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Mets' Sean Manaea strikes out five with Triple-A Syracuse in final rehab start

Mets southpaw Sean Manaea completed what should be his final rehab start on Tuesday with Triple-A Syracuse.

While it wasn't his most efficient outing, the left-hander struck out five batters across 3.2 innings. He allowed three runs on four hits and one walk to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Manaea's night started off great, striking out two in a 1-2-3 first inning. But he got into trouble in the second, allowing a one-out walk before Rafael Lantigua singled to put runners on the corners. Rodolfo Castro then lofted a 78 mph sweeper that hung over the middle of the plate, over the left field wall to put the IronPigs up 3-1.

Mets manager Carlos Mendozabroke down the plan for Manaea prior to Tuesday's series opener against the Orioles, and said Manaea was slated to throw 70-75 pitches -- he threw 73 pitches -- and if the starter recovers well, he'll be activated for Sunday's series finale. It's unclear whether Manaea will start Sunday's game, but he and Clay Holmes will both pitch in the final game before the All-Star break.

If Tuesday was indeed Manaea's final rehab start, the southpaw completed six appearances (five starts). His last start saw Manaea allow two runs in three innings with Double-A Binghamton. His last, and only other start, with Syracuse came on June 19 when he allowed just one run across 5.1 innings while striking out seven. His best start in the minors this season.

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Giants, Athletics make MLB history with thrilling inside-the-park home runs

Giants, Athletics make MLB history with thrilling inside-the-park home runs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants and the Athletics teamed up to make MLB history in their respective wins on Monday night.

Early in the evening, Lawrence Butler led off the Athletics’ eventual 10-1 over the Atlanta Braves with an inside-the-park homer.

A few hours later, Patrick Bailey delivered a wild walk-off inside-the-park homer to lift the Giants to a 4-3 win over the Phillies.

Those two feats had never been accomplished on the same day.

Butler also is the first A’s player with a multi-homer game in which he hit both an inside-the-park and a fence-clearing home run since Billy Williams on Aug. 23, 1975.

As for Bailey, it was the first inside-the-park walk-off homer hit in MLB since Cleveland’s Tyler Naquin on Aug. 19, 2016, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Bailey is the first Giants catcher with an inside-the-park home run since Bob Brenly on Aug. 29, 1984, against the Montreal Expos.

The Giants and Athletics have been tied at the hip for decades, so it’s fitting that they combined to make history on Monday night.

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Lawrence Butler makes history as Athletics crush five homers in rout of Braves

Lawrence Butler makes history as Athletics crush five homers in rout of Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

What almost began as a leadoff home run turned into… a leadoff home run.

Lawrence Butler cracked the first pitch of the game to deep centerfield and while it missed being a traditional home run by mere feet, it did turn into an electric inside-the-park homer for the 24-year-old.

“To be honest, when I hit it I didn’t think I got it that good,” Butler told Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden on “A’s Cast” following the game. “But, I kind of looked at the right fielder and he was looking at the center fielder like he didn’t know where the ball was and I looked at the center fielder and he didn’t even move so I kind of was like ‘Maybe it’s a home run.’ And then I saw the ball hit the ground and bounce off and I was like ‘I gotta score.

“It was a crazy play, especially to start it off for the boys but hey we’ll take an inside-the-park any day. Home run. It’s the same in the books.”

But Butler wasn’t done. In the third inning, the man who reps “Zone 4” in his hometown of Atlanta crushed another ball against his hometown Braves – this time over the fence for his second home run of the game.

It was Butler’s first multi-home run game of the season, and it became the first time an Athletics player hit two home runs — with one of them being an inside-the-park homer — since Billy Williams did it in 1973.

“For Law, he’s the spark plug, really,” manager Mark Kotsay told reporters after the game. “He set the tone tonight with the first at-bat, got the energy going, excitement about that play. It’s always great to witness an inside-the-park home run. You saw him hit another gear, I think, when he saw the ball going towards right field. He had a great night, great at-bats.”

In all, the A’s cranked out five home runs with three coming in the first inning.

Brent Rooker and Max Muncy each added two-run homers to give the A’s a five-run lead after the first frame and they never looked back.

“It was a good game for the whole team, offensively and defensively,” Muncy told Chris Townsend and Steve Sax on “A’s Cast.” “Pitching was great, Springs and all the other guys. I think it was just a great all-around win.”

While that first inning had plenty of thrills for the A’s, there was a scary moment when Jacob Wilson was hit by a 97-mile-per-hour fastball from Braves rookie Didier Fuentes in his left hand. Luckily for the rookie, it was just diagnosed as a contusion.

