home runs than the Dodgers. The Dodgers scored their only run Friday on a home run.

Is it with small ball?

Only one major league team has fewer home runs than the Padres. The Padres scored both their runs in one inning Friday, with a rally that included three singles, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly.

The Padres dropped three sacrifice bunts Friday. They have 40 this season, the most in the majors. The Dodgers have eight, the fewest of any NL team.

Before the game, I spoke with Mason Miller, the former Athletics All-Star closer turned Padres eighth-inning setup man. To this point in his career, Miller said, the biggest game of his career has been closing the A’s final game in Oakland last September.

“I think I said it after that game: until I play in the playoffs, that will probably be my all-time baseball memory,” Miller said. “Now it doesn’t seem like I’ll have to wait that much longer to get that playoff taste.”

Not much longer at all. As of Friday morning, Baseball Prospectus put the Dodgers’ chance of making the playoffs at 99.8% and the Padres’ chance at 99.6%.

Maybe this weekend won’t mark the last Dodgers-Padres game this season. What we really want is the first NL Championship Series between the Dodgers and the Padres, with the winner advancing to the World Series: SoCal vs. the World.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Five days ago, the Dodgers finally seemed to be building some late-season momentum.

In the span of a week, however, they have once again squandered any real forward progress.

Coming off a sweep of the San Diego Padres at home last weekend, the Dodgers appeared to be in strong position for the stretch run. They’d built a two-game lead in the National League West. They had the last-place Colorado Rockies up next on the schedule. And even with a trip to San Diego looming after that, they were primed to potentially take a stranglehold in the standings.

Instead, the team split its four-game set in Denver, giving a game back to the Padres while San Diego took three of four from the San Francisco Giants in the same span.

Then, in Friday’s series-opener at Petco Park, the Padres punched back in a rivalry the Dodgers had owned for most of this season, winning 2-1 to draw even for first place in the National League West.

Read more:News Analysis: The Dodgers have an outfield problem. But do they have the options to fix it?

"I think when you're in it, you don't really have the time to think about disappointment and what could've been,” manager Dave Roberts said of so quickly squandering a division lead they worked so hard last weekend to build.

“You've got to just go out there and deal with what's going on right now. We're tied in the standings and we've got to win a game tomorrow. There's just no other way to look at it."

Before Friday, beating the Padres (73-56) was the one thing this year’s underwhelming Dodgers team had consistently done well. They had taken eight of the previous 10 matchups. Their sweep at Dodger Stadium last week felt like a statement, one that looked to have the club poised to break out of an extended summer funk.

But after a disappointing week against the Rockies, the Dodgers (73-56) once again fell flat in front of a sold-out Petco Park crowd. They managed just three hits, and only one before a failed rally in the top of the ninth inning. They got seven productive innings out of Blake Snell, yet couldn’t get him off the hook for a standings-swinging loss.

“It’s hard for us, not giving him the support he deserved,” outfielder Teoscar Hernández said. “But it’s baseball. He threw the ball really good today. We didn’t get the job done.”

Rookie infielder Alex Freeland hit his first career home run in the third inning, opening the scoring on a hanging sweeper from Yu Darvish. But after that, the veteran Japanese right-hander went on the attack, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced in a dominant six-inning, one-walk, five-strikeout start.

“It’s just one of those days you just tip your cap,” Hernández said of Darvish, who kept the Dodgers guessing with his unpredictable seven-pitch repertoire. “You don’t know where to look. You don’t know what pitches to look for. He was using all the pitches today. Hitting the spot, corners really good with all of it.”

Snell, meanwhile, started strong in his first outing at Petco Park since leaving the Padres at the end of 2023. Through three innings, he had silenced his former club beneath a barrage of curveballs, changeups and sliders, showing more progress in his fourth start back from a three-month shoulder injury.

