Rico Garcia has pitched well in two different stints with the Mets this season, but it appears he is being cut loose again for a fresh bullpen arm.
Garcia is being designated for assignment following Saturday's win over the Giants, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The right-hander was in cleanup duty as he worked the ninth inning of Saturday's victory and he gave up a meaningless two-out, two-run homer to shortstop Willy Adames.
Prior to that, he had allowed just one earned run and three hits across four strong appearances since making his return to the organization.
Overall, Garcia has pitched to a 2.13 ERA and 0.71 WHIP as a Met.
The last time he was DFA'd he ended up being scooped up relatively quickly by the Yankees, but he was let go after one bad outing and returned to the Mets.
With New York parting ways again, they open up a spot on the 40-man and active roster.
We got our first real look at the Mets’ retooled bullpen.
Kodai Senga labored for the third consecutive outing since returning from the IL, and was only able to get through four innings of work on Saturday against the Giants.
“With the way he was throwing, I was going to be aggressive as long as I had the guys available,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was just one of those days where he just didn’t have it.”
So after the offense finally pieced together a rally to strike twice and regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth, the skipper decided to turn things over to Reed Garrett in place of the struggling Senga in the fifth.
Garett put together a clean frame and then retired the first batter in the sixth, before handing things over to Gregory Soto who took care of business by striking out back-to-back hitters to end the inning.
Tyler Rogers then came on and pieced together a clean frame in his first appearance as a Met.
After the offense tacked on to put this one away for good, Brooks Raley threw a scoreless eighth and then Rico Garcia allowed a two-run homer as he put the finishing touches on the victory in the ninth.
Combined, they allowed just those two runs on five hits in as many innings.
And with the offense opening up the commanding lead in the late innings, both Ryan Helsley and Edwin Diaz were able sit down and get a full day of rest, so they should be fresh heading into Sunday’s series finale.
“For Kodai to not have his greatest stuff today and our bullpen to be able to pick him up, it’s just huge,” Brandon Nimmo said. “It’s a testament to the contributions and the additions we made I’m so happy to have these guys, we have a really deep bullpen that’s scary now.”
“The potential for those guys, sky’s the limit for them,” Pete Alonso added. “Everyone’s got nasty stuff down there, it’s tough at-bats from everybody -- I’d hate to be the other team’s hitters in the box. It’s exciting.”
In a collective slump for most of July, the Mets' big hitters at the top of the lineup finally broke out in a big way on Saturday to help New York even the series against the San Francisco Giants heading into Sunday's series finale.
Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso -- dubbed the Mets' "Fab Four" this season -- had nine of the team's 13 hits while Nimmo, Lindor and Alonso drove in 10 runs in a 12-6 win.
Alonso's three-run bomb (after Nimmo was hit by a pitch and Lindor walked) started things off in the first inning. In the fourth inning, the top of the lineup came through once more with Nimmo and Lindor driving in runs to re-take the lead after the Giants had gone up in the top half of the inning. That same duo atop the order was at it again in the sixth, driving in runs on back-to-back singles to extend the lead.
For an encore, Nimmo and Lindor tacked on three more in the eighth after Nimmo hit his third single of the game and Lindor smacked a double to the gap in right center. They're both now tied for second on the team (alongside Soto) with 63 RBI while Alonso leads the pack at 86 driven in.
"It’s always good to see those guys performing and having good at-bats, getting results, driving the ball, getting big hits, taking walks," said manager Carlos Mendoza. "We haven’t seen that in a while. But we know they’re too good of players and too good of hitters."
And while the contributions made by the middle and bottom of the order during the "Fab Four's" slump were helpful and did not go unnoticed, the Mets know that if they want to go far into the postseason, their superstars at the top of the order will need to lead the way.
What was also great about the offensive onslaught spearheaded by the big guns at the top is that so many hits came with runners in scoring position.
New York's struggles with RISP this season have been well-documented -- it's been an ugly trend for the team all year. Just last night, in the bottom of the 10th inning after San Francisco drove in the free runner to take a 4-3 lead, the Mets were unable to do the same. Even worse was it was the top of the lineup that couldn't get the job done, not even able to advance the free runner to third.
