The Mets, in need of healthy starting pitchers, opted to keep Brandon Sproat down with Triple-A Syracuse and gave Justin Hagenman the start against the Yankees on Friday night. While Hagenman allowed four runs over 4.1 innings in a 6-5 win, Sproat made the most of his start in the minors.
The 24-year-old had one of his best outings of the season, throwing five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts against a Worcester team featuring former top prospect Kristian Campbell (who's back down in Triple-A after making Boston's Opening Day roster) and Vaughn Grissom (95 MLB games with Atlanta and Boston).
Sproat allowed just two hits over the five innings of work, one to Campbell in the third and another to Karson Simas in the fifth inning. The right-hander threw a total of 89 pitches (51 strikes) and walked one. His fastball peaked at 99.3 mph.
Sproat has now thrown 11 straight scoreless innings, following his six scoreless innings on June 28, and lowered his ERA to 5.05 in what's been an up-and-down year in Triple-A.
While he was considered an option to pitch in the Subway Series matchup, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Thursday prior to the team's series finale against the Brewers that his "preference is to not bring up a top prospect for a spot start."Frankie Montas is scheduled to pitch Saturday, but Sunday's plans are still undetermined and looking like a potential bullpen game.
If Sproat keeps up this hot stretch, he could force Stearns' hand and get called up sooner than later.
Meanwhile, Syracuse went on to win the game 4-0 and scored all four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, including a three-run homer from Gilberto Celestino. Luisangel Acuña went 2-for-4 with a strikeout, boosting his average in the minors to .303 over 33 at-bats. Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, a walk, and a run scored. Drew Gilbert, who's hit three homers this week, went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Brooks Raley ended up earning the win, tossing a scoreless inning with a walk and a strikeout. He's yet to allow a run over 6.1 IP with 11 strikeouts during his rehab.
Brooks Raley gets the strikeout to get out of the jam in his rehab outing for Triple-A Syracuse! pic.twitter.com/SuBt9KMWaS
Out in Binghamton, top prospect Jonah Tong struck out 10 Hartford batters, but got the loss in a 4-1 defeat after allowing two runs over 5.2 innings.
Overall, he threw 92 pitches (56 strikes) and allowed four hits and two walks. His season ERA took a small jump up to 1.83 from 1.73 with the outing.
Tong is now 6-4 over 15 starts and 78.2 IP for Double-A Binghamton with an impressive 125 strikeouts and 0.93 WHIP. He was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for June, after taking home the honor in May, and will play in the MLB All-Star Futures game on July 12. He'll be joined in Atlanta by Binghamton teammate Carson Benge, who was recently promoted to Double-A after owning an .897 OPS in 60 games for High-A Brooklyn.
Benge went 0-for-4 on Friday night as the Rumble Ponies bats were pretty quiet in the loss, totaling just five hits, including two from Jett Williams and one from Ryan Clifford.
Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy is hit in the knee as he tags out Chicago White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor trying to steal third on Wednesday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday night, clutching his left knee and writhing in pain after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt at third base, Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes couldn’t help but let his mind go to a dark place.
“Obviously, [there were] a lot of emotions,” Gomes said. “From a coping mechanism in my head, it was like, ‘OK, he’s done for the year. We’re gonna have to figure out what the next path is. We have to be prepared for whatever is coming.’”
What came the next day, however, was unexpectedly good news.
Despite having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with only a bone bruise. There were no ligament tears. No structural damage. No season-ending catastrophe.
Dodger Max Muncy grimaces as he holds his left knee after colliding with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“We’ve had a lot more [injury situations] where we’ve gone in optimistic and then come out the other side not as optimistic,” Gomes said. “So it was nice to have that turned on its head and know that, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be out there.’”
On Thursday, Muncy said he is expected to miss roughly six weeks. But even that timeline would give him a month-plus before the playoffs to try and rediscover the swing that made him one of the hottest hitters in baseball the past two months.
And because Muncy’s injury was to the lower half of his body, manager Dave Roberts noted, the hope is that “it’s not something that should affect the swing” when he does return.
“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush him back,” Roberts said. “I think we’re in a good spot.”
That’s why, as of Friday, Gomes had shelved those contingency plans that were running through his mind 48 hours earlier. His front office wasn’t urgently scouring the trade market looking for an instant replacement.
Instead, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ trade deadline plans are unlikely to be altered in the wake of Muncy’s injury — with the team content to rely on internal options now, while awaiting Muncy’s return later this year.
“Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” Roberts said, “I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”
“Even if [his recovery] is way slow,” Gomes added, “you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs. So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”
Fans cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22. (Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)
Trade speculation surrounding the Dodgers’ third base position is nothing new.
Lately, however, Muncy had quieted such noise with one of the best stretches of his career. Before getting hurt, he was batting .308 over his past 46 games with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (26).
“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts said, “our offense tapers off.”
Whether Muncy can return to such levels of production, of course, won’t become clear until well after the deadline passes. But finding impact bats on this year’s trade market might not be an easy task, especially at third base.
Nolan Arenado has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors. But he has career-lows in batting average (.247) and OPS (.701) this year, and is still due some $40 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.
The Cardinals' Nolan Arenado watches his double in the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27. (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
Lower-profile names such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could be a better roster fit for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) could also be moved. But the Dodgers won’t be desperate to overpay for an impact bat knowing Muncy should be back well before the start of the playoffs.
“Obviously, he’s been so dialed in, one of the best hitters in the game over the last six weeks, so there’s always some [question of], ‘How are we going to get back to that spot?’” Gomes acknowledged of Muncy.
“But I don’t think that is something that Max has never done before,” he added, referencing Muncy’s ability to contribute to last year’s World Series run despite missing three months in the regular season with an oblique injury. “So there’s a comfort level. We have some time. We’ll make sure that he’s eased back in. We have enough technology that he can take at-bats and see pitches before he ever has to go out on rehab and is back in a major-league game. We should be getting some approximation of what his swing was, and then use that time to get into a rhythm.”
In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to incorporate Tommy Edman at third base, where he has 94 career big-league appearances (mostly in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, before Arenado’s arrival there).
“It’s a position I’m comfortable with,” Edman said Friday, after taking grounders at third at the start of his pregame work. “The hops [there] are weird, so you gotta play a little bit more one-handed … But it’s still the infield. You still gotta work on the footwork, just like you would at second and short. Catching the ball, getting behind your throws. It’s a lot of the same concepts.”
Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will also see time at third, typically against left-handed pitching, while triple-A prospect Alex Freeland could offer depth from the minors if needed.
