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A gripping second test and series was won by the last play of the match in Melbourne
The officials for this match:
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Television Match Official (TMO): Eric Gauzins (France
Continue reading...
Los Angeles Dodgers v Boston Red Sox
Venue: Fenway Park, Boston Date: Sunday, 27 July First pitch: 18:35 BST
Coverage: Live coverage on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Red Button and the BBC Sport website and app, from 18:30
After winning last year's World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up from where they left off.
They made a flying start to the current Major League Baseball season, becoming the first defending champions to win their first eight games.
It had many saying this is the best MLB team that has ever been assembled.
Three months later, the Dodgers remain top of their division, but they are struggling.
After Tuesday's defeat to Minnesota, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was desperate to stop the rot, saying: "It better be rock bottom."
Now his team visit the Boston Red Sox hoping to get their title defence back on track, and you can watch the final game of their three-game series live on the BBC.
Speaking to BBC Sport after last year's championship win, former World Series winner Chase Utley said that the Dodgers' "entire line-up has the ability to hit a home run and they play great defence. They're just really good at all aspects of the game."
And in the off-season their roster got even better. After their starting pitcher rotation was hit by injuries last year, they brought in Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki to add greater strength in depth.
They also re-signed veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw and knew that at some point Shohei Ohtani would be able to pitch again after recovering from elbow surgery.
Ohtani is a 'unicorn' in that he is a two-way player. The Japanese star is the first MLB player to be elite at both pitching and hitting at the same time.
After joining the Dodgers in a deal worth $700m (£558m), he could only hit in his first season, yet still earned his third Most Valuable Player award as they won the World Series.
The Dodgers' offensive line-up also features two former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, who are part of a nucleus of players on long-term contracts.
And the team bolstered that core with Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez signing extensions.
It's a good job the Dodgers secured that pitching insurance for this season because their injury woes returned, with four of their starting pitchers having had spells out.
That has meant they could not sustain that early-season form and have had to use their relieving pitchers - known as the bullpen - far more than any other MLB team.
That has taken its toll, with six relieving pitchers currently out injured, and the team generally struggling for form - in the outfield, on the mound and at the plate.
Betts has hit three home runs in his past 49 games and Freeman one in 61.
At the start of this month, the Dodgers lost seven games in a row for the first time since September 2017. And since that 8-0 start to the season, their record is 53-43.
Manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday: "It better be rock bottom, as far as how we've been pitching, how we've been playing defence.
"I think the offence is kind of starting to tick up, which is good. There's certainly more in there. But I think as far as quality of baseball, it's been a tough watch. It really has."
Ohtani's class continues to shine through though. Only Seattle's Cal Raleigh (39) has hit more home runs than Ohtani (37) this season.
Ohtani homered in five consecutive games over the past week, and in one of those games he also had three strikeouts as a pitcher.
The 31-year-old's return to the mound last month has provided the Dodgers with some relief.
So far he has made six starts, with his innings gradually being increased, and in his third game back, Ohtani threw his fastest MLB pitch ever (101.7mph).
Ohtani is not scheduled to pitch again until Wednesday, with Dustin May set to be the Dodgers' starting pitcher for Sunday's game against Boston.
And there will be a familiar face on the Fenway Park mound.
Walker Buehler left the Dodgers for the Red Sox in the off-season and before the start of their three-game series on Friday, some of his former team-mates presented Buehler with his World Series ring for last season's championship triumph.
The Dodgers won Friday's game 5-2 to improve their record to 61-43 atop the National League West division.
Boston are 55-50 and sit third in the American League East, with Wilyer Abreu (20 home runs) their leading hitter.
After going into the All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak, the Red Sox have won just two of their seven games since.
As it stands, they would end their three-year play-off absence, but they too need an upturn in form to be sure of securing a wild-card spot.
BBC Sport will be showing an MLB game live every Sunday evening until the end of the regular season on 28 September.
The teenage phenom from Canada is chasing five golds in Singapore, but her showdown with the sport’s longtime 800m free queen could signal a passing of the torch
For the first time in more than a decade, Katie Ledecky may not be the most feared swimmer in the pool. That honor now belongs to Summer McIntosh, the Canadian teenager looking to do what only Michael Phelps has done before her: win five individual gold medals at a single world swimming championships.
