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If almost 8,000 people can climb more than 29,000 feet to the top of Mount Everest, what sounds so daunting about the Mets overcoming a 7 ¹/₂-game deficit in the National League playoff race?

Well, just about everything. But president of baseball operations David Stearns isn’t ready to pack up and head down the mountain in defeat.

“We have not had a good year so far,” Stearns said Friday in an understatement, hours before moving to 24-33 with a 9-7 win over the Marlins in 10 innings. “We’re not where we thought we would be. We’ve dug ourselves a hole. It’s not an insurmountable hole.”

Seventeen days, eight wins and eight losses after he acknowledged feeling a time crunch to improve, Stearns projected a there’s-still-time vibe Friday before opening a three-game series against the Marlins. Whether he convinced any outsiders to believe in the NL’s third-worst team is another story.

“We’re going to have to play a lot better baseball to do what we want to do this year,” Stearns said.

Ace Freddy Peralta started Friday against the backdrop that he could garner the best return — even in his walk year — if the Mets want to start trading off pieces.

“We’re not there yet,” Stearns said. “We’ve got time.”

Tick, tick, tick.

The MLB trade deadline is Aug. 3, but the Mets aren’t the only flailing big-expectations contender. What if the Red Sox, Tigers, Giants or Rangers want to get a jump on the seller’s market?

“I still think it’s early to have very robust trade discussions,” Stearns said. “If you look at the history of midseason acquisitions, we really are talking about the majority taking place in a very concentrated period after the All-Star break and close to the end of July. We’re still a long ways away from that. Is there a specific set of circumstances this year that maybe accelerates that? I think that’s possible, but we haven’t seen that yet.”

Stearns’ patience in the face of the fans’ impatience is good for …

The coaching staff: As mental mistakes mount every game — as SNY analyst Ron Darling recently vented after pitcher David Peterson failed to back up an errant throw — it reflects poorly on the coaching staff.

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Or does it?

“I think our coaching staff does a really good job,” Stearns said. “On the Petey one in particular, that’s a pretty heady player who is frustrated.”

Manager Carlos Mendoza received a vote of confidence from Stearns earlier this season but continues to twist in the wind with no contract security beyond this season.

“We’re not always going to be public about it, but we’ve had certain players at times get a little bit off the rails in their respective disciplines,” Stearns said. “And I think our staff has done a very nice job of course-correcting in certain instances. I also think that the motivation and energy from these players remains very high. I understand there is frustration everywhere, there is exasperation — we all get that — but our players are playing hard and they compete. That’s a reflection on them and our coaches.”

The young veterans: One of the failings of the Mets has been the development of former top prospects Brett Baty and Mark Vientos into core pieces who can complement Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor (when healthy). The same could be said for injured Francisco Alvarez.

“Any player who demonstrates a level of inconsistency over multiple years or over their careers, there are probably individual reasons,” Stearns said. “Candidly, I think … we know the reasons and are working. In certain cases, we don’t. That’s the reality of baseball and player evaluations.”

Still-developing minor leaguers: You could make a case center fielder A.J. Ewing (12 games at Triple-A) and Jonah Tong (5.68 ERA at Triple-A) were rushed to the majors because of injuries, but Stearns isn’t quite ready to keep dipping down for more reinforcements.

The time will come, though. Maybe for first baseman/outfielder Ryan Clifford or pitcher Jack Wenninger.

“We have to be confident those players are ready and can contribute,” Stearns said. “We’re certainly not going to preclude ourselves from adding more from our minor league system. We believe we have very good players down there — some of whom aren’t too far away. We have players in the minor leagues right now that we would anticipate contributing at the big leagues over the course of the season. It’s very difficult for me to put a time frame on it.”

Justin Hollander met with the media prior to the Mariners’ series opener with the Diamondbacks to provide updates on some key injured Mariners. Unfortunately, there’s no set timetable for return for either Cal Raleigh (oblique) or Brendan Donovan (groin), even though both are making steady progress in their recoveries.