Hyeseong Kim, meanwhile, should also get a bump in playing time at second base on days Edman is at third.
“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for him,” Roberts said of Kim. “It’ll be good to know more and get him some more experience.”
When the deadline rolls around at the end of the month, the Dodgers will have more information to work with — not only on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but also about how their lineup fares without him.
With a top-five farm system in the sport, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they will have the ammunition to make a splash if needed.
But for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s injury won’t force them into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They are hopeful that what initially appeared to be a season-altering moment will be nothing more than a temporary speed bump in their pursuit of a second consecutive title.
“We’re playing good baseball as a team. We’re in a good position division-wise right now,” Gomes said. “So if we keep doing that, we can weather [Muncy’s absence].”
As roster activity slows down following the start of the NHL’s free-agent frenzy, it’s becoming clearer what Stanley Cup contenders have done (and in some cases, haven’t done).
In this list, we’ll be breaking down a handful of Cup contenders that either improved, got worse or stayed the same after the start of NHL free agency.
Carolina Hurricanes
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Hurricanes’ defense corps took a hit with the departures of veteran blueliners Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov. But Carolina GM Eric Tulsky addressed that area with the acquisition of former New York Rangers D-man K’Andre Miller and 31-year-old Mike Reilly.
The Hurricanes will be depend on youngster Alexander Nikishin to prove himself as a regular defenseman, but Carolina is an improved group overall with the addition of left winger Nikolaj Ehlers. The former Winnipeg Jets veteran can slot in on the top line along with star center Sebastian Aho and right winger Seth Jarvis, which would be one of the NHL’s very best first lines. At the very least, he will be an effective top-six player for the long term with a strong balance of goals and assists.
Carolina may still address its goaltending tandem, but in early July, this Hurricanes team looks deep, skilled and determined to push deeper into the post-season than it’s done in recent memory.
Colorado Avalanche
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Avalanche are in the ultra-competitive Central Division, and GM Chris MacFarland proved last season he’s ready, willing and able to take big swings when it comes to changing up his roster. This summer, the Avs have already made tough decisions, including letting veteran left winger Jonathan Drouin leave via free agency and trading Charlie Coyle to the Columbus Blue Jackets to free cap space.
However, the Avalanche did double down on veteran center Brock Nelson as their second-line pivot, and they got an incredible bargain when greybeard defenseman Brent Burns signed a one-year, $1-million contract. The addition of Burns means that, once again, Colorado’s defense corps is going to be one of the best in the game.
The Avs still have about $4.12 million in cap space. They’ve got outstanding players at the high end of their pay scale and sturdy secondary components to fill out the roster. We dare say Colorado will push higher in the Central next season.
Dallas Stars
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Stayed the same
Why? The Stars came into the off-season knowing they’d have to shed some talent to fit under the cap ceiling. They did that by trading left winger Mason Marchment to Seattle, but otherwise, they’ve been able to stay at least as competitive as last year’s team. That’s partially because captain Jamie Benn agreed to a one-year, $1-million contract with performance bonuses that could turn into one of the league’s better bargains.
That said, we don’t see the Stars as an improved team. Yes, they brought back veteran center Radek Faksa for a second tour of duty with the team, but Dallas is still slightly over the cap ceiling, so GM Jim Nill will have to move some money around by the time the season begins. Still, there’s a lot to like about this Stars team. We believe they’ll still perform about as well as they did last year.
Edmonton Oilers
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Got worse
Why? The Oilers did find a way to fit in star defenseman Evan Bouchard’s new contract with their cap structure, but it came at the expense of veteran winger Evander Kane, who was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. And Edmonton’s cap limitations also meant that valuable veterans Corey Perry and Connor Brown departed for Los Angeles and New Jersey, respectively.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman ostensibly replaced the offense lost with Perry and Brown moving on by signing former Washington Capitals winger Andrew Mangiapane. But other than re-signing secondary pieces Kasperi Kapanen and Trent Frederic, Edmonton has more or less been slowly picked away at by its cap constraints.
We still think the Oilers will compete for top spot in the Pacific Division, but if they go far in the playoffs again, it could be with a roster that currently looks worse on paper.
Florida Panthers
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Stayed the same
Why? When you’re coming off back-to-back Cup championships, it’s basically impossible to improve on that performance. So we say that, with all due respect to Panthers GM Bill Zito and the brilliant job he’s done by retaining free agents Aaron Ekblad, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, Florida basically stayed the same. That’s a very good thing.
The Panthers did lose some depth on defense with the departure of veteran Nate Schmidt, and given that Florida is now $2.95 million over the cap ceiling, Zito will have to make more cost-cutting moves in the days and weeks ahead. But when they’re getting their first full season with Marchand and defenseman Seth Jones, that should frighten every team in the NHL.
Vegas Golden Knights
Improved, got worse, or stayed the same? Improved
Why? The Golden Knights landed the biggest fish in the UFA market this summer with the trade for and signing of former Maple Leafs star right winger Mitch Marner. To do so, they had to part ways with defenseman Nicolas Hague and center Nic Roy, but when you’ve added the instant offense that Marner will bring, it’s clear to just about everyone that Vegas is already a better team than the one that won the Pacific last season.
Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon is one of the savviest managers in the game, and he’s put together a lineup for 2025-26 that is clearly capable of going on a deep post-season run.
Marner has something to prove, as do the other Vegas players who weren’t around for the franchise’s first Cup victory. So, much of the roster is hungry and determined to push deep into the playoffs. That’s why we believe the Golden Knights are better now than they were at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
SEATTLE — On the spot, Cal Raleigh compiled a laundry list of players he would consider for a Mount Rushmore of Seattle Mariners following their 6-0 victory over Pittsburgh on Friday.
Ichiro was one of the first names off the board, followed by the likes of stud starting pitchers Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson. When identifying who is the face of the Mariners, though, Raleigh immediately landed on Ken Griffey Jr., who he tied for the franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break with 35 with a pair of blasts.
“To be mentioned with that name, somebody that’s just iconic, a legend, first ballot Hall of Famer, I’m just blessed,” Raleigh said. “Trying to do the right thing and trying to keep it rolling. If I can try to be like that guy, it’s a good guy to look up to.”
From Raleigh’s perspective, Griffey would have “smashed” the major league home run record rather than come up 132 short of Barry Bonds if not for injuries. Thankfully for Raleigh’s sake, that admiration hasn’t been reserved for the public eye.