“We did the X-rays,” Kotsay told reporters. “X-rays were negative which is a great sign. He did get squared up pretty good so he’ll probably most likely go day-to-day and well just evaluate him tomorrow.”

In the second inning, rookie Nick Kurtz decided he wanted to get in on the action, as well, and delivered his first-career grand slam — it was his 14th home run of the season and gave him a tie for most by a rookie this season with Agustin Ramirez of the Miami Marlins.

After three innings, the A’s lead was 10-0 and it would be more than enough for starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs, who went six strong innings while giving up six hits and one earned run.

Springs’ outing was his fourth straight outing of allowing two runs or fewer while going five or more innings. He has a 1.90 ERA over that span and boasts a 2-1 record for the team.

Mitch Spence will take the mound for the A’s on Wednesday when they square off with the Braves in the second game of the three-game set.

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Patrick Bailey's inside-the-park walk-off sparks wild stats, social media frenzy

Patrick Bailey's inside-the-park walk-off sparks wild stats, social media frenzy originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Anyone who stayed up late to witness Giants catcher Patrick Bailey’s unbelievable walk-off inside-the-park home run probably was glad they didn’t go to bed early.

Except for Philadelphia Phillies fans, of course.

Those who did stay awake had plenty to say on social media, including NBA star and Phillies fan Joel Embiid, who was left in disbelief.

Needless to say, walk-off inside-the-park home runs don’t happen every day, so Bailey’s unbelievable hit sparked some crazy stats that were shared on social media as well.

Clearly, this was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that Giants fans might never forget.

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Start of Tuesday's Mets-Orioles game delayed due to inclement weather

The start of Tuesday's Mets-Orioles game has been delayed due to inclement weather in Baltimore.

First pitch at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is scheduled to take place at around 7:00 p.m. on SNY.

Clay Holmes (8-4, 2.99 ERA) will take the mound for New York, while Brandon Young (0-3, 7.02 ERA) will start for Baltimore in the first game of a three-game series.

The Mets' lineup on Tuesday night will also feature Jesse Winker for the first time since May 4 as he was activated earlier Tuesday and Starling Martewas placed on the IL.

Holmes allowed two runs on three hits over 5.1 IP against the Milwaukee Brewers last time out on July 2 and got a no decision, as he's 3-1 with a 2.79 ERA with 23 strikeouts over his last seven starts (38.2 IP). While many starters will be having their last outing before the All-Star break, manager Carlos Mendoza said prior to the game that Holmes will throw again on Sunday in the series finale against the Kansas City Royals. It's undetermined if he or Sean Manaea, who'll make his season debut, will get the start.

Young, 26, is making just his fourth start of his career. He made his debut on April 26 against the Detroit Tigers, but was then sent back down to Triple-A. He returned to the bigs on June 25 vs. the Texas Rangers and most recently started on July 1, also against the Rangers, allowing three runs on six hits over four innings.

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What we learned as Patrick Bailey delivers wild inside-the-park walk-off homer

What we learned as Patrick Bailey delivers wild inside-the-park walk-off homer originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – From misery to joy in one swing.

Patrick Bailey lifted a night’s worth of frustration off the Giants’ shoulders with a thrilling three-run inside-the-park walk-off home run in the ninth inning, securing a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park.

Before Bailey’s heroics, it had been a night filled mostly with frustration for the Giants.

The Giants stranded numerous runners on base in the early going and failed to score in the eighth after getting their first two runners on base.

It worked out anyway and should add some momentum to an already hot Giants team as it preps for this weekend’s showdown against NL West leaders Los Angeles Dodgers.

On a cool evening at Oracle Park that began with numerous police motorcycles lining the warning track as part of Law Enforcement Appreciation Night, the Giants were criminally quiet offensively for most of the game until Bailey got it done.

They remain six games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

Jung Hoo Lee and Casey Schmitt had two hits apiece for the Orange and Black.

That helped on a day when starter Robbie Ray was not at his best.

Five days after throwing his second career complete game, Ray sputtered through an uneven night on the mound. He allowed only one run and four hits but walked three and pitched with runners on base only twice in his 5 2/3 innings of work. Ray had five strikeouts.

Here are the takeaways from a win that boosts the Giants to 51-42:

Ray’s day cut short

Five days after throwing an absolute gem and earning the second complete-game victory of his career, Ray struggled through one of his roughest outings of the 2025 season.

The All-Star pitcher lasted 5 2/3 uneven innings and allowed four hits and one run with five strikeouts and three walks.

Unlike the masterpiece he threw in Arizona last Thursday, Ray pitched with runners on base in three of his five innings of work. He kept the damage to a minimum, striking out the side in the second inning after giving up a leadoff walk.

Although his stat line was respectable, it wasn’t the type of outing that Giants fans have come to expect when Ray is toeing the rubber.

No heavy lifting required

The Giants scored their first run quietly. No power swings into McCovey Cove or drives into Triples Alley. Just simple, old-fashioned baseball to keep the line moving.

Mike Yastrzemski drew a leadoff walk in the second inning, advanced to third on Lee’s hit then scored on Dominic Smith’s check-swing single to left.

It was the first RBI in three weeks for the Giants’ first baseman. Not a huge turn of events but it’s definitely encouraging to see after Smith’s batting average tumbled from .367 in mid-June to the .239 mark he had entering Tuesday.

Buckle to the knuckle

Throughout the 2025 season, Ray has relied primarily on his fastball and slider as his dominant pitches. Against the Phillies, it was Ray’s wicked knuckle curve that had Philadelphia’s batters swinging at air.

Ray doesn’t use the pitch that often – 11 percent of the time, according to Baseball Savant – but it proved to be a great put-away pitch Tuesday.

Of the five strikeouts that Ray had, three came on a knuckle-curve that hit dirt as batters flailed away at the plate.

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MLB All-Star Game: Rotoworld staff picks for the 2025 Midsummer Classic

We are just a week away from the Midsummer Classic airing at 8 pm ET next Tuesday, July 15th. The MLB announced the starters for the 2025 All-Star Game last week, but we had a few thoughts of our own.

Below you'll find the Rotoworld Baseball Staff's picks to start the MLB All-Star game, plus some of our favorite reserves. Everybody was asked to choose their starting position players, one starting pitcher, one reserve hitter, and one reserve starting pitcher from both the American League and National League. We tallied the votes and awarded starting spots to those who came out ahead in our mini competition, but then we also took the other hitters and starting pitchers to received votes and put them in our reserves list. Since each writer did not create a full bench, you're primarily seeing players who got starting votes, which means not every player we think deserves to be in the All-Star game will be represented below.

Also, it should go without saying, but this is just an exercise for fun. We wanted to shine some light on players who we felt had a great first half that weren't awarded the starting spot that we felt they deserved, and also salute some who were.

American League Starters

C: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (unanimous)
1B: Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays
2B: Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers
3B: José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians (unanimous)
SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

"Not only has Jonathan Aranda outperformed nearly every first baseman in the American League this season, but he deserves to be introduced to a wider baseball audience where he isn't a household name. I'm a firm believer that the All-Star Game needs an injection of fresh faces every summer to avoid becoming stale, and giving someone like Aranda an opportunity seems like a way to do it on the American League side, where there are plenty of established stars in the mix at each position group." - George Bissell

"Bobby Witt Jr. had some inspired competition this year in the form of Jeremy Peña and Jacob Wilson, but I believe in voting for the best player, not just the one that had the best first three months, and the 2024 AL MVP runnerup hasn’t exactly been dethroned in hitting .296/.346/.503 with 24 steals and stellar defense at short. Fortunately, all three wound up making the team anyway." - Matthew Pouliot

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (unanimous)
OF: Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
OF: Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers (unanimous)
DH: Brent Rooker, Athletics

"It's surprising to us that Byron Buxton wasn't named a starter since he was selected on all but one of our ballots. The 31-year-old has remained healthy in the first half and hit .270 with 20 home runs, 16 steals, and an .879 OPS while posting an Outs Above Average score of 5 in his outfield innings. He's 5th in the entire American League in WAR and trails only Aaron Judge when it comes to outfielders. He deserved to start." - Eric Samulski

"Brent Rooker isn’t as worthy of an All-Star nod this year as last, but among the players actually listed as DHs on the AL ballot -- and with Rafael Devers obviously no longer eligible -- I’d say he deserves the nod over Ryan O’Hearn and Ben Rice, in part because of his 39 homers and 165 OPS+ last season. He’s been no slouch in coming in at .271/.348/.486 this season, and while O’Hearn has been a little better, his line benefits from him sitting against tough lefties." - Matthew Pouliot

SP: Tarik Skubal (unanimous)

