Category: Sports News

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

• Clay Holmes pitched out of trouble, and Ronny Mauricio hit a 456-foot blast, one of three Mets homers, in an 8-1 win over the Rockies

• Holmes stranded eight runners in scoring position, and opposing batters are now hitting just .120 against him in those situations
• Carlos Mendoza weighed in on Mauricio's "impressive" homer
• Mendoza also provided updates on Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea before the win
• The Mets made a couple of roster moves to add pitching depth, trading for Justin Garza and signing Julian Merryweather
• Top prospect Jett Williams received good news after getting hit in the head with a pitch on Friday night

Phillies' rotation plans for the week ahead with Wheeler returning Monday originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PITTSBURGH — The Phillies have spent much of the past week without their best hitter and best pitcher but will welcome Zack Wheeler back to the rotation Monday at home against the Cubs.

Wheeler missed the Phils’ road trip to Toronto and Pittsburgh for the birth of his fourth child. He was placed on the paternity list Wednesday, which would have been his day to pitch. Players can remain on the paternity list up to three days, and Wheeler ended up missing two more as the Phillies started Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez Saturday and Sunday on regular rest.

The Phillies’ rotation for the Cubs series will be Wheeler on Monday, Mick Abel on Tuesday and Jesus Luzardo on Wednesday.

The team is off Thursday before three more home games with the Blue Jays, which will be started by Suarez, Sanchez and Wheeler.

When Wheeler starts Monday, he’ll be doing so on 10 days’ rest rather than the standard four or five during a season. He threw a bullpen session on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies need all the help they can get right now, having lost eight of their last nine games and Bryce Harper to wrist inflammation. Harper is on the 10-day injured list but sounded Saturday like he expected it to be longer than a minimum stay.

It was a wet morning in Pittsburgh as the Phillies prepared to play their season finale against the Pirates, hoping to salvage one game in the series and avoid a 1-5 road trip. Pitchers found a 10-minute window around 11:45 a.m. to get some work in on the field before heavier rain fell and the teams hoped to play fast with another round of thunderstorms expected close to 4 p.m.

Oracle Park concourse fire quickly extinguished before Giants-Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

A small fire on the promenade level at Oracle Park forced a brief evacuation prior to the Giants’ game against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday before the blaze quickly was extinguished.

The fire burned inside of the Fuku’s Spicy Fried Chicken Sandos food stand.

As emergency workers put out the fire, alarms sounded and players in the Giants’ clubhouse were told to exit onto the field, according to reporters on the scene.

While fans at Sunday’s game won’t be able to enjoy a spicy chicken sandwich, kudos to everyone involved for making sure the situation was handled safely, quickly and efficiently — and that nobody was hurt.

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A's acquire catcher Wynns in trade with Reds, DFA right-hander Duran originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Athletics on Sunday bolstered their catching depth — and offense — by acquiring Austin Wynns in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, the team announced, in exchange for cash considerations.

To clear room on their 40-man roster, the A’s designated right-handed pitcher Carlos Duran for assignment.

Wynns was designated for assignment by the Reds on Friday after hitting .400 (16-for-40) with three home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.142 OPS in 18 games, 11 of which he started at catcher in addition to one start at first base. The seven-year MLB veteran was on Cincinnati’s Opening Day roster after appearing in seven games for them in 2024.

Wynns has played for five teams in the big leagues since 2018, including the Baltimore Orioles (2018-19, 21), San Francisco Giants (2022-23), Los Angeles Dodgers (2023), Colorado Rockies (2023) and Cincinnati (2024-25). The 34-year-old is a .241 career hitter with 16 home runs and 74 RBI in 257 games, with his most extensive playing time coming on the Giants in 2022 when he batted .259 with three home runs and 21 RBI in 66 games.

The A’s acquired Duran from the Dodgers on April 2 for Esteury Ruiz, and the pitcher made his MLB debut with one appearance for the Green and Gold on May 22 against the Los Angeles Angels. The 23-year-old allowed three runs on a hit and three walks in 1/3 innings.

When you are good at something, it is best to show it off and play to that strength. Of course, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza would probably prefer that starting pitcher Clay Holmes doesn’t make his best attribute too much of a habit.