Whenever Griffey finds himself back in Seattle, which was the case when FIFA Club World Cup games were taking place at Lumen Field, Raleigh has enjoyed his chats with “The Kid.”
“It’s always fun to have him around the clubhouse to just talk to him a little bit and figure out how he went about his business,” Raleigh said. “So, I’ve talked to him on the phone once or twice as well. So, he’s a good one. He’s one of the best of all-time. It’s hard to beat talking to somebody like that.”
It’s also hard to find many comparable runs to what Raleigh - who will participate in the Home Run Derby - is in the midst of, and what Griffey accomplished ahead of the 1998 All-Star break. Manager Dan Wilson, who was a teammate of Griffey’s in 1998, is among the few folks who can truly put Raleigh’s fast start to 2025 in perspective.
“It’s remarkable. It feels like he hits a home run every game, that’s what it feels like,” Wilson said. “And I can remember feeling it as a player, that (Griffey) just felt like he hit a home run every day. Again, that’s the consistency that (Raleigh) has shown. It hasn’t been a streak where he has hit a bunch of home runs in a short amount of time. It’s been kind of 10 per month.”
To Wilson’s point, Raleigh has been remarkably consistent. He walloped nine home runs in April, 12 in May and 11 more in June. Griffey’s figures were a tad more mercurial, but just barely (10 in April, eight in May, 14 in June).
All told, the 28-year-old Raleigh has more than lived up to the early stages of his six-year, $105 million contract extension, which he signed just ahead of the 2025 season. Not only has Raleigh set a career high for home runs, but he’s on track to post new marks for batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Raleigh chalked those developments up to his maturing a little over halfway into his fourth full major league season.
“I have the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark,” Raleigh said. “I mean, it’s part of my game and I’m a strong guy. It’s learning how to hone it in and take your hits when maybe you’re not getting those pitches in the heart of the plate.”
Such an approach is all well and good, but the results have been starkly different. Raleigh has racked up just 36 singles, or one more than his home run total. Suffice to say, Raleigh’s offensive output has justified every dollar the Mariners have sent his way so far, and then some.
“Want to make sure I’m doing everything I can every single day to earn that paycheck and earn what they gave me,” Raleigh said. “But it’s a lot more than just that. It’s being a leader, doing things in the clubhouse and making sure you’re ready to go every single day.”
Now that Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk has had to watch his brother, Matthew, hoist the Stanley Cup in the Sunshine State for the second year in a row, it’s time to assess what GM Steve Staios had done over the past week to get Brady out of the backseat of that Hyundai Palisade.
1) Familiarity Breeds Growth
Coming out of the draft and the free agent frenzy, the Senators bid adieu to former regulars, Anton Forsberg, Travis Hamonic and Adam Gaudette. They extended Leevi Merilainen, traded for Jordan Spence and signed Lars Eller to be their replacements. GM Steve Staios also described deadline acquisitions Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund as being part of the team's overall roster improvements for this fall.
Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss the Senators acquiring Jordan Spence from the LA Kings.
Depth pieces continue to be added, like former LA Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev and Washington Capitals minor league goalie Hunter Shepard.
It would seem, at first glance, that Staios believes that the roster that bowed out in six to the Toronto Maple Leafs in round one is closer to making a push than Sens Nation might have thought.
By leaving nearly $4.3 million in unspent cap heading into the season, fans might also conclude that Staios believes the Senators will be buyers at the trade deadline and wants to be able to take on salary without sacrificing draft capital.
Looking around the Atlantic, the Senators may now be able to challenge the Leafs in a playoff matchup. But with the Florida Panthers retaining almost all of their key personnel, it remains to be seen if the Senators can challenge the two-time defending champs.
2) Right Side Defense Depth
In addition to being a former right shot defenseman in the NHL, Staios seems to have put a premium on stocking that side of the cupboard with several moves in recent weeks.
The first move was to bring back 2019 first-rounder Lassi Thomson on a one-year, two-way contract at the league minimum. Thomson led the Malmo RedHawks in scoring last year in the Swedish Elite League, and perhaps he found his mojo in Europe.
The move at the draft to trade down and acquire Logan Hensler out of Wisconsin is Staios’ second year in a row investing a first-round pick in an RHD. Coincidence? Perhaps. However, when you throw Jordan Spence into the mix, a player who is ready to play now, it does give pause for thought.
What is Staios preparing for?
Clearly, Staios values being deep on the right side – both now and in the future. This side of the aisle has been a vulnerability in the past.
But Staios may also be worried about the viability of Nick Jensen for next season. Jensen is non-committal about his timeline for return after a reported hip surgery in May. This stockpiling of right-shot defensemen may be more than just depth. Staios may be preparing for the LTIR eventuality should Jensen’s recovery drift into the season, or worse, not go as planned.
Will this bridge the gap between the Senators and the elites of the East? This seems unlikely, but it appears that Staios is banking on his existing core taking a huge step forward this coming season.
3) Wiser, Not Older
By retaining the services of Claude Giroux, beloved assistant captain and mentor to Brady Tkachuk, this may be the strongest message that Staios could send to his dressing room and his fan base.
When you add Lars Eller to the mix, the Senators will now boast three players 36 years of age or older. Two of them are former Cup winners in Perron and Eller. So Staios obviously believes that experience makes a huge difference in the room and on the ice.
Giroux believes it as well. Financially, he could have done better elsewhere had he wanted to, and he seems prepared to negotiate one year at a time to earn his keep. He may love Ottawa, but he's not staying if he doesn't believe in the group.
But is this enough to get Brady out of the backseat? Will he just be a spectator at another Cup celebration in Sunrise, or does he believe, as Staios and Giroux do, that the Senators are ready to be contenders, not pretenders?
Again, this remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: The Senators and their core will have to take a huge step forward, because the Panthers may be a dynasty in the making.
Despite struggling earlier in the week against the Blue Jays, the Yankees still turned to Luke Weaver on Friday night against the Mets while leading 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs.
But it quickly became yet another déjà vu situation.
Weaver walked Pete Alonso and then let up a go-ahead, two-run home run to Jeff McNeil as the Mets held on for the 6-5 win, handing the Yanks their fifth straight loss. After allowing home runs in now three straight games, Weaver was brutally honest about his recent performances.
"I said I've been feeling good, that just may be a lie now, I don't know," Weaver said. "It's hard to make sense of what's going on. Obviously, we can kind of nitpick it and feels as if, 'You can do this better and that better.' That may be true. But I also know that pitching in the game of baseball come in all different waves and middle-middle works sometimes by accident. All the many things inbetween.