It was just another example in a long line of disappointing, albeit much too familiar occurrences. But on Saturday, those troubles were conquered with New York finishing 8-for-17 with RISP.
"At some point this is going to turn and it was good to see it today – up and down, but especially those guys at the top," Mendoza said about his team righting their offensive struggles. "They’re special and when they get going we’re pretty dangerous and we saw it today. We need them."
Of course, it was just one game and the Mets have been susceptible this season to falling flat after a big game offensively. So, the goal for the team for the final two months of the season -- now that the bullpen has been fortified and on full display over the last two games -- needs to be keeping the offense going.
Saturday was a great start in doing that.
"We have a great team overall," Lindor said after the game. "... Our front office did a fantastic job of building and putting this team together and now it's on us."
Facing the Giants for the second time in a week -- a situation he’s thrived in to this point in the season -- Senga was forced to work through trouble in each of his four innings of work.
He danced around a two-on, one-out jam in the first, but then quickly loaded the bases after a double and two walks in the second, and the first run of the game scored thanks to a double play ball.
Senga almost put together his first clean inning of the afternoon in the third, but after issuing a four-pitch walk to Matt Chapman, former Met Dom Smith lined his third home run of the season to even things up at three.
San Fran jumped in front for the first time in the game in the fourth as the struggling Jung Ho Lee led off the inning with a hard-hit opposite-field double and scored two batters later on a Grant McCray single.
Senga was able to get through that frame without any further damage on his line, but he still closed his book with four runs allowed on five hits and three walks with four punchouts across just four innings of work.
“The biggest thing was the uncompetitive pitches,” he said through a translator.
“He’s having a hard time filling the zone right now,” manager Carlos Mendoza added. “A lot of three ball counts, walks, hit by pitch -- he got behind in counts and when he came into the zone they were able to make him pay.”
Senga has now allowed three or more earned runs in four straight outings, and he’s completed five innings just once over that span.
While he insists his hamstring is back to 100 percent healthy, he feels that he may be overcompensating in certain areas mechanically which could be a reason behind the continued struggles.
Either way, the skipper isn’t too concerned just yet.
“He wants to be better, he’s a competitor,” Mendoza said. “We understand where he’s at, this is outing number four after he got hurt, so we understand it’s a process and it’s going to take longer for some guys coming back.
“I’m not worried about it, we’re not worried -- but I’m pretty sure he’s frustrated because he wants to go deep into games and he wants to preform -- and he will. So I’m not worried about it.”
The Mets’ Double-A affiliate has been headlined by their offense this season, but on Saturday afternoon it was their pitching that delivered.
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies put together the ninth no-hitter in franchise history, holding the Harrisburg Senators to just two walks in a 3-0 victory.
The squad also delivered a perfect game back in May, started by top prospect Jonah Tong.
This one was opened up by Mets left-hander Brandon Waddell, who was with the squad making his first rehab appearance as he begins working his way back to the club from a hip impingement.
Waddell was terrific, striking out six of the eight batters he faced across 2.2 innings of work.
26-year-old right-hander Luis Moreno followed him as the bulk reliever and put together three more terrific innings of his own, allowing just one walk while striking out four.
Hard-throwing 22-year-old Ryan Lambert then came on and put the finishing touches on the outstanding team effort, punching out three of the five batters he faced to end the ballgame.
Lambert has a stellar 1.93 ERA on the season between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton.
Rumble Ponies No-No!!! 🫨🫨
Luis Moreno, Ryan Lambert, and MLB Rehabber Brandon Waddell combined for the 9th no-hitter in franchise history
The Mets snapped their losing streak with a 12-6 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday afternoon at Citi Field.
Here are some takeaways...
- One of the biggest reasons behind the Mets' four-game losing streak coming into the day was the lack of production from the top of their order. The "Fab Four" of Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso have been stuck in brutal slumps at the plate -- but some of them delivered on Saturday.
- Alonso got the scoring started by crushing a 1-2 Kai-Wei Teng fastball for a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. The big man has now left the yard on back-to-back days to bring him just two away from tying Darryl Strawberry's all-time franchise record.
