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What we learned as Justin Verlander bounces back in Giants' win over Cubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made waves earlier this month when he mentioned the possibility of expansion teams leading to realignment. If it happens, the Giants might want to petition the league to join the NL Central.

After taking two of three from the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, they returned home and beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Both Central teams are headed for the MLB playoffs, but the Giants have had their number this season. Tuesday’s win moved them to 8-3 against the Brewers and Cubs. 

It also gave Justin Verlander his second win in orange and black and No. 264 for his career. Verlander did his part over six innings, and Matt Chapman provided a cushion with a two-run blast in the sixth. The homer was Chapman’s first in a month. 

Bouncing Back

Verlander didn’t hide his displeasure after last week’s loss at Petco Park. The defense let him down, but he also failed to limit the damage, allowing seven earned runs. 

On Tuesday, Verlander completed six innings for just the second time in the second half. He scattered seven hits and gave up two earned on two walks and five strikeouts. The first strikeout moved him past Walter Johnson on the all-time MLB list, and he’s now just 14 away from catching Giants Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry and moving into eighth all-time. Verlander would need 40 after that to catch Don Sutton, and it looks like he’ll take a shot at it this season. 

The 42-year-old threw 101 pitches on Tuesday night, reaching triple-digits for the third time in five August starts. He was still touching 95 mph in the fifth inning. 

Matos Mania

Verlander was in line for a win thanks to Luis Matos, who has taken off since getting an everyday role. He returned from Triple-A last Thursday and went 8-for-15 on the rest of the road trip with two homers, two doubles and a triple, and his hot streak continued back home. 

Matos thought he homered again in his first at-bat Tuesday, but his 381-foot drive was caught on the track in left-center. With the Giants trailing in the bottom of the fifth, he went the other way for a double off the bricks. Heliot Ramos brought him home with a two-out double and then scored the go-ahead run on Rafael Devers’ single.

The Path To 27 Outs

The final 31 games are an open audition of sorts for 2026 bullpen spots. Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval are gone and Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller both seem unlikely to pitch again this season because of elbow injuries. Rodriguez went on the IL on Tuesday with a right elbow sprain and likely will seek a second opinion as he figures out next steps.

Joey Lucchesi took the seventh and then retired lefty Pete Crow-Armstrong in the top of the eighth. He handed the baton to trade deadline acquisition Jose Butto, who breezed through the rest of the inning. 

Ryan Walker opened the season as the closer and returned to that role when Rodriguez’s elbow started barking. He worked around a one-out single in the ninth and picked up his 12th save. 

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What we learned as Justin Verlander bounces back in Giants' win over Cubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• BOX SCORE

SAN FRANCISCO — MLB commissioner Rob Manfred made waves earlier this month when he mentioned the possibility of expansion teams leading to realignment. If it happens, the Giants might want to petition the league to join the NL Central.

After taking two of three from the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, they returned home and beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2. Both Central teams are headed for the MLB playoffs, but the Giants have had their number this season. Tuesday’s win moved them to 8-3 against the Brewers and Cubs. 

It also gave Justin Verlander his second win in orange and black and No. 264 for his career. Verlander did his part over six innings, and Matt Chapman provided a cushion with a two-run blast in the sixth. The homer was Chapman’s first in a month. 

Bouncing Back

Verlander didn’t hide his displeasure after last week’s loss at Petco Park. The defense let him down, but he also failed to limit the damage, allowing seven earned runs. 

On Tuesday, Verlander completed six innings for just the second time in the second half. He scattered seven hits and gave up two earned on two walks and five strikeouts. The first strikeout moved him past Walter Johnson on the all-time MLB list, and he’s now just 14 away from catching Giants Hall-of-Famer Gaylord Perry and moving into eighth all-time. Verlander would need 40 after that to catch Don Sutton, and it looks like he’ll take a shot at it this season. 

The 42-year-old threw 101 pitches on Tuesday night, reaching triple-digits for the third time in five August starts. He was still touching 95 mph in the fifth inning. 

Matos Mania

Verlander was in line for a win thanks to Luis Matos, who has taken off since getting an everyday role. He returned from Triple-A last Thursday and went 8-for-15 on the rest of the road trip with two homers, two doubles and a triple, and his hot streak continued back home. 

Matos thought he homered again in his first at-bat Tuesday, but his 381-foot drive was caught on the track in left-center. With the Giants trailing in the bottom of the fifth, he went the other way for a double off the bricks. Heliot Ramos brought him home with a two-out double and then scored the go-ahead run on Rafael Devers’ single.

The Path To 27 Outs

The final 31 games are an open audition of sorts for 2026 bullpen spots. Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval are gone and Randy Rodriguez and Erik Miller both seem unlikely to pitch again this season because of elbow injuries. Rodriguez went on the IL on Tuesday with a right elbow sprain and likely will seek a second opinion as he figures out next steps.

Joey Lucchesi took the seventh and then retired lefty Pete Crow-Armstrong in the top of the eighth. He handed the baton to trade deadline acquisition Jose Butto, who breezed through the rest of the inning. 

Ryan Walker opened the season as the closer and returned to that role when Rodriguez’s elbow started barking. He worked around a one-out single in the ninth and picked up his 12th save. 

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast

David Stearns had to state the obvious in discussing the Mets’ decision to promote 22-year-old Jonah Tong for his MLB debut just two weeks after promoting him to Triple-A.

“This is fast, there’s no question, this is fast,” the Mets’ president of baseball operations said Tuesday. 

“He’s pushed us on this because of his performance,” Stearns continued. “We think he’s ready for this. We also acknowledged that this has gone faster than any of us would have anticipated at the start of this year.”

Across 22 minor league starts, Tong has pitched to a 1.43 ERA and 0.924 WHIP, surrendering just 20 runs (18 earned) on 58 hits and 47 walks over 113.2 innings while striking out 179 batters. A 14.2 strikeout per nine-inning rate. Now, he is expected to make his next start Friday night in Queens against the Miami Marlins.

And it speaks to how highly the Mets organization thinks of the young right-hander that the rationale is just this: In a tight wild card race, you need to have your best players on the roster at the business end of the season.

“As you roll into the last month of the season, you want to have the best roster you possibly can,” Stearns said. “And we think Jonah has the chance to be among that. He’s earned the opportunity. And so we’re gonna give him the start and look forward to seeing how it goes.”

In his two outings with Syracuse, he tallied 39 whiffs on 91 swings (43 percent) with a 39 percent called strike-whiff rate.

So how did the Mets end up here, with Tong going from pitching in the MLB Futures Game while at Double-A to getting promoted twice in the span of 45 days?

“Combination of where a player is development-wise and then opportunity,” Stearns said. "And this went fast for Jonah. But to his credit, he really conquered everything we put in front of him. He exceeded our expectations throughout this year, and he put himself in a position where he deserved to be considered for a day like this.”

On the first part, the development of the right-hander’s stuff this season has been something that has left the team pleasantly surprised and quite excited.

“He’s obviously got the fastball that plays, and that’s been his calling card throughout his time in the minor leagues,” Stearns said of the heater, which averages around 96 mph and touched 98 mph at Triple-A. “What’s impressed us the most is the speed with which he’s expanded his arsenal in a really effective way. He’s added a changeup this year that’s been really good.

“And we’ve seen outings that have shown tremendous maturity on the mound where something’s not working and he’s able to switch an approach, go to the slider more, throw a few more curveballs. And allow himself to get through outings really successfully even if he’s not following the exact plan that he thought he was gonna follow when he went into the game.”

Stearns pointed to Tong’s two Triple-A outings in which he's pitched 11.2 scoreless innings, allowing eight hits and three walks with 17 strikeouts. “He’s had success in two straight starts in different ways, and that’s encouraging to see,” he said.

But in order to get that chance, opportunity must knock. And Stearns first laid out the possibility of giving some of the club’s top minor league arm talent opportunities down the stretch after the All-Star break, but it was seen thatNolan McLean and Brandon Sporat were the most likely candidates, as both had Triple-A experience and were seen as closer to being big league ready. McLean, who was called up on August 16 for his MLB debut, has made two fine starts and seems to have found himself as the Mets’ fifth starter. With New York looking for a sixth man, which should be a boost for Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes, coupled with Tong’s domination at Syracuse, the decision seemed to be made for them.

“Then ultimately, as we got into planning this week and planning the next series out, it lined up well for him,” Stearns said. “He’s gonna be on normal term, he’s throwing the ball well in two starts in Triple-A, and we’re comfortable giving him the ball.”

And, like with McLean, the Mets are going to go “turn by turn” with the rotation for the time being. 