"I think at this point I've got two options: I can sulk and feel bad for myself or I can foundationally grind and find a way to just be flat-out better. Flat-out better for myself, for my teammates, and for this team in general, the fans. I don't want to be too hard on myself, but at the end of the day, what else is there? I have to be able to process it. And competitively it's just devastating."
The right-hander had recently returned from the IL on June 20 after being out since May 31 with a hamstring strain. He let up go-ahead runs to the Orioles in his first game back, but then settled back to his regular self, allowing just one hit over his next three outings. New York then headed to Toronto and things fell off the rails.
Weaver entered Tuesday's game in the bottom of the seventh inning with two on base and one out in a 5-5 game, but allowed a grand slam to George Springer to blow the game open (becoming a 12-5 loss). The right-hander threw again Thursday in the eighth inning with the Yanks down 6-5 and lost to Springer again, letting up a two-run homer to result in an 8-5 loss.
After Friday's loss to the Mets, manager Aaron Boone was asked what's gone wrong for Weaver during this recent stretch of poor outings.
"Just that last bit of execution which is the fine line between being dominant and giving up some damage," Boone said. "I feel like physically he's in a really good place, the stuff is there. It's just that fine line, that's a big difference maker.
"Fully trust in him to get through that and he's got the make-up to handle this, he's been through a lot in his career as far as dealing with successes and failures. Because the stuff is where it needs to be I think, I think he'll get through that."
The Yankees can't afford for Weaver to be an unreliable piece of the bullpen, especially after Fernando Cruz landed on the IL on June 30. But Boone isn't worried about that becoming the case and expressed his confidence in Weaver being able to turn it around.
"You got to get out there and do it," Boone said. "One thing I know about Luke is he's not afraid, he likes the action. And again, it's sometimes just that fine line. We're talking about three pitches that have hurt him big time here this week. But you also have to take a step back and say that, it's three pitches that have hurt him.
"Obviously, in leverage that's a big deal. But it's not something where you're like, 'Man, the stuff's down, how do we get that going again?' That looks like it's all there, physically he seems to be in a really good place so that's why I trust he'll get through this."
Boone reiterated that he hasn't notice anything off mechanically with Weaver, and said he just needs to get pitches to the right spot and "execute."
The Yanks will look to flip the switch and snap their five game losing streak on Saturday at Citi Field at 4:10 p.m.
It's been well-documented by now, but Juan Soto's move from The Bronx to Queens this offseason was a seismic shift in the baseball landscape and ruffled some feathers in the process.
So when Soto made his return to Yankee Stadium in May when the Yankees hosted the Mets in this season's first installment of the Subway Series, he was predictably booed every chance Yankee fans got.
It might've worked, too, as Soto went 1-for-10 over the three games, often looking timid or uncertain in a series the Mets lost two out of three. It was the beginning of a slump that saw the right fielder's batting average fall as low as .224 due to a disappointing month of May.
Fast forward a month and a half later, on the Fourth of July, no less, for the Subway Series rematch and Soto couldn't have asked for a better go-around.
Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning after back-to-back home runs by Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge led off the game, Soto stepped up to the plate -- to a standing ovation -- with a runner on third base and a chance to do damage. Four pitches later, the 26-year-old deposited a two-run shot into the left-field stands to tie the game and send Citi Field into a frenzy.
"Right away, [Brandon Nimmo] gets us going and then Juan responds right away, just kind of getting the momentum right back," said manager Carlos Mendoza. "That was kind of the setting-the-tone moment, like, okay, they punched, we’re gonna punch back. Here we are."
The game turned into a back-and-forth slugfest with the Yankees blasting four home runs and the Mets hitting three -- fitting for a July 4th match with no postgame fireworks. Soto did his part, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored, already vastly different than when these two teams met the first time, to help secure a 6-5 win.
"Any time you come through for the team it’s always great," Soto said.
After a red-hot month of June which earned him National League Player of the Month honors, Soto has kept it going so far in July, hitting .429 (6-for-14) in four games this month. He's now slashing .266/.399/.516 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 50 RBI.
"I just feel good right now," Soto said. "I’m seeing the ball really well. I feel like I’m trying to take my chances and when I swing the bat I’m trying to do damage every time and try to help the team to win some games."
Whatever was plaguing him for the first two months of the season seems to be totally gone at this point. And now the Yankees, like every other team in the majors, will have to deal with what happens next.
As for Soto and what it felt like playing for the Mets in a Subway Series at Citi Field for the first time in his career, the energy was definitely there.
"It’s just great. Great vibes," he said. "I feel like the fans showed up today and showed the love that they’ve been doing since Day 1, so really happy and exciting to play for those fans."
In the clubhouse after a gut-check win that featured a depleted pitching staff, the Mets weren’t trying to play it cool. They were jazzed, if you will, about beating the Yankees 6-5 with a late comeback in front of a raucous Citi Field crowd, convinced it said a lot about who they are as they pull themselves out of their June swoon.
And no one said it better than Reed Garrett, who came to the rescue with a six-out save on a day when Edwin Diaz and Ryne Stanek were unavailable, and reacted to the last out as if it were October.
“This is a huge series,” Garrett said. “To get those outs was big for me but it was also a great team win. I think it shows that if you back us into a corner, we’re going to fight our way out of it.”
Garrett wasn’t just speaking of Friday’s win, of course, but also the 3-14 stretch that had them reeling going into July. Suddenly they’ve won three straight games, however, and while they’re still very short on starting pitching, with no obvious starter for Sunday’s game, they’re feeling a lot better about themselves.
Beating the Yankees, even at a time when the team across town is in the midst of a five-game losing streak with worrisome bullpen problems, always seems to have that effect on the Mets.
“This was a huge game,” was the way Jeff McNeil put it, after delivering the go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning off Luke Weaver. “It’s always a battle with them. It’s emotional. It’s a playoff atmosphere.”
The Subway Series games do always have that feel, with the crowd providing added energy and intensity, but this one seemed to have a little extra edge, maybe because of the Juan Soto factor.
He was playing in his first Subway Series games as a Met at Citi Field, and not only put on a show with three hits but changed the complexion of the game in his very first at-bat.
By then the Yankees had already stunned the Mets with home runs from the first two batters of the game, Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Judge, and with journeyman right-hander Justin Hagenman on the mound, there was plenty of reason to believe the game could turn into a rout.