- The Mets' offense was relatively quiet after Alonso's homer, but then Nimmo and Lindor took things over. The bottom of the order started rallies in the fourth, sixth, and seventh innings and the dynamic duo at the top came through each time to deliver run-scoring hits.
Nimmo, Lindor, and Alonso finished the day a combined 8-for-12 with five runs scored and 10 RBI.
- Cedric Mullins played a part in each of those rallies, picking up his first Met hit in the fourth before stealing second and then scoring on Nimmo's RBI hit. The CF had a chance to make another highlight reel play in the first, but he just mistimed his jump.
- Brett Baty was on-base three times with two walks and a hit, he also scored each time.
- Kodai Senga struggled mightily for the fourth consecutive outing since returning from the IL. The right-hander worked around a pair of baserunners in the top of the first, but the Giants were able to get to him in each of his next three innings of work.
He loaded the bases with a double and two walks in the second, but limited the damage to just one run with some help from a double play. Senga appeared to put together his first clean inning in the third, but he issued a two-out walk and then former Met Dom Smith evened things up with his third homer of the season.
San Fran then took their only lead in the fourth on a Jung Ho Lee double and Grant McCray single. Senga was able to get through that frame without any further damage, but he still closed his book with four runs allowed on five hits and three walks with four punchouts across just four innings of work.
- With the new depth in the bullpen, Reed Garrett was brought in behind Senga in the fifth. After Garrett put together a clean inning and then retired the first batter in the sixth, Gregory Soto came on and struck out back-to-back left-handed hitters.
Tyler Rogers threw a scoreless inning in his first outing as a Met, then with the score out of hand Brooks Raley put up a zero in the eighth. Rico Garcia allowed a two-run homer, but put the finishing touches on the victory and strong effort from the revamped bullpen.
- With the Phillies falling to the Tigers, the Mets have jumped back into first place in the NL East.
Game MVP(s): Top of the order
Nimmo, Lindor, and Alonso carried the weight for the offense in this one.
Less than 24 hours after their nightmare ending in Miami, the Yankees were lifeless in a 2-0 loss to the Marlins on Saturday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways...
- Likely still shell-shocked from blowing multiple huge leads on Friday night, New York appeared to let that affect its play on the field, especially in the first few innings.
- Trent Grisham did well by leading off the game with a walk before stealing a base to try and get the Yankees going in the first inning. However, it had unintended consequences. With two outs, Giancarlo Stanton scorched a single into left field that came off his bat at 111 mph. Normally that should be good for a run to score, especially with Grisham's speed, but the exit velocity allowed the ball to get to left fielder Kyle Stowers rather quickly and he came up firing towards home plate. Despite running on contact, Grisham was thrown out by a mile for the final out of the inning.
- What happened to New York in the second inning was less unfortunate and more egregious. Once again, the inning began with a leadoff walk, this one to Jazz Chisholm Jr. After Ben Rice flied out, Paul Goldschmidt popped out to second base. Inexplicably (as if Friday night wasn't bad enough), Chisholm was somehow doubled off on the play after Xavier Edwards quickly threw the ball to first base, beating a scampering Chisholm to the bag and ending the inning.
- After that, whatever chance the Yankees had to win the game seemed to completely go out the windows inside loanDepot park. New York played totally uninspired baseball from that point on in what was an easily winnable game. The only other offensive threat by the Yanks came in the fifth when Rice doubled and Goldschmidt walked with one out. It was quickly neutralized, though, after Ryan McMahon struck out and Anthony Volpe grounded out.
- New York finished the game with two hits and didn't have a single base runner since Goldschmidt's walk -- a streak of 14 batters.
- The Marlins weren't much better besides former Yankees prospect Agustin Ramirez, who tagged starter Cam Schlittler for two solo home runs -- one in the first and one in the fourth. Other than that, Miami had a total of two hits as the combination of Schlittler and the bullpen set the offense down.
- Schlittler went five innings and allowed two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out six and threw 92 pitches (58 strikes).
Game MVP: Agustin Ramirez
In a game devoid of much offense, Ramirez's two solo blasts provided all the scoring on Saturday.
What's next
The Yankees conclude their series in Miami with a Sunday matinee. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 p.m.
RHP Luis Gil makes his season debut and will face off against Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (4-5, 3.35 ERA).
