Padres square off against the Dodgers with series tied 1-1
Los Angeles Dodgers (40-28, first in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (38-28, third in the NL West)
San Diego; Wednesday, 4:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Justin Wrobleski (1-2, 7.20 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 13 strikeouts); Padres: Randy Vasquez (3-4, 3.69 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 37 strikeouts)
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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Padres -112, Dodgers -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Both the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking for a series win with a victory on Wednesday.
San Diego has a 21-11 record in home games and a 38-28 record overall. The Padres have gone 10-1 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Los Angeles is 17-17 on the road and 40-28 overall. The Dodgers have the highest team batting average in the NL at .265.
The teams match up Wednesday for the third time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Manny Machado has 18 doubles and 10 home runs for the Padres. Luis Arraez is 11 for 42 with five doubles over the last 10 games.
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Freddie Freeman leads the Dodgers with a .349 batting average, and has 21 doubles, a triple, nine home runs, 25 walks and 41 RBIs. Andy Pages is 14 for 42 with three home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 6-4, .247 batting average, 2.40 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs
Dodgers: 4-6, .239 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored by 19 runs
INJURIES: Padres: Michael King: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Heyward: 10-Day IL (oblique), Bryan Hoeing: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Logan Gillaspie: 15-Day IL (oblique ), Jhony Brito: 60-Day IL (forearm), Yu Darvish: 15-Day IL (elbow), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 15-Day IL (adductor), Tyler Glasnow: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Evan Phillips: 60-Day IL (forearm), Blake Snell: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Roki Sasaki: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Blake Treinen: 60-Day IL (forearm), Edgardo Henriquez: 60-Day IL (foot), Kyle Hurt: 60-Day IL (elbow), Emmet Sheehan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Grove: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brusdar Graterol: 60-Day IL (shoulder), River Ryan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gavin Stone: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Dodgers Dugout: Who is the best Dodgers catcher ever, Roy Campanella or Mike Piazza?
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Good news: Shohei Ohtani could be back on the mound before the All-Star break. More on that in Friday's edition. We are going to break the 'Top 10' series into its own edition of the newsletter each week to keep the newsletters from being too long. Sort of like turning 'War and Peace' into two editions: 'War' and 'Peace.' Here are my picks for the top 10 catchers in Dodgers history, followed by how all of you voted. Numbers listed are with the Dodgers only. Click on the player's name to be taken to the Baseball Reference page with all their stats. 1. Roy Campanella (1948-57, .276/.360/.500, 123 OPS+, 3 MVP awards, 8-time All Star) One of the greatest catchers of all time, Roy Campanella (he did not have a middle name) was born Nov. 19, 1921, in Philadelphia. He loved baseball as a kid and grew up a Phillies fan. They once offered him an invitation to try out but rescinded it when they found out he was Black. Campanella played in the Negro Leagues after high school, and in October 1945 he was the catcher for an all-star team that played five games against a team of major leaguers at Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dodger manager Chuck Dressen led the major leaguers and was impressed by Campanella. He touted him to Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, who arranged a meeting. Rickey offered Campanella a contract, but he said no because he mistakenly thought Rickey was offering him a contract with the Brooklyn Brown Dodgers, a Negro Leagues team Rickey was rumored to be starting. The next week, Campanella and Jackie Robinson happened to be staying at the same hotel. Robinson told Campanella he had signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was then that Campanella realized what Rickey was offering. He sent Rickey a telegram asking if he could sign with the team. Campanella