Reserves (others receiving starter votes, plus honorary mention starting pitchers and bench bats:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B - Toronto Blue Jays
Brandon Lowe, 2B - Tampa Bay Rays
Jeremy Peña, SS - Houston Astros
Javier Baez, 3B/SS/OF - Detroit Tigers
George Springer, OF- Toronto Blue Jays
Yandy Diaz, 1B/DH - Tampa Bay Rays
Jacob Wilson, SS - Athletics
Hunter Brown, SP - Houston Astros
Garrett Crochet, SP - Boston Red Sox
Jacob deGrom, SP - Texas Rangers

"I voted for Jeremy Peña as my starter at shortstop, and he got three votes from our group. In truth, it's a legitimate toss-up between him and Witt. Pena has the better batting average and on-base percentage, and similar slugging. His wRC+ of 145 is better than Witt's 128 mark, but Witt is the better defender. I just wanted to award a player for making a huge jump and having a career season, so I'm just happy to see that Pena makes it on our team somewhere." - Eric Samulski

National League Starters

C: Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers (unanimous)
1B: Pete Alonso, New York Mets (unanimous)
2B: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks (unanimous)
3B: Eugenio Suárez, Arizona Diamondbacks
SS: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

"Pete Alonso has been the most impactful first baseman in all of baseball this season. He leads the position with 20 home runs, 73 RBI, and a .422 xwOBA while starting all 91 games his Mets have played. There's an argument that Michael Busch could have been the pick over him with a slightly better slash line across the board, but that would be splitting hairs. Especially after Alonso was so vital to the Mets' early-season surge while Juan Soto was still scuffling. He is the obvious pick here." - James Schiano

"The voting for third base in the NL was the most spread out for us with five votes for Eugenio Suárez, three votes for Manny Machado, and one vote for Matt Chapman. Suárez has helped to keep the Diamondbacks afloat during the first half of the season with his monster offensive performance. His home run (28) and RBI (74) totals dwarf every other third baseman in both leagues, with Junior Caminero (21 HR, 57 RBI) the next closest. His .881 OPS paces the position league-wide as well. It’s a travesty that Alec Bohm will be the National League’s starting third baseman instead of Suárez, but fortunately, the 33-year-old slugger was named to the squad as a reserve, making it the first time that he has appeared in the Mid-Summer Classic since the 2018 season." - Dave Shovein

OF: Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs (unanimous)
OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs (unanimous)
OF: James Wood, Washington Nationals
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers (unanimous)

"Choosing players for the All-Star is about two things: who has played the best in the first half and who Major League Baseball wants to represent them on one of their biggest nights of the year. James Wood easily checks both boxes. His .940 OPS leads all National League outfielders by a decent margin while his 23 home runs and 67 RBI are both inside the top-three. No matter how you slice it, he's one of the premier players in this league. Add in the fact that he's doing this at 22 years old, and we could be looking at a future face of the sport. That's someone the entire country should have a chance to watch against the league's best." - James Schiano

SP: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies

"Zack Wheeler has never started in the All-Star Game before, despite being one of the best pitchers in baseball for the better part of the past several years. And while he doesn't match the ERA of Paul Skenes, he has the edge in terms of strikeout percentage and walk percentage. Another narrative angle to keep in mind is that Wheeler is from the Atlanta metro area, so the timing is right to give him the starting nod." - D.J. Short

Reserves (others receiving starter votes, plus honorary mention starting pitchers and bench bats:

Michael Busch, 1B - Chicago Cubs
Freddie Freeman, 1B - Los Angeles Dodgers
Elly De La Cruz, SS - Cincinnati Reds
Trea Turner, SS - Philadelphia Phillies
Manny Machado, 3B - San Diego Padres
Matt Chapman, 3B - San Francisco Giants
Ronald Acuña Jr., OF - Atlanta Braves
Andy Pages, OF - Los Angeles Dodgers
Paul Skenes, SP - Pittsburgh Pirates
Cristopher Sanchez, SP - Philadelphia Phillies
MacKenzie Gore, SP - Washington Nationals

"The cosmic ideal for constructing these Midsummer Classic rosters manages to blend franchise icons with emerging superstars in a way that melds the past and present for casual fans. Voting for Manny Machado to make his seventh All-Star Game appearance just a few days after notching his 2,000th career hit seems like a no-brainer. The added dramatic tension of seeing San Diego's franchise cornerstone interact with Los Angeles’ superstars throughout the event doesn't hurt either." - George Bissell

"Andy Pages has made tremendous strides as an all-around player in his second season in the majors. The 24-year-old outfielder has been one of the leaders in the National League both in the field and at the plate, with a 128 WRC+ that ranks eighth among NL outfielders behind a .823 OPS, 17 homers, and seven steals while also ranking among the 95th percentile in Baseball Savant's Fielding Value. His overall contributions make Pages deserving of All-Star honors." - Jorge Montanez 

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Mets' Kodai Senga to start Friday vs. Royals; Sean Manaea likely to pitch Sunday

The Mets are very close to getting their top two pitchers back this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the team's series opener against the Orioles in Baltimore, manager Carlos Mendoza gave an update on Kodai Senga and when he's set to pitch.

"As of right now, the goal is for him to pitch Game 1 in Kansas City," Mendoza said. "We’ll see how the next few days goes, but that’s the plan as of right now."

Senga (hamstring) had not pitched since mid-June, and after having one rehab start -- where he allowed four runs (three earned) across 3.2 innings with Double-A Binghamton -- the right-hander is ready to return to a big league mound. Mendoza said that Senga is set to pitch a bullpen session either Tuesday or Wednesday, and if all goes well, he'll be the team's starter on Friday.

Prior to his injury, Senga dominated his 13 starts. He pitched to a 7-3 record and a 1.47 ERA.

Mendoza said Senga won't have any "real" restrictions, but the team will be monitoring their ace's progress on Friday.

"We have a number of pitches that we are comfortable with him, but Innings, not necessarily<" Mendoza said. "We’ll let the game dictate but we have a number in mind that we want to keep it at."

Sean Manaea to pitch before All-Star break

Manaea is also set to return to the Mets rotation very soon, and if all goes well in his rehab start on Tuesday, the southpaw will be set to join his team in Kansas City this weekend.

When asked if Manaea will pitch before the All-Star break, Mendoza said that was the plan but said it all comes down to how his left-hander comes away from his final rehab start.

The plan for Manaea on Tuesday is to throw 70-75 pitches with Syracuse and will be ready to take the mound for the big league club on Sunday.

Clay Holmes is also set to pitch on Sunday and Mendoza confirmed that if Manaea is good to go, both pitchers will appear in the series finale on Sunday. The Mets skipper said the decision on who will start and which pitcher will come out of the bullpen has not been decided but acknowledged both pitchers' ability to pitch out of the pen.

Holmes has more experience in the bullpen, being the Yankees' closer the last few seasons. Holmes has appeared in 307 games as a reliever in his career as opposed to his 21 as a starter.

Manaea has started 198 games in his career, but does have 30 games as a reliever under his belt.

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Phillies notes: RISP problems, Aaron Nola updates and Bryson Stott's struggles

Phillies notes: RISP problems, Aaron Nola updates and Bryson Stott's struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

SAN FRANCISCO – As observers as to the drought the Phillies are going through with runners in scoring position, you can somewhat feel the angst that the players must be feeling as they are now 0-for-24, turning RISP into a legitimate four-letter word, you know, like the swearing kind.

Phillies reserve Otto Kemp has both been in the lineup when it hasn’t delivered and watched from the bench during the struggles. While the situation is known, the approach to fixing it isn’t the rock-solid answer that many would want.

“It’s just a case where you can’t be over aggressive or looking for too much,” said Kemp, who is in the lineup Tuesday in left field and batting sixth against Giants All-Star lefty Robbie Ray.

“If you get something in the zone you have to hit the ball hard. It’s not just all about getting base hits. It’s about having good at-bats, and that could mean moving the runner over when needed. Hitting the ball hard somewhere which may force an error or something like that. It may not be a hit, but it’s getting the job done and that’s what we’re here to do. It’s not something that’s gone on for weeks and that is getting, like, religious to us, so we just go about our at-bats. You can’t think too much about it, but we know it. Good at bats will come. I’m confident in that. We have too many good hitters for it not to.”

When asked his approach to managing this kind of team slump, manager Rob Thomson kept it pretty simple. “I think Kevin (Long, hitting coach) talks as a team and I approach individually at times, sure, depending on who the player is and what they’re going through. It’s just a matter of relaxing them and as we always say – get a good pitch to hit, work counts, use the field.”

Sounds simple enough. We will see what happens.

What’s the update on Aaron Nola?

Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola flew down to Clearwater this past weekend to rehab himself from a rib cage fracture. A sprained ankle and now the newer injury have had Nola sidelined since May 15. Thomson said last week that his rehab time would be equivalent to going through spring training before he’d be ready to come back. As for the most recent update, Thomson said on Tuesday, “He’s going to throw a bullpen again tomorrow and then on Saturday and then we’ll go from there.”

With Nola out and Mick Abel being sent to the minors, Taijuan Walker took the mound for the start on Tuesday. His has been a roller coaster ride from bullpen to starter, and the manager knows that might be something that has to continue for a little bit.

There has been no commitment by anyone that prized prospect Andrew Painter will be coming up after the All-Star break, which begins after Sunday’s game in San Diego. And Abel is going to need to find his command again before he may get the nod. So, for the foreseeable future, it could be Walker?

“Very professional,” Thomson said of Walker. “It is difficult to go back and forth but he’s really handled it well. He’s all about the team and does whatever is needed to help the team. I know he’s going to go out there and compete. You can check that box before he even goes out because he’s going to compete.”

Monday night’s mishaps

Thomson wasn’t about to pin any blame on Monday’s home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, who missed many calls, some coming when Bryce Harper was hitting and a couple others when Orion Kerkering was pitching. Each of them had a major effect on what turned into a 3-1 win by the Giants when they scored two runs in the eighth inning after Kerkering wasn’t given a strikeout, not once, but twice, against Matt Chapman.

“Hey look, I don’t blame losses on umpires,” Thomson said. “I don’t. We had plenty of chances to win that game. Everybody has bad nights. I have bad nights, players have bad nights. Phil’s been around a long time. He’s been a really good umpire for a long time. Just one of those nights. Can’t get it back. We had plenty of chances.”

Bryson Stott’s struggles

As the Phillies were going to face a left handed pitcher on Tuesday, that meant Edmundo Sosa at second base and Bryson Stott to the bench. Asked last week about Sosa in the lineup, Thomson definitively said that he will play against lefties, as Stott has struggled at the plate this season hitting .233 against left handers and just .241 against right handers. 

“Kind of hot and cold,” is how Thomson described his second baseman’s hitting. “I think he’s gotten into a little bit of a habit where right now he’s gotten a little bit long (with his swing). He hit the home run the other day (Sunday, game-winning, two-run shot) which was great. It looked real short. He’s had some good swings but then again he gets a little bit long sometimes. He’s still seeing a lot of pitches, which is good. But, yeah, have the balance between seeing pitches and having the right mild aggressiveness go get some and do some damage. I still have confidence that by the time we’re done here this year he’s gonna find it.”

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Yankees place Mark Leiter Jr. on IL due to fibular head stress fracture

The Yankees have placed right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. on the IL due to a left fibular head stress fracture.

The fibular head is where the upper end of your fibula meets the tibia and moves with it when you move your knee joint.

Leiter told reporters that he suffered the injury while covering first base against the Reds on June 24.

There is no timetable for Leiter's return.

With Leiter out, right-hander Clayton Beeter has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Leiter had been struggling lately, allowing runs in three of his last five appearances -- though he tossed a scoreless frame against the Blue Jays on July 3 and 0.2 innings of scoreless ball against the Mets on Sunday.

Beeter has pitched in one big league game this season, when he allowed three runs on three hits while walking two and striking out none in 1.2 innings.

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Mets sign RHP Junior Fernandez to minor league deal

The Mets signed RHP Junior Fernandez to a minor league contract on Tuesday among a handful of roster moves, the team announced.

Fernandez, 28, will report to Triple-A Syracuse. He owns a 5.17 ERA over 51 MLB games, last pitching in the bigs in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The right-hander most recently was with the Kansas City Royals organization, throwing in 31 games for Triple-A Omaha this season. He went 2-5 with a 4.93 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 38.1 IP prior to being released on July 1.

What stands out about Fernandez is that he struck out 53 batters with 26 walks this season in Triple-A, resulting in an impressive 12.44 strikeouts per nine innings.

Fernandez started his professional career with the St. Louis Cardinals, signing as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2016. He made his MLB debut with the club in 2019. The righty was DFA'd in 2022 and claimed off waivers by the Pirates, making three appearances with the team. He then played 42 games for the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A team in 2022, followed by nine appearances for the Washington Nationals' Triple-A team in 2023.

He signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball ahead of the 2024 season, but had to get surgery on his clavicle and only made two appearances for the farm team before being released in July of 2024.

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Mets bounce back against Brewers and Yankees, now hit the road before the break | The Mets Pod

On the latest episode of The Mets Pod presented by Tri-State Cadillac, Connor Rogers and Joe DeMayo review big series wins for the Mets over the Brewers and Yankees, then preview the road trip before the All-Star break and the MLB Draft with Jim Callis of MLB.com.

First up, Connor and Joe look back at a bounce back week for the Mets, including a full Subway Series recap, a breakdown of a hot-hitting Brandon Nimmo, questions about Juan Soto not being an All-Star, and a look ahead to the games against the Orioles and Royals before the break.