Their clash in the 800m freestyle on 2 August is set to be the defining moment of the weeklong meet in Singapore. Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history, is bidding for an unprecedented seventh world title at the distance she has dominated since 2013. McIntosh, just 18, is the only swimmer to have beaten her at 800m in the past 15 years.
Continue reading...It wasn't long ago when Francisco Lindor was in the worst funk of his career, but the Mets shortstop has turned things around at the right time.
After breaking his career-worst 0-for-31 skid in the team's series finale against the Angels on Wednesday, Lindor picked up where he left off in Friday's impressive 8-1 win over the Giants.
Lindor went 3-for-5, but as skipper Carlos Mendoza put it after the game, it's how his at-bats look that is encouraging to him.
"His ability to use the whole field, and going the other way, that’s when he’s at his best," Mendoza said. "Some really good signs and it’s good to have him feeling that way."
Mendoza broke down Lindor's three hits and said there was something to like about each of them. His first hit was a single up the middle in the first inning. The second was when he pulled an inside fastball over the right field wall for his 20th home run of the season. And even though he struck out the next two times, his final at-bat in the ninth saw Lindor go the other way for a ground-rule double down the left field line.
"I got rhythm. I feel good," Lindor said of his swing of late. "I did what I wanted to do today. Had a game plan and was able to execute it. That means my swing is in a good spot. Stay the course, continue to be better every day."
It's been a rough few months for Lindor, who was hitting .283 entering June and was looking every bit of the MVP-caliber player that helped the Mets get into the postseason last year. At the lowest point of his skid in July, Lindor was hitting only .245. But after his five hits in two games, he's looking like himself at the plate again.
Lindor credits the team, and especially the hitting staff, for keeping him positive and getting him back to a good spot with his swing.
"It was coming and going. I work, feel good, then it disappears," Lindor said of why his swing went awry. "It’s human nature when you go through tough times … you rely on the people around you and hope to get a hit or two."
Lindor closed his answer with his signature smile. And there's a lot to smile about with the Mets right now. Friday's victory pushed their winning streak to five games and they are clinging to first place in the NL East over the Phillies. But if the Mets hope to win their first division title since 2015, they'll need Lindor and his swing to feel good to get there.
The Mets started their West Coast trip with an impressive 8-1 wire-to-wire win over the Giants in San Francisco on Friday night.
New York (60-44) remains 0.5 games ahead of the Phillies, who won their game earlier in the evening, to stay atop the NL East.
-Against a Cy Young-caliber pitcher in Logan Webb,the Mets jumped on him early in the first. Brandon Nimmo lined a double just over the head of left fielder Heliot Ramos -- who took a bad route to the ball -- and Francisco Lindor followed with a single. Lindor stole second before Juan Soto rolled over a grounder to the right side to plate Nimmo and move Lindor to third. Pete Alonso drove in Lindor with a sac fly to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead.
Clay Holmes wasn't much better in his half of the first, allowing a single to Ramos and a double to Rafael Devers to lead off. Willy Adames grounded out to drive in the Giants' first run. After a walk to Matt Chapman, Holmes bounced back by getting Mike Yastryzmski to fly out and Wilmer Flores to ground out to end the 33-pitch opening frame.
-Webb's struggles continued in the fourth as Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez led off with back-to-back singles. Ronny Mauricio walked to load the bases for Tyrone Taylor with no outs. Taylor chopped a grounder up the middle but Adames made a nice scoop and flip to second base, but Taylor beat out the potential double play as Baty scored. After Taylor stole second, Nimmo hit an opposite-field single to drive in two and push the Mets' lead to 6-1.
Webb would not last beyond the fourth, pitching his shortest outing of the season.
-Holmes did not last much longer as he struggled in the fifth. The right-hander allowed back-to-back singles to the No. 8 and 9 hitters, but Holmes got Ramos to pop up and Devers to strike out. He then got Adames to pop up to get through the fifth.
Holmes tied a career-high with 104 pitches (64 strikes) through his five innings. He allowed just one run on six hits, one walk while striking out two batters.
