Category: Baseball

The Mets fell behind in their late-week series with the Miami Marlins Saturday when they suffered an 11-8 loss at Citi Field.

Takeaways

1. LHPDavid Peterson's worst start of the season saw him allow a career-high eight runs -- all earned -- and uncharacteristically put the Mets (73-63) in a tough spot after a five-run first inning. The Marlins (64-72) tagged Peterson, whose ERA rose from 3.18 to 3.61, for eight hits with three RBI doubles chief among them. New York pulled Peterson after five batters, no outs and two more runs in the third inning, ending his Citi Field afternoon at 65 pitches (36 strikes).
   
   Peterson, whose eighth charged run came in the next at-bat when RHP Chris Devenski's 6-4-3 double play while facing Derek Hill scored Connor Norby from third base and piled on the Mets' 8-2 deficit, struck out one and walked three. While New York had subsequent chances and evened the score in the sixth inning, Peterson's poor outing was simply too much -- he has been nails for the Mets this season, but his second disappointing start of August is alarming.
   
2. To the credit of Devenski, whom the Mets recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, he delivered when his number was called. Devenski's first MLB outing since July 29 saw him finish with three no-hit, scoreless innings, striking out three while walking one and throwing 24 strikes on 42 pitches. If not for Devenski's relief, this game would have been over by the middle of the third inning. Instead, Devenski (2.30 ERA) kept New York at bay while the offense came to life in a commendable appearance.
   
3. Francisco Lindor,Mark Vientos andJuan Soto hit home runs to pace the offense for the Mets, who end August with a franchise-record 53 home runs -- the most for New York in a month. After Lindor's first-inning solo shot -- extending his single-season franchise record for leadoff home runs with nine such long balls in 2025 -- Vientos' three-run blast in the third inning was the Mets' historic 51st. Soto's two homers -- a fourth-inning solo shot and sixth-inning two-run blast -- pushed the mark to 53.
   
   Win or lose, the offense came alive in August with home runs fueling the breakout. The rest of the unit -- evidenced by a seventh inning where Jeff McNeil's leadoff triple went to waste with Brett Baty's 4-3 groundout, Starling Marte's strikeout swinging and Cedric Mullins' left-field lineout -- is clearly still a work in progress as New York seeks balance.
   
4. Soto, whose 2-for-2 line included two walks, is slashing .254/.395/.508 with 35 home runs and 84 RBI in 134 games. He also stole two bases, bringing his season total to 25.
   
   According to Sarah Langs, via Elias Sports, Soto is MLB's first player ever with 35-plus home runs in three consecutive seasons for three different teams. Considering where the conversation about Soto was in April and May, the season has come a long way for the Mets' prized offseason signing.

Who's the MVP?

Connor Norby, whose 1-for-2 performance included two walks and three RBI. He answered Soto's game-tying homer by driving in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly against RHP Tyler Rogers with one out and runners at the corners in the seventh inning. For good measure, while the Marlins led 9-8 in the ninth inning, Norby's two-run double to left-center field off RHP Edwin Diaz with one out pushed Miami's gap to 11-8.

Highlights

Francisco Lindor's ninth leadoff home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/BB8vRn6hnP

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 30, 2025

Brett Baty scores as Agustin Ramirez's throw gets away at second! pic.twitter.com/cmghfp8bGH

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 30, 2025

MARK VIENTOS GETS THE METS BACK IN IT WITH A THREE-RUN BLAST! pic.twitter.com/8tgU6JVX3V

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 30, 2025

JUAN SOTO HOMERS AGAIN!

HIS 34TH OF THE YEAR! pic.twitter.com/KfGLrLmseL

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 30, 2025

Three scoreless innings for Chris Devenski in relief 👏 pic.twitter.com/uy6bUFqJRQ

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 30, 2025

What's next

The Mets and Marlins end their four-game series with Sunday's 1:40 p.m. finale on SNY. RHPs Kodai Senga (7-5, 2.73 ERA) and Sandy Alcantara (7-11, 5.87 ERA) are set to start.

Turner's heroics put Phillies on verge of sweeping Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Trea Turner’s all-around brilliance outshined a star-studded pitching matchup Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Turner delivered a two-run, walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Phillies a 3-2 win over the Braves. Turner went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and a walk to go along with his game-winning single. He also stole two bases and made a handful of excellent defensive plays.

“He did everything tonight,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “That’s the type of player he is.”

Turner’s three hits raised his batting average to an even .300. He leads the National League with 168 hits and is on pace to become the first Phillie since Jimmy Rollins in 2007 to reach 200 hits in a season.

His 10th-inning single on Saturday ranks among his biggest hits of the year.

“I felt pretty good,” Turner said of his game-winning at-bat. “I felt like I saw the first two pitches (foul balls), so I had a pretty good idea of what they looked like. It was just a matter of putting the middle of the bat on the ball and keeping it simple. I got another pitch to hit and found a hole.”

The Phillies’ shortstop was on top of his game defensively as well. That was a necessity as Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez induced 10 ground-ball outs, six of which went to Turner, including a pair of double plays.

“I told (Sanchez) probably in the fifth inning, you can start striking more people out if you want,” Turner joked. “I feel like I’ve gotten quite a few plays. But he loves it, he’s so positive on the mound. Whether we make a play for him, he’s super excited and the opposite if we make a mistake, he says, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ So we love playing behind him.”

