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Tylor Megill completed an uneven start with Triple-A on Thursday night, but showed some resiliency by pitching four innings for Syracuse.

After a clean first inning, Megill came out for the second with a hefty 8-0 lead against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, the Mets right-hander was rudely welcomed by a solo shot from Jose Rojas. The big right-hander then walked three straight batters to load the bases with no outs. Megill almost got out of the jam when he struck out Andrew Velazaquez and Spencer Jones back-to-back, but a walk to J.C. Escarra and a single to Brennen Davis drove in two runs. But that would be all the runs allowed by Megill as he got T.J. Rumfield to fly out to end the inning.

Megill would allow just one more hit in his final two innings as he gutted through four innings. 

Tossing 70 pitches (42 strikes), Megill allowed three runs on four hits, four walks while striking out four hitters. 

Thursday was Megill's fourth rehab start, second with Syracuse, and this is the first time the right-hander has allowed a run. In his four outings, Megill has allowed three total runs across 14 innings pitched. He's struck out 21 batters in that span. In his last start with Triple-A, Megill allowed just one hit and walked one batter across five shutout innings. 

It's unclear what the next steps are for Megill after his latest rehab start, but with the rosters expanding on Sept. 1, Megill could be a candidate to rejoin the Mets in the starting rotation or bullpen.

Earlier this week, the Mets were hinting at Ryan Helsley potentially tipping his pitches, but the veteran right-hander fully believes that's the cause of his issues since arriving in Queens.

“I’m not trying to sound arrogant or anything, but I feel like my stuff’s too good to get hit around as consistently as it has since I’ve been here,” Helsley told MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. “We’ve played mostly teams in the hunt, and a lot of teams nowadays will have guys who look specifically for those things. It’s pretty glaring and obvious when I’m doing it.” 

After a few good outings since being traded to the Mets at the trade deadline, the 31-year-old has struggled mightily. In just his last five outings, he's allowed seven runs across 3.2 innings. His last appearance, Tuesday against the Phillies, saw Helsley allow the tying runs in the eighth inning, and he could only get one out.

That outing prompted manager Carlos Mendoza to intimate that teams have a tell on Helsley. 

"Too good of a stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, get really good takes on sliders. We got to look back and see what we’re missing," Mendoza said at the time. "For teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something is going on here. We have to figure it out."

“A hundred’s not going to play the same when guys know it’s coming,” Helsley said.

Helsley told Will Sammon of The Athletic that this isn't the first time he's battled tipping issues. When he was with the Cardinals last season, he ran into some trouble with it, especially against the Cubs. And he actually knows what the problem is, but fixing it won't be easy. 

He said the tip is a subconscious habit and he can correct it in bullpen sessions, but it hasn't yet translated to the mound consistently, especially with the pitch clock and being unable to step off.

“I think I know how to fix it," Helsley told The Athletic. "So it’s just being able to enforce that and that being my mental norm versus what I was doing to get my body to accept that and reinforce that.”

Entering Thursday's series opener against the Marlins, Helsley has pitched to a 10.38 ERA. He allowed only 12 runs in 36 appearances (36 innings) with the Cardinals this season, but has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in 11 games (8.2 innings) with the Mets. The apparent pitch tipping issues and his own command problems have compounded what has been a tough stint with the Mets, but he hopes it's only a matter of time before he can be effective again.

“My stuff is as good as it’s ever been on paper,” Helsley said. “It’s kind of an anomaly and weird in itself because as a pitcher, when you feel locked in and you feel great, you expect to put up good numbers. Obviously, I came here to try to help the team win but I haven’t done that yet. So that part stinks. But I’m trying to get this locked in and be someone who can help.”

Slide over, Steve Garvey. It appears another former Major League Baseball slugger with Southland ties will run for political office.

Mark Teixeira, who batted a robust .358 in a two-month stint with the Angels in 2008 before signing a longterm lucrative contract with the New York Yankees, announced his campaign for Texas' 21st Congressional District in the U.S. House on Wednesday.

Teixeira, an avowed conservative who has lived in or near Dallas much of his adult life, said he is "ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty."

Garvey is also a Republican, and he lost in a landslide to Democrat Adam Schiff for California's open seat in the U.S. Senate last November. Despite being a beloved former Dodgers great, Garvey, 75, held few public events and struggled to gain traction with voters in a state that has not elected a Republican to statewide office in nearly two decades.

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Unlike Garvey, Teixeira, 45, is running in a heavily Republican district that Chip Roy won by 26% of the vote in November. Teixeira's announcement follows Roy’s decision not to seek re-election because he is running for the office of the Texas Attorney General.

Teixeira, a former first baseman, played 14 seasons for four MLB teams — the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Angels and Yankees. He retired after the 2016 season with 409 career home runs.

The Angels acquired him from the Braves in a trade late in the 2008 season, and he helped them to the only 100-win season in franchise history by hitting 13 home runs and driving in 43 runs while batting .358 in 54 games.

Teixeira also performed well in the American League Division Series, batting .467 with a .550 on-base percentage, although the Angels fell in four games to the Boston Red Sox. He was a free agent after the season and Angels owner Arte Moreno offered him $160 million over eight years before retracting the offer two weeks later.

Several other teams made similar if not more lucrative offers, and Teixeira signed with the Yankees for $180 million over eight years. The slugging switch-hitter helped New York to the 2009 World Series championship, leading the AL with 39 homers and 122 runs batted in.

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The Yankees defeated the Angels in the AL Championship Series before beating the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. The following season, Teixeira spoke highly of the Angels despite leaving Anaheim for the greener pastures of New York.

“I hope there are no hard feelings between Arte and myself,” Teixeira told The Times' Mike DiGiovanna. “I loved that organization. Arte, [Manager Mike] Scioscia, it’s first class, top to bottom. But your wife and kids being happy is more important than your personal desires.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga will not pitch for the rest of the season due to right flexor strain, manager Aaron Boone announced ahead of Thursday's series opener against the Chicago White Sox.

The right-handed veteran underwent tests last week after reporting soreness in his right elbow/triceps area, and the injury will end his season. However, as of now, the team is hopeful he will not need any surgery or procedure. The Yanks hold a club option for the 2026 season for the 30-year-old.

Loáisiga's arm issue came two days after he began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while dealing with back stiffness that sent him to the IL on Aug. 3. 

Injuries have been a big issue for the righty of late, as the same injury limited him to just three games during the 2024 season. An elbow procedure this past March kept him out of action this year until May, and the back issue landed him on the IL earlier this month.

In all, he made 30 appearances out of the Yanks' bullpen this season and pitched to a 4.25 ERA and 1.483 WHIP, surrendering 15 runs (14 earned) on 34 hits and 10 walks with 25 strikeouts. 

Ryan Yarbrough out of the bullpen

Yarbrough, who has been out since mid-June with a right oblique issue, is set to return to the active roster, and the plan is to use the left-hander out of the bullpen, Boone said Thursday.

In his last outing at Triple-A, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. In three appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Yarbrough has pitched to a 4.09 ERA and 0.909 WHIP with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings.

The 33-year-old made 16 appearances (eight starts), pitching to a 3.90 ERA and 1.175 WHIP in 55.1 innings with 49 strikeouts to 17 walks at the big-league level this season. Opponent batters have had slightly better luck against him when he came on in relief, as Yarbrough's allowed a .720 OPS in 65 plate appearances out of the bullpen, compared to a .691 OPS in 161 times up as the starter.

Kyle Schwarber's historic night powers Phillies to 19-4 drubbing of Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

As Kyle Schwarber goes, the Phillies go.

That’s been the case all season, as Schwarber’s historic production has lifted the Phillies to the top of the NL East standings.

It was certainly the case on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Schwarber became just the 21st player in baseball history to hit four home runs in one game as the Phillies clobbered the visiting Braves 19-4 to begin this four-game series.

Let’s run through the superlatives for Schwarber.

It was just the fourth four-home run game in the Phillies’ 143-year history. Schwarber joins Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Chuck Klein and Ed Delahanty.

He now has 49 home runs this season, a new career-high. Those 49 homers are the second most in a single-season in franchise history. Only Ryan Howard has more (58 home runs in 2006). Schwarber is on pace for 59 home runs this season.

Schwarber’s nine RBI on Thursday are the most ever by a Phillie in a single game. He raised his season total to 119, the most in baseball. He trails only the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh (50) in home runs.

The MVP chants aren’t going away any time soon.

“It was pretty cool,” Schwarber said in the understatement of the evening. “To go out there and do that… it was a fun night, great atmosphere. Wouldn’t want to do it with a better group of guys than we have here.”

Schwarber rode a 0-for-20 skid into this series opener against Atlanta. He was front and center in the Phillies’ offensive frustrations at Citi Field earlier this week.

Schwarber struggles, the Phillies struggle.  

Schwarber erupts, the Phillies erupt.