-The Mets' lineup wouldn't get much going against the Giants' bullpen, but it didn't matter as New York's bullpen was just as sharp with the team using three arms to get the final 12 outs of the game.
-Alonso went 0-for-4 with a sac fly RBI in this one, but he helped the Mets on the defensive end, saving Holmes, Lindor and Mauricio from errors with his glove.
Lindor was struggling mightily before the series finale against the Angels, and his hot bat has traveled to the West Coast. After his single in the first inning, the Mets shortstop got around on an inside pitch from Webb and deposited it over the wall in right field for his 20th homer of the season. Lindor's last at-bat saw him drive a ground-rule double down the left field line. He finished 3-for-5.
The Mets scored their final two runs in the ninth after Luisangel Acuna scored from third on a wild pitch and Soto's single drove in Lindor from third.
-The Mets were 3-for-3 (Nimmo, Taylor, Lindor) on stolen base attempts against Webb. Webb entered Friday's game, having only given up four stolen bases this season in his first 21 starts.
Nimmo went 2-for-5 but his two-run single in the fourth put this game to bed.
Brandon Nimmo leads off the game with a double, Francisco Lindor follows with a single, and Juan Soto drives in Nimmo with an RBI groundout for the game's first run pic.twitter.com/nhL9wbYfwW
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Pete Alonso brings home Francisco Lindor with a sac fly to make it 2-0 Mets!
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
It's Alonso's 81st RBI of the season pic.twitter.com/uVWfTeYNed
Home run #20 on the season for Francisco Lindor! pic.twitter.com/YTnuK53gwu
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Pete Alonso makes the tag on the helmet of Matt Chapman for the out!
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Ronny Mauricio had a hug for Pete after the inning for saving him from an error 🤣 pic.twitter.com/3sht5p8k0H
A 2-run single for Brandon Nimmo makes it 6-1 Mets! pic.twitter.com/WpI4UV4LQh
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Clay Holmes bears down and gets out of the jam in the 5th and finishes with 104 pitches pic.twitter.com/yK6pIh7X2Z
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Rico Garcia gets Rafael Devers swinging in a perfect 6-pitch 7th inning pic.twitter.com/b4MhIHKgiH
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Luisangel Acuña scores on a wild pitch pic.twitter.com/GJFeymEo2S
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
Juan Soto drives in his second run of the night and the Mets lead 8-1 pic.twitter.com/bcyY8FYi72
— SNY (@SNYtv) July 26, 2025
The Mets and Giants play the middle game of their three-game set on Saturday evening. First pitch is set for 9:05 p.m. on SNY.
David Peterson (6-4, 2.90 ERA) will take the mound as the Giants will send Robbie Ray (9-4, 2.92 ERA) to the bump.
The Yankees optioned right-handed pitcher Scott Effross and infielder Jorbit Vivas to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Friday's trade with the Colorado Rockies for third baseman Ryan McMahon to prepare for his arrival.
Will McMahon play for New York in Saturday's 1:05 p.m. game against the Philadelphia Phillies?
"Yeah, I expect him available," Boone said after Friday's 12-5 loss.
The 31-year-old Effross threw 23 pitches (13) strikes and allowed four runs on four hits in one inning, the ninth, where the Phillies (59-44) put Friday's game out of reach. He has allowed 10 runs on 16 hits while striking out six and walking three in 10.2 innings pitched over 11 games.
Vivas, 24, entered Friday's game at third base in the eighth inning and flew out to right field for the ninth's second out. He is slashing .161/.266/.250 with one home run and five RBI through 29 games.
The 30-year-old McMahon, who was a 2024 All-Star, joins the Yankees (56-47) at a pivotal time. He does so with a .217/.314/.403 slash line, 16 home runs and 35 RBI through 100 games this season.
"He's a really good player, great defender," said first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. "... He's a good hitter, and he's going to help us."
McMahon will take Vivas' spot on the roster while a corresponding move for Effross -- likely a fresh arm for Saturday's game -- was not announced.
HOUSTON (AP) — Nick Kurtz became the first major league rookie to hit four homers in a game, leading the Athletics to a 15-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Kurtz went 6-for-6 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. He’s just the second player in Major League Baseball history to have four homers in a six-hit game, joining Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee, and he matched Green’s MLB record with 19 total bases.
