Category: Baseball

Bohm homers in return, Nola struggles, Phillies salvage split vs. Nationals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — The Phillies had mixed results from their returnees Sunday. Alec Bohm homered and Aaron Nola couldn’t last three innings.

Ultimately, Nola’s struggles didn’t stop the Phillies from earning an offense-heavy win at Nationals Park. They secured a four-game series split in D.C. with an 11-9 victory. 

The Phils completed a 6-4 road trip and improved to 71-53. 

Nola started his first MLB game since mid-May. He’d first been sidelined by an ankle injury, then a right rib stress fracture.

Over 2 and 1/3 innings, Nola allowed seven hits and six runs, raising his season ERA to 6.92 in 10 starts. He struck out four and walked one.

Bohm was back after nearly a month out with his own rib injury. The Phils’ third baseman had a 2-for-4 outing highlighted by a second-inning long ball.

Nats lefty Mitchell Parker started the day by throwing six consecutive balls and the Phillies put runners on the corners for Bohm. It looked like he’d bounced into a first-pitch double-play, but third baseman Brady House botched his grounder, Kyle Schwarber scored and Bryce Harper advanced to third base.

The Phils kept the pressure on Parker, who issued an eight-pitch walk to Bryson Stott in the second inning. Schwarber poked a two-out RBI hit to right field and Harper served a two-strike slider into center, extending the Phils’ lead to 3-0.

One Bohm swing doubled that advantage. He cracked a 3-1 heater into the Phillies’ bullpen for his ninth home run of the season. Parker departed. 

“Especially not being here for a while, it feels really good to contribute and help the team win a game,” Bohm said. “Just happy to be back, happy to be healthy.”

Nola obviously did not mind the immediate lead.

He navigated nicely around Luis Garcia Jr’s leadoff single in the first. The 32-year-old righty struck out Paul DeJong with a good curveball and got Daylen Lile to pop up with a well-located up-and-in cutter. 

Nola’s third inning was a rapid downward spiral. Robert Hassell III, Garcia and CJ Abrams all had one-out singles. DeJong walked and Lile lined a two-RBI hit. 

The Nationals took aggressive cuts at just about anything Nola threw over the plate. They also found plenty of gaps. Dylan Crews hit a grounder down the third-base line, Bohm couldn’t make a diving backhand pick, and two more Nats sprinted home. After Jose Tena’s double to right-center tied the game at 6-all, Nola’s day was done.

“Body felt good,” Nola said. “Rib and ankle felt good, arm felt really good. Just had trouble stopping it today, getting a swing and miss or getting them to hit a ball to one of our guys. And they capitalized on some pitches, a couple of them that I yanked and a few of them I didn’t get to the spot I wanted.” 

The game became a battle of the bullpens. For the Phillies, Tanner Banks successfully finished off the third. 

The runs continued to flow in the fourth inning. Bohm flared a single to center and Nick Castellanos drove a ground-rule double to left, his first extra-base hit in over two weeks. Weston Wilson then delivered a go-ahead, two-RBI knock. 

Castellanos added an emphatic insurance run in the sixth inning, smoking an 0-2 Shinnosuke Ogasawara fastball 428 feet. The Phils tacked on two more against a wild Konnor Pilkington in the seventh.

The Phils’ ‘pen was largely excellent after Nola’s early exit. Banks, Joe Ross and Matt Strahm carried the Phillies through the seventh inning.

Max Lazar pitched a clean eighth inning, but he found trouble in the ninth. DeJong bashed a three-run homer and Jhoan Duran warmed up. Lile doubled to left-center and Phillies manager Rob Thomson brought in his closer.

Duran won a nine-pitch encounter vs. Crews, inducing a groundout to shortstop. He slammed the door shut by striking out pinch-hitter James Wood on a 101.6 mph fastball.

“Banks and Joe Ross did a great job,” Thomson said. “Strahm did a great job holding the game down. … That was huge for us, it really was. I’m really proud of this group.

“On this 10-day road trip we go 6-4, but there were a lot of things that could’ve gone sideways on us with travel, with rain delays and things like that. They held up and they answered, so it was good to see.”

Homestand awaits 

The Phillies will open a six-game homestand Monday night. They’ll host the Mariners for three games and then see the Nats again next weekend.

Jose Alvarado is eligible to return Tuesday from his 80-game suspension. He’s thrown five scoreless innings in his ramp-up work with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. 

Bohm homers in return, Nola struggles, Phillies salvage split vs. Nationals originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — The Phillies had mixed results from their returnees Sunday. Alec Bohm homered and Aaron Nola couldn’t last three innings.

Ultimately, Nola’s struggles didn’t stop the Phillies from earning an offense-heavy win at Nationals Park. They secured a four-game series split in D.C. with an 11-9 victory. 

The Phils completed a 6-4 road trip and improved to 71-53. 

Nola started his first MLB game since mid-May. He’d first been sidelined by an ankle injury, then a right rib stress fracture.

Over 2 and 1/3 innings, Nola allowed seven hits and six runs, raising his season ERA to 6.92 in 10 starts. He struck out four and walked one.

Bohm was back after nearly a month out with his own rib injury. The Phils’ third baseman had a 2-for-4 outing highlighted by a second-inning long ball.