“It’s gonna be a combination of what the matchups are, who we think matchup well, how are guys are throwing, who we think needs rest, who doesn’t need rest,” Stearns said. “I think in September, we try not to plan too far ahead.”

V from BTS got to be the devoted fanboy for once Monday night at Dodger Stadium, where he was lucky enough to share an embrace with Shohei Ohtani and give a deep bow on the field to Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The K-pop heartthrob posed for photos in the dugout with three-time MVP Ohtani, who returned to the mound this season in addition to continuing as the Dodgers' designated hitter, and more pics on the field with pitching ace Yamamoto, who helped the team beat the Padres in San Diego on Sunday. Dude even spent a few minutes chatting up the legendary Clayton Kershaw.

Read more:BTS plots comeback with new album and tour in 2026

Seems V — real name Kim Taehyung — might be a fan of pitching in general?

That's a good thing, if true, because the K-pop star was at Chavez Ravine to deliver the ceremonial first pitch before the Dodgers shut out the Cincinnati Reds 7-0. BTS fans were definitely there in the crowd to support him.

The seven members of BTS — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, Jung Kook and V — surfaced on social media in July after a long hiatus to announce that a new album would be coming in spring 2026, now that they all completed their mandatory 18-month South Korean military service.

Announcer Todd Leitz referenced the band's "highly anticipated" reunion over the stadium PA system Monday. "NO more waiting now, V. The mound is yours!" he said.

Read more:K-pop superstars BTS were on hiatus in 2023. It may have been their most interesting year yet

Taking the mound, V delivered a strike to Yamamoto, who was crouched down as the honorary catcher. The pop star earned a "wow, what a pitch" from Leitz and screams from the fans in the stands.

"He's been on the field for 30 minutes. We finally hit the crescendo with the first pitch tonight for V from BTS," a voice is heard saying in a video chronicling the moment.

"Yeah, and he dotted up a strike, man," another voice adds. "Good for him. He's been out here practicing every 13 seconds. We got the crowd going nuts, we don't know why. He's over there playing catch, throwing halfway down the left field line. And you put the guy on the mound, turns into a pretty good strike thrower."

After the pitch, V also got to speak the five legendary words that open every home game for the boys in blue: "It's time for Dodger baseball."

Read more:BTS' Suga offers fans 'deep apologies' for driving electric scooter while intoxicated

“Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music," the band said in a statement July 1. "Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas. We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.”

BTS last released an album, "Proof," in June 2022 and performed live together later that year in their home country. Each member has released solo material since then, including Jung Kook’s song “Seven,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, and RM’s “Right Place, Wrong Person,” which reached No. 5 on Billboard’s album chart last year.

Times pop music critic Mikael Wood contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets are promoting top pitching prospect Jonah Tong.

Tong will make his major league debut on Friday when he starts against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, according to manager Carlos Mendoza.

"I think it’s all about him dominating the minor leagues," Mendoza said on Tuesday afternoon. "You could make a case, alright it’s Double-A, you want to give him a better look at the Triple-A level, but, man, a couple of outings and I think it’s hard to keep him there. So, here he is now. We knew we were going to need a sixth starter, and he put himself in the conversation and here he is now. He’s going to get an opportunity for us."

He added: "It's an exciting time for the organization."

Tong, 22, has had a meteoric rise through the Mets system, and he's been almost unhittable at every step along the way.

"There's too much to like and we gotta give the kid an opportunity," the skipper said. "With only two outings at the Triple-A level, but we feel like he's ready to come up here and help us win a baseball game."

Originally a seventh-round draft pick in 2022, Tong began this season with Double-A Binghamton, overpowering hitters to the tune of a 1.59 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 202 starts. 

Tong was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse earlier this month, tossing 11.2 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts in two appearances. 

The No. 2 overall prospect in the Mets' system and their top pitching prospect according to SNY contributor Joe DeMayo, Tong spoke with SNY's Danny Abriano in June, discussing his evolving pitching arsenal and saying that he hadn't yet thought about what it would be like to take the mound at Citi Field.

"It’s always nice to dream," he said. "It’s always nice to imagine yourself out there. I’m trying to live up to just being where my feet are. I’ll let everybody else get excited about that. For me, I’m just really focused on one day at a time. I know eventually I’ll get into that position, but don’t know the timetable. So I’m just gonna take each day as it is."

On Friday, Tong's dream will become reality.