CLEVELAND — Every time Byron Buxton picked up his phone Thursday afternoon, there was a text message or news ping that one of his Minnesota Twins teammates was being traded.
Two days later, Buxton was still trying to take in all the moves the Twins made as the front office made nine trades and turned over nearly 40% of the roster.
Even though the All-Star center fielder is on the 10-day injured list with left ribcage inflammation, Buxton joined the Twins in Cleveland for this weekend’s series as the franchise’s clubhouse leader wanted to be there to provide support and be a sounding board for teammates.
“I mean ,trading nine guys like that is something that’s not normal, so it was a little bit of a shock for sure,” Buxton said before Saturday’s game. “Right now, obviously, I haven’t processed it. I don’t know who has processed it, but something we’ll talk about a little bit more at the end of the season.”
Manager Rocco Baldelli said that having Buxton on the trip was important, not only for the support that he can give, but also because he remains on track to rejoin the lineup on Wednesday when the Twins are at Detroit.
“Keeping him with our trainers here and being able to get on the field here with the group when he’s ready was important, but also the support that he’s going to be giving the guys around him. Everybody looks to him, everyone looks to see how he’ll respond to things, and he’s a passionate guy. He cares about his teammates and his team and guys respect him immensely.”
Buxton said he understands that baseball is a business and he anticipated moves were going to be made near the deadline. However, the amount of turnover was surprising.
The Twins’ most-significant move near the deadline was when shortstop Carlos Correa was dealt to Houston. Correa broke into the majors with the Astros and still has a house in Houston as he waived his no-trade clause.
“It’s one of those things where you didn’t think he was going to leave but with the opportunity that was ahead of him and just him being an Astro before, it’s hard to pass that up in his situation. I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. It is what’s best for him,” Buxton said about Correa.
While there are a lot of unknowns about the Twins as the team remains for sale, Buxton is trying to focus on the present. That includes making sure the new faces on the team can get acclimated quickly as well as trying to make sure the season doesn’t spiral too much out of control.
Minnesota won the AL Central in 2023, but missed the playoffs with an 82-80 mark last season. The Twins entered Saturday at 51-58 and on a three-game losing streak.
“These guys coming up, I don’t want them to look at this as ‘I finally got a shot.’ You came up here because you want to win and you want to be better. So it’s just playing together and having each other’s backs is going to be the biggest thing going forward,” he said.
While Eldridge’s raw power is beyond enticing, don’t expect Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey to fast track MLB’s No. 17 overall prospect to the big leagues at the risk of hindering his development.
Posey cited his trust in the organization’s player development staff in determining when the right time for Eldridge to be called up will be.
“One of the luxuries now with having Rafael Devers is that we’re not as rushed with Bryce,” Posey explained. “Randy Wynn and Kyle Haines and player development I know feel strongly that it’s important for these guys to get their reps.”
But Posey didn’t outright close the door on Eldridge expediting his path to MLB promotion.
“We want them to beat the door down,” Posey said. “We really want them to beat the door down to get here and be ready to make an impact when they get here.”
While “beat the door down” certainly is subjective, Eldridge plikely will be making his Giants debut sooner rather than later if he continues hitting home runs at the rate he has since being elevated to Triple-A.
Russell Martin has managed just 270 minutes of football as Rangers head coach, and already he has left his players without a name.
After the Ibrox side's 1-1 draw at Motherwell in their opening Scottish Premiership fixture, Martin said his players were "lucky to get a point".
An "extremely disappointed and hurt" Ibrox head coach said the impressive Fir Park side were "braver" and "more aggressive" than his team.
He lambasted "two men on the pitch who want to do what they want to do" and said some of his players "have to drop their ego".
"The default is to revert to type," he added. "It's not really tactical, it's a mentality problem."
It is the third straight season in which Rangers have failed to win their opening league match. But the first time Martin has publicly unloaded on his players.
On Wednesday in Athens, Martin acknowledged that performances could have been better across Rangers' two-legged Champions League qualifying win over Panathinaikos, but he said he was "so proud" of his players.
Three days later, the mood has shifted remarkably.
Across two post-match interviews with BBC Scotland and Sky Sports, Martin chose not to hold back after his third game in charge of Rangers.