Donovan remains in Arizona, but has not yet progressed to baseball activities. The team’s chief concern for Donovan is his ability to run, given the nature of his lower body injury. Currently he’s running on an anti-gravity treadmill, with the hopes that he can transition to a baseball running progression on a field next week when the team heads out on the road, provided he clears the next couple of days without the pain returning. For the baseball running progression, he’ll start by running in straight lines before moving to more intense game-type movement: lateral cuts, starts and stops, etc. Hollander says it’s a deliberately slow build to try to ensure Donovan’s injury won’t be re-aggravated during normal baseball activities.

“These are the type of injuries that you want to be really deliberate with to makes ure we don’t have any kind of setback like we did last time.”

Cal Raleigh will make a visit to the team tomorrow from where he’s been rehabbing in Arizona tomorrow and get a check-in with the medical staff in Seattle while also being able to connect with his teammates. “I think he misses us,” said Hollander. In addition to catching and playing long toss, Raleigh swung off a tee today – 15 swings per side – at moderate (80%) intensity. The goal is next time for him to ramp up the intensity rather than increase the number of reps. Similar to Donovan, the team is managing Raleigh’s ramp-up very carefully, and there’s no official timetable for his return.

“We want to build responsibly and make sure that when he cuts it loose at 100%, that he feels 100%”, said Hollander.

While it can be frustrating for fans – and for the players themselves – to not have a definitive timeline for their return, Hollander was careful to highlight why the organization is being especially careful with these two players, known for their gritty play style and high pain tolerance levels, in particular.

“You want to treat the patient, not just treat the diagnosis,” said Hollander. “And I think the reason we’re being extra-cautious with these guys [Donovan and Raleigh] is I think if we put a date on the calendar and say they’re going to go on a rehab assignment on this day, they will go on the rehab assignment on that day, whether they’re actually feeling good enough to do it or not.”

“I don’t want to say we’re ignoring what they’re saying, but we’re taking what they’re saying in the context of who they are and making sure that when they’re ready to go out, they’re actually ready to go out and not playing to the day on the calendar that they set up for them weeks in advance.”

Other injury updates:

• Carlos Vargas is having a repeat MRI today as a final checkpoint before he returns to the ramp-up program he was shut down from a month ago after experiencing aggravation. He’ll have a more defined return to play program once the results from the scans are back.
• Miles Mastrobuoni (L, R calf) is currently on a rehab assignment with the Rainiers.
• Will Wilson (thumb) should be able to begin a rehab assignment in the next week or so.
• On the minor-league sign, Brock Rodden has a minor hamstring strain and will be down for the next one to two weeks. Same for Michael Arroyo, who has had a couple issues with his right hamstring this year but is, in Hollander’s words, a “quick healer.”

After a sweep of the San Diego Padres, the Phillies will return to the place where their 2025 season ended as they begin a three-game series against the defending champion Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Zack Wheeler gets the start for the Phillies. Wheeler has been fantastic since his return from the Injured List, and has given up just one total run in 20.1 innings over his last three starts.

The Dodgers will go with lefthander Justin Wrobleski. Considering the Phillies’ struggles against lefty pitching this season, runs may be at a premium on Friday night.

Game time is 10:15 PM and will be televised exclusively on Apple TV.

Zack Wheeler serves up Dodger dingers, another lefty stifles Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

LOS ANGELES — The Phillies have been winning lately with a pretty narrow formula.

It has usually come with a homer, or multiple, and a strong starting pitching performance. That recipe has worked during their recent surge, but it is only so sustainable.

And on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, they did not fit that bill in their 4-2 loss to the Dodgers. They got the homer, but not the kind of starting pitching performance they have become used to.

Los Angeles got to Zack Wheeler — the first time in his seven starts since returning from thoracic outlet decompression surgery that he has looked human.

Wheeler went six innings, allowing five hits, four runs and four solo homers. He struck out four and walked one.

He knew he was not sharp.

“I was a little out of whack,” Wheeler said. “Some pitches didn’t get where they needed to be, especially against this kind of lineup. It’s just the combo of being out of whack and pitches not going where I want, but against a good lineup, they’re going to hit it.”

In the first three innings, the Dodgers hit three solo homers against him. Freddie Freeman got him in the first. Max Muncy left the yard in the second. Shohei Ohtani followed with another in the third.

Will Smith added a fourth solo shot against Wheeler in the fifth.

He looked toward the sky after that ball left the park. It was that kind of night.

“It’s baseball,” Wheeler said. “It’s a weird sport when things happen. Sometimes you feel out of whack and you do well. Sometimes you don’t. Just little frustrations, all. Just a good lineup, a good team. You want to come in here and do well against them.

The Dodgers were hitting his misses. Up, middle, down. It did not matter. They kept leaving the yard.

Wheeler’s stuff was there. He had swing-and-miss pitches. His velocities were up. But the thing that makes the Dodgers such a difficult lineup from top to bottom is that they consistently punish mistakes.

Don Mattingly did not think Wheeler was far off. The misses were just loud.

“I didn’t think he was terrible,” Mattingly said. “Just the solo homers.”

Wheeler ended his night with a nine-pitch, scoreless sixth. That was about all he could take from it.

“It was good, feeling like I should, leaving that outing,” Wheeler said. “That was the only good part of it.”

“Besides the four home runs, I felt like I did well. But at the end of the day, I let them up and we lost because of that.”

That damage was too much.

The Phillies were being no-hit by Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski through 5 2/3 innings, and their clearest offensive issue showed up again.

They continue to struggle against left-handed starting pitching.

It was a problem under Rob Thomson. It has remained one under Mattingly.

With Friday’s loss, the Phillies are slashing .187/.251/.320 against left-handed starters. If you take out their seven-run showing against Rockies lefty Kyle Freeland on May 9 at Citizens Bank Park, they are at .169/.239/.279.

Mind-boggling, especially compared to recent seasons.

Last year, the Phillies had a .718 OPS in games against left-handed starters. That was not spectacular, and it still pointed to a weakness. In 2024, they had a .807 OPS in those games. In 2023, it was .825.

With a fairly similar personnel group, it has gotten much worse in 2026.

It was exposed again Friday.

Wrobleski did not need to get overly creative. He almost exclusively used two pitches against Phillies hitters: a four-seam fastball and a slider. He used essentially the same mix against lefties and righties.

The plan was there in front of them.

The Phillies still had no answers.

Mattingly pointed to the fastball as the pitch that controlled the night.

“I thought he beat us with a fastball a lot tonight,” Mattingly said. “He was getting ahead in the count. He was on the attack, it seemed like, from the first on.”

Wrobleski’s four-seam fastball, which had averaged 93.7 mph this season, sat at 94.9 mph Friday. He generated a 57 percent swing-and-miss rate with the pitch, threw it for a strike 76 percent of the time and recorded all nine of his strikeouts with it.

None came on any other pitch.

That has been part of the larger trend.

The Phillies have not hit fastballs well when they face left-handed starters. They are batting .193 against all heaters in those spots with a .628 OPS. Somehow, it has been worse against breaking balls, where they have a .364 OPS.

Mattingly did not have a sweeping explanation for the lefty issue. Friday, to him, was more direct.

“We just didn’t get on the fastball,” Mattingly said. “It took us a while to get going with the fastball and trusting what he was doing.”

At 29-28, the Phillies still need to gain ground to fit more comfortably into the National League Wild Card picture. But if they keep getting handled by left-handed starters, that climb becomes tougher.

The Phillies finally broke up the no-hit bid with a Kyle Schwarber solo shot, extending his Major League lead with 22 homers.

Schwarber has been one of their few bright spots against lefties, posting a .987 OPS against southpaws.

He still believes there is more in the lineup than the results have shown.

“I like our offense,” Schwarber said. “I know that the results aren’t there. I think we all have the most confidence in each other.”

Schwarber credited Wrobleski, who kept the Phillies behind in counts for most of the night.

“He had a really good game against us,” Schwarber said. “Felt like he was getting ahead, putting the ball in really good spots the whole game.”

Brandon Marsh helped the Phillies climb back against the Dodgers’ bullpen with a one-out double in the eighth. Steward Berroa, hitting from the left side, followed with his first Phillies hit, an RBI single that cut the deficit to two.

Berroa also made a strong play in right field earlier in the night, tracking a ball near the wall and holding a runner at first.

“He’s an energy guy,” Mattingly said. “He knows what he’s doing out there. It’s not like this is some young kid that hasn’t played a lot of baseball. He’s got a good idea what he’s doing out there.”

They had nothing going in the ninth against Tanner Scott.

Friday was a reminder that the flaws are still there.

Wheeler had his first rough night since returning. The Phillies, who just swept three Padres right-handed starters, were quiet against another left-hander. Against a team like the Dodgers, those two things are hard to overcome.

The Phillies have won plenty of games recently by finding one big swing. Schwarber knows that cannot be the only path.

“We want to keep finding ways to get guys on base and keep trying to find ways to produce runs, not just via home run,” Schwarber said. “We have all the trust in the world that we’re going to find a way to get that done at the end of the day.

The San Francisco Giants head to Coors Field tonight to begin a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who enters tonight’s game with a 5.06 ERA, 3.52 FIP, with 42 strikeouts to 15 walks in 48 innings pitched. His last start was in the Giants’ 10-5 loss to the San Diego Padres on May 5th, in which he allowed six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts in four innings.

He’ll be facing off against Rockies right-hander Michael Lorenzen, who enters tonight’s game with a 7.21 ERA, 5.13 FIP, with 41 strikeouts to 18 walks in 53.2 innings pitched. His last start was in the Rockies’ 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday, in which he allowed five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk in five innings.

Game #57

Who: San Francisco Giants (22—34) vs. Colorado Rockies (20-37)

Where: Coors Field, Denver, Colorado

When: 5:40 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

The Athletics had a much-needed day off yesterday to reset and, hopefully, figure out how to play better at home. The team opened its latest homestand by being swept in three games by the Seattle Mariners, who knocked the A’s out of first place in the American League West for the first time in several weeks.

Now 10-15 at Sutter Health Park, things will not get any easier for the A’s. Tonight, the team begins a three-game weekend series against the New York Yankees, who own one of the best records in baseball. The “Bronx Bombers” enter on a four-game winning streak after sweeping the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City. Led by Aaron Judge and Ben Rice, the Yankees will look to bounce back after the Athletics took two of three from them in the Bronx earlier this season.

For the A’s, however, it is imperative that they bounce back and take this series to avoid dropping both series this week. Veteran right-hander Luis Severino will take the mound in today’s series-opener. Severino was originally supposed to start Tuesday. The A’s moved his next start back a few days, adjusting the rotation to allow the team top pitching prospect, left-hander Gage Jump, to make his first MLB start that day. Jump wound up allowing four runs on nine hits in five innings.

Facing his former team on seven days’ rest, Severino will likely pitch with extra motivation tonight. The 32-year-old enters his 12th start of the season with a 2–5 record, a 4.23 ERA, and 64 strikeouts over 61.2 innings pitched. He is coming off one of his best starts of the season, allowing two runs over seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels while recording a season-high 10 strikeouts. The Yankees’ offense is much more potent than the Angels and this game will be at hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park, a place where Severino and the entire A’s pitching staff has struggled to replicate their success on the road.

If the A’s want to snap their losing streak, they will need a strong performance from Severino and the bullpen to limit the Yankees’ opportunities and keep runs off the board. The Athletics’ offense must also improve after scoring just four runs in their previous three games.

Here’s how the Athletics’ lineup looks for the series opener:

A’s manager Mark Kotsay is rolling out a lineup that looks very similar to the ones used over the past few games.  Designated hitter Brent Rooker is back in the lineup and hoping to snap out of his slow start to the season.

The biggest change comes at the top of the order. Right-handed hitter Colby Thomas gets the start in right field and will bat leadoff in place of the usual starter, left-handed hitter Carlos Cortes. Additionally, Henry Bolte draws another start over fellow outfielder Lawrence Butler, whose playing time has diminished significantly amid his season-long offensive struggles.

Butler and Cortes are on the bench because left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodón will start for the Yankees. The 33-year-old veteran missed the first month of the season while completing his rehabilitation from offseason elbow surgery. Rodón enters his fourth start of 2026 with an 0-2 record, 4.15 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 13 innings pitched. He seems to be rounding into form, limiting the Toronto Blue Jays to one run over five innings in his most recent outing.