For Holmes has been elite at stifling opponent batters when there are runners in scoring position, something he did on countless occasions in Saturday’s 8-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. 

"I made pitches when I had to,” Holmes said after holding the Rockies to 0-for-8 with RISP to strand eight men on base over his six innings of one-run ball.

On the year, the right-hander has now allowed just six hits out of 50 such opportunities (.120 average) as his ERA shrunk to 2.95 over his first 73.1 innings with the Mets.

“The biggest thing here at [Denver’s Coors Field], some hits are going to fall in, there's a lot of grass out there,” Holmes said after allowing nine hits in total. “I just knew I couldn’t give out any free passes, and I didn’t hand out any walks. And I was able to get the right kind of contact, swing and miss with runners on base, and gave us a chance there.”

The traffic came early with the Rockies having two on and nobody out in the first inning and again in the third, but Holmes avoided any damage with a couple of strikeouts and a timely double-play ball. That helped give his teammates time to snap out of a 0-for-7 stretch with RISP of their own to grab a lead they didn’t relinquish in the top half of the fifth.

Mendoza said Holmes getting ground balls with men on has been his "calling card." And the starter left that message on four occasions in addition to two strikeouts on Saturday.

“Really, really good,” Mendoza said of his starter’s performance. “From the first inning, first and third nobody out, and they made him work and he got out of it… I thought the sinker was good, the slider and the sweeper… were his pitches.”

Not mentioned was the changeup, which Holmes had used 15 percent of the time (third-most on the year). He threw it just one time out of 96 pitches in the game. That tactical switch came about because the slider, which had been his fourth-most-used pitch, just felt right pregame.

“Pitches can move differently [in the altitude] and really I was just going with what felt good,” Holmes said. “Slider felt good in the bullpen. Sinker did, too. But just threw enough sinkers to really lean on the slider, sweeper. Was able to get some chase on both those pitches.”

For the night, he got nine whiffs from 19 swings on his 27 sliders and six whiffs from 19 swings on 33 sweepers. And on the 30 sinkers, he got just one whiff on 12 swings, but 10 called strikes.

He added later: “Really, it’s not trying to do too much here. You just execute your pitches, don't try to overthrow. You give yourself a chance.”

For the closer-turned-starter, there was a doubt whether he would be able to give the Mets length, especially after pitching in several high-traffic, high-stress innings in the Mile High City. But Mendoza decided to send Holmes out for the sixth inning with the Mets up 4-1.

“Definitely started to add up,” Holmes said. “Pitching here as a reliever, you don't really feel [the altitude] a ton, but I started to hit that 70 pitch mark and I was like, 'Man, this feels like I’m at 100.’”

“After five, the altitude and all the [pitches], I thought he was pretty tired,” the manager said. “But for him to finish that sixth, even with two guys got on, was good to see him getting comfortable, finding a way to get the job done and giving us solid six innings.”

Through 13 starts on the year, Holmes said he feels like he’s in a “great spot” in his new role.

“Bouncing back well, feel like we got some routine dialed in,” he said. “Feels nice to throw at least six innings. I feel like I've been able to establish that. How I'm using my pitches, how to get deep into games.

“... Just continue to lean on the trainers, strength coaches, nutritionists. They do a lot and feel like we’ve put a lot of things together that's working for me.”

Ronny Mauricio was the envy of the 38,279 who paid to attend Saturday night's game in Colorado, as the Mets' young infielder had the best vantage point from which to admire the 456-foot home run that leapt off his bat to start the third inning.

And who could blame the 24-year-old for taking a moment to watch the ball sail through the thin air before its flight was interrupted by the third deck of the right field stands in the 8-1 win for the visitors from Flushing.

“Pretty impressive,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen somebody going over there… not too many people can go on that third deck here. I don’t have much experience in this ballpark, but not easy to do.”

He added: “The power, the impact, the way the ball jumps off his bat, it’s just good to see him doing the things he’s capable of.”

Mauricio said he was just looking for a pitch up in the zone, and German Marquez obliged his request by hanging a 1-1 knuckle-curve that truly jumped off his bat with a 110.3 mph exit velocity. Something the Met with the second-best view noticed.