“I was laughing,” Sanchez said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello of the exchange with Turner. “He was telling me, ‘Strike them all out,’ and I said, ‘You’re my teammate.’ We were just joking. It’s great to see how much he’s improved back there.”

Turner’s defense has been lacking at times during his three seasons with the Phillies. It’s an aspect of his game that he’s worked hard to improve.

“I’ve always felt like I should be a better defender than I was in the past,” Turner said. “I knew I was capable and it wasn’t from a lack of effort or work. It was more just finding the right ways to be consistent.

“I had a college coach who would tell me to just complete every play and that’s kind of always been my goal my entire career, just complete the play. I feel like I’m doing that at a way higher rate and obviously (Phillies infield coach) Bobby (Dickerson) has helped me a ton and the work we’ve put in is paying off in that sense. It feels really good to finally be the defender I thought I should be.”

Turner’s heroics on Saturday helped the Phillies pad their lead in the NL East standings. They have a six-game cushion on the second-place Mets with 26 games remaining. New York lost to the Marlins, 11-8, on Saturday.

The Braves took the lead in the top of the 10th on a one-out single from Nacho Alvarez Jr. off Matt Strahm that scored Jake Fraley, the designated runner at second base.

But the Phillies had an answer, which has become one of the themes of this season. Nick Castellanos was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 10th inning. After a Harrison Bader strikeout, Bryson Stott hit a bloop single to right field to load the bases.

Brandon Marsh struck out to bring Turner to the plate.

Turner sent the sellout crowd at CBP home happy and gave the Phillies a chance to complete a four-game sweep on Sunday night.

Sanchez and Braves starter Chris Sale were both outstanding on Saturday.

Sanchez brushed aside any lingering concerns following his worst start of the season five days ago against the Mets. He reverted to his typical dominant self against the Braves, allowing just one run in seven innings. Sanchez scattered seven hits, struck out eight and did not issue a walk.

“It was good to have a good result today,” Sanchez said. “That’s how you can tell when pitchers are good (rebounding after a poor start). I’m just happy to have bounced back and happy that we got the win too.”

Sanchez’s command was terrific throughout the night — 71 of his 97 pitches were strikes. He lowered his season ERA to 2.66 in 27 starts.

Sale, meanwhile, was in top form in his first outing in two and a half months. He surrendered one run on three hits across six innings, striking out nine. Sale was activated off the injured list Saturday morning. He had been sidelined since June 18 because of a fractured rib cage.

The Phillies had several chances earlier in the night to take control of the game.

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Turner smacked a leadoff double to left field to give the Phillies a prime opportunity to take the lead. Kyle Schwarber moved Turner to third with a groundout to first base. But Bryce Harper then grounded sharply to Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson, who stepped on the bag and threw out Turner at home to complete an inning-ending double play.

The Phillies squandered another golden scoring opportunity in the eighth inning. After Stott drew a one-out pinch-hit walk against Braves right-handed reliever Pierce Johnson, Marsh delivered a pinch-hit single to put runners on the corners with one out.

Johnson struck Turner out looking before Atlanta manager Brian Snitker summoned lefty Dylan Lee to face Schwarber. Lee got Schwarber to line out to right to end the threat.

But all’s well that ends well for the Phillies, who now have the opportunity to move to a season-best 23 games over .500 with a fourth straight win over the Braves on Sunday night.

Kepler injured

Thomson revealed after Saturday’s game that Max Kepler injured his shoulder attempting to make a diving catch during Friday’s game against Atlanta.

Kepler did not play on Saturday and was available only in an emergency. Thomson was unsure if Kepler would be able to play on Sunday.

Christian Koss' pitching cameo offers needed levity in Giants' loss to Orioles originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – In an ideal season in ideal situations, Christian Koss would never toe the rubber at Oracle Park for the Giants.

Yet in a season in which very few things have been ideal, Koss has managed to put some shine on those situations.

Take Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles for example.

The Giants’ pitching staff was taking it on the chin all afternoon so when it came time to mop things up in the ninth inning, manager Bob Melvin called for Koss rather than going deeper into his bullpen.

The result? Another scoreless outing for the 27-year-old infielder in what is becoming arguably the best sideshow to the Giants season.

“He’s getting used to it, looking pretty comfortable out there,” Melvin said following San Francisco’s 11-1 loss at home. “You don’t want to have to use that but when you have somebody like that that you know is going to go out there and throw strikes and try to get you through the inning pretty quickly … he’s the guy for it and he’s all in for whatever the team needs.”

To be certain, Koss isn’t exactly an intimidating presence on the pitcher’s mound. He stands 6-feet 1-inch and is 190 pounds at best maybe after he’s had a full meal.

Nor does he have dominating stuff on the mound. The majority of the time he’s pitching, Koss is simply trying to lob the ball over the plate.

Giants starting pitcher Carson Seymour spoke to Koss previously about sticking with the same pitching motion whether he’s trying to throw hard or fast. Most of the time it’s been slow, methodical pitches that Koss throws.

“I’m going up there lobbing it, just hoping my defense does what they’ve been doing, and try to keep it scoreless,” Koss said. “I’m just glad I could help the team get through something.”

Koss has a perfect 0.00 ERA in his four outings. He’s allowed four hits and hasn’t walked anyone. He hasn’t struck out anyone either, although he came close Saturday.

