Category: Sports News

How long it will take for Ronny Mauricio to be recalled to the big leagues is now a daily conversation among Mets fans.

With the offense not firing on all cylinders and Mauricio playing very well in Triple-A, the powers that be in Flushing have consistently been bombarded with questions about the young prospect’s future, and it’s easy to see why.

In seven games since returning to Triple-A Syracuse after a rehab assignment, Mauricio is batting .560 with three home runs and an OPS of 1.546. It’s a small sample size, but it’s enough to get the buzz around the Mets prospect to become louder and louder.

So when manager Carlos Mendoza was asked about the reports he’s getting about Mauricio prior to Saturday’s game against the Rockies, the second-year skipper tempered expectations but was honest in what he’s heard.

“We’re watching. The reports are really good, actually. Not so much about the results, just how he’s moving,” he said. “The way he’s running around the bases, moving in the infield, first step, going after baseballs, recovering well and we’ve seen the results from the offensive side where he’s impacting the baseball from both sides of the plate. Good player, we will continue to watch him.”

There are a few factors holding Mauricio back in Triple-A. First and foremost being his health. Mauricio is on the road back from multiple knee surgeries following the 2023 season and the organization wants him to get back into playing shape, which means playing as many games in the minors as possible.

President of baseball operations David Stearns said on Friday that Mauricio’s health is their No.1 priority.

Mauricio hadn’t played back-to-back games with Syracuse until this past Wednesday-Thursday, so the reports about his fielding and recovery are very positive signs.

The other roadblock is the Mets’ current roster. Mauricio has started at second and third base in Syracuse, spots being held by the combination of Mark Vientos, Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty and Luisangel Acuña.

Acuña and Baty are the only two of that quartet with minor league options remaining, but both are currently vital to the team's success of late. Baty swinging a hot bat and playing great defense, while Acuña's speed and defense as a bench player gives Mendoza some much-needed flexibility.

With that logjam, the Mets want Mauricio to continue to play the field and get at-bats as often as possible and the only way to do that is by playing in the minors, for now. But, as Mendoza put it Saturday, there’s going to be a time when decisions will have to be made.

"Right now, we want him to continue to get everyday reps,” he said. “Pretty sure we're going to get to a point where he's going to force us here, but in the meantime, just let him play."

Carlos Mendoza says he and the Mets have gotten "really good" reports on Ronny Mauricio:

"Right now, we want him to continue to get everyday reps. Pretty sure we're going to get to a point where he's going to force us here, but in the meantime, just let him play." pic.twitter.com/GmRxXT3giA

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 31, 2025

Luzardo allows a month's worth of runs, Hoskins goes off, Phils drop 3rd straight originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Jesus Luzardo’s 12th start as a Phillie wasn’t just his first dud, it was the worst outing of his career, a 17-7 loss to the Brewers that had Rhys Hoskins’ fingerprints all over it.

Luzardo entered the day with the lowest home run rate in the National League and had not allowed more than three runs as a Phillie. Four batters into the game, the Brewers changed that with two singles and a walk before Hoskins extended his arms to blast a 97 mph fastball over the wall for a three-run bomb.

“Again starting off early putting us down in a hole, frustrating that it’s back-to-back starts,” Luzardo said. “Then kind of unraveled in the fourth. Just not being able to get back on track and give length to the team put the bullpen in a bad position and us in a hole.”

The fourth inning was the Phillies’ ugliest of 2025 and included the first ejection of the season for manager Rob Thomson. It began with a ball bouncing out of Nick Castellanos’ glove in right-center for a leadoff double. It was centerfielder Brandon Marsh’s ball but Marsh pulled off it late despite not being called off by Castellanos.

“Marsh needs to call Casty off there,” Thomson said. “(Castellanos) did not call the ball. Marsh has to keep going, call the ball and call him off because he has priority.”

The next batter, Caleb Durbin, hit a dribbler to the right of the mound and Luzardo threw it low past first baseman Alec Bohm, an error that allowed a runner to come around to score. Then came back-to-back walks, consecutive singles and another three-run homer from Hoskins, whose six RBI matched his most in any game.

Luzardo allowed a career-high 12 runs on 12 hits and his ERA rose from 2.15 to 3.58 — from second-best in the majors to 23rd. No Phillies starter has given up more runs in a game since Al Jurisich in 1947.

“When he didn’t execute, they hit the ball hard. When he did execute, the ball seemed to find a hole,” Thomson said. “You’re thinking the way he grinds, the way he battles and competes, that he’s gonna get out of it. And also want to save the bullpen.

