Category: Sports News

The Dodgers’ lineup should be back at full strength soon.

When they’ll be able to say the same about their pitching staff is anyone’s guess.

First, the good news for the team: After fracturing the fourth toe on his left foot (the one closest to the pinky toe) last week and missing all three games against the New York Yankees, shortstop Mookie Betts went through a full slate of pregame hitting, baserunning and defensive drills on Monday and seemed probable to be available off the bench for the Dodgers in their series-opener against the New York Mets.

Assuming he continues to feel good, Betts should also return to the starting lineup on Tuesday, manager Dave Roberts said.

Read more:Mookie Betts dealing with fractured toe, won't start against Yankees this weekend

“That’s all contingent on if he recovers well tonight,” Roberts said.

Based on Betts’ activity level Monday, he certainly appeared to be ready to return. As one of the first Dodgers players on the field before the game, he spent several minutes running the bases, then went through a full session of infield grounders at shortstop. Betts also took batting practice, a day after Roberts said his swing in the batting cage “wasn’t compromised at all” by the freak injury.

“For me, I just want to make sure I move to make plays for those guys,” Betts said Sunday. “Hitting, hopefully that comes along. I just want to make sure I can play defense."

As for the less encouraging update: A week after throwing his first bullpen session since going on the injured list in April with shoulder inflammation, Tyler Glasnow has been feeling general body discomfort, Roberts said.

Glasnow has continued to play catch, including on Monday afternoon in the outfield of Dodger Stadium. But Roberts said he is “not sure when he’s gonna get back on a mound.”

“There was one ‘pen, and then [his] body didn't respond,” Roberts said. “So we're trying to figure out when we can ramp him back up.”

Given Glasnow’s extensive injury history, such a setback qualifies as only mildly surprising. The 31-year-old has never made more than 22 starts or pitched over 134 innings in a major league season. And while he set both of those high-marks in his first season with the Dodgers last year — arriving in Los Angeles via a trade from Tampa Bay two winters ago and an ensuing five-year, $136.5-million extension — he never returned from an elbow tendonitis injury he suffered in August, despite repeated attempts to comeback in time for the playoffs.

“I know he's just as frustrated as we all are [that] the process since we've had him, it just hasn't been linear, as far as getting him back,” Roberts said. “He's champing at the bit, so that's a good thing. He's very anxious to get back out here and help his team.”

Read more:Dodgers put Tyler Glasnow on injured list unsure on when he'll return

Of the Dodgers’ injured quartet of star pitchers — which also includes Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki and Shohei Ohtani — Glasnow was initially expected to return first.

Now, however, he and Snell might be on more similar timelines. Snell made notable progress in his throwing progression this week and could begin throwing bullpens early next week.

“He’s in a really good spot physically and mentally,” Roberts said of Snell.

Sasaki has also been throwing lately, though Roberts noted it has been low-intensity. Ohtani, meanwhile, threw his second live batting practice over the weekend, and remains on track to return sometime after the All-Star break.

Read more:Dodgers place starting pitcher Blake Snell on injured list

In the bullpen, the Dodgers should get a couple of reinforcements in the coming days.

Hard-throwing right-hander Michael Kopech (out since the start of the season with a shoulder injury) will be in Los Angeles this week after completing a minor-league rehab assignment, though exactly when he will be activated remains to be seen. Kopech yielded 11 runs and 11 walks in 6 ⅓ innings with triple-A Oklahoma City, and Roberts said the club wants to “evaluate, see how he is” up close before having him make his MLB season debut.

Another veteran right-hander, Kirby Yates, threw his second bullpen session on Monday since suffering a hamstring strain last month. He will next throw a live batting practice on Wednesday, and could be activated as soon as next weekend.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Each day that goes by, Mets left-hander Sean Manaea gets closer and closer to returning to the team.

He took another positive step in that direction on Monday after throwing 29 pitches in a live bullpen that "went well," according to manager Carlos Mendoza.

"We just gotta wait and see how he responds in the next couple of days and then we’ll have that discussion whether he’s gonna need another live BP or he’s ready to go on a rehab assignment," the skipper added.

Of course, a rehab assignment would be the last hurdle for Manaea to cross before joining the Mets for the first time this season since he suffered a right oblique strain at the start of spring training after re-signing with New York on a three-year, $75 million contract.

Still, given how long he's been out (after experiencing a setback in April with discomfort and inflammation), the 33-year-old will likely need some more time pitching in rehab games when he does eventually take that next step.

Another injured pitcher is also on his way back to the Mets as reliever Brooks Raley, who signed a one-year deal earlier this season, has already thrown three live bullpen sessions.

"He’s already facing hitters and all that so yeah he’ll continue to face hitters and then he’ll get to a point where he’ll go on a rehab assignment," Mendoza said.

The lefty reliever is recovering from Tommy John surgery he got at the beginning of the 2024 season.

Meanwhile, Jose Siri (fractured tibia) is with the team on their West Coast road trip as the trainers continue to monitor the outfielder as he continues to do more baseball activities. However, "he's not close yet" to re-joining the team.