Here are the key lines from his furious reaction:
"I think we were lucky to get a point. We were nowhere near where we need to be. And I'm extremely disappointed and hurt by that. They were braver than us. They were more aggressive than us."
"The thing I can't accept is, whatever the tactics are, we got outfought and they were braver than us to play in certain moments.
"We pick and choose when we want to play properly and when we want to run hard. When the game's not going well, we have too many players that want to do their own thing and slip into self-preservation.
"This is not me blaming the players at all; I think it's a problem the club has had over the last few years. When it's going well, it's fine, and when it's not, there's a problem. It's not together enough on the pitch.
"I've said to the players, there is a default here at this football club to revert to type. When it's going really well, everyone's all in. When it's not going well, you protect yourself a little bit. You can't play for this club and just enjoy the really good moments. You have to be all in all the time."
"We had two men on the pitch today that want to do what they want to do. When you want to just jog around and do what you want to do, there's a big problem. So some of them have to drop their ego."
"There'll be people left behind if they don't want to come because they need to understand what playing for this football club will take and what it means."
"The lethargy and all that stuff is not acceptable. So I'm surprised by that. But I'm more angry than surprised."
"I will look at us tactically and accept my responsibility in it. But today, it's a mentality problem. And we got more than what we deserved, actually."
What did the pundits make of it?
Before Motherwell found their late equaliser, former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson has expressed deep concern about his old side's approach.
"At the moment there's nothing coming from Rangers; it's quite worrying," he said on BBC Sportsound. "I've not got a clue what their tactic is. I don't see it."
After Motherwell netted the leveller their play more than merited, Ferguson added: "I've got a real worry after watching that second half. They players still have a lot to prove to that Rangers support."
Speaking on Sky Sports, irate former Rangers striker Kris Boyd said: "It's the same things that keep happening time after time after time.
"It's early in the season. We know there are going to be players arriving. We know there are going to be players going out. But the alarming thing for is he's calling them out so early on."
Despite agreeing with Martin, former Celtic forward Chris Sutton was also taken aback by the Rangers boss' comments, saying the remarks "were extreme".
"For him to for him to do that first game of the season, he sees him every day in training, he must think they're rank rotten," he said on Sky Sports.
"Because why wouldn't there be a bit more balance there? When have you ever seen a manager do that first game of the season? That was extreme as extreme."
What do the stats tell us?
Former Motherwell forward James McFadden said "a draw was a good result for Rangers based on that performance".
The comment was perhaps made with tongue in cheek, but the stats back up it up.
Motherwell's expected goals tally by the end of the match was 2.21 to Rangers' 0.7.
Jens Berthel Askou's brave and expansive side finished the game with five big chances, according to stats provider Opta. Rangers had one.
The 17 shots Martin's side faced at Fir Park means his team have faced 51 efforts across just three games this season.
Over those three matches, Rangers have conceded only twice, but their opponents have amassed a total expected goals tally of 5.58.
That is simply unsustainable, and Martin will know that more than anyone.
What do the fans think?
Bill: It's very early, but I would be surprised if this Rangers team put in a challenge for the league title. Very poor.
Stevie: Anyone got paint on a wall drying? Better watch than Russell Martin's boring tactics.
George: Brutal. [Martin] does not have a clue. No style, no direction, no quality.
Graeme: Different manager, different team, same guff from Rangers.
Pete Alonso is one step closer to Darryl Strawberry’s Mets home run record.
The big man opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon by crushing a 1-2 fastball from Giants right-hander Kai-Wei Teng to deep left-center for a no-doubt three-run shot.
The first inning blast left the bat at a whopping 109.4 mph and carried 428 feet.
Alonso seems to be finding his way into a groove after a brutally cold stretch at the plate.
He has now gone deep in back-to-back days to open August, giving him 24 on the season.
He’s also up to 250 for his career, leaving him just two away from tying Strawberry’s record.
Alonso is the fifth player in MLB history with 250+ homers over their first seven big-league seasons.
He joins Ralph Kiner, Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Eddie Matthews.
Marcus Stroman had a one word message after being cut loose by the Yankees.