Most of Koss’s pitches were clocked in the high 40s before he muscled up for an 84 mph fastball on a 1-2 count to Coby Mayo that barely missed the outside of the strike zone. Fans booed the call, which starting pitcher Carson Seymour thought was a clear strike.

“I thought the one heater he threw, I think it was 84 which is pretty impressive because it wasn’t like he did a full leg lift or anything like that, I thought it was a strike,” Seymour said. “I guess he’ll live to fight another day.”

Ideally, the Giants won’t have a need to have Koss pitch again. Position players generally are called upon to pitch in games that are blowouts.

That factor alone, Koss believes, is one of the reason’s he’s had the pitching success that he’s had this season.

“I throw it slow enough,” Koss said. “Kind of at a point in the game where the hitters are kind of over it too. I know as s a hitter myself facing a position player is never the best thing to do. I’m just up there throwing it slow enough in a rough spot for them.”

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What we learned as Giants' blowout loss to Orioles snaps six-game winning streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – Just like that, the worries returned to Oracle Park.

Less than 24 hours after a brilliant offensive display renewed hopes of making it to the postseason, the Giants were effectively shut down and looked a lot more like the underachieving team they’ve been for most of the season while absorbing an 11-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Gone were all the good vibes that had been built during a six-game winning streak, as the Giants once again fell two games under .500.

Like the score indicated, this was a one-sided game that left many in the crowd of 37,711 unhappy despite glorious weather in the Bay Area.

Willy Adames provided the one big highlight for the Orange and Black with his 25^th home run of the season, a two-out solo drive off Orioles starter Trevor Rogers in the first inning. That extended the Giants’ streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to 12.

Willy Adames blasts his 25th homer of the season 🔥
pic.twitter.com/720cmbM3D0

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 30, 2025

Other than that, the Giants didn’t give their fans much to cheer about as the hometown team lost at Oracle Park for the first time in two weeks.

The Orioles did a great job of being aggressive against Giants starter Carson Seymour (0-2) and were equally effective once Seymour left. Baltimore got runners in scoring position in every inning except the fifth and sixth, putting the Giants on their heels for most of the afternoon.

It got so rough for the Giants pitching that manager Bob Melvin used infielder Christian Koss to pitch the ninth. Koss needed nine pitches to work a 1-2-3 inning.

Here are the takeaways from Saturday:

Where did all that O go?

One day after setting season-highs in runs (15), hits (18) and hits with runners in scoring position (eight), the Giants reverted back to their mostly quiet ways on offense.

Beyond the home run by Adames, the Giants had just thre runners get past past first base.

Most of the blame for that goes to Trevor Rogers, who has been the Orioles’ most dominant pitcher for most of the 2025 MLB season. Rogers allowed one run and five hits over seven innings, earning a Baltimore-era franchise record with his 10^th consecutive start of six innings or more while allowing two runs or fewer.

Seymour Saw Less

Seymour’s first career start in the majors didn’t last very long. The right-hander’s afternoon ended after throwing 60 pitches in three innings.

The Orioles were getting good swings off Seymour all afternoon. Even the outs were hard hit.

Seymour retired only 12 batters and allowed four runs and five hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

The relief wasn’t exactly clean but the Giants had enough fresh arms to cover for Seymour’s early exit.

Creeping up on 30

The Giants haven’t had a player hit 30 home runs in a single season since king swatter Barry Bonds banged out 45 in 2004, but that streak is likely to end this year.

Adames hit his 25^th homer of the year Saturday and is the first Giants player to have 25 or more entering September since Bonds in 2007. He needs five more over the final 16 games which is doable considering Adames had hit six in his last nine games.

Twenty of Adames’ home runs this season have been solo shots.

Rafael Devers leads the Giants with 27 home runs but only 12 have come in a Giants uniform.

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Mets catcherFrancisco Alvarez is with Triple-A Syracuse for Saturday's game at the Yankees' Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, manager Carlos Mendoza explained before New York's matchup with the Miami Marlins.

"Good," Mendoza said of how Alvarez is doing. "He's in the lineup today, Triple-A, DHing."

Alvarez recently fractured his pinky but took batting practice Friday at Citi Field, two days after the injury news surfaced.

"He caught a bullpen fine," Mendoza said of Alvarez, who Syracuse subsequently announced would bat third. "He's fine. That's why he got in the car and he's in Scranton right now. They're playing Scranton and he's DHing today, and see how he gets through it and maybe he's catching tomorrow."

Mendoza did not have a time frame for Alvarez's return to the Mets' lineup.

Alvarez, 23, is slashing .265/.349/.438 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 56 games with the Mets this season.

The Mets recalled RHP Chris Devenski and designated LHP José Castillo for assignment, New York announced before Saturday's game against the Miami Marlins.

Devenski, 34, has a 2.84 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 12.2 IP over 11 games this season with the Mets.

He last pitched for New York July 29, a 7-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, when he allowed one run on one hit (a home run) in 1.1 IP.

The Mets optioned him to Syracuse July 31. In eight Triple-A games this month, Devenski posted a 1.04 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 8.2 IP.

The 29-year-old Castillo, meanwhile, has been with New York and Syracuse since the Mets acquired him for cash in a May 15 trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 16 games with the Mets, Castillo posted a 2.35 ERA and 1.76 WHIP over 15.1 IP. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out two in two innings of Friday's 19-9 win over Miami.