It was the first six-hit game for the Athletics since Joe DeMaestri on July 8, 1955 at Detroit.
The 23-year-old also had a single and a double that hit just below the yellow line over the visitor’s bullpen in the fourth inning.
Kurtz singled in the first and his two-run homer in the second put the Athletics ahead 5-0. His solo shot in the sixth made it 10-2. His third homer was his longest, a 414-foot drive into the second deck in the eighth.
Kurtz’s final homer came against outfielder Cooper Hummel, a three-run, opposite-field line drive to the Crawford boxes in left field that made it 15-2.
Kurtz extended his hitting streak to 12 games and his 23 home runs are the most for an A’s rookie since Yoenis Céspedes in 2012 and fourth most in franchise history.
Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also homered for the A’s, who had a season high in runs.
Jeffrey Springs (9-7) allowed two runs over six innings. Zack Short hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fifth.
Ryan Gusto (6-4) allowed eight runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Hummel had allowed one run and retired two batters in the ninth when Kurtz hit a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch for his fourth homer.
Kurtz is batting .553 (26 for 47) with nine homers and 20 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak.
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 2.57 ERA) opposes LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 4.60 ERA) when the series continues Saturday.
The Colorado Avalanche announced on Friday that they have acquired forward Danil Gushchin from the San Jose Sharks in return for forward Oskar Olausson.
We have acquired Danil Gushchin from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Oskar Olausson.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 25, 2025
📰: https://t.co/3FRtzPimZtpic.twitter.com/67mamq9Ujk
Gushchin, 23, was drafted by San Jose in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, 76th overall.
He made his NHL debut with the Sharks in the 2022-23 season against the Arizona Coyotes. Since then, he's skated in 18 total NHL games, 12 of which came just last season. He cracked the Sharks' opening night roster, playing in all 9 games in October before being sent down to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL). He was called up two more times, once for one game against the Vancouver Canucks in November, then again in April for the last two games of the team's regular season. His only NHL point last season was an assist in a 5-4 OT win against the Utah Mammoth.
The Yekaterinburg, Russia native played 56 regular season games with the Barracuda and totaled 51 points (28g/23a), finishing third on the team in points and second in goals. He earned one point in the form of a goal in four GP in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Gushchin is a smaller forward, coming into Colorado's system at 5'8", 165 lbs.
He's a great, tenacious back checker who often almost functions as a third defenseman in transition at times. He takes smart routes to the puck on the forecheck, and he's surprisingly physical for someone his size. He sets up really well by faking a shot or a pass first and then separates by accelerating inside his movements.- EliteProspects 2020 Draft Guide
As mentioned above, the Avalanche received Gushchin in exchange for Sweden native Oskar Olausson, who was drafted by Colorado 28th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. During his three years in the Avalanche system, he appeared in four NHL games. In 61 GP with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) this past season, he tallied 26 points (11g/15a).
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Third T20I: WI 214-4, Aus 215-4; Australia win by 6 wickets in St Kitts
Middle-order powerhouse hits 11 sixes in 37-ball unbeaten hundred
A remarkable record-breaking innings from power hitter Tim David has carried Australia to a six-wicket win and an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Chasing a testing target of 215, Australia were struggling at 87 for 4 in the ninth over of their run chase at the small Warner Park ground in Basseterre, St Kitts.
Continue reading...Brandon Sproat scattered two runs on five hits while striking out three and walking two in five innings of Friday's 8-2 Triple-A Syracuse Mets win over the Kansas City Royals-affiliated Omaha Storm Chasers.
New York's top pitching and overall prospect, according to SNY's Joe DeMayo, had not allowed an earned run in more than a month.
The scoreless streak snapped in the top of the third inning when Michael Massey's ground-rule double on a fly ball to center field scored Jordan Groshans and Rudy Martin.
Sproat's stretch without an earned run spanned 25 innings, starting June 22. He allowed an unearned run in this past Saturday's five-inning start. His ERA is down to 4.30 after April and May struggles.
Sproat, who is 5-5 and has a 1.29 WHIP, threw 60 strikes on 86 pitches. He responded strongly to his two-run third, working out of trouble with a fourth-inning-ending double play before retiring the side in the fifth -- including two strikeouts to end the frame and the outing.