Nats lefty Mitchell Parker started the day by throwing six consecutive balls and the Phillies put runners on the corners for Bohm. It looked like he’d bounced into a first-pitch double-play, but third baseman Brady House botched his grounder, Kyle Schwarber scored and Bryce Harper advanced to third base.

The Phils kept the pressure on Parker, who issued an eight-pitch walk to Bryson Stott in the second inning. Schwarber poked a two-out RBI hit to right field and Harper served a two-strike slider into center, extending the Phils’ lead to 3-0.

One Bohm swing doubled that advantage. He cracked a 3-1 heater into the Phillies’ bullpen for his ninth home run of the season. Parker departed. 

Nola obviously did not mind the immediate lead.

He navigated nicely around Luis Garcia Jr’s leadoff single in the first. The 32-year-old righty struck out Paul DeJong with a good curveball and got Daylen Lile to pop up with a well-located up-and-in cutter. 

Nola’s third inning was a rapid downward spiral. Robert Hassell III, Garcia and CJ Abrams all had one-out singles. DeJong walked and Lile lined a two-RBI hit. 

The Nationals took aggressive cuts at just about anything Nola threw over the plate. They also found plenty of gaps. Dylan Crews hit a grounder down the third-base line, Bohm couldn’t make a diving backhand pick, and two more Nats sprinted home. After Jose Tena’s double to right-center tied the game at 6-all, Nola’s day was done.

The game became a battle of the bullpens. For the Phillies, Tanner Banks successfully finished off the third. 

The runs continued to flow in the fourth inning. Bohm flared a single to center and Nick Castellanos drove a ground-rule double to left, his first extra-base hit in over two weeks. Weston Wilson then delivered a go-ahead, two-RBI knock. 

Castellanos added an emphatic insurance run in the sixth inning, smoking an 0-2 Shinnosuke Ogasawara fastball 428 feet. The Phils tacked on two more against a wild Konnor Pilkington in the seventh.

The Phils’ ‘pen was largely excellent after Nola’s early exit. Banks, Joe Ross and Matt Strahm carried the Phillies through the seventh inning.

Max Lazar pitched a clean eighth inning, but he found trouble in the ninth. DeJong bashed a three-run homer and Jhoan Duran warmed up. Lile doubled to left-center and Phillies manager Rob Thomson brought in his closer.

Duran won a nine-pitch encounter vs. Crews, inducing a groundout to shortstop. He slammed the door shut by striking out pinch-hitter James Wood on a 101.6 mph fastball.

Homestand awaits 

The Phillies will open a six-game homestand Monday night. They’ll host the Mariners for three games and then see the Nats again next weekend.

Jose Alvarado is eligible to return Tuesday from his 80-game suspension. He’s thrown four scoreless innings in his ramp-up work with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. 

The Mets (65-58) go for a series win over the Seattle Mariners (68-56) in the MLB Little League Classic at Journey Bank Ballpark in Williamsport, Penn. at 7:10 p.m. on ESPN

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

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Mets Notes

• Francisco Lindor is heating up, slashing .379/.455/.759 with three homers and six RBI over his last seven games
• It's been a bit of a slog for Clay Holmes, who has pitched to a 5.79 ERA over his last seven starts
• Juan Soto is coming out of a funk, slashing .308/.424/.654 with three homers and six RBI over his last seven games

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Red Sox rookie Marcelo Mayer will miss rest of 2025 season due to wrist surgery originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Marcelo Mayer’s rookie season is officially over.

The 22-year-old infielder will miss the rest of the 2025 campaign due to a wrist injury that has held him out since July 23.

Mayer and Boston manager Alex Cora spoke Sunday about the diagnosis, which came after he got an injection to try to come back. Ultimately, the right wrist has a tear that hadn’t improved with the injection and season-ending surgery was the only option.

“As an athlete and somebody that loves this game so much, all I want to do is play and be out there every single day, especially when you’re in the big leagues and the playoffs are so important,” Mayer said. “The way that my wrist is right now, there’s just no way to come back and play. It made the decision pretty easy to have the surgery.”

Mayer was called up to the big leagues in late May, four years after being drafted fourth overall in 2021.

Despite playing shortstop in the minors, the Red Sox used Mayer mostly at third base while Alex Bregman was injured. When the All-Star returned, Mayer moved over to second base with Trevor Story remaining at shortstop. In 44 games as a rookie, Mayer hit .228 with four home runs, 10 RBIs and eight doubles.

If everything stays on track with his recovery, the Red Sox expect Mayer to be healthy in time for spring training.

“It’s a three-month recovery, Cora explained. “He should be fine if everything goes well for spring training. He’s a big part of the future of this organization. Just get him right, get him ready and see what happens in the future.”

Injuries have been a concern for Mayer at all levels since being drafted. He’s yet to play 100 games in a season since joining the Red Sox system due to various injuries, including wrist and back ailments.

Story, 32, and Bregman, 31, can both opt out of their contracts and become free agents this offseason, which could clear a path for regular playing time in 2026. Second base also remains an option with no long-term starter set in stone.