played for the Dodgers from 1948 until his career was cut short after the 1957 season. In that time, all he did was win three NL MVP awards, make eight All-Star teams, hit 242 homers, have a .500 slugging percentage and play Gold Glove-worthy defense behind the plate. The Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, and Campanella was all set to be the team's starting catcher in Los Angeles. But on Jan. 28, 1958, while driving in New York, Campanella's car hit a patch of ice, ran into a telephone pole and overturned. Campanella broke his neck and was paralyzed. He eventually regained use of his arms but used a wheelchair for the rest of his life before dying of a heart attack on June 26, 1993. 2. Mike Piazza (1992-98, .331/.394/.572, 160 OPS+, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 5-time All Star) The Dodgers chose Piazza in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft, the 1,390th player picked overall. No one picked that low has had a career like Piazza's, but it's a bittersweet one for Dodgers fans. Piazza made his major league debut near the end of the 1992 season and won Rookie of the Year in 1993 after hitting .318 with 35 home runs and 112 RBIs. Amazingly enough, Piazza played only five full seasons with the Dodgers, but what seasons they were. After his 1993 season, he hit .319, .346, .336 and .362 and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of those seasons. His best season was his final full season, 1997, when he hit .362 with 40 homers and 124 RBIs. Piazza's contract was scheduled to run out after the 1998 season, and he was due a large increase in salary. Negotiations turned ugly, and the Dodgers, then owned by Fox, wanted to make a statement. So, on May 15, 1998, they traded the best-hitting catcher in history to the Florida Marlins, along with Todd Zeile, for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich and Manuel Barrios. 3. Mike Scioscia (1980-92, .259/.344/.356, 99 OPS+, 2-time All Star) Scioscia was with the Dodgers for 13 seasons; he never won a Gold Glove, never led the league in any offensive category and made only two All-Star teams. But what he did can't be understated: He gave you above-average play almost every season for 13 seasons. You never had to worry about the position when Scioscia was there, and he hit one of the most important home runs in Dodgers history when he connected off Dwight Gooden in Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS. Scioscia is the only person in major league history who played at least 10 seasons with only one team and then managed at least 10 seasons with a different team. Tommy Lasorda and Vin Scully each said that Scioscia was the best plate blocker he had ever seen, high praise considering they also saw Steve Yeager, another excellent plate blocker. Most Dodger fans remember when Jack Clark leveled Scioscia while trying to score. Scioscia was knocked unconscious but held onto the ball. You can watch a compilation of Scioscia blocking the plate, including the Clark collision, by clicking here. 4. Will Smith (2019-current, .263/.356/.474, 127 OPS+, 2-time All Star) The book is still being written about Smith, who may very well move to the top of this list when his career is through. I've written a lot about Smith over the years, so let's go with 10 little-known facts instead. —His full name is William Dills Smith. —As a senior in high school (Kentucky Country Day School), he pitched and went 7-1 with an 0.87 ERA. He went undrafted and went to Louisville. —He played for Rancho Cucamonga in 2017 and was named to the California League All-Star team. —His first major league homer was a walk-off home run against the Phillies. —He backed up Austin Barnes before becoming the Dodgers' starting catcher on July 26, 2019. —He is one of four catchers to hit 100 home runs with the Dodgers, along with Campanella, Piazza and Steve Yeager. —Smith is one of three catchers to hit home runs in four consecutive at bats (spread over two days), along with Johnny Bench and Benito Santiago. —His favorite player growing up was David Ortiz. —One of only three catchers to steal a base in an All-Star game, joining Iván Rodríguez and Tony Peña. —Hit only .243 in four minor-league seasons, which shows you can't always judge everything by just stats. 