He got the home team on the board in the first inning with a 450-foot solo shot to the second deck in right field. Schwarber’s second homer of the night came during the Phillies’ six-run fourth inning, a towering 2-run blast tucked inside the right field foul pole. He secured the hat trick with a three-run home run to left center field in the 6th inning. Then with 41,000 plus on their feet in the seventh inning, Schwarber delivered a line drive to the rightfield seats.

“It just happened to cooperate,” Schwarber said. “I got some pitches, put some good swings on it and that was the result. It’s fun, it’s exciting. You can’t expect that you’re going to go up there and hit a home run every time, right? That’s not the game. You just got to be able to go back and you got another game tomorrow and stay with your same approach.”

The only real disappointment on this night was the fact that Schwarber didn’t get number five in the eighth inning. With Braves infielder Vidal Brujan pitching, Schwarber flew out to shallow left field. He left the field to a standing ovation.

“You have the opportunity for a fifth one and I stink against a position player,” Schwarber said. “I was in the cage (indoor batting cage) and I asked ‘how many guys have hit five?’ and no one said anything and I was like ‘well ok that answers that question’. I have a mental block somewhere in my head that I’m not very good against a position player.”

“I thought he was going to do it,” Rob Thomson said of Schwarber’s attempt at a fifth home run. “I really did. There was no doubt in my mind… You know it’s one of those things. He’s in a groove right now, tonight anyway. It was good to see, because we needed it.”

Schmidt was the most recent Phillie to hit four home runs in a game, accomplishing the feat at Wrigley Field in 1976.

“Let me say this about Kyle Schwarber,” Schmidt said Thursday night in a phone interview with Michael Barkann and Ricky Bottalico during Phillies Postgame Live. “He’s one of the best hitters in the league, he has great mechanics. He has a great attitude, the team loves him. If I had to pick any swing to have it would be Kyle’s… he’s on his way to a MVP for sure.”

Schwarber accounted for four of the Phillies’ franchise-record seven home runs on the night. Bryce Harper (22nd of the year), J.T. Realmuto (11) and Max Kepler (14) also got in on the act. Harrison Bader finished a home run shy of the cycle, going 4-5 with a double, triple and three runs scored.

The Phillies scored a season-best 19 runs on 20 hits, 11 of which went for extra bases. They feasted on Braves starter Cal Quantrill early and often, tagging him for nine runs in three and one-third innings. Quantrill now has a 15.55 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this season.

The blowout win over Atlanta coupled with the Mets’ loss to the Marlins increased the Phillies’ lead over New York in the NL East to five games.

Thomson is proud of the way his club responded after being swept by the Mets.

“A huge character win,” Thomson said. “The radio stations were wanting fans to boo us and all that stuff. But that’s alright… You got to grind through it. You got to make your own breaks. You got to just fight… They’ve been through this before. They’ve been through 162-game schedules and the ups and downs of it and they just keep moving forward.”

The night started ominously, with Aaron Nola surrendering three runs on three hits and two walks in the first inning. But after putting the Phillies in that early 3-0 hole, Nola settled down in a big way. He limited the Braves to one hit over his final five innings of work. After taking 37 pitches to get through the first inning, Nola needed just 58 pitches to cover innings two through six.

“I was just trying to really, really get in the zone,” Nola said of his turnaround after the first inning. “Really needed to focus on getting that leadoff guy out and trying to make my pitches. My command wasn’t really there tonight. But after that first (inning) I got some quick outs which helped.”

Nola allowed four earned runs in six innings in his third start since returning from a three-month stint on the injured list.

He had four strikeouts on the night, raising his career total to 1,845. He passed Cole Hamels to move into third place on the Phillies career strikeout list, trailing only Steve Carlton (3,031) and Robin Roberts (1,871).

Not bad company for the longest-tenured Phillie, who was asked if he considers himself one of the best pitchers in franchise history.

“Oh gosh, no,” Nola said. “I mean there’s been some really, really great pitchers to come through here. I just want to keep making starts and have good years and be healthy and put the team in a good chance to win every time I’m out there.”

The Phillies offense didn’t waste any time picking Nola up, scoring five runs against Quantrill in the first inning. They added a run in the third before putting the game out of reach with six runs in the fourth.

It was a team effort for the Phillies bats. Every starter had at least one hit by the fourth inning. But just as it’s been all season – one hitter stood apart from the rest.

Schwarber’s historic power display won’t soon be forgotten.  

“It was amazing,” Nola said of Schwarber’s performance. “The guy is awesome. I don’t know what else to say. The guy is having a year for the ages. It’s awesome to watch. He’s such a hard worker, a great teammate, a great guy. For him to do something like that, especially at home too, it’s special.”