Category: Sports News

SAN FRANCISCO — Jung Hoo Lee was on the delivering and receiving end of two hard knocks. Ultimately, the one he dealt proved to be more powerful.

Lee crushed the longest home run of his career, clearing the fence in Triples Alley, the deepest part of Oracle Park, to get the Giants on the board first in a 3-1 win over the A’s to open their series Tuesday.

“I never thought I was going to hit a home run [there],” Lee said in Korean through a team interpreter.

Then came the inadvertent revenge.

After Lee reached base for a third time, drawing a walk in the sixth, he bolted for second base. When he arrived, he was met by the elbow of second baseman Jeff McNeil, whose momentum attempting to corral the wide throw took him into the path of Lee’s slide.

Lee’s initial reaction sent a scare through the sellout crowd of 40,043 that the throw had possibly nailed the portion of his head unprotected by his helmet. It turned out that it was McNeil’s arm that got his face.

Count manager Tony Vitello among those fooled.

“We thought the ball hit him,” Vitello said. “That probably would’ve been more painful than the elbow. But McNeil’s elbow just kind of inadvertently got his jaw and rung his bell for a little bit.”

Vitello, a trainer and Lee’s interpreter rushed from the dugout to second base, where Lee remained motionless for an extended period. He was, it turned out, just shaken up.

“He knocked me out,” Lee joked. “K.O.”

That blow was, apparently, no match for the one he gave to a cutter that caught all of the plate from Aaron Civale with one out in the second. Lee’s fifth homer of the season traveled 414 feet, 40 feet further than his longest homer to date this season. His career long had previously been 406 feet.

“That’s a tough part of the park to go out,” admired starter Robbie Ray, who hugged Lee after he made an error in right field that resulted in the only run the A’s managed against him over eight innings.

“He came in and said he was sorry [about the error] and I was like, ‘That’s my guy, we’re good.’ … He made some great plays in the field today too. The wind was playing tricks out there.”

The solo shot got the Giants’ bats in business, as Willy Adames followed with a double and came around to score, opening a 2-0 lead, on a line drive from Matt Chapman off the wall in left.

Chapman punished the pitch so hard — 112.1 mph, tied for his second-best hit ball of the year — that he was out by a mile when he tried to take second on the play.

Bryce Eldridge hustled, or more like huffed, home to barely beat the throw on a single from Rafael Devers to pad the lead in the seventh after using an ABS challenge to draw a walk.

Lee wasn’t the only victim of what proved to be a physical game.

Both second basemen were forced to leave early, with Luis Arraez departing after fouling a pitch off his shin and Zack Gelof getting spiked in the hand by Chapman.

What it means

The Giants began their home stand with a much-needed win, following a sweep at the hands of the Marlins to end their road trip that sent them 15 games below .500.

Who’s hot

Ray walked four batters but didn’t let any come back to bite him and largely cruised through eight innings, the only damage coming on an unearned run after Lee flubbed an easy fly ball in right field, resulting in the first batter of the third reaching and coming around to score.

Ray, who had trouble getting through five innings earlier this year, turned in his second-longest start with the Giants and easily his best effort of the season.

“Obviously the walks tonight [were] not ideal, so that’s something I need to work on,” Ray said. “But even though those walks happened, I was able to come back and … get the next guy. I think the two-seam has helped out my arsenal a lot.”

There were signs a breakthrough was coming, though.

The two-hit effort from Ray marked the third time in four starts this month that he didn’t surrender a single earned run. In the one outing he was hit around, he didn’t issue a walk.

It all began when Ray started swapping out his four-seamer at the top of the strike zone for a sinking two-seamer. He used it on 20 of his 102 pitches against the A’s.

“Just the combination of all my pitches, I feel like was pretty unpredictable tonight,” said Ray, who threw all five of his offerings at least 12 times but none more than 27. “I felt like the two-seam was really good. I got some early outs with it. Changeup was good. I think everything was just playing well off each other.”

After posting a 6.44 ERA in May, Ray improved to 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA so far in June.

Who’s not

It was shaping up to be a revenge game for Daniel Susac, the catcher the Giants selected in the Rule 5 draft after the A’s left the former 28th overall pick unprotected.

Upon review, not so much.