Then, senior writer for MLB Pipeline and MLB.com Jim Callis stops by the show to reveal the top targets in next week’s MLB Draft for the Mets and other teams. The guys also flash back to last year’s top pick for the Mets, Carson Benge, and discuss the potential to trade MLB draft picks in the future.

Later, the show goes all over the farm to check in on Francisco Alvarez and prospect Nick Morabito, and answers Mailbag questions about picking one former Met to magically help the team today, and upcoming MLB Trade Deadline plans.

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

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Rafael Devers' first base debut with Giants delayed by minor back injury

Rafael Devers' first base debut with Giants delayed by minor back injury originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants’ plans to use Rafael Devers at first base have been put on hold, at least temporarily, while the veteran slugger continues to deal with a nagging back injury.

A third baseman throughout his MLB career, Devers has been the Giants’ primary designated hitter since being acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on June 15. The trade resulted from communication issues after Devers balked at being the DH or playing first base.

When the trade went down, the Giants made it clear they envision the three-time MLB All-Star splitting his time at DH and first base. Matt Chapman, who came off the Injured List over the weekend, has third base locked down.

In the first few days after Devers arrived in San Francisco, he went through drills at first base alongside Wilmer Flores. Manager Bob Melvin said the plan was to have Devers get some time at first base during the team’s recently completed road trip, but that idea got delayed because of Devers’ back injury.

Devers was in the Giants’ lineup Tuesday at designated hitter and batting second.

“We were targeting the road trip, he still had some issues,” Melvin said. “He’s still going out there and playing. You see that the running is a little bit of an issue for him at times right now so it’s probably going to be after the (All-Star) break at this point. Hopefully, the break really helps him.”

Devers has been dealing with a minor groin injury too, though it’s the back pain causing the most discomfort. That has affected his running more than hitting.

“The back pain started like two, three days after I arrived in San Francisco,” Devers told a pool reporter through interpreter Erwin Higueros. “Those are things that you go through throughout a baseball season. It’s nothing serious. I never had back problems. At first, it was just the groin. But all of a sudden I started feeling uncomfortable with the back.”

Devers entered Tuesday batting .240 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 20 games wearing the Orange and Black. He doesn’t believe his slow start in San Francisco is related to his injury.

“I know that the back is not affecting my swing,” Devers said. “I know that I’m going to start hitting. I’m going to practice as much as I can, and once I’m real healthy, then I’ll be at first (base).”

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Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery has different tack from Ron Washington. Is it working?

Los Angeles Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery sits in the dugout prior to a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery has gone 8-8 entering Tuesday's game since stepping in for Ron Washington last month. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

Ray Montgomery is just three weeks into his interim tenure as Angels manager. And as his responsibility grows, he’s well aware that so does the pressure.

“All blame, no credit,” he said Monday as the Angels began a seven-game homestand before the All-Star break. “And I get that. That's just how it goes.”

Since taking over as manager on June 20 for Ron Washington — who will remain on medical leave until the end of the 2025 season — Montgomery has guided the Angels (44-46) to an 8-8 record entering Tuesday.

They’ve had the good: taking two of three from the Braves in Atlanta last week. And they’ve had the bad: getting swept by the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre over the weekend.

Read more:Nolan Schanuel earns walk-off walk to lift Angels past Texas Rangers

Montgomery said he understands the expectations aren’t what they were a few years ago — when the Angels lost 89 or more games from 2022 to 2024 — and that the Angels aren’t so far away from their first postseason berth since 2014 thanks to their young core having a few seasons under its belt.

“We're not here to develop, although that's a piece to what we do,” Montgomery said. “We're here to win. And for the Angels, it's important for us to have an opportunity where we are.”

If anything, there’s a case to be made that the Angels could be over .500 if a few plays had gone their way. Since Montgomery took over as manager, the Angels are 2-5 in one-run ball games, including all three games in the Toronto series.

When asked what the Angels need to do or adjust to end up on the other end of those one-run contests — of which they’d been 17-11 across the full season — Montgomery pointed to big swings and specific plays.

“You can point to the big hits, I get it, but you can also point to the execution on smaller plays, too, that prevent runs,” he said. “We made some mistakes in those games.”

The Angels got one of those big plays on Monday night. Nolan Schanuel drew a walk-off walk for a 6-5 victory over the Rangers, wiping away miscues such as a dropped third strike that led to a score-tying RBI double.