"I thought Blake was fantastic tonight,” Roberts said of Snell, who left the ballpark immediately after the game for the birth of his second child. “Just a really stellar performance.”

A turning point, however, arose at the end of the third.

With Ramón Laureano on second with two outs, Snell thought he had struck out Fernando Tatis Jr. on a curveball in the dirt. Tatis and Laureano evidently thought the same, with Tatis briefly starting toward the dugout and Laureano walking casually off second. But at first base, umpire Chris Guccione ruled that Tatis checked his swing. The play was still live. And catcher Will Smith alertly threw to third, where Laureano was hung out to dry. 

That might have ended the inning. But it also meant Tatis was back at the plate to begin the fourth. This time, the Padres star managed to work a walk from what started as an 0-2 count. And from there, the home side built a rally. 

Luis Arráez executed a sacrifice bunt (one of three the Padres executed in an apparent pre-determined game plan). Manny Machado followed with an RBI single. Ryan O’Hearn moved him to third with another base hit. Xander Bogaerts then flipped the score with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.

“We have a lot of different styles. ... We can beat the other team in a lot of different ways,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Tonight, it was more of an old-fashioned recipe.” 

Snell was excellent the rest of the way, completing seven innings for the first time in his Dodgers career with six hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Alas, it didn’t matter.

Because even after Darvish left the game, the Dodgers’ offense couldn’t claw back.

Their best opportunity came in the eighth, when hard-throwing Padres deadline acquisition Mason Miller walked Michael Conforto and Freeland to create a jam. With one out, however, Dalton Rushing came to the plate as a pinch-hitter, rolled a ground ball on a 101-mph fastball to the right side, and couldn’t get to first in time to beat out a double play (he was initially called safe, but a Padres challenge overturned the call).

The inning ended with Shohei Ohtani waiting on deck. And while he came up to lead off the ninth, he watched a towering fly ball die at the warning track.

“We were fighting,” Roberts said. “Tonight was one of those things where good pitching beat good hitting."

The Dodgers nonetheless mounted one last rally, recording their first hits since Freeland’s homer on singles from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman against Padres closer Robert Suarez. But with runners on the corners, Hernández struck out to end the game — leaving the Dodgers once again on the back foot, just days after they had finally seemed to have found solid ground.

“Obviously, we’re fighting for the division, but this one is in the past,” Hernández said. “One day you have it. Next day you don’t. You just gotta grind through it, and keep playing.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

For the second straight start, Nolan McLean was tasked with helping the Mets get back in the win column after a losing streak. 

In his first major league start, the rookie gave New York 5.1 shutout innings to help the Mets snap a three-game losing streak in their win at home, but on the road, against the rival Braves, the 24-year-old was even more impressive. 

He pitched seven innings, allowing just two runs and striking out seven in the Mets' 12-7 win on Friday night, snapping their two-game skid.

"On a night where the sweeper and the curveball, he was having a hard time landing it for strikes, to get ahead and put hitters away, he still found a way to give us seven," manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game. "Kept going back to the fastball, the sinker, he used the changeup, he didn’t shy away, he competed in the strike zone. Reached 97 when he needed to, he moved the ball around and kept trying to throw the breaking balls."

"Felt good. Early in the game, I was getting behind in counts, didn’t love that," McLean said of his outing. "Hit a batter on my first pitch, went smooth after that, found a second wind there in the fifth inning. Felt good."

As Mendoza said, McLean's secondary pitches were a bit all over the place, but the right-hander had the conviction to throw them when necessary to get them back in his repertoire, like any veteran would do.

"It’s all about being able to adjust, try to find a feel that gets it back in the zone," McLean said of trying to find the feel on his pitches on the fly. "And being able to rely on other pitches and trust your catcher to call games to set up other pitches to get outs as well." 

"That right there shows a lot about who he is," Mendoza said. "We saw a lot that first outing, but even today, against that lineup, that was pretty impressive."