“Statistics matter. You want your guys to have great years but at some points too, you’ve got to battle through things and do it for your teammates.”

The Phils have lost three in a row and dropped the series to the Brewers after ripping off 11 wins in 12 games. Their only other series loss since April 25 was in mid-May to the Cardinals.

Thomson’s ejection came after Luzardo appeared to pick Sal Frelick off of first base in the fourth. Following the initial call, third-base umpire Derek Thomas motioned that Luzardo balked and Frelick was awarded second base. Thomson ran out to argue, and beyond the balk itself, he and Luzardo took issue with it being called by the third-base umpire, not the home-plate or first-base umpires who have better vantage points of a lefty’s pick-off move.

“The third-base umpire’s explanation to me was that at the top of his leg lift, he stopped,” Thomson said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that. My question was why didn’t the umpire at first base call it?”

Luzardo was peeved because it’s something he’s done for six years.

“That’s what I told him, that was my frustration, that I’ve done this since 2019 and never been called for a balk on it,” he said. “I think they did a great job of not throwing me out. In the heat of the moment, I was probably a little hot-headed. I just wanted an explanation as to what was the balk. I felt I gained ground even as I fell toward the plate, always kept my body moving even though it was slow. 

“Basically, I got couple of different answers, saying that I stopped at the top of my delivery, which I didn’t. And the call coming from third base is what frustrated me the most. If it was the first-base umpire, I’d understand it a little more. But it is what it is. Not everyone’s perfect. But I think that frustration kind of caused me to unravel a little bit more as opposed to step back, cool myself and get back to it.”

Regression was going to hit Luzardo at some point. He began the day averaging more than 6.0 innings per start, by far a career-high. His most 100-pitch outings in any season is five and he’d done that in five of his last six starts entering the weekend. The Phillies have pushed him, and until Saturday, he’d passed every test.

They know they must strike a balance rest-of-season between riding Luzardo when he’s effective and preserving his arm for October when it matters most. There are ways to do it — dialing him back by an inning, skipping a start at some point, going to a six-man rotation when Andrew Painter is ready.

The Phillies turn to Ranger Suarez on Sunday looking to avoid being swept at home for the first time since last July 29-31 vs. the Yankees. Suarez has pitched four straight gems, three of them scoreless starts of at least six innings. They’ll need another.

“I told Zeus as soon as he steps off the mound, this one’s over,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “Same thing as a team. It’s obviously an embarrassing loss, you never want to lose like that. We’ve just got to flush it and move on to tomorrow.”

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza gave some updates on the team ahead of Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies...

Paul Blackburn to start Monday vs. Dodgers

The veteran right-hander will come off the injured list and make his season debut on Monday in Los Angeles, Mendoza told reporters. Blackburn will join a six-man starting rotation and the rest will follow after him.

"Yeah, it's gonna be Game 1 versus LA, Blackburn will pitch on Monday and then everybody will fall in line," Mendoza said.

Blackburn went 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA over seven minor league games during his rehab assignment, including a 2-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 20.0 innings with Triple-A Syracuse.

Mendoza isn't concerned over Blackburn making his season debut against a strong Dodgers lineup, crediting his MLB experience.

"Not really because he's been in this league for a long time now," Mendoza said. "He knows what it takes. This is not a situation where you're calling up a rookie or a guy that's been up and down. He's been in this league for quite a bit now and has had some success. He knows what's at stake. He knows he's going to be facing a good lineup. And he's ready.

"He feels good, feels healthy, he's throwing the ball well. As far as the competition and all that, he's been there before."

Blackburn pitched in five games for New York in 2024 after coming over from the Athletics, going 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA. He owns a 22-28 record with a 4.85 ERA across 85 games over his eight big league seasons.

What's next for Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas?

Manaea (right oblique strain) threw a live bullpen session on Thursday that "went well," and he'll throw another on Monday.

"It'll be an up-and-down live BP," Mendoza said. "Last time, which was one time up, he threw almost 20 pitches. Now he's gonna go where he goes two innings, basically, facing batters."

Mendoza added that the left-hander could throw another live BP before a rehab start.

As for Montas (right lat strain), Mendoza said that the team is looking for him to pitch another rehab game on Tuesday, depending on the weather.

Montas showed improvement in his second rehab start on Thursday night for High-A Brooklyn, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three over 3.0 IP. He threw 49 pitches with 28 for strikes.