“As soon as he hit it, I was like, ‘Damn, that’s going a long ways,’” said Francisco Lindor, who watched from the on-deck circle. “And then, I didn’t know what to do. Wait for him at home plate, wait for him on-deck. I was just admiring the baseball.”

“Oh, pretty good, pretty good,” Mauricio said about the ball coming off his bat. “I feel like I hit it right on the barrel.”

After going hitless in his first 11 at-bats since he made his long-awaited big league return, Mauricio now has three hits in his last five at-bats, later adding a single in the fifth. The manager said he’s seen some improvement in the quality of his plate appearances of late, too.

“Better, definitely, especially on pitches in the strike zone,” he said. “I feel like in the first couple of games he was a little passive, and then they made him chase. Now, he’s ready to go on pitches in the strike zone. And when he’s doing that, he’s a pretty good hitter.”

And Mauricio believes he’s getting more comfortable at the plate. “I’m trying to just enjoy the moment, just try to have fun in the game,” he said. 

But the Mets aren’t going to let themselves get carried away by what Mauricio brings, as Mendoza added, “At the same time, I’ve been saying it since he got here, we gotta be patient with him.”

“This is a guy that missed a whole year of development,” the manager said. “[But] it’s really good to see him now do some of the things.”

RONNY MAURICIO GOES DEEP!! pic.twitter.com/1VXrR42V1j

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

The Mets got home runs from Ronny Mauricio, Jared Young, and Jeff McNeil and six innings of one-run ball from Clay Holmes to beat the Rockies 8-1 on Saturday night in Colorado.

New York started the game hitless in seven chances with runners in scoring position, but got enough timely hits (3-for-7 from then on, including three two-out RBI) to go along with three solo home runs, which proved to be more than enough offense.

Holmes gave the Rockies chances, but he managed to wriggle out of numerous jams (he allowed nine hits) and stranded eight runners on the night as the Mets improved to 41-24 (.631) on the year and 17-17 in games played outside of Flushing. New York has now won 11 of 14 games, as Colorado fell to an ghastly 12-52 (.189).

Here are the takeaways...

- Holmes allowed four hits over his first three innings, but worked himself out of a pair of two-on and nobody-out jams with three strikeouts and a 6-4-3 double play through nine outs. But he got burned to start the fourth when he threw one slider too many to Ryan McMahon, who launched a 392-foot opposite-way homer to level the score. (It was the eighth slider thrown to McMahon out of nine offerings over two at-bats.)

The Mets’ defense didn’t give Holmes too much help early. In the bottom of the first, after allowing a leadoff single, the righty induced a grounder to second, but Brett Baty broke to his right and the ball shot to his left, giving Colorado runners at first and third instead of a 4-6-3 double play. The miscue (ruled a hit) didn’t cost the Mets, and Baty made up for it by snagging a hard liner for the first out and ranging deep into center to catch a pop fly for the second.

McNeil, making his eighth start in center, made a couple of routine plays, but with two out in the bottom of the fifth, he failed to come up with a shallow pop-up, missing the ball as he went into a feet-first slide. But the base hit, which put two in scoring position, didn’t lead to any runs as Holmes got McMahon to ground out on a slider.

With two out in the sixth, Mauricio gloved a bouncer down the third base line but couldn’t hang onto the ball behind the bag. The error, the Mets' only one of the game, put runners on first and second, but Holmes got a bouncer to short to end the threat.

- Mauricio got a hanging knuckle curve from Rockies starter German Marquez and just demolished it – 456 feet, 110.3 mph off the bat into the third deck in right field to start the third. He later singled in the fifth, wasted no time swiping second base, and then came around to score on Brandon Nimmo’s single through the left side of the infield. Nimmo's base hit was the Mets’ first with a runner in scoring position of the game, for a 3-1 lead.

Nimmo, coming off a 0-for-5 on Friday, hit the ball hard the first three times he was up, driving one to the warning track and hitting another liner hard to center before his single. He added a two-out RBI double in the eighth to finish the day 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Mauricio ended 2-for-4, with three hard-hit balls.

- Young jumped on a first-pitch fastball for an opposite-field homer to open the fifth to put the Mets ahead for good. It was the DH’s second homer of the year, 385 feet, 103.6 mph to left field. He finished 1-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter.