In four July starts, Sproat pitched to a 0.82 ERA and 0.73 WHIP. He allowed three runs (two earned) on 11 hits while striking out 24, walking five and hitting three.
It remains unclear exactly how much, if at all, the Dodgers will bolster their offense ahead of next week’s trade deadline.
But after a pitiful start to the month of July, their current lineup is finally showing renewed signs of life.
The Dodgers might not have bludgeoned the Boston Red Sox in a 5-2 win Friday — when they were without shortstop Mookie Betts while he was away with his family because of a personal situation — picking up their third victory in the last four games in a series-opener at Fenway Park.
Read more:Facing Dodgers for first time gives Walker Buehler chance to reflect on his time in L.A.
But, after averaging three runs per game with a .205 team batting average over the first nine games of July, they continued showing signs that the ship is turning around again, recording at least five runs for the seventh time in their last 10 games.
The most impactful performance Friday came from one of the Dodgers’ most disappointing hitters over the last two months: veteran outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
After re-signing with the Dodgers (61-43) this offseason — over interest from several other teams, the Red Sox (55-50) chief among them — Hernández started the season hot before missing two weeks with an adductor strain in May. Ever since, the veteran had looked glaringly off, batting below .200 over 48 games.
At the end of this past week’s homestand on Wednesday, however, Hernández recorded his first three-hit game since April. And on Friday, he kept the momentum going, drawing a run-scoring walk with the bases loaded in the third inning before belting a two-run insurance homer in the top of the eighth.
“Obviously, a huge at-bat,” manager Dave Roberts said of Hernández’s home run, just his second in the last 27 games.
Andy Pages played a key role Friday, as well, continuing his own upward trajectory after a trying couple of weeks.
From June 26 to July 19, Pages saw what was once a near-.300 batting average tumble, hitting .206 over an 18-game stretch. The slide helped keep him from reaching the All-Star Game, then continued for the first two games coming out of the break — making him one of many Dodgers hitters mired in a midseason slump.
But in the last four games of the team’s recent homestand, Pages had two home runs and two multihit games.
On Friday, Pages' recent surge continued, including a double that set up Tommy Edman (another recently slumping hitter) for the opening run in the second inning, a sacrifice fly after Hernández’s walk in the third, and a single again after Hernández’s big fly in the eighth.
“I think they’re just taking better at-bats,” Roberts said of Hernández and Pages. “Having those two guys in the middle of the order doing what they’re doing makes life easier for all of us.”
There were other bright spots in the Dodgers’ win. Will Smith went two for five to raise his National League-leading batting average to .325. Freddie Freeman had a pair of singles, recording consecutive multihit games for only the second time since early June. And while Shohei Ohtani saw his home run streak snapped at five games, he still reached base twice.
Read more:Beyond the bullpen, how aggressive will the Dodgers be at the MLB trade deadline?
Two hitters who could be more important to the Dodgers’ deadline calculus struggled, with Michael Conforto going only one for four (albeit with a sixth-inning double) and Hyeseong Kim extending his recent slump with a golden sombrero (four strikeouts).
But on the whole, the offense (which combined for 10 hits, the third time that has happened in the last 10 games) did enough — backing up a five-inning, two-run start from Emmet Sheehan (a Connecticut native who attended nearby Boston College) and the first scoreless effort from the Dodgers’ beleaguered bullpen since July 3, including a first career save for Ben Casparius (another Connecticut native who grew up playing high school tournaments at Fenway Park).
“It was pretty cool, especially to do it behind Emmet,” Casparius said. “We kind of talked about that, hopefully getting into the same game. So it was special, and a great way to start the road trip.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Yankees enter the 2025 MLB trade deadline with a bullpen problem, and moves could be on the horizon, as evidenced in Friday's 12-5 series-opening loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schwarber, whose two home runs -- tying and putting the game away -- made the biggest impact.