McLean, who didn't allow a run in his first start, gave up his first in the third inning and then a solo shot to Ronald Acuña Jr. to lead off the fifth. But that's all the Braves would get off the talented youngster, as he put it, found his second wind and would retire 11 straight batters at one point. The right-hander credited the offense behind him for helping him get back into a rhythm after the Acuña homer.

"Our offense did such a good job to give me so much breathing room that I was able to pound the strike zone, force them to put it in play," he said of the Mets' 21-hit, 12-run outburst. "Get ahead in some counts and punch guys out when I had a chance."

That run support allowed McLean to be pitch efficient and go seven innings. He walked four batters in his first start and didn't walk any on Friday and McLean was pleased overall with his execution, but admits there are still some things he wants to clean up. The Mets are definitely pleased with the results, especially the length McLean gave them.

He became the first Mets starter other than David Peterson to pitch six or more innings since June 7 (62 games). McLean was not aware of that mark but says he tries to treat every start the same.

"I’m just going out there trying to win," he said. "Every batter I face, I’m trying to get them out. Happen to go seven tonight, obviously last week was five and some change and I wanted to be better."

That also includes playing not only in a hostile environment but in his home territory. McLean is a North Carolina native and would go to Braves games and rooted for Atlanta as a kid. But that didn't bother McLean, who had family and friends in the stands on Friday night, and that's what has impressed Mendoza and the Mets so much. McLean's poise and demeanor on the mound. 

"At this point, I don’t know what else to say about him," Mendoza said. "For him to go out there and compete and be himself is not easy to do. Goes to show you that this kid is special." 

 

Mets RHPRyan Helsley allowed three runs on as many hits while pitching the ninth inning of Friday's 12-7 win at the Atlanta Braves, continuing his struggles since the St. Louis Cardinals traded him to New York.

After Helsley's latest appearance, in which he threw 16 strikes on 24 pitches with no strikeouts and one walk, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about his concern level.

"I mean, I'm not going to say that I'm concerned," Mendoza said. "But we've got to help him, because he's not getting swings and misses. He's not getting chases. So, we've got to go back and see how can we continue to help him -- because he's elite, he's elite. Another tough inning there where the hitters are just basically taking the breaking balls, they're right on the fastball, so our job is to help him."

Helsley has allowed 12 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits (one homer) while striking out nine and walking five in 7.1 IP over nine games this month.

The Mets acquired the 31-year-old in a July 30 trade that sent infield prospect Jesus Baez and two pitching prospects, Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt, to the Cardinals.

In 36 games with St. Louis this season, Helsley had 21 saves (26 opportunities). He allowed 12 runs on 36 hits in 36 innings while striking out 41 and walking 14.

Carlos Mendoza was asked about the concern level on Ryan Helsley:

"I'm not going to say I'm concerned, but we've got to help him" pic.twitter.com/xM5XPIFh29

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

The Mets' offense exploded for 12 runs as New York ended their two-game losing streak with a 12-7 win over the Braves in Atlanta on Friday night.

On a night where the Braves celebrated the 30th anniversary of their 1995 World Series team, having Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz throw out the first pitch, it was Nolan McLean who was the best pitcher in the building as he pitched seven strong innings to pick up his second career win.

Here are the takeaways...

-McLean's first road start began with a stumble on the mound on his first pitch that resulted in a hit-by-pitch. But the young right-hander bounced back, striking out Matt Olson, getting Ronald Acuña Jr. to ground into a forceout and striking out Michael Harris II on a check swing to end the frame.

McLean continued to stay poised even after allowing a leadoff double in the third inning. Jurickson Profar would drive in that run with a one-out single -- the first run allowed in McLean's big league career -- but a strike 'em-out-throw 'em-out double play ended the inning. 

After a lengthy three-run fourth, Acuña greeted McLean with a leadoff homer. After that, McLean retired nine straight Braves to get through the sixth inning, becoming the first Mets starter to go that far, other than David Peterson, since Clay Holmes on June 7 (62 games). That streak would reach 11 before a two-out single in the seventh. 