The right-hander posted an Instagram story flashing his watch on his plane Saturday afternoon with a very brief caption: “Adios.”
Stroman, of course, was released Friday after two disappointing years with the club.
He pitched to a 4.31 ERA and 1.46 WHIP across 30 appearances last season, and ultimately found himself left off of the Bombers’ 26-man ALDS roster.
He was added back on for the ALCS and World Series, but didn't make an appearance.
Stroman missed time at the beginning of this season with left knee inflammation, and he hadn't quite been able to find his footing since making his return from the IL.
He allowed four earned runs on six hits over five innings of work in his last outing Thursday against the Rays, bringing his ERA to 6.23 for the year.
Luis Gil will rejoin the rotation on Sunday, so it was between Stroman, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler for the final two spots, and the team decided to move forward with their young arms in the mix.
“Obviously, that was a tough decision we made today,” Aaron Boone said Friday. “The perception around Stro, for us, did not meet the guy we got to be around the last couple years -- he’s just an awesome competitor.
“It’s a case of we think Warren and Schlittler are ready to be in the rotation full-time. Just felt like with some more roster moves probably coming over the next few days at least, the timing was right.”
Stroman finishes his time with the Yankees with a 4.69 ERA over 39 appearances.
Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell went five innings in his return from injury Saturday against the Rays, striking out eight while walking none. (Chris O'Meara / Associated Press)
Blake Snell nearly had a flawless return from the injured list on Saturday afternoon.
If only the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t have slugger Yandy Díaz, or a quirky short right-field wall at their temporary home at Steinbrenner Field.
Making his first start since the second week of the season, when he went down with a shoulder injury that shelved him, Snell largely looked like the ace the Dodgers thought they were getting when they signed him to a $182-million contract this offseason.
Over a five-inning start that included eight strikeouts, no walks and a whole bunch of flailing swings by the Rays, the veteran left-hander flashed his two-time Cy Young Award-winning stuff and tantalizing late-season potential.
However, in the Dodgers’ 4-0 loss to the Rays, Snell gave up three runs on a pair of long balls to Díaz –– who twice took advantage of the ballpark’s short porch in right field.
After the Rays’ permanent home, Tropicana Field in nearby St. Petersburg, had its canvas roof shredded during Hurricane Milton this winter, the club relocated to Steinbrenner Field for this season; using the New York Yankees’ open-air, Tampa-based spring training park for its home schedule.
Since the 10,000-seat venue was modeled after Yankee Stadium in New York, its defining feature is a short right-field wall (similar to the one in the Bronx) that measures at just 314 feet down the line — eight feet shorter than the dimensions at Tropicana Field.
In the bottom of the first inning, Díaz took full advantage, golfing a 3-1 fastball the other way for a solo home run. According to MLB’s Statcast system, the ball traveled only 326 feet, and would have stayed in play at each of the league’s other 29 stadiums. But not here, and especially not on a sweltering summer afternoon with a first-pitch temperature of 91 degrees.
The first-row drive opened the scoring and it wouldn’t be the last souvenir Díaz sent that direction on the day.
Two innings later, Díaz came back to the plate with Snell seemingly in a groove, having retired seven of the next eight batters, including five on strikeouts.
However, on a 1-1 fastball that was up in the zone, Díaz launched one to the opposite field again, hitting a two-run blast on a 341-foot fly ball that would’ve been a homer in only two other parks (Yankee Stadium itself, and Daikin Park in Houston).
Frustrating results that overshadowed an otherwise auspicious day.
In the big picture, after all, the Dodgers’ main priorities for Snell are: 1) Stay healthy; 2) Pitch better than he did at the start of the season, when his bothersome shoulder contributed to two underwhelming outings that marred the start of his Dodgers career.
Tampa Bay's Yandy Díaz watches his solo home run off Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell during the first inning Saturday. (Chris O'Meara / Associated Press)
Down the stretch this season, the Dodgers’ biggest strength might be their rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is in the Cy Young Award conversation. Tyler Glasnow has looked improved since returning from his own shoulder injury. Shohei Ohtani has showcased tantalizing talent in his return from a Tommy John procedure. And even Clayton Kershaw has been productive in his 18th season.