But then up came Soto in the first inning, with Brandon Nimmo on third. The crowd, which sounded like 70-75 percent Mets fans, seemed to rise as one to give Soto a huge ovation, as if to remind Yankee fans that he’s their guy now and they love him.
When Soto promptly delivered on that ovation with a home run to left-center off Marcus Stroman, the crowd went bananas.
“Juan responded right away with a setting-the-tone moment,’’ manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was like, they punch us, we’re going to punch back.”
From there it was on. Cody Bellinger went deep to make it 3-2. Soto doubled and Alonso singled to tie it again at 3-3. Dominguez hit another long ball to make it 5-3 Yankees, then Brett Baty hit a bomb, and Citi Field was electric.
Mendoza was asked if he could appreciate the entertainment level even while living and dying with each pitch in the dugout.
“One hundred percent,” he said. “You appreciate the show. “You’re aware something special is happening, with the back and forth, the big crowd. It’s what you expect out of games like this.”
Of course, for a long time that looked like it might be small consolation, with the Mets trailing and short on arms. Mendoza went to Austin Warren to relieve Hagenman in the fifth and he promptly gave up the two-run shot to Dominguez.
In the seventh he turned to Huascar Brazoban, a disaster lately mostly because he couldn’t throw strikes. Yet on this day Brazoban found the form -- and the strike zone -- that made him such a weapon early in the season, and struck out both Judge and Bellinger to put up a scoreless seventh.
Still down 5-4, the Mets rallied, as Alonso worked a two-out walk off Weaver, and McNeil yanked a 3-2 change-up at the knees into the second deck in right field, saying afterward he had a feeling he might get the off-speed pitch in that spot.
“It’s his best pitch,” McNeil said.
Without Stanek or Diaz available, Mendoza then gave the ball to Garrett, who has been struggling as well lately. But like Brazoban, he found his form and worked a 14-pitch scoreless eighth, leading Mendoza to pull Garrett aside and say, “give me everything you’ve got” as he sent him back out for the ninth.
“The initial plan wasn’t for Garrett to go two innings,” Mendoza said in the interview room.
“What was the initial plan?” a reporter asked.
Mendoza smiled sheepishly, ducked his head, and said, “I’m just glad it worked out the way it did.”
He didn’t want to diss anyone but his best option at that point, and the only reliever warming up, was left-hander Richard Lovelady, a recent waiver-wire pick-up who would have been a bad matchup against the Yankees.
Instead, Garrett delivered another clean inning. It was a tense ninth, all the more so because Judge loomed as the fourth batter up. That made McNeil’s one-out diving play on DJ Lemahieu’s one-hopper in the hole feel almost like something of a game-saver.
“If that ball gets through it’s a completely different inning,” Mendoza said.
“I knew Judge would get up if anybody got on,” said McNeil. “So I knew it was a big play.”
Sure enough, Garrett then got Dominguez on a routine ground ball to McNeil and the game ended with Judge in the on-deck circle.
Gut-check win, indeed. It might be too early to say the Mets have officially turned the corner after their three-week nightmare, but on Friday it clearly felt that way to them.
The Mets didn't have a lot of options on the mound in Friday's Subway Series opener against the Yankees, but they were able to patch things up towards the end with Reed Garrett the big hero as the struggling reliever got the last six outs and closed out the 6-5 win.
With his outing, Garrett was able to overcome some demons that have plagued him lately after an unbelievable two months to begin the season.
In 7.1 innings across the month of June, Garrett owned a 7.36 ERA and 2.05 WHIP before things really came crashing down on him in his previous outing against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 2 where he allowed four earned runs on three hits and a walk in 0.2 innings of what began as a close game.
Two days later, Garrett was right back out there in a one-run game late against the Yanks at Citi Field. But after pitching a clean eighth inning in what would've been a job well-done, manager Carlos Mendoza -- without Edwin Diaz or Ryne Stanek and a bullpen that has generally been taxed recently -- asked Garrett in between innings if the right-hander was up for one more.
"I was just making sure that he was physically feeling fine," Mendoza said of his conversation with Garrett in the dugout. "We’ve asked a lot out of him as of late."
When Garrett gave his skipper the go-ahead, Mendoza, who admitted that having Garrett pitch two innings wasn't his initial plan, told his pitcher, "give me everything you got here."
Garrett responded with a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to a nifty play by Jeff McNeil who hit the go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh, to strand Aaron Judge on deck and earn his third save of the season while giving the Mets the first win of the weekend series.
"It’s been a grind. The month of June was a grind," Garrett said. "…This is a huge series. This is what everybody in New York looks forward to so to get the last six (outs) was big for me and a little subtle reminder to keep going, keep fighting."
New York (NL) has now won three straight and improved to 32-13 at home. Meanwhile, New York (AL) dropped its fifth consecutive game as it manages problems of its own.
"I think we’ve shown a lot over the last month of just, like, who we are as a team," Garrett said. "I think if you back us into a corner, we’re going to fight our way out of it."
WEST SACRAMENTO – Earlier in his career Justin Verlander was so dominant that he could blow teams away on days when he didn’t have his best stuff. Now at 42 years old and suffering through arguably the worst stretch of his storied career, Verlander has to work a bit harder and craftier than he once did.
That’s been the case all season since the three-time Cy Young Award winner inked a one-year deal, $15 million contract with the Giants in the offseason, and was the case Friday in Sacramento.
Coming off one of his most encouraging starts of the season – six innings, one run against the Chicago White Sox – Verlander’s momentum came to an abrupt halt on Friday night in the Giants’ 11-2 loss to the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, where the A’s tagged him for six runs and seven hits in just three innings, his second-shortest start of the 2025 MLB season.
“I felt like I was pretty easy to hit tonight,” said Verlander, who characterized his outing as ‘frankly embarrassing.’
“I need to be better than that. I thought I found something between starts that was going to help and send me in the right direction. It didn’t, so back to the drawing board.”
That’s been the sense around Verlander’s starts all season. For every step of improvement that he seems to make, there are two or three other mistake pitches that get pounded.
“His stuff looked pretty good. I think just every mistake he’s making he’s paying for it,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s throwing some balls down the middle, and (opponents) are getting some good swings. And other pitches, he’s making good pitches on and he’s not really getting away with much.”
Asked if Verlander might trying to be too fine with his pitches because his mistakes are getting hammered so well, Melvin didn’t think that is the case.
“He’s had a history of being able to recover but today just couldn’t do it,” said Melvin, referring to Verlander giving up all six of his runs in the first two innings. “I think he’s just making mistakes. I don’t think he’s trying to be too fine.”