Mark Vientos 'going through it'

It's been a tough second full season in the bigs for Vientos, who's hitting just .231 with six home runs, seven doubles, and 21 RBI over 51 games. Many expected him to take another huge step forward following his 27-homer season in 2024, but that hasn't been the case.

"I feel like he's going through it," Mendoza said. "There will be stretches where he's hitting the ball hard consistently, but there's also stretches where he chases. Maybe a little bit in between at times. That's part of the grind, part of the 162. Second year in the big leagues, where people are adjusting to him and he's got to continue to make adjustments.

"He's working hard, he's watching film, he's talking to the hitting coaches, he's doing extra work. He's got to keep going."

Vientos has turned things around slightly after a poor April (.225 batting average) with a .256 batting mark in May, but his inconsistent performance has opened the door for others. The 25-year-old is not in the lineup Saturday as Brett Baty gets the start at third base and Jared Young at DH. Mendoza was then asked about balancing reps for Vientos to help him break out of the slump.

"When you got 13 guys, you feel good about your chances," Mendoza said. "It makes it a challenge, but there's a balance. Trying to use everyone as much as possible, keep everyone fresh. But in the case of Mark, he's getting playing time. Yes, maybe he plays one day, sits the other, but he plays three, sits one -- he's still active.

"I'm not worried about that at all, that's part of establishing yourself here at the big league level. Everybody goes through it. And he's going through it right now where he's got to learn where it's like, 'Hey man, you're probably gonna play a couple games and then sit one.' Every one of them is going through it I guess. Again, we got 13 really good players."

What we learned as Ray gem wasted in Giants' shutout loss to Marlins originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — The odds are pretty good that Robbie Ray will be named National League Pitcher of the Month for May. The left-hander posted a 1.38 ERA in six starts, and when he walked off the mound on Saturday in Miami, he led the league in innings pitched this month. 

Ray went 4-1 in May, but it very easily could have been 6-0.

For the second time in his last three starts, Ray dominated but watched the lineup struggle. He allowed just one run, but the Giants were shut out for the second time in their last seven games, losing 1-0 to the last-place Miami Marlins. The two shutout losses are part of a stretch of 13 consecutive games without scoring more than four runs. 

The Giants had plenty of opportunities to break through Saturday, but didn’t take advantage. They loaded the bases with one out in the first but came away with nothing. Willy Adames and Mike Yastrzemski — who was moved out of the leadoff spot — both struck out. 

With a runner on in the fourth, Tyler Fitzgerald hit a high fly ball to left, where Marlins Park used to have a nightclub. But Heriberto Hernandez reached over the wall and pulled back what would have been a go-ahead homer. That was it against hard-throwing righty Edward Cabrera, who entered with a 4.73 ERA but now has back-to-back scoreless starts.

The Giants thought they had tied it in the bottom of the seventh, but center fielder Dane Myers made a tremendous catch to rob Jung Hoo Lee of an extra-base hit with Heliot Ramos on first. 

A defensive misplay and a walk put two on with one out in the eighth, but Yastrzemski flew out and Fitzgerald struck out.

No Offense

You have to go back to 1988 to find the last time the Giants went 13 straight games without scoring more than four, and they’re hardly even getting to that relatively low number. Since the Wilmer Flores Game against the A’s, the Giants have scored four runs just twice. They have just 10 runs over their last seven games. 

The Giants are somehow 6-7 during this ugly stretch, a testament to how good their pitching has been. But on Saturday, they weren’t able to get the two runs Ray needed. 

Changing It Up

The results fit in with the rest of Ray’s season, but the way he got there was different. He threw a career-high 32 changeups, blowing away his previous high of 18. The pitch is one that Ray learned from Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal in the offseason, and it has been a game-changer for him, allowing him to succeed on days when his fastball and slider aren’t quite as sharp.

Ray got 22 strikes with those 32 changeups, including 12 of his 19 swinging strikes. Five of his nine strikeouts came on changeups. 

At Least They Have That Guy

Heliot Ramos was far and away the team’s best position player in May, and on Saturday that led to a lineup change. LaMonte Wade Jr. started the season as the leadoff hitter against righties but he’s down at the bottom of the order now, and might be out of it altogether when Jerar Encarnacion returns. Yastrzemski was hitting .213 in May after Friday’s game, and that got him bumped down, too.

Ramos already was the leadoff hitter against lefties and he’s now at the top of the lineup against righties, too. He reached base four times Saturday, getting two singles, a walk and hit-by-pitch. His on-base percentage for the season is up to .355.

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