Susac struck out three times, lowering his batting average in 24 games since returning from the injured list to .205. He was hitting .407 with an 1.152 OPS when he was diagnosed with neuritis in his right elbow on April 20; his batting average now is down to .267 with his OPS at .652, barely better than Patrick Bailey’s .633 mark with the Guardians.

The A’s determined he posed such little threat that, with two outs and a runner on second in the sixth, they intentionally walked the light-hitting No. 8 batter Drew Gilbert to bring up Susac.

It proved to be a prescient choice. The at-bat ended the same way as the previous two — strike three.

Up next

Tyler Mahle makes his return to the Giants’ rotation as they continue their three-game series against their former Bay Area rivals on Wednesday. Mahle, out since May 29 with a hamstring strain, was 1-7 with a 6.04 ERA when he landed on the injured list.

The Giants will have to make a roster move to activate him from the IL.

We don’t care much about starting pitching records anymore, and for good reason. But it’s kind of wild to look up and realize that Sonny Gray is 9-1 following his latest gem for the Red Sox against the Rockies in Coors Field on Tuesday night. On a team that entered the evening tied for the fewest wins in all of baseball, Sonny Gray has pretty much been everything Boston could’ve asked for this year, and he was again following the team’s latest gut punch loss on Monday.

Gray didn’t just throw seven innings of one run baseball, he struck out eleven guys in a ballpark notorious for balls going in play. It never felt like he was in trouble, he once again proved in command of all of his pitches, and he’s now responsible for nearly a third of the team’s victories all season.

And I guess that’s kind of the other big story of this game: The Red Sox, for whatever reason, seem to play a little bit more of a complete game when Gray is on the mound. It’s probably mostly sequencing and luck, but this squad has wasted so many wonderful outings from their starters in 2026, it’s almost surprising how often they’ve been able to button things down in mostly uneventful fashion for Gray.

But for overall balance, score one for a game going mostly as advertised on paper. The Red Sox had the huge pitching advantage on the mound, and it largely played out that way. If we want to get picky, you wouldn’t be wrong to point out they probably should have scored more than five runs with a wild Sean Sullivan on the mound for the Rockies at Coors Field, but I’m not going to complain about that tonight. The Red Sox got a win they needed, the Rockies looked like the Rockies, and Coors Field proved much more docile than it can be on a warm summer night.

To the studs and duds!

Three Studs

Sonny Gray: Seven innings of one run baseball at Coors Field with eleven strikeouts attached is a golden ticket here every time. If he does get moved later this summer, the price just went up.

Wilyer Abreu: He grew up a fan of Carlos Gonzalez, and he looked a lot like Carlos Gonzalez in his heyday tonight. A monster home run, a triple, and he almost had an outfield assist that turned into an unlucky error when the ball hit the runner. Here’s the big blast:

Nate Eaton: Led off the game with a walk, scored the first run on Abreu’s triple, and then had three more hits the rest of the night.

Bonus Stud: Anthony Seigler: 2-3 with a walk, and helped set up chances all night from the bottom of the lineup.

Three Duds

Jarren Duran: Not only did he go 0-5, but he managed to strike out three times while the rest of the team only struck out once combined. Opponents are attacking him down and away pretty routinely, and they’re having enormous success.

Andruw Monasterio: The only other player to go hitless in the Boston lineup, although he at least walked once.

Garrett Whitlock: He came into a four run game in the ninth inning after allowing four hits last night and quickly looked vulnerable again surrendering a solo home. While Whitlock worked through it and recorded the final out before Chapman was needed, Coors Field doesn’t seem to agree with him, and I have to imagine the Sox will try and stay away from him tomorrow in the finale.

Speaking of which, that will be an early 3:10pm ET first pitch with Ranger Suarez on the hill trying to finish off what would become a 4-2 road trip for the Sox with a win.

It may be too little, too late, but there’s a chance Francisco Lindor is back with the Mets on Wednesday, according to Carlos Mendoza.

The Mets have been waiting for Lindor to return from a strained left calf since April. After picking up a pair of hits and playing eight innings at shortstop in a minor league rehab game for Triple-A Syracuse in Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, Lindor could be part of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Citi Field against the Cubs.

After the Mets lost 9-6 Tuesday, Mendoza said he would talk to the front office and trainers to see if Lindor could “potentially” play Wednesday.