5. Steve Yeager (1972-85, .228/.299/.358, 84 OPS+) Yeager was one of the best defensive catchers in history but had the misfortune of being a direct contemporary of the best defensive catcher in history, Johnny Bench. Otherwise, Yeager would have multiple Gold Gloves. His best season offensively was 1977, when he .256 with 21 doubles and 16 homers. Dodger fans remember how he blocked the plate, becoming an almost impenetrable wall whenever a runner tried to score and Yeager had the ball. He also had a powerful throwing arm. Hall of Famer Lou Brock said that Yeager was the toughest catcher to steal against. In 1976, Yeager was in the on-deck circle with Bill Russell at the plate. Russell's bat shattered as he hit a ground ball and a jagged piece of the bat stabbed Yeager in the throat, piercing his esophagus and narrowly missing his carotid artery. While he was recovering, Yeager and Dodgers trainer Bill Buhler designed a device that hung from the catcher's mask, protecting his throat. For years, most catchers wore a mask that had this device, which Yeager and Buhler patented. Yeager served as technical advisor for the first three 'Major League' movies and appeared in them as third-base coach Duke Temple. 6. John Roseboro (1957-67, .249/.326/.371, 95 OPS+, 2 Gold Gloves, 5-time All Star) Roseboro was the starting catcher on three World Series title teams, and when people mention the great Dodgers pitching staffs of the 1960s, they seldom mention who was catcher for all those great pitchers. It was mainly Roseboro. Roseboro became a catcher when he tried out for his high school team. No one tried out as a catcher, so he volunteered. He wanted to be a football player at Ohio's Central State College, not a baseball player. He became ineligible for football because of poor grades and was working out with the baseball team one day when Dodgers scout Hugh Alexander saw him. Alexander was searching for a left-handed hitting catcher and Roseboro fit the bill. He invited Roseboro to try out with the Dodgers. Five years later, in 1957, Roseboro had moved steadily through the minor-league system as a catcher when he got the call to report to Brooklyn. Only, not as a catcher. They wanted him to play first base because Gil Hodges was injured. So Roseboro's first games as a Dodger were at first base. In the offseason, the Dodgers moved to L.A., and Campanella had the car wreck that ended his career. The Dodgers had three catchers: Roseboro, Rube Walker and Joe Pignatano. Walker was past his prime and retired after starting the season five for 44. Manager Walter Alston named Roseboro, 20, the Dodgers' new starting catcher. Roseboro was the starting catcher through the 1967 season. He was involved in a legendary fight with Juan Marichal, but his career was so much more than that, even though that seems to be what he is remembered for today. Which is a shame. The Dodgers won titles in 1959, 1963 and 1965 with Roseboro in the lineup, and he is a big reason why they won. Roseboro died of a stroke on Aug. 16, 2002. He was 69. One of the speakers at his funeral: Juan Marichal. You could easily move Roseboro to third on this list. Once you get past the top two, the choices could go a lot of different ways, depending on what you view as most important about each player. 7. Babe Phelps (1935-41, .315/.368/.477, 125 OPS+, 3-time All Star) Perhaps the second-best-hitting catcher in Dodgers history, Ernest Gordon Phelps was born April 19, 1908, in Odenton, Md. As most kids did back then, he played baseball every chance he got. The Washington Senators signed him in 1929. He was then a first baseman and outfielder, but was mainly a professional hitter. The Senators brought him to the majors briefly in 1931 and he was such a strong hitter and built like Babe Ruth that his teammates nicknamed him Babe. But, while Ruth was a good fielder, Phelps was not, and the Senators traded him to the Chicago Cubs, who decided to convert him to catcher. It was a strange move, because the Cubs had a great catcher in Gabby Hartnett. After two seasons as Hartnett's backup, his contract was sold to Brooklyn, where he became the backup to Al Lopez. Phelps hit .364 in 47 games, so the Dodgers traded Lopez after the season and named Phelps the starting catcher. He hit .367 in 1936, finishing second to Paul Waner for the batting title. His .367 average is still the highest for a catcher who qualified for the batting title. Phelps remained a strong hitter throughout his Dodgers career, but he put on weight every season too, getting so out of shape that his teammates nicknamed him Blimp. His offense didn't suffer, but his defense did, and he became relatively immobile. He was considered one of the nicest guys in the league and was a fan favorite. Before the 1940 season, the Dodgers made a change that eventually ended Phelps' career: they started traveling by plane, and Phelps was terrified of flying. He made one flight with the team, and then refused to go on another flight, traveling