Cody Bellinger launches one in the first! pic.twitter.com/JiVRQUMQvu
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 25, 2025
Austin Wells’ turn to go yard! pic.twitter.com/UFzVWVssof
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 25, 2025
Giancarlo Stanton with the Yankees’ third solo homer of the night for the lead! pic.twitter.com/sjwAP0yUeT
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 26, 2025
Anthony Volpe with the Yankees’ fourth solo homer of the night pic.twitter.com/86CKwPpBIp
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 26, 2025
Aaron Judge with a sac fly to cut it to 1 pic.twitter.com/mnUOwGKwc0
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 26, 2025
The Yankees and Phillies continue their three-game series with Saturday's 1:05 p.m. matchup. New York RHP Marcus Stroman (2-1, 5.64 ERA) and Philadelphia LHP Ranger Suárez (7-4, 2.66 ERA) are set to start.
With the majority of sought-after players already signed, players are beginning to look at the possibility of joining clubs on professional tryout contract. Usually the hockey version of musical chairs begins in late August or early September with a few weeks to go before training camp opens, but the thin group of free agents may have accelerated players searching for a landing spot.
According to Mollie Walker of the NY Post, former Buffalo Sabres forward Conor Sheary was the first to agree to a PTO this summer, agreeing to a tryout contract with the NY Rangers. The two-time Stanley Cup winner played 133 games with the Sabres from 2018 to 2020 after playing three seasons in Pittsburgh and winning consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017 under new Rangers coach Mike Sullivan.
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The Sabres acquired Sheary along with defenseman Matt Hunwick from the Penguins for a conditional draft pick in the summer of 2018, and was traded back to Pittsburgh along with Evan Rodrigues just before the COVID shutdown for Dominik Kahun. The diminutive winger scored in double figures three straight seasons with Washington, but declined the last two years with Tampa Bay.
Sheary scored four goals in 57 games with the Lightning two years ago, and played most of last season in AHL Syracuse, where he led the Crunch in scoring with 61 points (20 goals, 41 assists) in 59 games.
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The Mets' farm system is filled with talented prospects and outfielder Drew Gilbert's recent play has drawn the attention of the team's front office.
Speaking with the media in San Francisco ahead of Friday's series opener against the Giants, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns spoke about what he hoped to accomplish at the trade deadline after dealing for left-handed reliever Gregory Soto. The Mets' outfield was a subject brought up to Stearns since the centerfield platoon of Tyrone Taylor and Jeff McNeil has, while playing admirably, not produced consistently enough.
There have been rumblings of a deal to address it at the deadline, but while Stearns shared he was comfortable with Taylor/McNeil the rest of the season, he was asked about Gilbert's recent play and whether he's on the team's radar for center field.
"Drew’s doing a tremendous job," Stearns said. "I think to his credit, he’s putting himself on the radar a little bit and deserves a lot of credit for that. Both offensively and defensively, he’s taken a step forward over the next month or two."
Stearns didn't necessarily answer the question, but gave his flowers to the 24-year-old who has turned his offensive game up with Syracuse.
Entering Friday, Gilbert was hitting .310 with a .990 OPS over the last 30 days, and that doesn't include the power performance he put on in Syracuse's game against Omaha.
Gilbert went 3-for-4 with two home runs.
It's a two-homer night for Drew Gilbert in Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/79Adhwauhs
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 26, 2025
That offensive outburst raised his batting average to .248, his OBP to .351 and his OPS to .796 in 78 games in Triple-A. Across 17 games in July, Gilbert is hitting .338 with six home runs while driving in 17 RBI a posting an OPS of 1.126.
Entering Friday, Taylor is hitting .209 with two home runs and 17 RBI to go with his .570 OPS across 91 games. McNeil, in 68 games entering Friday, is hitting better. He's averaging .251 with nine home runs and 32 RBI, but splits time between the outfield and infield.
While Jesse Winker continues to recover on the IL, Gilbert could be the left-handed bat the Mets are looking for to pair with Taylor. Stearns made it clear on Friday that upgrading the position with an external option isn't a priority.
"I’m comfortable with the setup we have right now," Stearns said of his centerfielders. "Mendy is doing a great job of finding the right days for Jeff to be out there and for Tyrone to be out there. It’s two skill sets that complement each other, so I‘m comfortable with that. Like with the rest of the team, we’re going to explore areas of upgrades and that’s one of them."
Perhaps that's because he knows who he has waiting in the wings.The Mets made their first 2025 MLB trade deadline splash on Friday afternoon, acquiring left-handed reliever Gregory Soto from the Baltimore Orioles.