McLean tossed 94 pitches (58 strikes) across seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out seven batters. After he walked four batters in his first start, McLean did not give up a walk in this one. His 15 strikeouts in his first two starts are second in Mets history, behind Matt Harvey's 18 in 2012.

-With Jeff McNeil, Luis Torrens and Brandon Nimmoout of the lineup due to injuries, their replacements got the Mets on the board early. Back-to-back one-out singles from Brett Baty and Tyrone Taylor in the second got the Mets a scoring chance and catcher Hayden Senger came through with a two-out single to score Baty and give the Mets an early 1-0 lead. It's only Senger's second career RBI.

After Francisco Lindor walked to load the bases, Juan Soto worked a six-pitch walk to put the Mets up 2-0. Starling Marte followed by flying out to end the threat. 

The Mets' offense would capitalize on an RBI chance in the third inning, though, as Cedric Mullins lined a two-run triple to put the Mets up 4-0. In the fourth, back-to-back singles to lead off by Lindor and Soto resulted in a sac fly by Marte to put the Mets up 5-1, and knock starter Joey Wentz out of the game after just 3.1 innings. Mark Vientos continued to scorch the ball with a two-out double that drove in Soto from first base. An infield single from Baty and a double by Tyrone increased their lead to 7-1.

-Soto would pour it on in the seventh with a two-run shot that hit off the left field foul pole to give the Mets a 9-2 lead. Soto finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and two walks. He picked up his 100th walk of the season and is now just 25 behind John Olerud (1999) for most in a single season in Mets history.

Senger would hit a two-run single in the eighth to put a bow on his night. The third-string catcher had a career day at the plate, finishing 2-for-5 with three RBI.

-The Mets' offense had 21 hits and although every starter had at least one hit, most of the damage came from the bottom of the order. The 6-9 hitters went a combined 12-for-20 with six RBI. Baty had four hits while Taylor and Mullins had three hits each.

Reed Garrett was tasked with mop-up duty and struggled in his one inning of work. Garrett allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one batter. Ryan Helsley, in a move likely to give the reliever some confidence after some recent struggles, was given the ninth inning. The right-hander walked the leadoff batter and gave up a one-out double. Vidal Brujan, off the bench, hit a two-out single to drive in a run. That was followed by a two-run double from Profar. Helsley would get the final out, eventually, but allowed three runs in the final frame.

Game MVP: Nolan McLean

Yes, the offense went bananas but McLean's outing didn't allow this porous bullpen more innings to allow runs.

Highlights

Nolan McLean strikes out a pair in the first

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/LWeKbDD53w

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2025

Hayden Senger opens the scoring with an RBI single!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/xoHAKaBxUL

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2025

Juan Soto draws a bases-loaded walk and it's 2-0 Mets!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/C9rEagrrT9

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 22, 2025

A 2-run triple for Cedric Mullins!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/PhOp7inUoV

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

Nolan McLean and Hayden Senger team up for the strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/JDnCyipwSn

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

Mark Vientos drives an RBI double to score Juan Soto to make it 6-1 Mets!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/6I0SPgEe3i

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

Tyrone Taylor hits an RBI double while slipping!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/Q2uTnGj8Bp

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

Nolan McLean strikes out Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr. to finish off the 6th and he's fired up!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/wABhokZrxC

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

Juan Soto drives his 32nd homer of the season off the left field foul pole!

(via @AppleTV) pic.twitter.com/3xqrixPun1

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2025

What's next

The Mets and Braves play the middle game of their three-game set when the first pitch is thrown at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday night. 

Clay Holmes (10-6, 3.64 ERA) takes the mound against recently-acquired Cal Quantirll (4-10, 5.50 ERA).