It's a strange one. That's the word going into the Old Firm derby - strange.

It will have been a quiet few days in the Rangers dressing room, a time for reflection after the debacle in Bruges.

Russell Martin will have faced his toughest couple of days as Rangers head coach, just trying to pick the players up and getting them to believe they can go out and beat Celtic on Sunday.

He has to get them together and make sure that everyone has positive messages. It's the only way he can go about it. He cannot read the riot act.

He's got to totally change tact and make sure he doesn't throw the players under the bus.

It'll be tough trying to be positive, even just speaking to the players, but he has to make sure they don't linger on the 6-1 Champions League loss in Belgium, even though it's one of the toughest results in the club's history.

They can beat Celtic, because it's at home and it's Rangers. But they're going to have to show so much more - starting by being more solid in defence and midfield.

The occasion of the derby makes you run more and get into tackles. They have got to try and dominate the midfield area, because Celtic are strong in there, and they've got to look a lot more potent going forward and start scoring some goals.

But the biggest thing for Rangers just now is keeping Celtic out. Build from the back, get a solid base and make sure you're not losing goals.

We went to Parkhead last season when we hadn't won there for a long time and we got the victory.

We were on the back of a good result in Fenerbahce, so it was all positive.

Somehow, Martin has to find a way of giving out positive messages even though it's the worst defeat he could suffer. If you give out negative messages and it's down, I don't even think the derby can look after itself.

You could usually throw a derby at any set of Rangers players and they go, 'we'll be up for this'. Will they be? I'm not so sure because they look absolutely demoralised. They have got to find a way.

The way Russell Martin is speaking about James Tavernier, I think we'll see him on the team on Sunday.

It remains to be seen if Nico Raskin gets in but I always say you've got to manage your big players.

He is one of the best players at Rangers. You've got to get him in the team but it's how he goes about getting the best out of Raskin.

They have a better chance of beating Celtic by having Raskin in the team, but I'm just not sure who he's going to pick.

You're always 90% sure that eight or nine players will be in it, but anybody could get an opportunity on Sunday. It's up to them to go and grasp it.

Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds was speaking to BBC Sport Scotland's Andrew Petrie.

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

---

• The Mets rebounded from Thursday's series-opening loss with a 19-9 win in which pitching prospect Jonah Tongproved his worth as he makes a case to stay.
• New York believes in Tong's potential to play a role for the regular season's final month and beyond. He earned his second start as the Mets move to a six-man rotation for now.
• Tong called his MLB debut with the Mets "insane" and what he "dreamed of as a kid."
• Beyond Tong, New York's offense set a home franchise record. Plus, Ryan Helseybrought his adjustments to the field after possibly tipping pitches while he struggled in previous outings.
• Francisco Alvarez remains determined to be back in the Mets' lineup and took a positive step with batting practice two days after he fractured his pinky.
• SNY's Keith Hernandez joined The Mets Podand weighed in on the possibility of Pete Alonso being a Met for life.

There were moments in Jonah Tong's Friday night MLB debut when he absolutely looked like the elite prospect who spent most of 2025 striking out the world in the minors. And there were moments when he didn't look quite as sensational as fellow rookie Nolan McLean, as Tong found big league hitters a little more difficult to put away than Triple-A batters.

But what is inarguable is that Tong proved worthy of his callup in the Mets' 19-9 win over the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, delivering five strong innings and, beyond that, someone who will play a role in New York's suddenly re-energized championship pursuit.

Most telling in that regard was Carlos Mendoza's reaction to a question about whether Tong will stay in the rotation next time around.

"Oh, yeah," he said with a chuckle that indicated he felt it was a no-brainer.

The manager subsequently said that the Mets would stay in a six-man rotation for at least another go-round, with Tong's role beyond that still to be determined.

And that's really the heart of the matter. If Tong is a keeper, as he made it look Friday night, the Mets essentially now have two new impact arms, along with McLean, with perhaps a third one in Brandon Sproat, on the way fairly soon.

So what's the best way to utilize them?

Until further notice, McLean already is practically a lock to start a postseason game, assuming the Mets get there, to the point where David Peterson is really the only pitcher who has a case to slot in ahead of him.

McLean has been that good. And, at the very least, Tong and perhaps Sproat -- soon enough, anyway -- are quality arms that deepen the Mets' pool of pitchers needed to creatively strengthen their pitching as a whole.

They can stay in a six-man rotation, but that may not be the best strategy. So much depends on Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea do in their next couple of starts.

The Mets simply can't continue to piece together patchwork games if Senga and Manaea continue to struggle to get to the fifth inning and beyond. In that sense, something has to change -- either use the likes of Tong and Sproat in a piggyback manner with the two veterans to seven or eight innings from two pitchers, or it could come to the point where Senga and Manaea are the bulk relievers doing the piggybacking for the young guys.

September is a day away, after all. There's no more time for hoping Senga and Manaea figure it out. And based on what McLean and Tong have done, it makes sense to take a look at Sproat now too, either as a starter or bulk reliever.

Most notably, there is now reason to believe the Mets have the ammunition to reload instantly on the pitching side. And beyond that, the overarching theme is the organization is again finally developing homegrown quality pitching for the first time in years, with Christian Scott ascending quickly last year before needing Tommy John surgery, and now McLean, Tong, and Sproat, with at least a few other high-ceiling talents on the way, according to scouts and evaluators.

Throw in Peterson, a former first-round pick who has developed into a very good starter the past two seasons, and for the first time in a decade the Mets are living up to their tradition as a pitching-first organization -- something that's more crucial than ever these days, considering the cost of free-agent arms.

It's the key to sustained winning, which has been owner Steve Cohen's stated goal since he took over four years ago, and it also brings a sense of pride to the organization.

Consider what Marc Tramuta, who now works in the Toronto Blue Jays' front office but what was the Mets' scouting director when the team drafted Tong in 2022's seventh round, told me Friday:

"Since Jonah was called up, I've been getting texts from so many people I worked with when I was with the Mets," Tramuta said by phone. "It's really a win for the organization, the scouts, and especially the development side with this guy.

"Jonah wasn't real high on anybody's draft list, as a mostly unknown kid from the Toronto area. But at the time, we had a couple of guys -- Marlin McPhail was the area scout and Doug Thurman was a national crosschecker -- who saw the potential in Tong and really pushed us to draft him.

"You could see the comparison to Tim Lincecum even then, with the unique delivery, but nobody could have predicted he'd come so fast. When you draft a high school kid in the seventh round, you don't expect him to be leading the minors in strikeouts after a couple of years. So now I work for the Blue Jays and I've had fun reminding everyone here I drafted the kid from Toronto. Really, the young pitching you're seeing now is a testament to everybody working for the Mets."

That sense of pride extends to the fan base as well. Fans love nothing more than seeing a homegrown talent emerge, especially someone like Tong, a relatively low draft pick who has rocketed through the Mets’ system, creating huge hype with his strikeout total and the Lincecum comparisons.

As such, the ballpark was practically full Friday night well before the game began, as fans gave Tong a standing ovation as he walked from the bullpen to the dugout. And from there, he didn't disappoint, pitching effectively over five innings, getting six strikeouts while allowing no walks.

He allowed four runs but only because of back-to-back errors in the fifth by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. As a result, only one of the runs was earned, yet the extra 11 pitches that he needed to get out of the fifth likely cost him a chance to pitch into the sixth inning.

Most significantly, the potential for dominance was on display. He utilized a nice mix of his 95-to-97 mph fastball, his vulcan changeup, and an off-speed curveball that Mendoza said was especially impressive to him as the third pitch in his arsenal.

Beyond that, Mendoza and the Mets' players embraced the energy Tong's start provided, much the same as McLean, and the poise the 22-year-old showed, especially considering that he had waits of 25 and 27 minutes in the first two innings as the offense pounded Marlins' pitching for 12 runs.

"He embraced all of it," Mendoza said. "He's got the personality for it."

To that end, catcher Luis Torrens said, "He's already fitting in as one of the guys."

And then there was Brandon Nimmo, explaining to me that Tong is the real thing, throwing an elite fastball that has 23 inches of "induced vertical break," which Nimmo said is the technical definition for his seemingly rising fastball that gets on hitters quicker than they expect.

"He throws 97 (mph) with 23 inches of ride and hitters have a really hard time getting on top of that," Nimmo said. "So then they start cheating to get to the fastball and he throws the changeup that really plays, with elite velocity separation (from the fastball). It's super impressive.

"For guys like me and a lot of us in here, it's just been really fun to see these young guys come up and experience everything here for the first time. It brings a lot of energy to the clubhouse. It's just fantastic to see."

Yes, you could see and feel it at Citi Field from the moment when Tong took the mound. Together, he and McLean, along with the explosion of offense in August, have changed the feel of the Mets' season. After several weeks of that seemed to take the life out of the Mets' season, suddenly anything seems possible again.

Giants reliever Randy Rodriguez makes decision to undergo Tommy John surgery originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Giants All-Star reliever Randy Rodriguez has opted to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, manager Bob Melvin announced Saturday.

The 25-year-old pitcher was having a solid campaign in his second MLB season before the Giants placed him on the injured list earlier this week. Rodriguez had a 1.78 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings with four saves while helping anchor the back end of San Francisco’s bullpen.

“Randy is going to get the surgery,” Melvin said in the Giants’ dugout before Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oracle Park. “He’s just now deciding on who’s going to do it and what the [timetable] will be.”

Rodriguez had hoped to avoid surgery and was considering to treat the injury with rest and rehabilitation. After seeking multiple opinions, the recommendation from two doctors was for the pitcher to have the surgery.

The Giants had been using Rodriguez to close games after trading Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees at the deadline. Rodriguez had three saves in four opportunities but also suffered three losses in his new role.

Ryan Walker now will take over the closing duties for the Giants.

The news that Rodriguez will have elbow surgery confirms what most people in the organization already knew.

The main concern now is how long Rodriguez will miss. Tommy John surgery generally requires at least a year of rehab, although Melvin declined to say whether Rodriguez will miss all of the 2026 MLB season or not.

“I really don’t know,” Melvin said. “I think that depends on what happens in the surgery and what the doctor will have to say about what he saw.”

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wanted to set the record straight: Mookie Betts is his shortstop.

“Mookie,” Roberts said, “will not go to right field.”

Roberts repeated the phrase a couple of times, as if he was determined to quash any speculation about another late-season position change for Betts.