- McNeil made his apology for not ending the bottom of the fifth when he started the top of the sixth with a solo shot, cranking a Marquez middle-middle fastball 414 feet to right (101.2 mph) to put the Mets up 4-1. McNeil finished the day 1-for-3 as Tyrone Taylor entered in center for the bottom of the sixth.

Taylor added a bases-loaded sac fly in his first at-bat, setting up Luis Torrens to snap a 0-for-11 stretch by rocketing a two-RBI single up the middle to make it a 7-1 ballgame.

- Francisco Lindor cracked a single to center to start the game. Making his first start since he sustained a broken toe, he stole second on the very next pitch, getting a huge jump and grabbing the base without a throw. After a single in the third, he waited until the second pitch to steal second without a throw to give the heart of the order another chance with a runner in scoring position, but again was left stranded.

Lindor made it a 3-for-5 night with a two-out single in the eighth and was lifted for pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña. 

- Hard-luck dinged Pete Alonso his first time up when his 100.7 mph liner was right at the Rockies’ third baseman, stealing extra bases (.780 xBA) and an RBI. After starting 0-for-3 (all with RISP), striking and bouncing into a room service 6-4-3 double play, Alonso got another chance with runners on first and second and one out in the seventh and singled to left to load the bases. He finished the day 1-for-5.

- Juan Soto, coming off his first three-hit game with the Mets, went down looking at a curve, grounded out, and reached on a fielder’s choice his first three times up. He finished 0-for-4 (0-for-3 with RISP) with a walk and two strikeouts.

- Baty got a stroke of good luck in his third at-bat as he looks to snap out of a 3-for-21 funk with an infield hit that deflected off the pitcher’s glove. The hit put two on and nobody out, and Colorado went to the bullpen and lefty Ryan Rolison. The Mets countered with Starling Marte (batting for Young), but the pinch-hitter bounced into a 5-4-3 double play and Mauricio grounded out to short.

Baty finished the day 1-for-4, Marte 0-for-2.

- Out of the bullpen: José Butto struck out two in a 1-2-3 seventh and erased a leadoff single with a 5-4-3 double play in a clean eighth, tossing 26 pitches (16 strikes). Left-hander José Castillo added a strikeout in an easy-peasy ninth.

Game MVP: Clay Holmes

Holmes' Houdini Act was the key as it allowed the Mets' offense time to get going, as this was a 1-1 contest entering the top of the fifth inning. And it has been a year-long thing for the starter as he has now held opponents to a .120 average with RISP (6-for-50) after Colorado went hitless in eight chances and left eight on base.

His final line: 6.0 innings, one run, nine hits, no walks, six strikeouts on 95 pitches (71 strikes), lowering his ERA to 2.95.

Highlights

Francisco Lindor starts tonight off with a leadoff single and stolen base! pic.twitter.com/H2xo3ZiqcP

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

RONNY MAURICIO GOES DEEP!! pic.twitter.com/1VXrR42V1j

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

Jared Young puts the Mets back ahead with a solo homer! pic.twitter.com/TxqRxpL1xH

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

Jeff McNeil joins the home run party 🎉

Third homer of the night for the Mets! pic.twitter.com/9UdJvCWVjd

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

Luis Torrens drives in two more 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DzDhNwfjjK

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

Second RBI of the night for Brandon Nimmo! pic.twitter.com/MFOw1GpJ1H

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 8, 2025

What's next

The Mets go for the three-game sweep over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m. EDT.

Right-hander Tylor Megill (3.77 ERA, x WHIP in y innings) makes his 13th start of the season. Megill will be looking to find the form of his first six outings of the year (1.74 ERA in 31 innings) and put his last half dozen outings behind him (5.97 ERA in 28.2 innings).

The hosts counter with right-hander Chase Dollander (6.26 ERA, 1.440 WHIP in 41.2 innings) for his 10th start of his debut season in the big leagues. He has pitched better of late (3.29 ERA over his last 13.2 innings), but lasted just nine outs in his last start.

Ryan Yarbrough was knocked around for eight runs and the Yankees' comeback fell short in their 10-7 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday night in The Bronx.

Before Saturday, Yarbrough allowed six total runs in his first five starts since moving to the rotation, and had not allowed more than two runs in any start.