Max Fried returned to form, but the Yankees gave him no run support in Friday's 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Takeaways

1. Fried (13-5, 3.14 ERA) had his best start in almost a month and his best outing since June 25. After three straight games of eight hits in five innings, Fried fired six scoreless frames while scattering four knocks and striking out seven. He walked three and threw 63 strikes on 99 pitches but dug deep in a rebound no-decision that had the Yankees (69-59) primed for a bounce-back win over the Red Sox (70-59).
2. Unfortunately for Fried, Brayan Bello was just as good -- if not better. Boston's starter yielded three hits while striking out five and walking one in seven shutout innings before passing the ball to reliever Garrett Whitlock and closer Aroldis Chapman for the perfect final two frames.
3. With Fried on the verge of 100 pitches,Aaron Boone's Mark Leiter Jr. decision backfired. Promptly, after Ceddanne Rafaela's leadoff flyout, Leiter allowed consecutive doubles to Nathaniel Lowe and Connor Wong. Leiter (5-7, 4.14 ERA) subsequently retired Romy Gonzalez and Alex Bregman, but not before the one-run damage was done.
4. Ultimately, though, the Yankees did not hit in their third shutout loss of August. Singles by Ben Rice (first inning), Trent Grisham (third inning) and Austin Wells (sixth inning) were all that they got. Wells also ran the Yankees right out of the sixth inning when he jumped too far off the base and got doubled up on Grisham, who lined out to shortstop. This is who the Yankees are, and the Red Sox lapped them for the first wild card as a result.

Who's the MVP?

Bello, who went one inning more than Fried in this pitcher's duel.

What's next

Saturday's 1:05 p.m. game at Yankee Stadium. New York RHP Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA) and Boston LHP Garrett Crochet (13-5, 2.43 ERA) are set to start as the Yankees look to salvage the four-game series with at least a split.

Mets starter Tylor Megill made his latest rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday night and was dominant.

After walking the first batter he faced, the big right-hander mowed down Indianapolis batters for three no-hit innings. Nick Yorke broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff single in the fourth inning, but that would be the last baserunner against Megill, who kept Indianapolis batters off balance. 

Megill tossed 65 pitches (39 strikes) across five shutout innings, allowing the one hit, one walk and striking out four batters.

Friday was Megill's third rehab start as he tries to make his way back from an elbow sprain. It's also his third shutout appearance after he tossed 1.2 innings in his first start and 3.1 shutout innings in his second start. While Megill didn't have the strikeout stuff like he did in his second start, where he struck out nine batters, he went longer in the game, which is something the Mets are certainly happy to see.

Also of note from Friday's game was first base prospect Ryan Clifford. The young slugger clubbed his first Triple-A homer (373 feet), taking right-hander Wilkin Ramos deep over the left field wall.

Clifford would single in a run in his second at-bat but he wasn't done with the longball. In the eighth, Clifford took RHP Cam Sanders deep for a 397-foot blast. He went 3-for-4 with three RBI.

 

Tylor Megill struck out four across five scoreless innings in a rehab start for Syracuse tonight

Final line: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K (65 pitches) pic.twitter.com/8pPuk4e6fp

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 23, 2025

Duran's first blown save with Phillies leads to series-opening loss to Nationals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Phillies manager Rob Thomson talked earlier this season about seeing things he’d never seen before in his many years in MLB. He can add a couple more things to the list as the Phillies fell to the Washington Nationals, 5-4, in the series-opener at Citizens Bank Park.

In a game that saw three Taijuan Walker pickoff attempts overturned – two to outs, one to safe – and closer Jhoan Duran blow his first save opportunity for the Phillies in seven tries, the Phillies got excellent pitching.

That is if you take away the first and last innings.