The biggest linchpin, though, likely remains Snell — whom the Dodgers targeted this offseason in hopes of avoiding the tightrope they walked last October, when their injury-ravaged rotation was almost completely depleted by the start of the postseason.
While the Dodgers had managed in Snell’s absence, maintaining a narrow lead in the National League West despite another prolonged stretch of patchwork pitching, manager Dave Roberts acknowledged they had missed his “presence” over the first two-thirds of the season.
Having guys like him and Glasnow back, Roberts added, could mean “everything” to the team’s chances entering the stretch run of the campaign.
“Last year, we found a way to do it, not having that [rotation depth],” Roberts said. “But having the starters healthy, pitching the way they're capable of, makes it a better quality of life for everyone.”
Outside of the Díaz home run, Snell offered plenty of promise in his return to action.
First and foremost, he filled up the strike zone, eliminating his habit of nibbling around the plate by throwing 57 strikes in 86 pitches. And, in another positive development, many of those strikes were of the swing-and-miss variety.
Snell racked up 19 whiffs on Saturday, tied for third-most by a Dodgers pitcher in a game this season. Seven came on 12 total swings against his changeup, a key offspeed pitch that showed no signs of rust even after his long layoff. Five others were courtesy of his slider, with the Rays coming up empty on all five swing attempts against it.
It wasn’t enough to help the Dodgers win on Saturday — when their lineup managed only six hits and squandered its best opportunity to rally on Teoscar Hernández’s bases-loaded, inning-ending double-play grounder in the top of the sixth.
But it did raise the hopes about the potential of the team’s late-season rotation, offering a glimpse of the dominance the Dodgers will need out of Snell the rest of the year.
“I think this is sort of what we envisioned,” Roberts said, with his pitching staff finally looking closer to its original design. “It hasn’t been linear, like it ever is, as far as how you get to a place. But … signs are kind of looking like the roster we all intended.”
The Giants knew losing Tyler Rogers would sting, and of course with baseball being the comedic entity of a sport that it is, the reliever made his New York Mets debut against his former team while San Francisco’s own bullpen wounds still were fresh.
In perhaps a perfect microcosm of where both Rogers and his former employers currently stand, the Giants watched their once-dominant bullpen flounder while the submarining right-hander logged a scoreless inning in his first action for the Mets in San Francisco’s 12-6 loss to New York on Saturday at Citi Field.
Spencer Bivens and Tristen Beck got tagged for seven earned runs across three innings of work after the former took the mound with the Giants trailing just 5-4 in the sixth inning. Despite the ups and downs of the 2025 MLB season, the Giants previously attacked these situations from a place of strength, having the luxury of rolling out Randy Rodríguez or Rogers to keep San Francisco within striking distance. Now with a bullpen in limbo, the Giants are dealing with the immediate consequences of reshuffling the deck.
“Yeah, we knew we were going to see it at some point,” Melvin told reporters when asked if it was weird facing Rogers after Saturday’s loss. “I’m sure it was just as uncomfortable for him — or weird, put it that way.”
There always was a long-term component driving the decision to trade one of MLB’s best relievers, and yet the potential of striking gold on a prospect or two in the return haul serves merely as a coping mechanism in the interim as the Giants watched Rogers seamlessly do what he has done for years, delivering in a late-inning situation without so much as breaking a sweat.
Even amid their prolonged slump, there always existed the possibility of the Giants gritting their way into a playoff berth, where San Francisco could enter any prospective series with a moderate level of confidence boasting a three-headed monster at the back of its bullpen.
After all, this organization rattled off three World Series championships in five years following a formula that relied heavily on leveraging the Giants’ arsenal of elite bullpen arms to close out games under the bright October lights.
Those dreams, like Rogers, are long gone with San Francisco’s rotation in shambles and a depleted bullpen left to pick up the slack amid the departures of two of their longest-tenured arms.
With morale already waning from the Giants’ catastrophic July freefall, seeing Rogers take the mound for a competitor for the first time mere days after parting ways is something not even the most seasoned baseball veterans are conditioned to brush aside.
While it certainly had to have been an adjustment for Rogers, the 34-year-old reliever made it a priority to remain positive while balancing his debut for a new team with facing the only MLB organization he’d ever known until earlier this week.