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

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• Nolan McLean opened eyes with 5.1 scoreless innings in his major league debut, and Francisco Lindor stayed hot at the dish as the Mets beat the Mariners, 3-1
• As good as his stuff was, McLean also started a spectacular 1-4-3 double play in the third inning, adding another moment to a storybook debut
• Luisangel Acuña will be the Mets' 27th man for Sunday's Little League Classic in Williamsport
• John Harper writes that the Mets fed off McLean's energy from the moment he took the mound, and it was his patented poise that stood out the most
• Not that it was much of a question, but Carlos Mendoza strongly implied that McLean will make another start for the Mets
• Meanwhile, Jonah Tong was dominant in his first start for Triple-A Syracuse

Phillies activate Bohm, send down Kemp before road trip finale  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

WASHINGTON — The Phillies made a series of Sunday morning roster moves before the finale of their 10-game road trip.

Ahead of an 11:35 a.m. first pitch at Nationals Park, the club announced the following:

• Aaron Nola has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list 
• Alec Bohm’s been activated from the 10-day IL 
• Otto Kemp was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley
• Cal Stevenson was released 
• Daniel Robert has been reinstated from the 15-day IL and optioned to Triple-A

Nola and Bohm’s returns were expected. Nola’s start Sunday against the Nationals is his first since May 14. Bohm’s in the Phils’ lineup and hitting cleanup in his first MLB game since July 18. Both Nola and Bohm were sidelined by rib injuries and recently wrapped up rehab assignments with Lehigh Valley.

“I know he got off to a slow start this year, but he constantly got better as the season went on and his defense has been really, really good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Bohm. “He just lengthens our lineup out a bit more. We don’t have J.T. (Realmuto) in there today, but him and J.T. behind (Bryce Harper), that’s pretty good protection.”

Kemp rose to the major leagues for the first time in June after a brilliant start to the year in Triple-A. The 25-year-old has gone 2 for his last 20, dropping his season average to .228. Kemp has a 1.010 OPS this season for Lehigh Valley and a .657 OPS for the Phillies. 

“He just needs at-bats,” Thomson said. “That’s all. As I said to him, he’s a big part of what we’re doing this year and in the future. I loved his at-bats early, and then he was getting kind of sporadic at-bats and he was scuffling a little bit. So he needs to get everyday at-bats. 

“Play third, play second, play left, and get ready. No guarantees, but by sending him down today, he’s eligible to come up on (Sept.) 1st.” 

The latest on Wheeler 

Thomson didn’t have much new information on Zack Wheeler, who’s been diagnosed with a right upper extremity blood clot and is out indefinitely.

He said the 35-year-old is “heading back to Philly today and testing will start tomorrow.”

Thomson left open the possibility that the Phillies could use a six-man rotation down the line. He named top prospect Andrew Painter as one call-up option, as well as “someone else.”

“Whoever’s pitching good,” he said with a smile. 

Justin Verlander keeps climbing MLB strikeout list, but Giants can't capitalize originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander was a bit confused when some Giants fans started to rise and cheer in the fifth inning. The home plate umpire had stepped back so they could show some love, but when Verlander looked up at the scoreboard he didn’t see anything. 

Verlander did, however, know that he was coming up on Walter Johnson on the all-time strikeout list. That was the message that flashed on the scoreboard for a moment before he turned around, although it was a bit misleading. 

MLB.com, Baseball-Reference and the Elias Sports Bureau all have different career strikeout numbers for Johnson, who started his career more than 100 years ago. The most official of the three is Elias, which has Johnson at 3,515, six more than Baseball-Reference, meaning Verlander is still four shy of tying the Hall of Famer. 

In a quiet clubhouse after a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, Verlander at least found some humor in that. He scrunched his face when told of the discrepancy and asked for further details about how it was possible.

“Sheesh,” he said, smiling. 

That word is as good as any to describe everything that happened Saturday, both good and bad. On a positive note, Verlander became just the fifth 42-year-old to throw at least seven innings, allow just two hits and strike out at least eight. It was his best start of the 2025 MLB season, a throwback that had him talking about how his stuff feels as good as it did three years ago, when he won a Cy Young Award. 

But there were a lot of other reasons to exclaim “sheesh.” Here’s a short list …

— The bullpen blew a Verlander lead for the sixth time this season, tying him for the MLB lead. 

— The loss was the 15th in 16 home games, something the Giants had not done since 1901.

— They have lost all three series on this homestand and have dropped six straight home series for the first time since 2008.

— If they don’t win Sunday, they’ll lose eight games in a row at home for the first time since … well, July. 

— A loss Sunday would give them a 1-8 homestand for the first time since 1993.

There’s only one word for it: Sheesh.

Verlander more than did his part, and when Christian Koss found a hole, he took a 1-0 lead through seven. For years, that would lead to a shutout for Verlander, but he was at 88 pitches and had gone seven full innings for the first time all season. 

Giants manager Bob Melvin turned to a bullpen that lost Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval at the deadline and is missing Ryan Walker because of paternity leave. With two outs in the top of the eighth, the Rays rallied for two runs off José Buttó and Matt Gage. 