Early on, it didn’t appear to be the Phillies’ night and certainly not Walker’s, as the Nationals tagged him for three runs in a first inning that included two walks, a pickoff at first, a three-run home run and an astounding 38 pitches. In Duran’s ninth inning, he gave up a double to Dylan Crews and a game-tying single to Dayle Lile, who went to second on the throw home by Brandon Marsh, which hit Crews, not enabling catcher J.T. Realmuto to secure the ball. Lile then stole third and scored easily when Realmuto’s throw sailed into left.

The Phillies have been playing so well lately that it seems like it had to take some crazy events for them to lose for the first time in five games.

After a rough first inning, Walker pitched four more and faced the minimum 12 batters. It was an adjustment he made that allowed him to overcome the lengthy first, but the three-run damage had already been done.

“Just the two walks,” Walker said of his first inning troubles. “I feel like when I get in trouble a lot is when I start walking guys. It seemed like they were a little more patient in that first inning. The splitters that they were taking and just out of the zone a little too much. After the first inning I started getting in the zone more and it seemed like they were being more aggressive and putting the ball in play more.”

Walker says his cutter just wasn’t there to begin the night but it came back to him with a little work.

“It was a little off in the bullpen,” he said. “I thought the first inning it would be better but it was just off a little bit, made a little adjustment after the first and it started picking up. Just a wrist adjustment, a stiffer wrist.

“It was really just not commanding the zone in that first inning and just not throwing enough strikes. I really didn’t know how many I threw. I didn’t know that. It didn’t feel like 38. I know it was a longer inning but I didn’t feel like 38. But I felt good, the whole game after that started to get quicker outs and got into a good little groove.”

The whole team did. While Tanner Banks, Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm contributed to keeping the Nationals off the board after the first, the torrid offense came to life for the Phillies.

Nick Castellanos began the second with a single, hustled to third on a Bryson Stott single and scored on a groundout by Trea Turner to cut the lead 3-1. In the sixth, Castellanos doubled for his third hit of the night and scored two batters later when Stott homered to tie the game 3-3.

In the seventh, after Nationals lefty reliever Shinnosuke Ogasawara struck out Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, Realmuto launched a low, 3-2 changeup, into the left field seats for a 4-3 lead. And when Strahm put down the Nats in the eighth, the general feeling was game over as Duran warmed in the bullpen.

But not on this night as Duran gave up a couple hits and Realmuto aired one into left to help Washington get the winning run.

“That’s the game,” Duran said. “Sometimes that happens. We need to prepare for everything.” Asked if he can easily shake off his first blemish as a Phillie, Duran said, “Right now. I’m good. Sometimes we do good, sometimes we do bad. So, that’s the game. Tomorrow I’ll be ready for tomorrow, so it’s ok.”

Realmuto, after becoming the offensive hero with a late-inning home run, reflected more on the play at the third than his offense after the game.

“I probably shouldn’t have thrown the ball, in hindsight,” he said. “It was a curve ball away and I really didn’t get to set my feet and get around the (batter) so I did have to throw it over his head. In that situation, it’s tough to do, but I probably should have just eaten it, let him have third base and give Duran a chance to strike the next two guys out, which he ended up doing. It’s tough to do in the moment but I probably should have just eaten that one.”

Still, there were positives to the game that manager Rob Thomson was quick to point out afterwards.

“(Casty) swung the bat well, Stott’s hot,” he said. “J.T. with a big home run in the seventh to get us where we wanted to be. We fought back and I’m happy with that. Castellanos also going first to third created a run for us, our first run and Trea busting it down the line to avoid the double play and get us on the board.”

As for his thoughts on his new closer?

“Super confident. Mariano (Rivera) had 80 (blown saves), so it’s going happen every once in a while. He struck out the side. There’s going to be hits in there sometimes.”

As for seeing three overturned pickoffs, add that to the list of an inside-the-park three-run homer that beat the Phillies earlier this year in San Francisco and a walk off win on a catcher’s interference against Boston.

“I don’t think so,” said Thomson of seeing the pickoff situation. “I’m not sure but I don’t think so.”