Montgomery, in his fifth year with the Angels — fourth as a member of the coaching staff — turned to a decision he made in Atlanta last week as proof that one moment can change the game.

Against the Braves last week, Yusei Kikuchi had been brilliant. The Japanese left-hander was two-thirds into the sixth inning of his then-scoreless outing. Instead of keeping Kikuchi — at 100 pitches — in to try to finish off the side as he worked through the Braves lineup for the third time, Montgomery pulled the left-hander in favor of right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn with two runners on base.

It backfired. Sean Murphy, who struck out twice against Kikuchi earlier in the game, hit a three-run home run to give the Braves a 3-2 lead, an advantage that would turn into an 8-3 loss.

"If I leave Kikuchi in Atlanta, right, and he gets a guy he handled pretty good during the game, we may sweep that series too,” Montgomery said. "[Games are] magnified now — I get it."

Decisions like those are where Washington and Montgomery’s managerial strategies may differ. Washington, a longtime MLB coach, comes from an era of giving starting pitchers a longer leash (it goes hand in hand with the Angels using just five starting pitchers so far in 2025).

Montgomery, who comes from a scouting background in his post-playing career, may value analytical strategy more — holding pitchers from facing a lineup a third time through the order and playing matchups more.

Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who has played for new-school managers that emphasize analytics such as Kevin Cash, as well as old-school managers such as Terry Collins, says Montgomery toes the line in between both managerial styles.

“He's got a good feel,” d’Arnaud said. “He trusts the staff, which is really good, and also trusts the bullpen, which is also really good. He has really good communication with every player, lets them know when they're playing — which is more of a younger thing — and so it's a mix of both [new- and-old school].”

Read more:Angels can't keep pace during loss to red hot Toronto Blue Jays

Strategy could be the difference between Murphy facing Zeferjahn rather than Kikuchi. Strategy may be the difference between a win and a loss — or staying in contention for an American League wild-card spot.

“It's tough to say,” right-hander Jack Kochanowicz said when asked about the difference between Washington and Montgomery. “You feel like each game is different. It's hard to really put an identity to either one of them, especially since Ray’s so new to it, too. It’s a small sample size.”

For Montgomery, he said he’s not going to dwell on the could-have-beens. Squarely in the chase — and in the zone between the franchise deciding between buying and selling at the trade deadline — he’s just happy the Angels are in the conversation.

“If you told us coming up on the All-Star break, that we were in the mix a couple games above or below .500 — and I'm not ignorant of the fact that we've cost ourselves a few games, we should be a little better than we are — I would be happy with where we sit right now,” Montgomery said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Logan Webb holds Buster Posey in high regard, says Giants feel his ‘want to win'

Logan Webb holds Buster Posey in high regard, says Giants feel his ‘want to win' originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Buster Posey does not like to lose.

The three-time World Series champ-turned-president of baseball operations for the Giants has made that clear over the years, especially to his ace pitcher Logan Webb.

Webb joined KNBR’s Greg Papa and Greg Silver on Tuesday and discussed the current state of Giants affairs and gave plenty of praise to the first-year front office executive.

“If there’s one thing that Giants fans, baseball fans and all of us know about Buster Posey, it’s that he’s not OK with losing,” Webb told Papa and Silver. “He doesn’t like to lose, doesn’t want to lose and I think that’s just, kind of, it’s part of his nature.

“He wants to win. He wants to see winning and that’s huge. We feel it, we feel that every time he walks into our clubhouse. I got to feel it when I played with him. He was the guy you just didn’t want to disappoint, you wanted to win for him, right?

“And it’s kind of the same thing and I think him going out and getting a guy like [Rafael Devers] … it shows, you know, going out and getting Willy this year, signing [Matt Chapman] last year, going out and getting [Justin Verlander]. There’s a lot of things that he’s done that just show that he really believes in this, he loves San Francisco, he wants us to win, he wants the Giants to be successful.”

The trade with the Boston Red Sox for Devers shocked the baseball world when it happened last month and while the 28-year-old designated hitter has struggled with the club, it’s still very apparent that the Giants are in win-now mode.

Webb also mentioned the upcoming trade deadline and while he didn’t say anything about more moves being made, with the team sitting at 50-42 and second place in the NL West, it wouldn’t be surprising.

The team currently holds a one-game lead over the San Diego Padres for the third and final National League Wild Card spot.

“It’s very refreshing and obviously, just love being a Giant and I love that he’s the leader of this whole thing,” said Webb.

It’s always a benefit at a job to like your boss and it seems Webb is very happy with Posey at the helm.

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