"He’s gotta continue his running progression, build volume and then once he clears that hurdle then we’ll start talking about a potential rehab assignment, but I don’t think that’s happening soon," Mendoza said.

As for Monday night's starter, Paul Blackburn is making his season debut after multiple injuries kept him off the field since the end of last year. It will be Blackburn's first start in the majors since Aug. 23 against the San Diego Padres.

Mendoza noted that the right-hander will have no limitations on the mound after the Mets took their time with him, letting him make seven rehab starts between three minor league levels where he finished with a 3.68 ERA (1.09 WHIP).

"We took our time to make sure that he was fully built up and he’s making this start and he’s going there as a normal pitcher," Mendoza said. "I’m gonna treat it the same and hopefully he goes out there and does what he usually does -- give us a chance to win a baseball game."

Giants cautiously frustrated as offensive struggles persist vs. Padres  originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and that’s no different for one video that captured the Giants dugout just after their 1-0 shutout loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday night.

Just as Jerar Encarnación lined out to first to end the game in the 10th inning, the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast caught Patrick Bailey, Heliot Ramos and Matt Chapman’s visible frustrations on camera. No words were said – or heard, at least – but none had to be.

The vibe was understood.

Giants manager Bob Melvin didn’t hold back the truth while disclosing the frustration level in the clubhouse.

“Yeah, we’ve been frustrated for a while,” Melvin said, “but the combination of hitting some balls hard and then having nothing to show for it, when we were up against it, against a really good bullpen late in the game to have our best at-bats. 

“So that just kind of adds to the frustration.”

The Giants had plenty of opportunities to do some damage, including a bases-loaded no-outs chance in the second, but finished the game 1-12 with RISP. They now are 6-57 with RISP over the last nine games.

San Francisco also has scored four runs or fewer in 15 consecutive games, their longest streak since 1965. 

It took less than one minute into Bailey’s postgame media availability to utter the word “frustrating” to reporters. He applauded Logan Webb’s eight shutout innings and knows the offense has to do a better job backing the recent stellar pitching.

“I thought we competed at the end there,” Bailey said. “Obviously it’s frustrating that the big boys go out on the mound and complete like that. Thankfully they’ve kept us in the games and I know we’re going to step it up eventually. Obviously we hit a lot of balls hard off one of the best pitchers in the game. And it just doesn’t go our way. 

“But we got to be better for sure.”

After blowing three bases loaded opportunities, the Giants had one final chance in the bottom of the 10th to at least tie it up and force an 11th after Christian Koss did his job with a sacrifice bunt that moved Jung Hoo Lee to third.

Matt Chapman nearly got the job done when his powerful grounder to third was met with an impressive defensive play by Padres infielder Jose Iglesias. Then Encarnación, making his season debut, had the chance to play hero. The final chance.

Encarnación cracked one right into the glove of Padres first baseman Luis Arraez to end the ballgame.

“The last couple innings were probably our best at-bats throughout the course of the game,” Melvin said. “We had some opportunities early on and that ended up biting us that we couldn’t push one across. We had bases loaded a couple times, we left 12 on base. 

“But I thought our bats were good and a little unlucky in the last inning. We hit two balls that hard.”

Even after pitching another masterclass with nothing to show for it, Webb, per usual, was in good spirits in the clubhouse.

The guy who probably should be the most frustrated wasn’t panicking, and despite the Giants’ recent funk, Webb’s belief in his team hasn’t wavered.

“This is a hard game,” Webb said. “Baseball’s a game of ebbs and flows, some of the best teams in history have gone through stretches where they have struggles like this. But everyone in this room believes in ourselves and I think we’re going to be just fine. It’s the beginning of June, we got four months of baseball left. We really love our guys in here and we’re a really united team. We’re going to be fine.

“We play 162 of these. No other sport plays as many games as we do, you’re going to go through stretches where I struggle, but honestly, I think those things make your team closer. We’re going to be just fine. I know it. Everyone in here knows it. You just got to keep grinding.”

When asked where this stretch compares to other rough patches he’s been a part of in his career, Webb offered a unique perspective.

“I can tell you right now there’s been a lot lower points that I’ve gone through in the past couple of seasons,” he said. “This is not a low point. It’s June 2. We have a lot of baseball to play. I do think there’s a belief in this group and this team, it started on the first day of spring training. I’ve been very outspoken about that. This is just part of baseball. You go through stretches where pitching might not be great, defense might not be great, offense. But it’s getting through those things.

“You hope it’s three or four days, and sometimes it lasts a little longer, but at the end of the day, all we have in this clubhouse is each other and we really believe in this group that we have. We just have to keep our heads up and try to battle. This is a great opportunity for us, we have four games against one of the best teams in baseball. We get to come back tomorrow and try to beat them again.”

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What we learned as Giants waste another Webb gem in loss to Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – The Giants opened a crucial four-game divisional clash on the wrong foot, falling to the San Diego Padres in a 1-0 extra-inning loss Monday night at Oracle Park.