“Mookie,” Roberts said again, “will not go to right field.”

There it is, directly from the man who hands the lineup card to the umpire every night.

So ignore the noise and stop the chatter.

Mookie Betts is the Dodgers’ shortstop.

Betts is the Dodgers’ shortstop now, Betts will be the Dodgers’ shortstop next week, and Betts will be the Dodgers’ shortstop in the postseason.

Read more:Dodgers' troubles at the plate strike again in loss to Zac Gallen and Diamondbacks

The only times Roberts said he envisioned Betts returning to right field was late in games in which the Dodgers ran out of bench players. A situation like that came up a few weeks ago in a game against the Angels. Miguel Rojas, an infielder, was deployed as a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning and remained in the game at shortstop. Betts defended right field for an inning.

Roberts isn’t sticking with Betts at shortstop because of their close relationship. He’s sticking with Betts at shortstop because of how Betts has played the position.

Betts entered his team’s weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks leading all major league shortstops in defensive runs saved (15).

He was ninth in outs above average (four).

He was also fifth in fielding percentage (.985).

“When you’re talking about shortstop play, you’re looking for consistency, and I’ve just loved the consistency,” Roberts said. “He’s made every play he’s supposed to make, and then the last couple weeks, he’s made spectacular plays. He’s been a big part of preventing runs. “

Roberts is equally, if not more, encouraged by how Betts has looked.

“Right now, it’s all instinct instead of the technical part of it, how to do this or that,” Roberts said. “I think he’s free to just be a major league shortstop. I truly, to this day, have never seen a position change like Mookie has.”

A six-time Gold Glove Award winner as a right fielder, Betts moved to shortstop late in spring training last year when it became evident the team didn’t have an everyday player at the position. The last time he spent significant time at shortstop was in high school.

By mid-June, Betts was about a league-average shortstop but further progress was derailed by a broken hand that landed him on the injured list. When Betts was activated a couple of months later, he returned as a right fielder. He remained there throughout the Dodgers’ World Series run.

However, Betts was determined to take another shot at playing shortstop. Unlike the previous year, he was able to train at this position over the offseason, working with Dodgers coaches and former All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The preparation has made a noticeable difference.

Betts has improved to where he now feels comfortable dispensing advice on how to play the position, regularly offering pointers to rookie infielder Alex Freeland.

“It’s the smallest details,” Freeland said. “I give him so much credit because he makes the small things matter the most because a lot of those smaller details go overlooked by a lot of players where they’re like, ‘Oh, we don’t need to focus on that, something so minute, it’s not going to matter.’ But Mookie takes all the small details and makes them very important.”

Roberts expected this of Betts, whom he considers one of the team’s leaders alongside Freddie Freeman and Clayton Kershaw. He pointed to how Betts has carried himself in the worst offensive season of his career, his relentless work resulting in him batting .329 over the last three weeks.

“I love how Mookie is always accountable,” Roberts said. “There’s been times where he’s been really good and times he hasn’t but he’s never run from having the conversation or owning the fact that he’s underperforming. His work has never wavered. So for me, that’s something that when you’re talking about one of the leaders in your clubhouse, it really resonates with everyone, coaches included. I’m always going to bet on him.”

So much so that Roberts has wagered the season on him.

Mookie Betts is his shortstop — now, next week and in the postseason.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Childhood Nats fan Bryce Eldridge jokes about how Brandon Belt broke his heart originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

One of the Giants’ most iconic MLB playoff home runs during their five-season run of dominance from 2010 through 2014 actually was tough for top prospect Bryce Eldridge to watch.

Eldridge, a native of Vienna, Va., grew up a Washington Nationals fan. During the 2014 National League Division Series between his favorite team and his future organization, the then-9-year-old was playing on a travel ball team.

On Oct. 4, 16 days shy of Eldridge’s 10th birthday, Brandon Belt connected for a legendary 18th-inning solo homer off Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark to give the Giants an eventual 2-1 Game 2 win and a two-games-to-none lead in the best-of-five series.

“I stayed up for that game,” Eldridge told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic on “Giants Talk,” which debuted Thursday. “That was probably 2014 and I was at a baseball tournament in Delaware. Maryland or Delaware. Belt hit that homer? Yeah, I was up for that. Broke my heart.

“My travel team, obviously, we’re all from the D.C. area, we were all at The Greene Turtle [Sports Bar and Grille] watching that game. Ended up going back to the hotel because it went on all night. On the East Coast, it was, I don’t know, probably 2 a.m. when that game ended.”

Belt and the Giants eliminated the top-seeded Nationals in four games and went on to capture their third World Series title in five years.

That bat drop. 👀@bbelt9's 18th inning homer in 2014 NLDS Game 4 was the difference in what was tied for the longest #postseason game of all time. pic.twitter.com/rNX4eca9km

— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) October 4, 2020

Because of those three titles, Eldridge, still just 20 years old, is very familiar with the Giants.

“I grew up watching them dominate and [win] those three in five years that they did it. I grew up watching them beat my Nationals in the playoffs,” Eldridge told Pavlovic. “I knew they had a rich history. Obviously, being a left-handed hitter, I kind of grew up idolizing Barry Bonds as well and what he was able to do. I just know so many great people have played for this organization and there’s a lot of rich history and winning. And that’s something that’s important to me.”