“The adrenaline was there,” Rogers told The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser after Saturday’s game. “And then just to look up and see the Giants across in the batter’s box was another level, too. I was just with those guys couple days ago, it was cool. I just told myself to enjoy it. Baseball is funny in that way.”
Rogers has been dynamite this season, boasting a 1.76 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP while ranking second in MLB with 54 appearances. If Saturday’s outing is any indication, he will continue to shine for a first-place Mets team that appears to be on a crash course for a deep playoff run.
Any fantasies Rogers had of taking the mound in October in front of a sellout crowd adorned in orange likely will be a reality — just not the one that Giants fans hoped for.
San Francisco now is left to pick up the pieces while being stuck in a baseball purgatory of sorts, not quite eliminated from postseason contention but playing with a level of enthusiasm that doesn’t exactly inspire visions of San Francisco putting together the kind of run needed to make up ground in the packed National League playoff picture.
But hey, it’s baseball after all. Stranger things have happened.
The Phillies didn’t have a second straight comeback in the tank Saturday.
Despite the Phils’ three-run seventh inning and two-run eighth, the Tigers earned a 7-5 win at Citizens Bank Park.
Tarik Skubal beat Zack Wheeler in a very high-quality pitching matchup. The 2024 American League Cy Young winner logged seven innings and conceded three runs and five hits. Skubal notched 10 strikeouts and zero walks.
Wheeler allowed four runs (three earned) and nine hits in six-plus innings. He also struck out 10 and walked no one.
Wheeler and Skubal each recorded their first three outs on strikeouts. Skubal added three more to his tally in the second inning and finished the frame with a 99.4 mph heater that Otto Kemp watched for strike three.
True to form, Skubal combined precise command with swing-and-miss stuff. He threw strikes on 26 of his first 33 pitches. On the season, Skubal now has 181 strikeouts and 19 walks.
With Skubal dealing, the Phillies’ task appeared rather daunting after Cole Keith and Kerry Carpenter bashed solo shots over the right-field wall in the third inning to put the Tigers up 2-0.
Wheeler righted the ship in the fourth by striking out the side. He worked around a pair of one-out singles in the fifth by striking out Carpenter and inducing a Riley Greene groundout.
Just about all of the Phils’ contact against Skubal was weak and nowhere near the fences until nine-hitter Weston Wilson lined a double to right-center with one out in the sixth inning.
Skubal evaded any damage. Trea Turner grounded out to third base, which brought Kyle Schwarber to the plate. The Phils’ slugger hit a shallow fly ball down the left-field line and Greene made a great play in foul territory, nabbing a sliding catch. Skubal raised his arms in celebration as he walked off the field.
Detroit then expanded its lead in the seventh. Kemp committed an error at third and Javier Baez homered to end Wheeler’s day. A Gleyber Torres dinger off of Tanner Banks gave the Tigers another insurance run.
Those runs wound up mattering, since Skubal was not destined to cruise to a shutout.
Bryce Harper led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and J.T. Realmuto followed with an RBI double. Nick Castellanos’ first-pitch bomb cut the Phillies’ deficit to 5-3. He smashed a Skubal changeup 428 feet.
Matt Strahm couldn’t pitch a clean eighth inning. The Tigers caused two-out trouble and a Baez grounder trickled over the third-base bag, turning into a two-RBI triple.
Again, the Phillies prevented Detroit from feeling comfortable. Brandon Marsh delivered a pinch-hit single to begin the bottom of the eighth and eventually rounded the bases on a Harper homer to left-center against Tigers reliever Will Vest.
Max Lazar kept Detroit’s lead at two runs by tossing a 1-2-3 top of the ninth. Kyle Finnegan still picked up a low-stress save, though. Harrison Bader grounded out to shortstop, Kemp struck out, and Bryson Stott flew out to left to wrap up the Tigers’ win.
Sunday night’s game will decide the three-game series. Cristopher Sanchez (9-3, 2.55 ERA) is set to face Charlie Morton (7-8, 5.42 ERA).
Alvarado back in town soon
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said pregame that Jose Alvarado will come to Philadelphia on Monday before the suspended reliever’s rehab assignment.