But, more needs to be done if the Mets hope to make a deep playoff run, and president of baseball operations David Stearns is well aware of the team's holes and is actively looking to fill them. Speaking with the media in San Francisco ahead of the team's series opener against the Giants, Stearns said talks with the Orioles had been going on for a couple of weeks and this was the time to push the deal through.
Soto will be the Mets' second high-leverage southpaw out of the pen -- along with the returning Brooks Raley -- and Stearns was asked whether getting that second lefty was his first priority.
"It was important, you never know whether you’ll be able to line up," Stearns said. "Not sure how many lefty relievers are going to be traded this deadline. We weren’t certain, but with the injuries we had from that side of the pen over the course of the season, we recognize the importance an arm from the left side can potentially have down the stretch and into October. It was something we definitely wanted to accomplish."
Teams aren't usually content with dealing for just one reliever at this time of the season. The Mets are likely to keep searching for more quality arms for the bullpen and Stearns is keeping the door open for more trades.
"We’re still talking. There’s still the ability to upgrade our bullpen," he said. "We’re certainly not going to close the door on it."
He later added, "Wherever we can upgrade the team, we’re going to try to do that. We’ll continue to have discussions on the bullpen. We’re not going to close the door on other aspects of the team. But as we said all along, the bullpen is the priority and probably remains that way."
But what about the rotation? There have been reports that the Mets have checked in on starters like Dylan Cease and Sandy Alcantara.
While Stearns wouldn't say he's not in the market for an arm for the rotation, he made it clear that it's not high on his list of deals to make.
"I like our starting rotation. Our current five is a very talented set of five," Stearns said. "We’re still in the process of building some of those guys up. And that’s unusual to happen this time of the year, where you’re doing that with multiple starters. That’s the spot we’re in right now. Because of that, it puts a little extra burden on the bullpen…But we know as we go through this over the next two months, we’re going to need to ask more for more out of starters. We’ll get there, we’re not there quite yet."
Currently, the Mets have David Peterson, Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea as the starting five. Senga and Manaea are coming off injuries and have not been built up, while Holmes, a converted reliever, has reached a workload he's never had in his career.
Stearns and the organization are in a tricky spot, but the second-year Mets POBO believes in his starters. But offered the caveat that if there's a difference-maker available, they'll be checking.
"I think if you’re going to add to the team in general, you try to raise the ceiling of the team. That’s how I look at that group," he said. "Again, you don’t know exactly what’s going to be available and what’s ultimately going to be traded. Acquiring starting pitching at this time of year is pretty difficult. I don’t know how many 'raise the ceiling' type of players are going to be traded in that segment. If those guys are available, we’ll be involved."
And what about the lineup? There's been plenty of talk regarding the Mets' pursuit of an outfield bat and whether they should. Like other aspects of the team, Stearns maintains he'll look into all opportunities to improve the team, but is comfortable and complimentary of how Jeff McNeil and Tyrone Taylor have played in center this season.
"I’m comfortable with the setup we have right now," Stearns said of his centerfielders. "Mendy is doing a great job of finding the right days for Jeff to be out there and for Tyrone to be out there. It’s two skill sets that complement each other, so I‘m comfortable with that. Like with the rest of the team, we’re going to explore areas of upgrades and that’s one of them."
Taylor is having a tough year offensively. In 91 games entering Friday, Taylor is hitting .209 with two home runs and 17 RBI to go with his .570 OPS. McNeil, in 68 games entering Friday, is hitting better. He's averaging .251 with nine home runs and 32 RBI, but splits time between the outfield and infield.
When asked if he believes he needs to add a bat of any kind at the deadline, Stearns, again, was complimentary of how his team has played so far.
"I don’t think we need to," he said. "We have the offensive players who can help us score a lot of runs and turn the lineup over. I continue to maintain we are taking good at-bats by and large, I’m growing increasingly comfortable with the length of our lineup and the contributions we’re getting from the bottom half of our lineup. With that said, we have to figure out a way to score more runs. I don’t think anyone would shy away from that."
The 2025 MLB trade deadline is set for Thursday, July 31, at 6 p.m.