Now, Eldridge is crushing homers on a nightly basis at Triple-A Sacramento, and he’s on the brink of making his MLB debut either in September this year or sometime early in 2026.

In 89 games between three levels this season, Eldridge is slashing .260/.334/.518 with 17 doubles, 23 home runs and 75 RBI. Sixteen of those longballs have come in 53 games with the River Cats.

If Eldridge is on the Giants’ 26-man roster to begin the 2026 season, he won’t have to wait long to play close to home, as San Francisco plays in Baltimore April 10-12 and in Washington, D.C. April 17-19.

That 10-day stretch next April could end up being quite the full-circle moment for Eldridge.

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For both the Dodgers and San Diego Padres, the assignment over the next few weeks figured to be simple:

Take care of business and beat the teams you’re supposed to.

After all, the Dodgers are beginning a stretch of 15 straight games against clubs below .500. The Padres, meanwhile, will play 13 of their next 16 games against opponents with losing records, the lone exception being the 68-67 Cincinnati Reds.

It appeared to be an opportunity for each contender to stack up wins, build late-season momentum and try to wrest away control of a division race that the Dodgers currently lead by two games.

The only problem: They both flunked their first test on Friday.

Beating the bad teams, it turns out, isn’t always as easy as it seems.

In Los Angeles, the Dodgers suffered a lackluster 3-0 loss to the underperforming Arizona Diamondbacks, managing just three hits and getting only one runner in scoring position en route to suffering their seventh shutout this season. The Padres, meanwhile, were knocked around by the tanking Minnesota Twins in a 7-4 defeat earlier in the evening.

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It meant, for one night, the standings remained static.

Instead of catapulting themselves into exceedingly soft portions of their schedules, both teams stumbled to equally disappointing results.

At Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers’ loss snapped their four-game winning streak — halting their recent upswing both on the mound and at the plate.

Starting pitcher Blake Snell gave up three runs in 5⅓ innings and battled through a stark drop in fastball velocity. After entering the night averaging 95.4 mph with his heater, Snell was stuck closer to 93 mph in his first start since the birth of his second child last weekend.

“I had a busy week, man. A lot going on,” Snell said of his velocity drop. “I’m not worried about [it]. I know what’s going on. So it’ll come back. I’m zero worried about it. I mean, I was aware of it. But I’m not gonna push it. It is what it is. It’s what I had today. Just gotta be better.”

Though he struck out eight batters and allowed only four hits, one of them was costly: a two-run home run by Blaze Alexander in the fourth, on a fastball over the plate that clocked in at only 93.4 mph. Snell’s night ended after two more knocks brought in a third run in the sixth, with Corbin Carroll hitting a leadoff double and scoring on Gabriel Moreno’s RBI single.

The bigger problem for the Dodgers (77-58), however, was their offense.

Arizona starter Zac Gallen entered the night in the midst of a dismal contract season, beginning play with a 5.13 earned-run average despite improved form in August. Against the Dodgers, though, he was lights out, yielding only two hits in six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and three walks.

“We just obviously couldn't figure anything out,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We just really couldn't put anything together all night long."

Indeed, even more troublesome was the Dodgers’ inability to generate much against the Diamondbacks' bullpen — a woebegone unit that has spoiled Arizona’s playoff aspirations by ranking 26th in the majors with a 4.73 ERA.

Andy Pages managed a two-out single in the seventh but was left stranded. After that, the Dodgers’ only other baserunner came on a walk from Teoscar Hernández in the game’s penultimate at-bat.

"This was the first one in a while ... that we've seen sort of a lackluster performance,” Roberts said, his club unable to extend its momentum after a sweep of the Reds. “Obviously you've got to give credit to Gallen, too. But it was one of those nights that I just didn't see the at-bats that we've been seeing the last week."

Of course, things didn’t go much better for the Padres (75-60) on Friday, either.

Before their game in Minnesota, the team announced that shortstop Xander Bogaerts was going on the injured list with a foot fracture, which could keep him out for the rest of the regular season. Then, Nestor Cortes followed up his six shutout innings against the Dodgers last week with a three-inning, three-run clunker that was punctuated with an ejection.

The night served as a missed opportunity for both NL West pace-setters; the Padres squandering a chance to cut the Dodgers’ two-game lead in half, only for the Dodgers to whiff on an opening to grow their lead at the top of the standings.

And in the coming days and weeks, both clubs will have to try to take care of business better. Because with no head-to-head matchups left between the Dodgers and Padres in the regular season, beating bad teams — and avoiding ugly losses like Friday’s — could dictate who ultimately wins the division.

“We've got to play well,” Roberts said. “Whether it's the schedule or a tougher opponent, I don't really think it matters. We got to go out and play good baseball and take good at-bats and just stack wins."

Freeman, Call back in action

Despite the loss, the Dodgers did get good news on the injury front Friday, with both first baseman Freddie Freeman and outfielder Alex Call back in action after missing Wednesday’s game.

Freeman had been battling a neck stinger, but returned to the starting lineup and drew a walk in an otherwise 0-for-3 performance. Call avoided an IL stint after having a flare-up in his back on Tuesday, and came off the bench as a pinch-hitter for a groundout in the seventh.

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets wouldn't have called up rookie Jonah Tong if they didn't think he could help them win games down the stretch and secure a wild card berth -- if not the division.