by train throughout the season while the rest of the team flew. The Dodgers acquired Mickey Owen before the 1941 season, and held part of their spring training in Cuba. Phelps refused to fly to Cuba, so the team worked out without him. Owen was named the starting catcher. Then, on June 12, 1941, the team was going to travel ... by train ... to Pittsburgh. Phelps never showed up. Eventually reached by telephone, he said the stress of travel was too much and he was having heart palpitations. He had claimed this before and the Dodgers' team doctor examined him and said he was fine. Thinking he was faking it or a hypochondriac, manager Leo Durocher demanded that Phelps be traded. Finding no takers, the Dodgers suspended him. A couple of months later, the team was in a pennant race and wanted a left-handed bat on the bench. The Dodgers wanted to bring Phelps back, but because of suspension rules at the time, they couldn't without Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis' permission. Landis met with Phelps and refused to reinstate him. The Dodgers lost in the World Series. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the season. In 1950, Dodgers fans voted Phelps as the catcher for the all-time Dodgers team, a testament to his popularity. He died in 1992 in Odenton, Md. 8. Russell Martin (2006-10, 2019, .268/.362/.391, 99 OPS+, 1 Gold Glove, 2-time All Star) Martin was a rare catcher who was fast enough to steal bases, including a career-high 21 with the Dodgers in 2007. He was with the team for five seasons, but was hurt for the latter part of the 2010 season and the team let him go as a free agent. They replaced him with Rod Barajas, while Martin signed with the Yankees and put together several solid seasons after that. He returned to L.A. for his final season in the majors, and hit .220 in 83 games, sharing catching duties with Austin Barnes and then-rookie Will Smith. He played in one of the five postseason games against Washington that season, going two for four with a double and a homer. He became a fan favorite in 2019 for pitching four scoreless innings during the season, giving up only two hits and striking out two while throwing a low-80s fastball. Whenever the Dodgers' bullpen had problems that season (see, this season is nothing new), fans would often call for Martin to pitch. He is one of 12 catchers since 1901 to steal at least 100 bases, and his 67 steals is the most by a catcher in Dodgers history. 9. Mickey Owen (1941-45, .258/.319/.315, 80 OPS+, 4-time All Star) Much like Roseboro, Owen is remembered for something (that passed ball in the 1941 World Series) that has overshadowed a solid career. He was a four-time All-Star and during that 1941 season had set a then-record for most consecutive errorless chances handled by a catcher (508). He is also the first player to hit a pinch-hit homer in the All-Star game, which he did in 1942. Arnold Owen (no middle name) was born April 4, 1916, in Nixa, Mo. (By the way, isn't baseball amazing? Here we are, 109 years after a player was born, talking about his career). Owen signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1935 and quickly became known for his defense. He was quickly promoted to the majors, and played 80 games with the Cardinals in 1937. After four seasons of solid defense but subpar hitting, the Cardinals traded him to Brooklyn before the 1941 season for catcher Gus Mancuso and $60,000. Owen was called Mickey because of his resemblance to the great catcher Mickey Cochrane. However, when he came to the Dodgers, manager Leo Durocher refused to call him that, referring to him as Arnold. Owen was considered the best defensive catcher in the NL, and if the Gold Glove had been around, probably would have won at least five. He was drafted into the Navy midway through the 1945 season and while he was in the Navy on April 1, 1946, Jorge Pasquel of the Mexican League announced that he signed Owen to a five-year deal as a player-manager for the Veracruz Blues. Commissioner Happy Chandler announced that any player who jumped would be banned for five years if they tried to return. Owen did not like playing in Mexico and, in 1947, petitioned to return to the majors. Chandler denied the appeal. He eventually dropped the suspensions before the 1949 season. The Dodgers released Owen and he signed with the Cubs. Owen retired after the 1954 season and started a baseball camp for kids in Missouri. He ran the camp until 1985, and the camp remained active until 2005. You would often see ads for it in the Sporting News, nestled among the baseball box scores. Owen died in Mt. Vernon, Mo., of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. He was 89. 