It was the kind of sequence that shows just how bizarre this slide has been. The Giants only traded Rogers and Doval because of that previous eight-game losing streak at home, but with the New York Mets playing even worse baseball lately, there has been a small opening to get back into the fringes of the wild-card race. But because they traded Rogers and Doval, the bullpen has not been good enough to finish out the close games that could have turned into needed wins. 

“Look, we still had a great chance to win that game,” Melvin said. “We had two out and nobody on in the eighth and we can’t finish it off. It’s pretty frustrating.”

Verlander has tried not to show his frustration, although he admitted Saturday that for as much as he has enjoyed his teammates, this has not been that fun a season overall.

“We have a great group of people. I’ve enjoyed every moment that we’ve experienced in the locker room and off the field,” he said. “On the field has been a struggle. It’s been hard, yeah.”

Verlander is throwing well enough lately that it doesn’t seem out of the question that he would try to pitch a few more years and make a run at 300 wins. At the same time, his early struggles, along with the fact that he’s second-to-last in the majors in run support and has lost multiple wins because of the bullpen, have made 300 seem pretty unrealistic. 

There was a version of this season where Verlander snagged a few wins early and then got rewarded for nights like Saturday. Perhaps he could have picked up seven or eight wins, getting into the 270s and making a run at 300 more possible. Instead, he’s sitting at 1-9, and the Giants are not playing like a team that will give him many more opportunities at victories over the final six weeks. 

Verlander does, however, continue to make history. He got to 3,511 strikeouts for his career, and his next time out, he should catch Johnson on the Elias list. He’s just 24 away from passing Giants Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry and moving into eighth all-time. It’s one small thing for fans to root for in a season that quickly has spiraled out of control.

“I grew up a fan of the game and I think there’s just these names that come up and you’re like, ‘OK, you just passed so-and-so, and it’s like, I did what? Who? That’s a freaking legend,'” Verlander said. “You just don’t think about yourself that way. You just kind of [put your] head down, work hard, just keep plugging along, but I feel like moments like that — you hear Walter Johnson, even though I’m not there yet technically, I guess I’m in limbo — everybody knows that name. 

“Every pitcher that has ever picked up a baseball and played for a significant period of time knows who Walter Johnson is. It’s pretty cool.”

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Max Fried had a two-run lead before he threw his first pitch on Saturday in St. Louis. But despite that boost, the Yankees' left-hander couldn't find the answers to his recent struggles as he allowed a season-high seven runs.

"I haven't been sharp, I haven't had the good results," Fried said after allowing four runs or more for the fourth time in five starts since the All-Star break. "When you gotta go out there and have good outings, I haven't been able to do that.

"I'm working hard in between to make the best adjustments that I can, and they haven't really been showing... I know that going forward, I gotta be way better."

When asked for his level of concern, the first-year Yank said he is "not in any panic mode," but there is "definitely motivation to make sure I don't keep doing this."

Three batters into the game, Fried allowed his first run (partially thanks to Jasson Dominguez's misplaying a single into a triple) before he turned the lead into a deficit in the second when he followed a walk with back-to-back singles and a three-run homer. 

"It's been going the same way for me for a little bit now, where I've given up a little bit of a crooked number in an inning," Fried said of the four-run second inning.

But he got the next two batters on strikes, the lefty found his groove for the first time, retiring 11 of the next 12 batters with five strikeouts, allowing only an infield single on a slow chopper to second.

"I think he was just commanding the strike zone at a really high level," manager Aaron Boone said of Fried's good run. "I think he was starting to have a presence on a little bit on the arm side – with the changeup over there, sinker on that side of the plate, and then that set up his cutter even better or his curveball. 'Cause he's got so many ways to beat ya.

"He's gotta make sure he uses that and uses both sides of the plate. He just got into a good rhythm from a command standpoint, too."

His night came to an end seven pitches into the bottom half of the sixth when Jordan Walker smoked a double off the wall in right center and Nolan Gorman hooked a two-run home run just around the right-field foul pole.

"It was good for a little bit," Fried said of finding his groove. "Just made two bad pitches again in the sixth."

That ended his night after 5.0 innings, surrendering seven runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

Fortunately for the southpaw, Ben Rice drove in seven of the Yanks' 12 runs as New York outlasted the Cardinals in the Saturday night slugfest, 12-8.

"I can't give the guys enough credit," the starter said. "They came out today and played a really great game and picked me up big-time, especially with the performance that I had. Can't say enough about them. Wish I had been a little bit better and less runs up there, but at the end of the day, we got a win. That's the most important thing."

But going back to his final start before the break, in which Fried developed a blister on his left index finger, he has now pitched to a 7.20 ERA over his last six starts, allowing 29 runs (24 earned) on 40 hits and 13 walks with 30 strikeouts in 30 innings (1.767 WHIP). And since the end of June, his ERA has jumped from 1.92 to 3.26.

When asked about the struggles, the manager pointed to "the next-level strike throwing."

"For several starts in there, it was not consistently getting ahead at all," Boone said. "A lot of 1-0, start from there. Then the Astros got him where he was just not putting guys away. I think it's just that next level of command, making sure he's using all his stuff, and using both sides of the plate.

"But this is the gauntlet that is the season. He'll get through it. He's working his tail off, the stuff's there, we just gotta find that next level of execution."