With his return imminent, his teammates are ready.

“It’s exciting,” Bo Bichette said. “We haven’t played at full strength pretty much the whole season, and we’re still not, but having him back is a huge boost.”

Bichette said that in Lindor’s absence, he has stayed focused on shortstop rather than working at third base as well, and president of baseball operations David Stearns said that although Lindor is “a big part of” the Mets possibly turning their season around, “We also can’t put everything on Francisco to come back at a time where he hasn’t been playing baseball very much and expect him to put us on his back.”

When he returns, Lindor will play shortstop, but he will likely get days off and games at DH to try to keep him healthy.

The Post reported in the offseason about issues within the Mets clubhouse last season, including an incident involving Lindor and Jeff McNeil, now with the A’s, and as a chilly relationship between Lindor and Juan Soto.

Stearns said Tuesday that despite the team’s struggles so far this season, he’s not aware of any problems with the team’s chemistry.

“My observation is those guys have meshed pretty well,” Stearns said of the team’s roster, which got an overhaul in the offseason. “I think we’re playing hard. That doesn’t mean we’re always playing well. I think the guys care about winning. I have not seen a clubhouse cohesion issue.”

Much of Stearns’ success as an executive came in small-market Milwaukee.

Now, as he said Tuesday, “The benefit of this job [with the Mets] is we have access to everyone in the player universe. It’s very different [from] some other markets. That’s a benefit for us. It requires me — and us — to do work a little bit differently.”

That’s produced mixed results so far, with Soto playing at an elite level, but other expensive additions either playing poorly or dealing with extensive injuries.

Luis Robert Jr. (lumbar spine disc herniation) and Jorge Polanco (Achilles bursitis) are doing baseball activities, with Robert taking normal batting practice, but Polanco is still having “some good days, not so good others” while running.

The Mets claimed outfielder Jared Oliva off waivers from the Giants. The 30-year-old was optioned to Syracuse. He’s appeared in 33 games over parts of three seasons in the majors, including seven with San Francisco this year.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell was tossed after a bizarre play in the seventh inning. Michael Busch walked with Pete Crow-Armstrong on first.

Crow-Armstrong was attempting to steal and briefly slid off the bag, where Bichette tagged him. Crow-Armstrong was ruled out after the Mets challenged the call because he touched second and then left the base.

For the vast majority of the night, this game was trending like so many others we have grown all too familiar with this season. Starting pitcher throws a great game, bullpen does their job, but the offense just couldn’t come through with the big hit with runners in scoring position. Fortunately for the Dbacks, that narrative changed in the 9^th inning as they were able to get a couple of big hits and hold on for a 4-3 win to even the series against the Cardinals.

Eduardo Rodriguez shoved yet again for the Dbacks tossing 6.2 innings and holding the hot Cardinals offense scoreless. He was able to lower his season ERA to a minuscule 2.27 today following his 16th start of the season which is simply increadible. ERod’s changeup was filthy tonight generating a staggering 50% whiff rate and has really been a tremendous pitch for the veteran lefty. Juan Morillo, Kevin Ginkel, and Brandyn Garcia were sharp tonight in relief. The only blemish on this game from the pitching side was Paul Sewald who inexplicably still struggles mightily in non-save situations.

The Dbacks offense was all too quiet for 8 innings and as I mentioned earlier, struggled mightily with runners in scoring position. Going into the 9^th inning, the Dbacks were 0-8 with runners in scoring position until Nolan Arenado came up and doubled home the games first run. Arenado put together a great 7 pitch at bat and fought off some tough pitches to get a mistake right down the middle, and he did not miss it driving it into the left field corner.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr followed that at bat with a 2 run single up the middle, and finally after doing nothing for 8 innings, the Dbacks had a 3-0 lead. In addition, a passed ball proved to ultimately be the game deciding run a couple of batters later when pinch runner Jorge Barrosa scored.

Then came the bottom of the 9^th and Paul Sewald with a 4-run lead continued with his struggles in non-save situations and made the game pretty interesting. Sewald allowed 2 doubles and 2 singles to allow the Cardinals to come within 1 run of spoiling the rare clutch hitting from the half inning before. Fortunately, Brandyn Garcia was able to come to the rescue and strikeout the red-hot JJ Wetherholt to kill the rally and secure the win for the Dbacks and record his first major league save.