Verlander bears a resume that will surely get him into the Hall of Fame but the pitcher he was during his dominant days is not the same pitcher he is now.
Rather than getting by on sheer athletic talent, Verlander is having to put in more work between starts and plans to continue down that path until he gets that elusive first win with the Orange and Black.
“I’m just not deceptive enough,” he said. “My stuff is OK. I know that I can still be successful with the given stuff that I have at this level. I’m just not deceptive enough right now, and I need to figure that out. I need to figure out how to blend stuff better. Mechanically I’m not delivering the pitch the way that I’m capable (of) to deceive the hitter. I’ve been working hard to figure that out since the start of the season.”
Part of that means getting comfortable with the pitches that are working and not stressing over the ones that aren’t.
“You have to adjust to what you have at that given time,” Verlander said. “The converse of looking at it that objectively is that I do think my stuff can be consistently great enough to be a great pitcher in this game, given the current landscape. But I need to make some adjustments. I’m trying everything I know how to do.”
As tough as the season has been – Verlander dropped to 0-5 with a 4.84 ERA following the loss to the A’s on the 4th of July – the nine-time All-Star is confident that he still has time to turn things around for himself and the Giants.
“I’ve had a lot of crappy starts in my career,” Verlander acknowledged. “You work on something, and the only person that can really tell you if it’s going to be beneficial or not is the hitter in that situation where they’re reacting to the pitches in a real time situation. The reactions I saw tonight wasn’t good enough so that was not the answer.”
During his 20-year career in the majors, one of the most important lessons that Verlander has learned is to not let things linger, good or bad.
“I’m already on to the next thing,” Verlander said. “Threw some balls against the wall and felt some different mechanics that I’ve been thinking about. I’m optimistic that that’s going to be the next thing that works. This isn’t the first time. I’ve had two or three instances in my career where I’ve kind of had to reinvent the wheel and everything that I’ve known to try to fix something doesn’t work. I feel like I’m kind of there where it’s like, ‘Alright it’s time to throw (stuff) against the wall and see what works.”
The Vancouver Canucks made some big moves during the start of the 2025 Free Agency period, some of which impacted their AHL affiliate, the Calder Cup Champion Abbotsford Canucks. Vancouver offered short-term contracts to some of the team’s star forwards, but also didn’t qualify some of their character staples. Let’s take a look at how Abbotsford’s roster is looking after the first couple of days of free agency.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Four big pieces of Abbotsford’s locker room were signed to contract extensions the morning of June 30. The first of these was Max Sasson, who inked a one-year extension worth $775K. Sasson was a key piece in Abbotsford’s Calder Cup victory, as he scored five goals and nine assists in 24 games and was consistently one of the most noticeable forwards on the ice. In the NHL, the 2024–25 season was a successful one for Sasson, as he made his NHL debut and scored his first career NHL goal.
Howtown hero Arshdeep Bains was also signed to a contract extension, with the Canucks keeping the forward within the organization for another two years. Bains led the AHL Canucks in points during the 2024–25 regular season, scoring 11 goals and 32 assists in 50 games played. As well, he averaged a point per game pace during the Calder Cup Playoffs with seven goals and 17 assists in 24 games.
Another Abbotsford Canuck who signed a two-year deal with Vancouver was Aatu Räty. Though the forward missed most of the Calder Cup Playoffs due to injury, he made his mark at the NHL level by impressing at training camp and proving he can play a solid role as an NHL center. He finished the AHL season with 17 goals and 23 assists in 43 games, and seven goals and four assists in 33 NHL games.
The final AHL Canuck who received a new deal on June 30 was Guillaume Brisebois, who signed a one-year, two-way deal. The long-tenured Canucks defender has been with the organization since being drafted 66th overall by them in 2015. As a reliable depth defender at the NHL level, and a solid top-six option at the AHL level, Brisebois has been a franchise staple regardless of where he plays in the lineup. He had two goals and an assist in the team’s 24-game Calder Cup campaign.
T-Woo Qualifying Offers
On the same day as the four re-signings, Vancouver announced that they would be extending qualifying offers to two members of Abbotsford. Jett Woo, a key member of Abbotsford’s leadership core, received a qualifying offer from the team. Woo was selected in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft by Vancouver and has remained within the organization since then. He was one of four players to wear an ‘A’ for Abbotsford this season, and is one of three active players who also played for the Utica Comets. He scored a goal and five assists in 22 Calder Cup Playoff games.
Nikita Tolopilo was the second AHL Canuck to receive a qualifying offer. Tolopilo played in 36 of Abbotsford’s games during the 2024–25 regular season, registering a record of 20–14–2. He made 833 saves and posted a 2.66 GAA and .902 SV%. As well, Tolopilo had four shutouts. He won his NHL debut at the end of Vancouver’s regular season, recording a .938 SV% and 16 saves.
Unfortunately, four Abbotsford players were also not given qualifying offers. Defencemen Cole McWard and Christian Felton, and forwards Ty Glover and Tristen Nielsen did not receive qualifying offers from the team.
As of publication, three former members of the AHL Canucks have signed new deals with new teams. McWard, who was not given a qualifying offer by Vancouver, became a free agent and signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders. The defenceman was signed by Vancouver in April of 2023 and made his NHL debut the same month. During Abbotsford’s Calder Cup run, he scored a goal and an assist in 12 games. Due to shifts in the lineup, McWard’s last playoff game was at the start of the Western Conference Final.
One of the team’s veterans, Phil Di Giuseppe, also departed from the team in free agency. He signed a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets on July 1, ending his four-year run with Vancouver. In his time with Abbotsford, Di Giuseppe scored 29 goals and 48 assists in 101 games played. He also had six goals and five assists in the team’s Calder Cup run this season.
While he was only with the Canucks organization for a season, forward Sammy Blais endeared himself to the fanbase as a hard-hitting character who could get under the skin of any opponents. Blais was signed to a PTO by Vancouver at the start of the 2024–25 season, but ultimately did not make the team and reported to Abbotsford for the season. He hit another level in the playoffs, scoring three goals and eight assists in the first 10 games and finishing the postseason with 19 points in 23 matches. On July 1, he signed a one-year contract with the Montréal Canadiens.
Unsigned (For Now?)
A crop of AHL Canucks have yet to sign new contracts with new teams or the Canucks. This includes those who were not given qualifying offers by Vancouver. Nate Smith, who joined Abbotsford for the 2024–25 season after two years with the Tucson Roadrunners, has yet to sign a contract with a team for 2025–26. The forward had nine goals and 17 assists in 60 games played with Abbotsford this season, as well as four goals and five assists in 22 playoff games.