Fried said that throughout his career, he's been able to find ways to be able to get ground balls and weak contact even when down in the count.

"It's frustrating in this stretch that I haven't been able to do that, and it's putting us in holes," he said. "I definitely have to change something and change up quick." 

The San Diego Padres’ performance on Saturday could probably be put in a tutorial video.

Suggested title: How NOT to play a baseball game.

On a night the surging Padres were trying to bounce back from the Dodgers’ opening win in this weekend’s pivotal three-game series, one that tied the two Southern California rivals atop the National League West standings, the club instead put on an exhibition of poor, sloppy and outright comical execution.

While the once-slumping Dodgers have raised their level of play the last two nights, the Padres have made mistakes even Little League coaches would be reprimanding.

Read more:Plaschke: The 'legend' Clayton Kershaw is legendary again for Dodgers

Except in their case, even the coaching appeared to be part of the problem.

In the Dodgers’ 6-0 win — a victory that restored their solo lead in the division, and clinched their head-to-head season series against the Padres in case of a tiebreaker at the end of the year — San Diego did all it could to give the game away from the start.

In the top of the first, three of the Padres’ first four batters recorded a hit against Blake Snell, the ex-Padre left-hander making his first start against the team since leaving in free agency at the end of 2023. But twice, Dodgers catcher Will Smith caught a runner trying to steal second, gunning down Fernando Tatis Jr. after his leadoff single before getting Manny Machado on the back end of an attempted double-steal to retire the side.

“We had a plan,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “And they made some plays.”

Lo and behold, the plan backfired again in the second, with Smith throwing out yet another runner, Xander Bogaerts, with yet another strike to second. 

“Through two innings,” Snell joked, “he had three outs and I had three outs.”

It was the Dodgers’ first game with three caught stealings since 2021, and it made Smith the first Dodgers catcher with three individually since Russell Martin in 2010.

“Obviously we feel that Will is the best catcher in baseball in totality,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Tonight, he showed it with his arm.” 

And, just as importantly, Roberts quickly added: “Essentially, they played 24 outs.”

Somehow, the Padres’ pitching and defense found a way to be even worse.

Starting pitcher Dylan Cease began his outing with three-straight walks in the bottom of the first, spraying the ball around the plate while visibly frustrated.

After a one-out sacrifice fly from Teoscar Hernández, Cease reloaded the bases with another free pass to Andy Pages, and followed that with a hanging curveball to Michael Conforto in a 3-and-0 count that had run full. Conforto was ready for it, ripping a two-run single into right. Seven batters in, the Dodgers had a 3-0 lead.

“Definitely you don't want to help him out in that situation,” Conforto said. “But he fell behind 3-0, and came back into the zone, and showed that he was going to throw strikes. He wasn't going to put me on. So, being ready to hit 3-1, and then being ready to hit 3-2, was obviously the plan.”

Walks continued to abound in the second, with Cease putting Shohei Ohtani and Smith aboard to create more traffic. This time, the right-hander had appeared to work his way out of it, after Freddie Freeman hit a deep fly ball that died at the warning track in right-center. But on this night, even routine outs were no sure thing.

Sensing Tatis converging from right field, center fielder Jackson Merrill briefly hesitated while pursuing the drive, before awkwardly reaching for it with an underhanded attempt. Predictably, he couldn’t hold on, the ball hitting the heel of his mitt before falling to the ground for a two-run error.

The Dodgers, who went on to get six shutout innings from Snell and a second home run in as many nights from Hernández, would never be threatened again.

“It’s certainly good to be on the other side of things,” Roberts said, after his club had for so long had been the one shooting itself in the foot. “We’ve caught some breaks ... but for us to take advantage of them is huge.”

To recap the first two innings one more time:

The Dodgers (70-53) had just one hit, and saw their starting pitcher retire only one of the first five batters he faced — but drew six walks, were gifted a dropped ball and somehow led 5-0.

The Padres (69-54) had four hits — but apparently forgot how to throw up a stop sign, committed the costliest of imaginable errors defensively, and watched their starting pitcher throw 31 balls to only 27 strikes.

That, kids, is decidedly not how it’s done.

“It just got out of hand a little early,” Bogaerts said. “Obviously a little, couple of mistakes.”

Not that the Dodgers seemed all too much to mind.

Over the last couple months, as Roberts eluded to, they had been the team on the wrong end of sloppy fundamentals. What was once a nine-game division lead evaporated in the space of six weeks, thanks to un-clutch offense, unreliable relief pitching and one maddening close loss after another.

But in Friday’s series opener, they had finally played clean baseball, and even more importantly, grinded out a one-run win.

Read more:Shaikin: Max Muncy's absence creates major matchup challenges for Dodgers hitters

“If you win the close games, that’s how you build,” Freeman theorized last week. “Then you’ll score nine, 10 runs. Then you’ll start putting some things together. But just need to find a way to win those close ones.”

So far in this series, that prediction has come true.

Not that he, or anyone else with the Dodgers, could have expected the Padres to offer so much self-destructive help.