For the Dbacks, 95% of this game was much of the same, but you really have to hope that the big hits from the veterans Arenado and Gurriel Jr. spark this offense and give this group some kind of momentum that they can build upon. Gurriel Jr also had another hit earlier in the game for a solid double, so maybe this is the beginning of Gurriel Jr. beginning one of his trademark heaters this team is so desperately in need of.

Lets see if the offense can continue this momentum tomorrow as Mitch Bratt will be making his major league debut, and it would be great for him to get some early run support to ease the nerves. The lefty has been a really exciting young arm in this Dbacks system after coming over in the Merrill Kelly trade last season, and it would be huge for him to step up and lead his team to victory tomorrow.

Metaphorically speaking, some needed sunshine peeked through late in the black-cloud day the Mets endured Tuesday. 

After their 9-6 loss to the Cubs at Citi Field, Carlos Mendoza said the club would have nighttime discussions about whether a rehabbing Francisco Lindor could be activated for Wednesday’s doubleheader.

It’s a possibility, the manager said, and anything that tilts positive rates highly in a blue-and-orange world where so much has gone wrong. Especially if it’s a little weightier than a few successful challenges or some cosmetic ninth-inning runs, both of which were basically the pluses emanating from the Mets’ third-straight loss.

Otherwise, the Mets got yet another clunker from their rotation, that chronic trouble spot. Kodai Senga looked like his old self in a spotless first inning, but thereafter looked mostly like his more recent self, which is not a good thing.

AndJuan Soto left with back tightness. 

“His back locked up,” Mendoza said, and Soto came out after the fourth inning. But even if Soto is considered day-to-day, as Mendoza said, it still feels ominous that the manager also said Soto could really feel it when he was trying to get to his “A” swing. The Mets will determine if Soto needs further testing.

If Lindor, who had two hits and two runs for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, can return and be a threat, perhaps the Mets can find some equilibrium as they try to prove that David Stearns shouldn’t look to sell at the trade deadline. Math and baseball’s generous wild card system dictate that they deserve some time, even at 10 games under .500, but their starting pitching must improve.

Nolan McLean and Sean Manaea, in that order, will start against the Cubs in the doubleheader, and they’re probably the starters pitching the best right now. Christian Scott, who had begun to blossom nicely, could return soon, too.

Senga, however, is a wreck, toting a 10.08 ERA. He’s trending toward being un-pitchable after giving up seven runs on three hits in 3.2 innings against the Cubs.

“David was pretty clear before the game that performing matters here and having outings like these is not going to cut it,” Mendoza said of Senga’s performance. “We need better.”

“That first inning version of myself, if I can replicate that over and over again, I think I absolutely do belong in the rotation,” Senga said through an interpreter. “However, if I’m struggling to find the strike zone, then it becomes a tougher conversation. That’s a decision that Mendy and the front office will make and I’ll just continue to do what I can and continue to prepare so that I can, when I do go back out there the next time, I can perform at the highest level possible.”

Seven runs on only three hits? Yes, walks were a huge factor for Senga – again. He walked five and three of those scored, along with the one batter he hit. Mets starters came into the game with the third-worst walk rate in baseball. Overall, the Mets walked seven, a continuation of a problem that dates back several seasons, including in 2024 when they went to the NLCS.

“It (walks) is absolutely something we’re talking about internally,” Stearns said before the game. “We’ve got to more consistently throw strikes.”

Even before Senga’s outing, the Mets had the fourth-worst starter ERA in baseball. Losing Clay Holmes in May certainly hurt.

Freddy Peralta, brought in to top the rotation, has had some struggles and owns a 4.83 ERA. Stearns noted that Peralta has been missing locations he’s hit in the past, which has hindered his effectiveness. Peralta is “working on some mechanical things,” Stearns said.

“We haven't gotten the level of consistent performances from most of our rotation that we expected and that our players expected coming into the season,” Stearns added. “I think each of our starters would say that there's another level of performance in there, and it's our job as an organization to do everything we can to try to get the best versions of each of those players out.”

Obviously, the Mets need the rotation to begin soaring, and fast. They’ve stuck with struggling pitchers such as Senga and David Peterson because there aren’t alternatives.