The southpaw aims to win his first game of the year against an A’s lineup that has been scuffling lately. For the A’s offense to succeed, they will need to be patient at the plate, work counts, and capitalize on any mistake pitches over the heart of the zone.

And the Yankees’ starting lineup this evening:

The Yankees, led by their dynamic trio of Judge, Rice and Cody Bellinger, have hit the most home runs in MLB and rank fourth in runs scored. Last year, A’s owner John Fisher said he was looking forward to watching Judge hit home runs at Sutter Health Park, and that possibility looms again this evening.

The matchup between Luis Severino’s power arsenal and the Yankees’ slugging lineup will likely hinge on traffic ahead of the heart of the order. If Severino wants his third win, he’ll need to consistently retire the bottom of the Yankees lineup and avoid letting Judge and Rice come to the plate with runners in scoring position in a park that punishes mistakes.

With a win tonight and a Mariners loss, the Athletics can jump right back into first place. More importantly, they need this victory to close the week strong and secure their first win of the homestand. Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
Athletics – NBCSCA

Listen:
Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, A’s Cast

After a much-needed day off yesterday, the Colorado Rockies return home tonight to open their final series of May against the San Francisco Giants.

Colorado enters at 20-37, last in the NL West, after going 1-6 through Arizona and Los Angeles. The Rockies won just one of four against the Arizona Diamondbacks, then were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers by scores of 5-3, 15-6, and 4-1. They have lost five straight and are now 6-19 in May as they head back to Coors Field.

Bad road trip. Miserable month.

And yet, somehow, there is still a small opportunity sitting in front of them. The Giants arrive at 22-34, fourth in the division and only 2.5 games ahead of Colorado.

That means the Rockies could finish May not in last place.

It is not a lofty goal, and the fact that it is even on the table probably says as much about the Giants as it does about the Rockies — San Francisco is just 9-16 this month, and has lost three straight — but after the way May has gone, Colorado will take any step forward it can get.

To start moving in that direction, the Rockies will need a better showing from Michael Lorenzen. The veteran righty enters at 2-7 with a 7.21 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.

Hitters are squaring Lorenzen up too often, and he has not generated enough swing-and-miss to survive the hard contact. His 47.2% hard-hit rate is in the 10th percentile, while his 15.7% strikeout rate and 20.3% whiff rate underline the problem.

The Coors Field numbers are even more unsightly. At home this season, Lorenzen owns a 10.03 ERA and 2.44 WHIP across five starts.

For the Rockies, a useful start from Lorenzen does not have to look dominant. It just has to look stable: avoid the early crooked inning, keep the ball in the park, and get the game into the middle innings without putting too much stress on the bullpen.

The Giants counter with 29-year-old right-hander Logan Webb, who is expected to return from the injured list after missing time with right knee bursitis. Webb has not pitched in the majors since May 5, though he did make a rehab start for Triple-A Sacramento, throwing 62 pitches over 3 1/3 innings, before completing a bullpen session earlier this week.

That makes his workload worth watching. Webb enters at 2-4 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.40 WHIP through eight starts, but the profile is not as simple as the surface numbers. He is still getting hitters to chase, with a 34.9% chase rate in the 88th percentile, and he is still keeping the ball on the ground, with a 58.5% ground-ball rate in the 96th percentile.

The concern is what happens when hitters do square him up. His average exit velocity allowed is in the 13th percentile, and his hard-hit rate is in the 6th percentile, so there has been more damage on contact than usual. That gives the Rockies a pretty clear assignment: avoid quick outs against the sinker, stretch the at-bats, and see how much leash the Giants are willing to give him in his first start back.

The Rockies need a complete team game tonight. Lorenzen has to limit the traffic and damage enough to set-up the bullpen. The offense needs to make Webb work in his return. The defense needs to be clean behind all of it.

Do all of that, and the Rockies might be on their way to starting June somewhere other than last place.

The details:

First Pitch: 6:40 PM MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM , KNRV 1150

Giants SB Nation site:McCovey Chronicles

Lineups:

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