10. Joe Ferguson (1970-76, 1978-81, .245/.359/.419, 119 OPS+) The Dodgers had two good, young catchers in the early 1970s, Ferguson and Yeager. They eventually decided to go with Yeager because of his superior defense, but Ferguson was a much better hitter. He also played in the outfield quite a bit for L.A. and his most famous Dodger moment probably came as an outfielder, when he cut in front of Jim Wynn to catch a fly ball and throw out Sal Bando trying to score in the 1974 World Series. You can watch that play by clicking here. Watch how far Ferguson had to run to get to the ball, and watch how well Yeager blocked the plate. Ferguson's other great moment as a Dodger came in 1980. The Dodgers were three games behind the Houston Astros with three to play ... all against the Astros. In the first game, the Dodgers and Astros were tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the 10th. Houston's Ken Forsch went to the mound for his 10th inning of work. On Forsch's first pitch, Ferguson homered to left to give the Dodgers the walk-off win. 'I go up in that situation and I'm looking to hit at least a double,' Ferguson said, 'I've got to drive the ball. It wasn't that Forsch was losing command of his pitches. It was just that he didn't have that little extra. He knows what I can do, because I've done it against him before.' You can watch that home run here. By the way, the winning pitcher in that game: Fernando Valenzuela. Almost 1,486 ballots were sent in. First place received 12 points, second place nine, all the way down to one point for 10th place. Here are your choices: 1. Roy Campanella, 1,209 first-place votes, 15,867 points 2. Mike Piazza, 124 first-place votes, 11,733 points 3. John Roseboro, 82 first-place votes, 8,642 points 4. Mike Scioscia, 33 first-place votes, 8,256 points 5. Will Smith, 13 first-place votes, 7,918 points 6. Steve Yeager, 19 first-place votes, 7,006 points 7. Russell Martin, 5,774 points 8. Joe Ferguson, 2,803 points 9. Mickey Owen, 2,444 points 10. Jeff Torborg,1,512 points The next five: Paul Lo Duca, Yasmani Grandal, A.J. Ellis, Rick Dempsey, Norm Sherry. Who are your top 10 Dodgers first basemen of all time (including Brooklyn)? Email your list to top10firstbasemen@ and let me know. Many of you have asked for a list of players to consider for each position. Here are the 40 strongest first baseman candidates, in alphabetical order. Del Bissonette, Jack Bolling, Ken Boyer, Greg Brock, Dan Brouthers, Enos Cabell, Dolph Camilli, Hee-Seop Choi, Jake Daubert, Frank Dillon, Jack Doyle, Jack Fournier, Dave Foutz, David Freese, Freddie Freeman, Nomar Garciaparra, Steve Garvey, Adrián González, Buddy Hassett, Gil Hodges, Hughie Jennings, Tim Jordan, Eric Karros, Ed Konetchy, Norm Larker, Sam Leslie, George LaChance, James Loney, Dan McGann, Eddie Murray, Dick Nen, Dave Orr, Wes Parker, Bill Phillips, Albert Pujols, Olmedo Sáenz, Ed Stevens, Dick Stuart, Franklin Stubbs, Tommy Tucker. A reminder that players are listed at the position in which they played the most games for the Dodgers, which is why Garciaparra is listed here and not at shortstop. Mike Piazza hits a home run over the left-field roof and out of Dodger Stadium. Watch and listen here. Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Padres MLB trade deadline primer: 3 early storylines to watch
SAN DIEGO — Between March 13 and July 30 of last year, the San Diego Padres traded away 19 players and received eight in return. Eleven of the outgoing players were among the organization's top 17 prospects, according to a ranking by The Athletic's Keith Law. Two of the incoming players have since left the organization. Two more, Dylan Cease and Luis Arraez, are scheduled to reach free agency this fall. Advertisement President of baseball operations A.J. Preller long ago acquired a reputation for consolidating young talent and exchanging it for immediate impact, but this five-month stretch set a new standard in terms of sheer volume. It also increased the pressure for the Padres to win their first title while upping their level of difficulty. To some extent, the above series of gambits could still pay off. The Padres pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to the limit last October. Now, San Diego is 38-29, only two games behind the defending World Series champions, and a popular pick to at least finish with a National League wild-card berth. But 95 games remain. That is a long time for a team with limited remaining prospect capital and conspicuous holes at the big-league level. With another trade deadline looming, here are three storylines to watch over the next seven weeks. Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, according to team and league sources, is the kind of trade target Preller fixates on. There seems to be a good chance that Preller does not end up landing Duran, who has three-plus seasons of control and plays for a team in need of big-league starting pitching. But the executive has tried for more than a year. He probably will continue to try. There may be better fits than Duran, a left-handed hitter with only five home runs this season. The Padres have been subpar against left-handed pitching, and they are 23rd in the majors in overall slugging percentage. Not that they can afford to be picky. San Diego left fielders have combined for minus-0.6 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. (Duran has been worth 1.3 WAR.) Other outfield trade candidates include Luis Robert Jr., Adolis García, Taylor Ward, Cedric Mullins, Kyle Stowers and Austin Hays, who drew interest from the Padres before he signed with the Cincinnati Reds. Robert, like Duran, is especially intriguing. He's making $15 million this season, and his production has cratered — Robert is at minus-0.1 WAR — but he offers rare upside as a 27-year-old former All-Star who might benefit from escaping the Chicago White Sox. Can the Padres afford to take a chance on a relatively expensive player with a replacement-level floor? Advertisement Cease predicted last week that he was 'about to get hot.' Less than a week later, he delivered seven scoreless innings in a badly needed performance against the Dodgers' formidable offense. Now, the Padres need Cease to stay hot. His season had been lukewarm until then, and San Diego's rotation ranks 13th in earned run average and 16th in Fielder Independent Pitching. 'I've been throwing as well as ever between starts recently. I'm about to get hot, who know if it's this start or next, but I'm about to get hot,' Dylan Cease told me after modeling his fairly unique slider grip — his finger tips are not along the seams. — Eno Sarris (@enosarris) June 5, 2025 Of course, the Padres also need the returns of Opening Day starter Michael King and Yu Darvish, the team's three-time Opening Day starter. Darvish is expected to pitch in a simulated game in Arizona in the coming days, and if he continues to feel OK, the 38-year-old could make his season debut before the end of the month. Cautious optimism, however, remains the default setting with Darvish and an elbow that was surgically repaired a decade ago. Darvish's only official game this year came in a May 14 rehab start, and he did not feel great recovering from it. Darvish at least appears closer to coming back than his fellow sidelined starter. King has not pitched since May 18, and he has not done much more than play light catch since May 24, when he awoke with what the Padres originally described as a pinched nerve that affected his right shoulder. Wednesday, manager Mike Shildt said King and the team were still seeking clarity regarding the nature of a mysterious ailment that 'is outside of really a baseball purview … from historic injury.' (In a phone interview last week, sports neurologist Dr. Ilan Danan speculated that King's symptoms might stem from a herniated disc in his neck. Danan, who has not treated or examined King, said such an injury is not uncommon in baseball players.) No matter what is ailing King, a return before the All-Star break has become increasingly unlikely. The Padres badly need a left fielder and additional offense, but the uncertainty surrounding King and Darvish could soon mean a team with October aspirations will need starting pitching just as badly. FanGraphs estimates have the Padres' payroll and luxury-tax number at $210 million and $262 million, respectively. The latter figure puts the team just over the second luxury-tax threshold of $261 million, and there have been indications that Preller will have room to take on at least a little more payroll, if not approach the third tax threshold ($281 million). A relative lack of financial flexibility helps explain the interest in such players as Duran, who is making only $3.75 million. Advertisement What do the Padres have left to trade for significant or even marginal upgrades? In January, Law ranked San Diego's farm system 25th in the majors, writing that it 'is about as bare as it's been in Preller's tenure.' Teenagers Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas are top-20 prospects, but the Padres are unlikely to trade De Vries, and Salas, still sidelined with a stress reaction in his back, has struggled to hit after the organization rushed his development. Still, the