Ty Glover is another forward who hasn’t signed a contract for the 2025–26 season yet. He was acquired by the Canucks via trade, and has spent the last two seasons with Abbotsford. During this time, he scored seven goals and 10 assists in 74 games. Glover also spent 15 games with the Kalamazoo Wings, Vancouver’s ECHL affiliate, back in 2023–24. With the Wings, he scored 12 goals and 11 assists.
A fan favourite and four-year member of the AHL Canucks, Tristen Nielsen is the final member of the team who was not given a qualifying offer and remains unsigned. The forward first joined the Canucks organization for the 2021–22 season, and has since posted 52 goals and 63 assists in 231 games. Nielsen also had five goals and four assists in all 24 of the team’s playoff games.
Christian Wolanin, who broke out offensively for Abbotsford in the 2022–23 season with six goals and 49 assists in 49 games, has yet to sign a contract for 2025–26. Wolanin has spent the past three seasons with the Canucks organization, signing a one-year contract with the team in 2022–23, and then a two-year deal that took him to the end of this season. He led all of the team’s defencemen in points during the regular season (40 in 58 games) and was tied with Kirill Kudryavtsev for the lead in playoffs (10).
The final player who remains unsigned is Akito Hirose. Brought into the Canucks organization in 2023, Hirose made his NHL debut on April 2 of this year and also played in three of Vancouver’s games in 2023–24. During the Calder Cup Playoffs this season, Hirose was taken out of the lineup due to players returning from injury, but found his way back in and stuck. He scored a goal and four assists in 22 playoff games.
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However, Clarke’s performance Friday night in the Athletics’ 11-2 win over the Giants at Sutter Health Park might be a sign that his bat is turning a corner.
The 25-year-old demolished a 471-foot homer off Giants reliever Mason Black in the seventh inning to push the Athletics’ lead to 11-0.
The ball landed in the netting above the clubhouses in left-center field.
“I tagged that ball, which was dope,” Clarke told Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden on “A’s Cast” after the game. “Happy to help the team win on both sides of the ball today. So, it was dope.”
Clarke entered Friday’s game slashing .189/.239/.264 with two homers and six RBI, but after going 2-for-4 with a triple and the longer homer, he’s now slashing .200/.248/.318.
For Clarke, playing in his 36th big-league game, his approach has been simple.
“I think the biggest thing is just simplifying,” Clarke told Canvar and Braden. “The stuff is good here. These are the best pitchers in the world, so I’ve got to make sure I’m as simple as possible. And the biggest thing is I have long arms, long legs, I’m a tall dude, so I’ve got to make sure everything is compact. Totally just making the adjustments.”
After a game in which starter JP Sears pitched six shutout innings and the Athletics’ offense pounded out 12 hits — including six doubles — the first question to manager Mark Kotsay was about Clarke and the progress he’s making.
“Great day by Denzel,” Kotsay told reporters. “Outside of him not catching the ball that went over the wall — I asked him where his web was, but it didn’t come out — but then the very next play, he robs a line-drive base hit in the right-center gap. Overall, the way he’s swinging the bat, the continued progress he’s making, the ball to right center, for him to drive a ball that way and 2-0, have the ability to get the head out and hit a ball a really long way over the building shows the progress he’s making, for sure.”
Clarke still has a long way to go with the bat, but Friday’s performance proves he’s capable of being a two-way force for the Athletics.
The Mets pulled off a late-inning comeback, thanks to a seventh-inning home run by Jeff McNeil, to defeat the Yankees, 6-5, on Friday afternoon at Citi Field in the opener of Subway Series Round 2.
It was the Mets’ third straight win, and the Yankees’ fifth straight loss. The crosstown rivals are now 2-2 across four Subway Series games this season.
Here are the takeaways...
-- After trailing much of the day, the Mets rallied in the seventh on a two-out walk by Pete Alonso and the go-ahead homer by McNeil, who pulled a 3-2 changeup from Luke Weaver into the second deck of the right field seats. It was a huge win for the Mets, considering their pitching has been decimated by injuries.
-- Justin Hagenman, Austin Warren, and Huascar Brazobán kept them in the game, and then Reed Garrett closed it out with a six-out save. Garrett's role was crucial, considering that Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz were both unavailable after pitching the last two days.
-- Juan Soto had a monster day, going 3-for-4 with a two-run blast, a double that led to him scoring, and a single as well. He also just missed a second homer, just getting under a pitch from Tim Hill in the seventh that he mashed at 106.8 mph off the bat. Soto’s first-inning shot tied the game at 2-2 and changed the complexion of the game.
-- As noted by Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Soto’s first-inning homer was his 60th career opposite-field blast. Since the start of the 2018 season, that’s second-most in the majors, behind only Aaron Judge’s total of 90. The second-highest mark from a left-handed hitter during this span is 50, set by Bryce Harper.
-- Hagenman was roughed up by the Yankees in his fill-in start, giving up four runs in 4.1 innings. He was hurt mostly by the long ball, as Jasson Dominguez, Judge, and Cody Bellinger all hit solo homers against him. Dominguez and Judge led off the game with home runs, while Bellinger delivered his shot in the fourth.
-- Hagenman was pulled after a one-out single by DJ Lemahieu in the fifth, and then Austin Warren promptly gave up a two-run homer to Dominguez, his second of the game.
-- Marcus Stroman went five innings for the Yankees, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out four (81 pitches). While he pitched okay, he couldn’t get Soto out. Soto’s two-run dinger and double led to all three runs against the veteran right-hander.
-- Dominguez is smoking-hot for the Yankees. His two homers on Friday followed a four-hit game against the Blue Jays on Thursday and gives him eight for the season. Since June 10, Dominguez is hitting .361 with five homers and 11 RBI.
Game MVP: Jeff McNeil
He’s not the ideal No. 5 hitter behind Alonso, except he was on this day. He battled Weaver to a 3-2 count and then got a changeup, at 87 mph, that stayed up just enough for him to launch for his ninth homer this season. McNeil also made a great play in the ninth, diving to smother a high chopper off the bat of Lemahieu, and scrambling to his feet to throw him out for the second out of the inning.
Highlights
Juan Soto steps to the plate for the first time in the Citi Field edition of the Subway Series pic.twitter.com/7UZ9nONaHK
The Mets (51-38) and Yankees (48-40) will play the middle game of their holiday weekend set on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. on SNY.
RHP Frankie Montas (0-1, 6.00 ERA) will pitch against his former team, while the Yankees counter with LHP Carlos Rodón (9-5, 2.95 ERA).
WEST SACRAMENTO – The Justin Verlander saga added another disappointing chapter on the 4th of July, as the Athletics hammered the nine-time All-Star for a season-high six runs en route to an 11-2 blowout over the Giants on Friday night at Sutter Health Park.
Verlander gave up seven hits and had five strikeouts, while his ERA rose from 4.26 to 4.84. It all happened on the 20th anniversary of Verlander’s MLB debut.
Already viewed as one of the premier pitchers of his era, Verlander is making history for all the wrong reasons now. At 0-5, he’s off to the worst start of his 20-year MLB career and hasn’t won since Sept. 28, 2024, when he was still pitching with the Houston Astros.
After giving up a run in the first inning Verlander was tagged for four runs and four doubles in the second inning when the A’s extended their lead to 5-0.
The Giants weren’t expecting Verlander to be the dominant pitcher he had been previously but they certainly didn’t expect to go into July still waiting for the three-time Cy Young Award winner to get his first win with the Orange and Black.
Verlander began the game much more aggressively than he has been, throwing first-pitch strikes to seven of the first 11 batters he faced. The problem was that Verlander kept throwing the ball in the zone and the A’s were able to square him up and had several hard-hit balls in the first two innings, including four doubles and five runs.
Verlander threw 60 pitches in his brief night of work, 45 for strikes.
The Giants didn’t do much at the plate, either.
In what has been a season-long story, the Giants offense was mostly muted with Verlander on the mound.
Instead of capitalizing on the momentum they built the last two days in Arizona, the Giants lost for the first time in four games this season against their former Bay Area rivals in front of the Athletics’ largest crowd at Sutter Health Park – 12,322.
Here are the takeaways from a loss that drops the Giants to 47-42:
No support, no surprise
Verlander got Cain’d again.
All season long the Giants have failed to back the nine-time All-Star with much offense – 26 runs over his previous 13 starts, third-fewest in the National League – and Friday was no different.
A’s starter JP Sears, a solid but not necessarily an overwhelming pitcher, carried a perfect game into the fourth inning before Heliot Ramos drew a leadoff walk. Willy Adames followed with a single to break up the no-hit bid.
Things got really bad for the eyes in the fourth and fifth when the Giants got two on with no outs in both innings and failed to score.
Six of San Francisco’s nine hitters in the starting lineup struck out at least once. Patrick Bailey had a golden sombrero with four Ks.
Not even the small uprising in the ninth was enough to put a positive spin on this one.
Wisely ends shutout bid
Called up from the minors two weeks ago, Wisely helped the Giants avoid being shut out for the ninth time this season when he crushed a 1-0 fastball from A’s reliever for a 415-foot home run, Wisely’s first of the season.
Wisely, who flashed some nifty glove work a night earlier while filling in for injured third baseman Matt Chapman, hasn’t shown a lot of pop in his bat during his first two seasons in the bigs, but with the offense in the extended slump that it is, the Giants will take anything they can get.
San Francisco tacked on a second run when Smith doubled in the ninth and scored on an error.
Been here before
The Giants were the visiting team, although nearly every player on the 26-man roster had previously played at Sutter Health Park either with the Sacramento River Cats – San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate – on their way to the bigs or made a rehab appearance here.
Eight players alone have played with the River Cats this season, while 20 of the 26 on the roster played here with the River Cats at some point during their career. Assistant hitting coach Damon Minor and bullpen coach Gavrin Alston also worked with the Cats during their careers.
The one person with the least experience at the Sacramento ballpark is manager Bob Melvin, who never coached here while managing the Oakland A’s. He has coached a pair of exhibition games here but none in the regular season.
The Giants’ roots were evident in the crowd, too. Several fans wore bright orange shirts and cheered for the away team.
The Edmonton Oilers locked in one of their most important young stars on Monday by signing defenseman Evan Bouchard to a four-year extension worth $10.5 million annually.
It’s full price for an elite offensive defenseman, and it’s fair to ask whether Bouchard hurt the Oilers’ future cap flexibility, simply made a smart business decision in today’s NHL or both.
Speaking with the media, Oilers GM Stan Bowman said an eight-year contract – something many insiders and fans believed was the obvious move – was never a realistic option. Bouchard’s camp made it clear early in negotiations that a long-term commitment didn’t make sense for them.
“Getting him signed was critical,” Bowman said. “I guess in the negotiations, an eight-year term was never really in the cards… It’s really a function of the salary cap and where that’s going. We certainly know over the next three years, that’s going up considerably.”
Bowman said the asking price for an eight-year deal was so high that it “wouldn’t really make sense for anybody.”
While the Oilers were open to locking Bouchard up long-term, they were forced to shift gears, settling on a shorter-term deal that pays the 25-year-old top dollar now but also sets him up to cash in again when the cap is even higher.
In the short term, Bouchard’s $10.5-million cap hit will eat up a substantial portion of Edmonton’s salary space, potentially limiting the team’s ability to round out the roster. Add that cap hit to Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million, Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million and Connor McDavid’s $12.5 million, and four players are eating up over 48 percent of the cap.
With the club in win-now mode, every dollar counts in achieving Cup-winning depth. Bouchard not taking a slight haircut on a four-year deal could ultimately hamper the Oilers’ chances of capturing the Stanley Cup.
At the same time, it’s hard to fault Bouchard for betting on himself.
With the salary cap set to climb, locking into an eight-year deal now could have left millions on the table. By taking a shorter contract, he keeps his options open and ensures he can negotiate another lucrative deal when the financial landscape is even more favorable.
Bouchard is arguably worth every penny of this deal. He’s been the high-scoring defenseman in the NHL for three straight playoffs. He had the most points by a D-man through the first two rounds of a single post-season in NHL history in 24, with 20 in 12 games, and he had the second-most points per game of any blueliner playing at least 15 games in the playoffs in 2024-25, trailing only Bobby Orr.
Defensemen are also getting paid good money this off-season. Noah Dobson just got a $9.5-million cap hit on an eight-year deal, and Ivan Provorov got an $8.5-million cap hit. Bouchard went one step further with his cap hit while potentially getting another raise in 2029.
In the end, this could be a case of Bouchard putting himself ahead of the team, but it’s a savvy decision for him in an evolving NHL market, and the Oilers got their star defenseman signed. That’s good news for keeping their Stanley Cup window wide open.