The Yanks (39-24) struck out 15 times to drop the middle game of this three-game set.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Red Sox would get to the southpaw early. After Yarbrough stranded Rafael Devers, who doubled with one out in the first, he couldn't do the same in the second. After allowing a leadoff double, struggling rookie Kristian Campbell slapped a two-out single the opposite way into right field to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

With Anthony Volpe (elbow) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (rest) out of the lineup, Aaron Boone had to go with a ragtag bunch for Saturday's game. Pablo Reyes started at third and Oswald Peraza started at shortstop. And that configuration would play a big part in the Red Sox's five-run third inning.

After Yarbrough hit Devers to lead off, Rob Refsnyder doubled on a ball that Cody Bellinger tried to catch on a slide, but whiffed, allowing runners on second and third with no out. Carlos Narvaez hit a hard groundball to Paul Goldschmidt, but the Gold Glove first baseman picked the grounder and threw home to get Devers out at home. After Peraza grabbed a groundball in the hole on the left side, but Reyes didn't cover third in time to get the force, resulting in an infield hit that loaded the bases, Abraham Toro blooped a single to center to cut the Yankees' lead to 3-2. Trevor Story followed with a bases-clearing double that bounced off of Reyes' glove to put Boston up 5-3. Campbell singled to cap off the five-run third.

It wouldn't get much better for Yarbrough, who gave up a two-run shot to Romy Gonzalez -- his first of the season -- in the fourth.

Yarbrough would only go four innings (67 pitches/45 strikes), allowing eight runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three batters. His ERA jumped from 2.83 to 4.17.

-On the other side, Garrett Crochet was making his Yankee Stadium and Red Sox/Yankees rivalry debut on Saturday. The hard-throwing lefty came into the start allowing more than two runs in a start just once this season, but Austin Wells upped that to two with his three-run blast in the second inning. The home run was set up by a leadoff infield single by Bellinger and a one-out walk to DJ LeMahieu. Wells jumped on the first-pitch cutter to send it over the short porch.

Wells would get Crochet again in the fourth with a double in the left-center gap with runners on first and second and one out to drive in his fourth run of the game. Reyes got the Yankees closer with an RBI groundout.

But aside from that, Crochet was great. He would go six innings (97 pitches/67 strikes), allowing the five runs on six hits, one walk, while striking out nine batters. Aaron Judge struck out three times against the southpaw, who settled down and gave Boston what they needed.

-The Yankees lineup wouldn't wake up until the eighth inning. After Ben Rice led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Judge moved him to third on a flyout before Bellinger walked ahed of Jasson Dominguez. Bellinger stole second, but Dominguez struck out. LeMahieu picked up his teammate with a two-run single to cut the Red Sox's lead to 8-7 and advanced to second on an overthrow from the outfield, setting up Wells to potentially drive in the tying run. But the catcher struck out to end the inning.

-In relief of Yarbrough, Yerry De los Santos pitched three innings of one-hit ball -- with two walks mixed in -- to keep the Red Sox off the board. Mark Leiter Jr. pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but Ian Hamilton wouldn't have the same success in the ninth. A walk, and back-to-back singles loaded the bases with no outs for the Red Sox. Story made Yankees pitching pay again with a single up the middle to drive in two. Hamilton would finish the inning without allowing another run, but the damage was done.

Longtime Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman came on for the Red Sox in the ninth. He struck out Chisholm swinging, Peraza and Goldschmidtgrounded out to end the game.

-Judge finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts to drop his average to .390. Reyes finished 0-for-2 with an RBI and Chisholm pinch-hit for him and finished 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. Volpe pinch-ran for LeMahieu in the eighth and stayed in to play shortstop in the ninth.

Peraza went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Game MVP: Trevor Story

The veteran shortstop had the big hit in that five-run third and the huge two-run single in the ninth when the Yankees were lurking. Three hits and five RBI for Story

Highlights

Austin Wells three run homer to put the Yankees ahead!

(via @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/E0MSYM9B0P

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2025

What's next

The Yankees and Red Sox complete their first series of the season on Sunday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m.

Carlos Rodon (8-3, 2.49 ERA) will look to continue to his hot streak of starts while Boston will have Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 4.06 ERA) on the bump.