“I'm just happy that we're playing better baseball,” Roberts said. “We're playing clean baseball. We're minimizing the walks, taking walks. Not making outs on the bases, and converting outs when we need to. When you have the talent that we do, you just gotta kind of play good baseball. ... So this is a good time to go for the jugular [with a potential series sweep Sunday].”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Ben Rice homered and drove in seven and Aaron Judge added a home run and two RBI as the Yankees topped the Cardinals, 12-8, in a Saturday night slugfest in St. Louis.

Add in Trent Grisham’s four-hit game, the first three batters in the Yanks order went a combined 9-for-13 with nine RBI, seven runs scored, two home runs, two doubles, four walks, and three strikeouts. 

With the win, New York (66-57) has now won six of nine after snapping a five-game losing skid. The Yankees are 2.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians, who lost on Saturday, for the final AL wild card spot.

Here are the key takeaways...

- The Yanks quickly jumped on Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray’s slow start to the game with Grisham leading off with a single to right, Rice taking a four-pitch walk, and Judge yanking a first-pitch cutter up in the zone for an RBI double. Jasson Dominguez added an RBI single to left, but Gray limited the damage by striking out Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe swinging and Ryan McMahon looking to end the first.m

- Leading off the top of the third, Judge hammered the first-pitch he saw for a 396-foot home run that hit off the top of the wall in right-center, just over the glove of St. Louis centerfielder Victor Scott. In two at-bats against Gray, Judge saw two offerings and hit them 101.9 mph in the first and 101.4 mph in the third, tallying his 25th double, 39th home run, and 91st and 92nd RBI of the season in the process. 

- New York got something cooking with one down in the fourth when Jose Caballero dropped a perfect bunt down to third and Grisham muscled a single off his hands into right for a first and third chance. And after falling behind 0-2, Rice got a sinker that hung right over the heart of the plate for a no-doubt three-run shot to right center. The 429-foot blast, smacked 108.3 mph off the bat, put the Yanks up 6-5.

- Austin Wells singled to right to start the sixth inning off Cardinals reliever Kyle Leahy, snapping a run of just eight hits in 65 at-bats (.123) over his last 20 games entering the game. Caballero and Grisham followed with singles to load the bases and Rice got a hanging curveball and rocketed into the gap for a three-run double off the base of the wall in right-center.

Rice got another chance with men on base in the seventh and singled to right for his seventh RBI of the game, tying a career high. 

- Max Fried threw his first pitch with a lead, but allowed a run three batters in after Dominguez misplayed a single into a one-out triple and a single to right plated the Cards’ first run. The left-hander, who has been struggling of late, surrendered the lead in the second with a leadoff walk and back-to-back one-out singles to tie the game. Fried’s 1-1 cutter to Masyn Winn leaked over the inner third and found the left field seats for a 375-foot three-run home run.

After the homer, Fried retired 11 of the next 12 batters with five strikeouts, allowing just an infield single to second. Jordan Walker put an end to that with a double off the wall in right center on a cutter down and over the plate that was just tattooed (111.9 mph off the bat) to start the home half of the sixth. Two pitches later, Fried’s curveball off the inside corner was yanked just inside the right field foul pole for a Nolan Gorman two-run home run, and that ended the starter's night after 94 pitches (56 strikes).

That ended the lefty-hander's night: 5.0 innings, seven runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

Going back to his final start before the All-Star break, in which Fried developed a blister on his left index finger, he has now pitched to a 7.20 ERA over his last six starts, allowing 29 runs (24 earned) on 40 hits and 13 walks with 30 strikeouts in 30 innings (1.767 WHIP). Since the end of June, his ERA has jumped from 1.92 to 3.26.

- Out of the bullpen, Devin Williams came in and looked very impressive, striking out the side in the sixth on just 19 pitches (13 strikes) with three whiffs and four called strikes. Yerry De Los Santos added two strikeouts while allowing just an infield hit over two innings of work. 

In the ninth, Mark Leiter Jr. got stung for Pedro Pagés' 429-foot dinger on a sinker on the inside corner with one out before allowing back-to-back two-out infield singles. That was enough for Aaron Boone to summon David Bednar, who promptly ended the game on three pitches with a pop-up behind home plate for the save.

- McMahon, with 14 hits in his first 58 at-bats with the Yanks, cranked a solo home run to right on a ball that just kept carrying to start the seventh, his first with the club. He finished the day 1-for-5.

- Volpe made a couple of nice plays at shortstop, but his struggles at the plate continued as he went hitless in five at-bats with three strikeouts. He has just seven hits in his last 47 at-bats (.149) and is now batting .215 with a .696 OPS on the season.

Game MVP: Ben Rice

Three hits in five at-bats with seven RBI and a walk. He's now batting .240 on the year with an .804 OPS.

Highlights

Aaron Judge hits his 39th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/7MQBYJf5I0

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

BEN RICE HOMERS TO GIVE THE YANKEES THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/Kr8h0RaJa9

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

Anthony Volpe makes a terrific play! pic.twitter.com/dcEq3YIZj8

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

BEN RICE CLEARS THE BASES!