But it's one thing to hope for an outcome, and seeing the results first-hand and that's what Tong gave the Mets on Friday night against the Marlins. While he wasn't as great as Nolan McLean was in his MLB debut, Tong showed the team enough when he picked up the win after his five strong innings to warrant another start at the big league level.

In Tong's five innings, he allowed just one earned run without allowing a walk and struck out six batters. He worked in and out of trouble and the atmosphere or moment never seemed to big for the right-hander. And if you ask his new teammates, Tong has already made an impression.

"He was excellent. Glad that he’s here on this team with us," Luis Torrens said through an interpreter. "He’s a tremendous personality, tremendous person. Glad he’s able to share these moments with us moving forward.

"He’s the type of personality that’s easy to manage. He’s one of those guy that’s excited and happy to be here. It was really easy to work with him. His presence, it feels like he’s immediately been integrated with the guys. It’s been a smooth transition."

"Putting out some 23-inch, 97 mph fastballs. That’s impressive," Brandon Nimmo said of Tong's night. "Really happy for him. Got a great, long career ahead of him. Extremely nice kid and happy for him that he got to enjoy that moment. I hope he soaks it in and I know it can go by pretty quickly...It was a blast to watch him pitch."

The Mets will insert Tong into a newly formed six-man rotation for the time being. And while they hope he can build on his debut, if he delivers what he gave them on Friday, the team knows Tong can be a contributor down the stretch and even in the postseason.

"He can help us a ton," Torrens said. "The type of arm that he has, he’s the type of pitcher for the next month of the season and, God willing, beyond in the playoffs, he’s one of those impact arms that can help us a lot." 

Starting pitching has been the Mets' weakness for most of the season, but with the call-ups of McLean and Tong, there's an energy surrounding the team that continues to shine through in every game they pitch. 

After Friday's win, the Mets are now firmly in a playoff spot -- 5.0 games ahead of the Reds -- and still within striking distance of the Phillies for the NL East title (5.0 games). And both young pitchers are expected to play big roles in whatever happens with the 2025 Mets in the final month and beyond.

"You feel [the energy]. I think the whole team was in the dugout for the first pitch. Everybody wanted to see that, wanted to watch that," Carlos Mendoza said. "They are going to feed off each other and when you see what the potential that could be, and they are contributing right away. Yea, obviously exciting. I don't want to put too much pressure on them, but definitely something, especially where we're at in the schedule and the meaning of every game moving forward, to get performance like that, it's pretty impressive and we're going to need them."

 

The Mets' offense was historic on Friday night, at least in franchise standards.

The 19 runs scored were the most the Mets have ever scored at home in their 64-year history. Six home runs contributed to that mark, with 12 coming in the first two innings alone.

New York chased Marlins young phenom Eury Perez after just two outs in the first inning and never looked back. One way the Mets got to Perez was by being on his fastball.

"He didn’t have his best stuff today, but he’s a really good arm," Mendoza said of Perez after the win. "[Juan] Soto staying on the fastball, and [Brandon Nimmo] the same thing. We knew we had to be ready for the fastball and we did that. It comes down to attacking the fastball and not missing."

Soto and Nimmo provided three of the team's six homers in the win. Nimmo launched two, one off Perez in the first inning, which capped off five straight Mets getting on base to start the game.

"The guys were on his fastball pretty well," Nimmo said after the game. "He has an elite fastball. Guys were able to put it in play and have quality at-bats against him, keep the line moving…he’s a good young arm. The guys did a good job of turning the fastball around."

If you want some more historical facts about the Mets' offensive onslaught on Friday, here are a few:

• Tonight marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Mets scored five or more runs before recording their first out of the game
• The team’s 12 runs through the first two innings of tonight’s game were the most in franchise history, breaking the previous high of 10 set on four separate occasions
• The Mets had 20 plate appearances through the first two innings of the game, a franchise record 
• The team’s seven runs in the second were tied for their most in any inning this season. Their five runs in the first inning were tied for their most in any opening frame this season

"Good at-bats, up and down the lineup," Mendoza said of the performance. "We got to a really good starter today. Hit the ball out of the ballpark, went the other way when we needed to with two strikes. With runners in scoring position, we controlled the strike zone. Offensively, we know what we're capable of. It was good to see Nimm, Pete, Soto, all of those guys putting together some really good at-bats. It's always good when you're talking about records and things like that. It was a good performance."

"It’s a testament to this offense and what we’re capable of," Nimmo said. "We’ve seen it during the Phillies series and over the last 10 days. Guys really coming together and putting good ABs. It shows what this offense is capable of when it’s clicking. We did it against good arms, too. I’m very impressed and proud of this offense and what we’re capable of."

Latest on Ryan Helsley

Helsley has been dealing with a pitch tipping issue, which he believes is the cause of his struggles with the Mets.

The right-hander allowed a leadoff double in his one inning of work. While there were some hard-hit balls and a nifty play by Francisco Lindor and Alonso ended the inning, putting up a zero and getting out of trouble was good for Helsley.

 "The fact that he's making adjustments, he's trying. It was a different hand positions today, threw strikes, got out of the inning. It was good to get him some work. There's only so much you can do dry side, and getting on the mound. But when you're facing batters in real competition, that's what's going to tell you. For him to get that inning was good."