It puts a strain across the roster. The Mets have given up so many early runs when their starters crater that they often play from behind, supersizing the burden on what can be a spotty offense.

And they’re not even deep enough into the season for the rotation’s deficiencies to blast chaos through what’s been a good bullpen so far. Last season, the starters failed to pitch deep into games and the resulting reverberation through the relievers helped wreck the Mets’ season.

For now, the Mets might have to console themselves with Lindor’s return. He’ll certainly lengthen the lineup and help the defense.

“We also can’t put everything on Francisco to come back at a time when he hasn’t been playing baseball very much and expect him to put us on his back,” Stearns said.

True enough. The starting pitching will have to help. And quickly. 

Can it? Not if the rotation keeps having nights like Tuesday.

David Stearns said prior to Tuesday night’s game that the Mets were going to need more consistency from their starting rotation if they hoped to turn things around. 

For the first three batters, Kodai Senga appeared to be up for the challenge. 

Senga was a much different pitcher than in his previous few outings, pounding the zone with consistent heat as he struck out two Cubs en route to a perfect top of the first. 

From there, though, things quickly changed. 

The righty completely lost his groove as he loaded the bases and walked in a run before giving up a three-run blast to former Mets prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Just like that, New York found itself in another early hole. 

“That’s the frustrating part,” Carlos Mendoza said. “He goes out there in that first inning and that’s the guy you hope that he’s capable of being, just blowing that fastball by people.

“Then the second inning he gets away from it, and we’re sitting there in the dugout kind of asking ourselves like what’s going on here, it happens so quick, it’s hard to explain -- just frustrating.”

And the frustration only grew from there, as Senga was hurt by another free pass in the top of the fourth, with the struggling Dansby Swanson immediately following it with a two-run homer. 

He ended up being pulled without completing that frame, leaving with seven runs on his line via just three hits and a season-high five free passes in just 3.2 innings of work. 

At this point, even Senga is left searching for answers regarding his command issues. 

“It’s hard to pinpoint,” he said via an interpreter. “When I’m trying to find the zone, that’s when I’m not in the zone, when I’m trying to throw freely, that’s when the pitches are in the zone.”

Now sitting 7.0 GB of a wild card spot, though, the Mets don’t have time to keep hoping for answers. 

With losses in each of his last five outings and an ugly 10.08 ERA on the season, Senga appears to be back on the outside looking in at a spot in the starting rotation. 

“David was pretty clear before the game that performance matters here,” Mendoza said. 

“Having outings like this is not going to cut it, I’m pretty sure we’re going to have decisions, but that ain’t gonna do it -- we need better, they know that, but we get to a point where you have to go out there and earn it.”

Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera was carted off the field Tuesday night at Citi Field in the bottom of the fifth inning after he injured himself making a play at first base against the Mets. 

Chicago revealed after its 9-6 win that Cabrera strained both his left hamstring and left adductor while stretching out to make a catch on a throw to first by second baseman Nico Hoerner, who had to slide to make a play on the line drive hit by Jared Young. 

Cabrera caught the throw to end the inning, but he quickly rolled over and grabbed at his leg, clearly in pain. 

The Cubs right-hander hobbled as he got up and attempted to walk before only getting several steps and falling back down to the ground. 

Chicago’s medical staff came racing out to see if Cabrera was alright. 

He eventually had to be helped to the cart and was taken off the field. 

Following the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that it was a left hamstring injury and that it would require Cabrera to go on the injured list. 

“We’ll have imaging done tomorrow and see where that takes us,” he said. 

The Cubs are already down several members of their Opening Day starting rotation, with lefty Matthew Boyd and right-handers Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon also out. 

Counsell said that he was “concerned” about the state of the team’s pitching and depth and that they were in a “tough spot.” 

Cabrera pitched five innings on Tuesday night in Queens, giving up two runs and striking out four while throwing 99 pitches. 

He had entered the game with a 4-4 record and 5.21 ERA in his 13 starts. 

Cabrera was acquired by the Cubs in a trade with Miami back in January. 

The righty has dealt with several injuries this season, including a June 16 issue when he had to come out of a game with a right-hand cramp and was on the IL on May 21 due to a blister on his middle finger.