HE HAS 6 RBI TONIGHT! pic.twitter.com/ieSLdEfI5Q

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

Ryan McMahon's first Yankee home run! pic.twitter.com/F0lpeWhMS7

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

7 RBI FOR BEN RICE!

That ties a career-high! pic.twitter.com/scFnuslUjM

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 17, 2025

Upcoming schedule

The Yanks go for the sweep of the three-game series over the Cards with Sunday afternoon's 2:15 p.m. first pitch.

Will Warren (4.34 ERA, 1.365 WHIP in 122.1 innings over 25 starts) climbs the hill for New York. Right-hander Miles Mikolas (4.97 ERA, 1.283 WHIP in 117.2 innings over 23 starts) will get the ball for the home team.

The spin rates were eye-opening. The results spoke for themselves. Yet everyone around the Mets seemed most impressed by the poise that Nolan McLean demonstrated in his outstanding major league debut on Saturday at Citi Field.

“It’s everything we’ve been hearing about him,” Carlos Mendoza said after the Mets’ 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. “The mound presence, the demeanor, the attack. You feel it. There’s something special there.”

It’s what I’ve been hearing as well from Mets people since they drafted him out of Oklahoma State in 2023, where he played infield and hit at the top of the lineup in addition to pitching.

“He has the weapons to succeed in the big leagues,” one Mets person told me earlier this week, “but a lot of guys have that. The poise and the compete factor will separate him. The It Factor, whatever you want to call it. Spend time around him and you feel it.”

It’s one of the reasons the Mets chose McLean over Brandon Sproat when they finally decided to bounce Frankie Montas from the rotation. Sproat had been the hotter pitcher in recent weeks, but he had also struggled badly last year and for a couple of months this year after being promoted to Triple A, where the transition was seamless this year for McLean.

For that matter, it’s also the reason I heard from scouts for several weeks who were surprised the Mets were waiting so long to call up McLean, given the injuries to their rotation and some of the lesser-talented major leaguers they were running out there.

As one scout put it, "If they were worried about a bad start up there hurting his confidence or setting him back, he’d be the last guy I’d be worried about. The Mets people I know say he thrives on competition like very few guys that come along.”

In recent weeks, David Stearns explained his resistance to calling up either McLean or Sproat as a matter of wanting to have the spot in the rotation to keep them there, rather than shuttling them back and forth.

They did that with Blade Tidwell, though nobody seemed to think he had the ceiling of either Sproat or McLean. And Tidwell didn’t pitch particularly well, leading the Mets to trade him in the deadline deal for Tyler Rogers.

So now, after McLean’s debut, you have to wonder if indeed Stearns should have made the call to McLean earlier. Maybe he could have helped make the Mets’ starting rotation more competitive in recent weeks and kept the ballclub from going into a free-fall.

To be fair, however, it’s possible that Mclean needed this much time in the minors to sharpen his game so he could major league hitters out as well, especially left-handed hitters. After his debut Saturday, the right-hander said he’s made significant improvements against lefties in the last several weeks, learning to pitch inside to them with both his fastball and his breaking stuff.

“I’ve really worked at that,” McLean said.

So who knows for sure? The good news for the Mets is, as bad as they’ve played, losing 12 of 14 games going into Saturday, it’s not too late for McLean to have an impact. They’re still in the third wild card spot, and suddenly the five-game deficit to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East didn’t seem quite as imposing with the news that Phillies’ ace Zack Wheeler went on the IL with a blood clot in his pitching arm.

It doesn’t mean McLean is guaranteed to pitch with dominance in the weeks ahead, but his debut certainly gave Mets fans hope and brought a much-needed fresh vibe to a ballclub that had forgotten how to win.

“We definitely felt the energy from the minute he took the mound,” Mendoza said. “It’s maybe something we were missing, with how hard a stretch this has been.”

McLean showed no nerves, striking out leadoff hitter Randy Arozarena looking at an 86-mph sweeper, his most dominant pitch in the minors. Afterward, McLean seemed surprised when a reporter asked if that first strikeout helped settle the nerves.

Nerves? What nerves?

“I felt pretty good, actually,” he said. “Once the batter steps in the box, it’s just competition.”

He said it matter-of-factly, in a way that sounded genuine. Again, Mets people say there’s no fake tough guy in him.

“That’s him,” one person said. “He’s still got some football in him.’’

Yes, McLean was a star football player in high school, good enough that he was recruited to play both football and baseball at Oklahoma State, and did so for a year before deciding to concentrate on baseball. And then he was drafted by the Mets as both a hitter and a pitcher, before giving up hitting at some point last year.

In any case, for 5.1 innings on Saturday, McLean showcased all of his weapons, mixing his pitches with a variety of speed and spin, from his 78-mph curveball to his 97-mph four-seamer. His spin rates on sweeper and curve ball, in particular, were among the highest in the majors this season, but he also wasn’t afraid to challenge hitters with his fastball when he had to.

For the day, he racked up eight strikeouts before Mendoza took him out with his pitch count at 91 pitches. No surprise, the move was met with loud booing for the manager, as much because of the bullpen meltdowns or recent days as the desire to see more of McLean.

“Oh, I heard them loud and clear,” Mendoza said with a laugh afterward. “If I was sitting in the stands, I would have been booing myself. But I have responsibility here to him and the ballclub.”