Logan Webb pitched eight shutout innings with seven strikeouts, but he received no run support from the Giants’ struggling offense once again.

San Diego’s offense also struggled, not scoring a run until the top of the 10th inning. That ended up being the only run of the game.

Just one game separated the Padres and Giants in the NL West standings heading into Monday’s series opener in San Francisco, but San Diego was able to create a little separation with three games remaining in the four-game set.

The Giants (33-27) have been one of MLB’s better teams at home this season, but they dropped to 17-10 at Oracle Park.

Here are the takeaways from Monday’s loss:

No Run Support For Wonder Webb … Again 

Logan Webb did Logan Webb things in his 13th start of the season, and, unfortunately for him, the Giants did Giants things.

Webb, who entered the game with a 2.82 ERA and 2.19 FIP with 84 strikeouts to 17 walks in 73.1 innings pitched over 12 starts, tossed another gem Monday night against a team he historically has dominated.

But once again, he had no run support in San Francisco’s loss.

The Giants ace has dominated the Padres over the years with a 2.76 ERA in 12 career starts.

Webb, who lowered his ERA to 2.55, has given up three earned runs or fewer in each of his starts this season.

Offensive Woes Continue

New month, same issues.

The Giants’ offense continued its season-long theme Monday, and the second inning in particular summed up how things have gone for San Francisco thus far.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Willy Adames was thrown out at home after Tyler Fitzgerald grounded to third.

San Francisco then had another bases-loaded opportunity, this time with Heliot Ramos at the plate and one out.

As “Let’s go, Giants!” chants broke out at Oracle Park, Ramos grounded into an inning-ending double play.

It was early, but the missed opportunity immediately felt like one that would leave a bad taste in the Giants’ mouths. But not without another chance to redeem themselves.

Five innings later, Jung Hoo Lee approached the plate with an opportunity to play hero with the bases once again loaded and two outs. Instead, he struck out swinging.

The offensive woes continued in the eighth. With runners on second and third and two outs, Casey Schmitt struck out swinging and, frustrated, walked back to the dugout.

The exasperation is becoming contagious for the Giants, and patience is running out.

Tensions Rise Early

It didn’t take long for Monday’s game to perfectly display the intensity of this NL West showdown between two teams that are separated by just one game in the standings.

Things got chippy in the third inning, when Webb hit Padres catcher Elias Díaz in the top of the inning before Padres starter Stephen Kolek hit Wilmer Flores in the bottom shortly after.

Flores let Kolek know of his frustrations, yelling a few words at him before slowly and irritably walking to first.

LaMonte Wade Jr. was hit in the same hand area just one inning prior and had to exit the game shortly after. He was replaced by Schmitt.

While Kolek issued the “my bad” signal toward a fuming Flores, it was clear that Flores was fed up.

Flores’ high emotions could have riled up the Giants, but it appears this offense will need much more than an impassioned Wilmer to get the job done.

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Ortiz gets candid on idea of Devers moving to first base originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Rafael Devers has channeled his inner David Ortiz with his recent performance as the Boston Red Sox’ designated hitter, though he has yet to emulate the Hall of Famer in the field.

Ortiz played 278 games as a first baseman in his illustrious 20-year career. Devers, on the other hand, called out the Red Sox front office after being asked to move from DH to first in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending injury.

The difference is that Devers already reluctantly moved from third base to DH before the season. The three-time All-Star took issue with the team asking him to return to the infield after telling him to put his glove away.

How would Ortiz have approached Devers’ situation? Speaking at his charity golf event — the David Ortiz Soiree of Hearts — on Monday, Big Papi weighed in on Devers’ refusal to play first base.

“If I was him, I would have put myself available for anything, but that was me,” Ortiz said. “He was a third baseman that was asked to be a DH. Now, all of a sudden, you want him to play first base. You have to give him some time to learn, if he wants to, because he’s doing great as the DH. I don’t want to mess that up. I mean, you’re leading the league in RBIs. …

“So, we cannot just crush a guy every time we feel like. We need to know that he is an important piece for this organization. He is doing what he was asked (to do). But yeah, I think he should just think about what’s better for the organization, him at first or him at DH, and go from there. But we have to give him some time.”

At this point, it would be wise to leave Devers alone. He entered Monday slashing .286/.408/.515 with 12 homers and an MLB-leading 52 RBI in 61 games. His plate discipline has significantly improved as he leads the American League with 47 walks.

Plus, first base has been in good hands as of late with Abraham Toro. The under-the-radar offseason signing has recently provided a spark at the plate and is hitting .310 with three homers in 18 games.

Boston gained another first base option on Monday with Romy Gonzalez’s activation from the injured list. Rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell has taken practice reps at first base and was scheduled to make his first career start at the position on Sunday, but manager Alex Cora opted to keep Toro’s bat in the lineup.

As for Devers, it’s unlikely he’ll be asked to put on a glove again this season. It’s worth noting, however, that he took grounders (at shortstop, for some reason) before Monday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels.