Category: Sports News

What we learned as Willy Adames sparks Giants' offensive eruption in blowout win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO – For the second consecutive night the Giants got a sub-par outing from one of their top pitchers.

For the second consecutive night, it didn’t matter.

On an evening when Robbie Ray failed to make it out of the fifth inning for the first time in more than a month, the Giants’ offense had the Oracle Park crowd buzzing with a fireworks display at the plate that paved the way for a 15-7 victory over the Baltimore Orioles as San Francisco won its sixth straight.

Dominic Smith and Luis Matos both homered to lead the offensive onslaught. Smith drove in four runs while Matos added three RBIs as the Giants scored in double digits for the second time in three games while setting a 2025 season-high with in runs.

The night began on a somber note when a moment of silence was held for former Giants reliever Randy Moffit who recently passed away. Moffitt spent 10 seasons with the Orange and Black and is in the franchise top-10 for saves (83) and games pitched (459).

After that it was nothing but noise, and lots of it, coming off the Giants bats or from the crowd at the waterfront ballpark.

The only thing hiccup of the night came from Ray. The 2021 Cy Young Award winner battled control issues and allowed runs in three of the five frames he worked, finishing with 94 pitches in 4 1/3 innings.

Baltimore scored a two-out run off Ray in the first inning, tacked on three in the third then added two more in the fifth before Giants manager Bob Melvin turned to his bullpen.

Spencer Bivens (3-3) retired five batters to record the win.

Here are the takeaways from Friday:

Offense Roars

There’s been a ton of criticism regarding the Giants’ up-and-mostly-down offense this season, but the Orange and Black threw a blanket over that noise in Friday’s series-opening win.

In the first inning alone, San Francisco batted around and scored four runs. Six of the first seven batters in manager Bob Melvin’s lineup reached base, the lone holdout being Dominic Smith who delivered a sacrifice fly.

Good things happen when you put the ball in play 😅pic.twitter.com/6j9Q0Xxfie

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 30, 2025

The good times at Oracle kept rolling into the second inning when Rafael Devers singled in Jung Hoo Lee followed by a Matt Chapman sacrifice fly.

Every starter had at least one hit for San Francisco, six scored at least one run and five drove in two runs or more.

San Francisco got good contact up and down the lineup, flexing the type of offense many have expected all season. While it’s still an uphill climb to make it to the MLB playoffs, nights like this should give even the most pessimistic of Giants fans hope.

Streaking Into History

Smith’s splash hit into McCovey Cove extended the Giants streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to 12, a stretch in which they’ve gone yard a total of 24 times.

BIG DOM SMITH SPLASH 💦pic.twitter.com/3LlXG6mSlY

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) August 30, 2025

The power surge has come from up and down the lineup. Adames has led the way during the streak with five homers. Rafael Devers is right behind him with four, and Matos hit his third during the stretch leading off the fifth on Friday. Three other players – Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos and Wilmer Flores – have hit two each.

The franchise record for consecutive games with at least one home run is 19, set in 1947.

The current streak has been the biggest reason that the Giants still harbor playoff hopes, as slim as they might be. It’s not like the days of Barry Bonds but it sure feels good when the ‘Bye Bye Baby’ song breaks out at Oracle.

Willy Warming To Righties

It’s been a bit of a rough first season in San Francisco for Adames, but the veteran shortstop has been in a nice groove against right-handed pitching since the calendar changed months.

Adames, who on Thursday became the first Giants shortstop since 1929 to have four multi-homer games in the same campaign, had his second four-hit game of the season on Friday.

Since Aug. 16, Adames is batting .416 (10-for-24) against righties. While he’s still having his issues versus lefties, it’s an s encouraging headed into the weekend, as the Orioles are expected to start right-handers Saturday and Sunday.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

Red Sox prospect Payton Tolle lived up to hype in MLB debut vs. Paul Skenes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Craig Breslow said the Red Sox elevated pitching prospect Payton Tolle because they felt he could contribute as Boston eyes meaningful baseball down the stretch. Based on how the left-hander performed in his Major League debut at Fenway Park on Friday night, that’s a fair expectation.

Tolle went toe-to-toe with Pirates superstar Paul Skenes and more than held his own despite the tough-luck 4-2 defeat.

The 22-year-old walked off the diamond to a standing ovation as the Red Sox held a 2-0 lead with one out in the sixth inning. Unfortunately for Tolle, Red Sox reliever Greg Weissert took over with runners on first and second. Tolle threw 84 pitches at that point, prompting Red Sox manager Alex Cora to go to the bullpen.

Weissert allowed back-to-back doubles on his first four pitches and the Pirates took a 3-2 lead after six innings. Weissert was credited for the loss.

A quick look at the box score might make Tolle’s line look less admirable given those runs allowed — at the very least, it doesn’t look as good as it would’ve if Weissert shut the door in the sixth. However, Tolle limited the Pirates to one hit with eight strikeouts in five scoreless frames.

In his first four innings of work, he struck out six with 39 of 60 pitches being called strikes. He also got out of a second-inning jam after he allowed a lead-off walk to Tommy Pham and ground-rule double by Andrew McCutchen. He retired the next two batters on swinging strikeouts before inducing an inning-ending fly ball.

The No. 2 prospect in the organization, who rocketed through the ranks this season, also showcased the velocity Breslow raved about pregame. Tolle exceeded 98 miles per hour five times in the first inning alone.

“It’s the total package,” Breslow said. “He’s got an elite fastball, which is the foundation of his repertoire. He’s got unique extension, the fastball playability, the ability to get guys to swing and miss in the strike zone and his secondaries have taken real steps forward this year.”

“I mean, it seems like he belongs, you know?” Cora said pregame.

It certainly does.

Phillies find a different way to win; Castellanos discusses new role originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Good baseball teams find different ways to win.

One night after exploding for a season-high 19 runs and a franchise-record tying seven home runs, the Phillies scratched out a tightly contested 2-1 victory over the Braves on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.  

They improved to 78-57 on the season and 44-22 in their home ballpark.

Alec Bohm’s eighth inning sacrifice fly to the right field warning track off Braves reliever Pierce Johnson provided the winning run. The Phillies’ rally started with back-to-back singles by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper against Atlanta lefty reliever Dylan Lee, who exited following Harper’s ground ball up the middle that advanced Schwarber to third base.

Schwarber scored easily on Bohm’s fly ball and the Phillies seized control of a game that hung in the balance for the vast majority of the night.

“Nights like last night aren’t typically what you’re going to see in a playoff type of game,” Bohm said of the contrast between the Phillies’ last two wins. “So being able to stay in a game all the way through and find a way to win, play good defense, pitch well, and get timely hits, that’s kind of what playoff baseball’s all about.”

The Phillies retained their five-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. New York pounded the Marlins 19-9 on Friday night.

The Phillies were out-hit 12-6 by the Braves as the bats cooled off significantly following Thursday’s slugfest. They were unable to solve Braves righthander Bryce Elder, who entered his 23rd start of the season with a 6.12 ERA. Elder hardly looked the part of a struggling starter, allowing just one run on three hits in seven innings.

The Phillies utilized some small-ball tactics to score their first run of the game in the fourth inning. A leadoff walk by Schwarber was followed by a Harper bunt single down the third base line against a shifted Braves infield. After a Bohm flyout, Brandon Marsh delivered a RBI single to tie the game 1-1.

24 hours removed from his MLB record tying four-home run outburst, Schwarber was greeted with a standing ovation before his first at-bat of the game. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and scored both of the Phillies runs.

The Braves failed to capitalize on several opportunities to take control of the game early. Atlanta left six men on base in the first four innings against Phillies starter Ranger Suárez. The Braves finished the game 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Suárez, the reigning NL Player of the Week, wasn’t nearly as sharp as his previous two outings. He scattered 10 hits over five innings with just two strikeouts and one walk.

“I was just battling and fighting,” Suárez said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “We had to battle and fight every inning with runners in scoring position but the most important thing was to try to get out of it, try to get out of every one of those situations and just keep the game close so we can maybe get a win.”

Suárez escaped trouble throughout the evening. With the game tied in the top of the fifth inning, Suárez’s 92nd and final pitch resulted in a Marcell Ozuna fly ball to right field. Nick Castellanos made the catch then threw out Matt Olson at home plate for an inning-ending double play. Olson, attempting to tag up from third base, was unable to avoid a diving tag by Rafael Marchan.

“Just getting a jump and catch it,” Castellanos said of his role in the key double play. “And just get set to make the best throw that I can.”

Castellanos was removed from the game for defensive purposes following the eighth inning. The move conjured memories of Rob Thomson taking Castellanos out of a game in Miami two months ago. The veteran outfielder wasn’t happy with the decision and was benched the following game after making an ‘inappropriate’ comment to his manager.

What was the conversation like between Thomson and Castellanos this time?

“There was no conversation,” Castellanos said. (First base and outfield coach) Paco (Figueroa) was the one who told me.”

“I think we’re all at the point now where we’re all in,” Thomson said when asked if Castellanos was alright with being removed from the game. “Whatever is best for the team to win a game that night, we’re all in. Check your ego at the door and let’s go.”

Castellanos has been an everyday player throughout his 13-year career. He started all 162 games last season.  But he now finds himself in an outfield rotation. He didn’t play three of the Phillies’ previous eight games prior to his start on Friday.

Castellanos was asked how he’s adjusting to not playing every night.

“It’s a big adjustment.”

Is it difficult at this stage of his career?

“Yes.”

How do you deal with it?

“The best I can.”

Castellanos figures to be in the lineup against Saturday against Braves lefthander Chris Sale.

Meanwhile the Phillies bullpen was flawless on Friday night. David Robertson, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran combined for four scoreless innings of relief.

“They did a great job,” Thomson said of his bullpen. “Four innings, gave up a couple hits but other than that they were really good, I was happy with it. And we should have all those guys (available) tomorrow.”

The Phillies can secure a series win over Atlanta with a win on Saturday.

While Friday’s victory wasn’t as emphatic as the previous night’s blowout, it was every bit as meaningful as the Phillies continue their quest for a second straight NL East title.