Fortunately for Mendoza, Gregory Soto, the one trade-deadline acquisition who has been superb, got through the sixth and seventh, and from there the manager went right to Edwin Diaz for a six-out save, which told you all you needed to know about the state of the bullpen and how much the Mets needed this win.

“It’s getting to a point where it’s go time,” was the way Mendoza explained it.

If they’re going to get back to playing like a playoff team, it already feels as if McLean will be a big part of it. His debut was that notable.

Even beyond the strikeouts and the dominance, it was one play that stood out most, when he escaped a bases-loaded situation into an inning-ending double play in the third, making a spectacular behind-the-back grab of the ball and then a textbook turn and fire to Brett Baty for a 1-4-3 DP.

“That said a lot about who he is,” one scout told me Saturday night. “First, he didn’t flinch when he got in trouble. He made a good pitch to get in on Julio (Rodriguez), then had the awareness not only to make the grab but to spin and throw a strike to second. Most guys making their first start would have gone home and probably hurried the throw.

“He reacted more like a seasoned infielder than a young pitcher. It doesn’t mean he’s going to set the world on fire right away. But I wouldn’t bet against it.”

Jonah Tong has dominated every level of minor league baseball in 2025, and for at least one start, he did so in his first Triple-A game.

The Mets' young right-hander took the mound for Syracuse for the first time in his career and lived up to the hype. Tong tossed 90 pitches (59 strikes) across 5.2 scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks, and striking out nine batters against Rochester on Saturday night.

Tong generated 18 swing and misses and his fastball topped out at 98 mph. All three hits came in different innings, and had a runner reach scoring position just twice in his outing. 

This latest start is another notch on what's been an incredible season for the 22-year-old. Tong, Joe DeMayo's No. 2 Mets prospect, took the baseball world by storm by demolishing Double-A hitting. Across 20 starts with Binghamton, Tong went 8-5 with a 1.59 ERA with a 0.92 WHIP while striking out 162 batters across 102.0 innings pitched.

New York promoted Tong, along with Jett Williams, Carson Benge and Ryan Clifford, to Triple-A earlier this month. 

Tong is one of three top pitching prospects that the Mets have in Triple-A. Brandon Sproat has impressed with Syracuse this year, while Nolan McLean made his MLB debut on Saturday for the Mets. 

McLean tossed 5.1 scoreless innings in the Mets' 3-1 win over the Mariners.

With how fast Sproat and Tong are developing, it's only a matter of time until they are slotted in the Mets' rotation.

Jonah Tong dominated in his debut for Triple-A Syracuse tonight 💪

His final line: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K pic.twitter.com/tp7tYvL4G4

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 17, 2025

There was a lot to be impressed by Nolan McLean's MLB debut on Saturday with the Mets, but one moment stood out for many.

With the game still scoreless in the third inning, McLean pitched into some trouble. He walked the first two batters he faced and Cal Raleigh hit a one-out single to load the bases with Julio Rodriguez up to the plate. The rookie threw a sweeper that got in on Rodriguez's hands and he chopped the ball up the middle.

McLean, who was a two-way player and a multi-sport athlete in college, swung his glove behind his back and snagged the ball before throwing it to second to start the 1-4-3 double play to end the inning and the threat.

"The ball just kinda found me on that one," McLean said of the play after the game. "Got a little lucky, hit my glove. Wasn’t really something you draw up but it worked out."

NOLAN McLEAN GOES BEHIND THE BACK TO START THE DOUBLE PLAY! pic.twitter.com/3Xu9PRV9om

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 16, 2025

While the ball may have found McLean, the nerves certainly didn't. Mets fans packed Citi Field on Saturday afternoon to see their top pitching prospect make his debut and he didn't disappoint.

McLean tossed 5.1 scoreless innings against a playoff team in the Mariners, and earned his first win after a 3-1 victory. The moment never seemed too big for him and that's what impressed manager Carlos Mendoza and his new teammates the most about the outing.

"He made an incredible play there, but at the same time, I was confident he was going to attack the zone and do the job that he was able to do in that moment," Francisco Alvarez, who caught McLean in Syracuse, said. "Maybe he would have given up one run or no runs in that situation, but I knew he was in a good spot and I had all the confidence in the world in him."

"Pretty impressive. Unbelievable. Everything we’ve heard from him. Stays on the attack," Mendoza said of McLean's performance. "The way he uses all of his pitches. For me, his ability to throw the secondary pitches when he’s behind in counts, to get back in counts, to get swing and misses, to get chases, the sinker, the velo. 

"The way he fields his position. And sure enough, he gets a comebacker, we don’t teach that way, but not only to make the play, but to play catch in that moment. Bases loaded, one out, got Rodriguez at the plate, pretty much how he handled everything. Unbelievable."

Francisco Lindor was asked if he was more impressed by McLean's fielding or pitching. The Gold Glove shortstop paused for a second before saying with a smile, "That was kinda sick."

But like his teammates, McLean's demeanor was what stood out the most. "His conviction. He went out there, he was poised. Since yesterday, he was at ease and he executed from pitch one."

After his first successful MLB start, McLean has likely earned himself another start. We'll see if there are more web gems for the rookie to make.