industry learned long ago not to underestimate Preller during trade season or, for that matter, at any time on the calendar. The Padres' lack of depth does not apply to their relief pitching, and their general manager is relentlessly creative. Plus, there are all the trades Preller made last year, as well as the impending free agencies of Cease, King, Arraez and closer Robert Suarez, who can opt out of his contract after this season. Barring a collapse in the standings, it should be another aggressive deadline for the Padres. (Top photo of Michael King pitching on Opening Day for the Padres: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Casey Schmitt contributes as Giants' win streak reaches seven games
DENVER — Tristan Beck received the most thankless assignment you can give to a major-league reliever: enter a game at Coors Field trailing by a run and try to keep it close. Three batters in, Beck was already pitching from his heels. He had allowed one run and only recorded a second out because the Colorado Rockies ran their way into it. When he threw a breaking ball that actually moved according to its designs, the Rockies' Keston Hiura snuck his barrel to it and hit a hard grounder that hugged the third-base line. Beck whirled around, saw the ball skipping over the bag and assumed his inning was becoming a war of attrition. Advertisement That's when third baseman Casey Schmitt made a lunging grab while staying on his feet. As his momentum carried him into foul territory, he flung a throw across his body that arrived true, in time and without so much as a hop to first baseman Jerar Encarnacion. 'I gotta admit it,' Beck said. 'I had to double-check who that was back there.' It will be no easy feat for the Giants to replace any element of Matt Chapman's game while he recovers from a sprained right hand. He's one of the league's smartest and tidiest baserunners. He is their leading home run hitter. And, of course, he's a five-time Gold Glove winner whose defensive skills annually account for a significant portion of his Wins Above Replacement. Chapman's defense should be the most irreplaceable aspect of his game. Instead, it might be the area where the Giants have the most coverage. Schmitt, a gifted defender, turned heads with his sparkling play in the fifth inning. Then he made contributions to a pair of late rallies as the Giants scored four runs in the eighth inning and three more in the ninth while storming to a 10-7 victory over the Rockies Wednesday night. It was the Giants' 20th come-from-behind win of the season. 'notha comeback in Colorado! — SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 12, 2025 Schmitt drew an eight-pitch walk in the eighth that set up Mike Yastrzemski's tying, two-run double. Then Schmitt scored the tiebreaking run following a replay reversal when he sprinted home on Tyler Fitzgerald's safety squeeze and slid a hand across the plate barely ahead of the tag. At that point, the Giants were set up to win their seventh consecutive game by a one-run margin, which would have matched the 1927 Chicago Cubs for the longest streak in major-league history. But it's a good thing they didn't stop there. They scored three more in the ninth and Schmitt knocked in one of them with a single up the middle. Advertisement Camilo Doval needed the extra cushion in the bottom of the ninth. He served up a solo home run to Hunter Goodman and the Rockies brought the tying run to the plate before Orlando Arcia tapped to the mound to end it. The streak of one-run victories might be over, but the winning habit continues. The Giants are a season-best 12 games over .500, just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, and they will have a theoretical chance to dislodge their archrivals when they arrive at Chavez Ravine this weekend to begin a three-game series. The three-run victory didn't release much pressure, though. 'Well, it still came down to the last pitch,' Giants manager Bob Melvin said. 'So I won't necessarily say this was a laugher.' Every pitch seems to matter more at Coors Field, where attrition is a way of life. Schmitt's defensive play had the underrated impact of saving Beck from throwing more pitches in the fifth inning, which otherwise might have prevented him from completing the sixth and seventh. The Giants dealt with the opposite effect earlier in the game when a missed-catch error on Encarnacion compounded a labor-intensive third inning for Robbie Ray, in which the left-hander was charged with four runs (two earned) and threw 34 pitches. 'It just drains you,' said Ray, who was lifted after throwing 93 pitches in four innings. 'More than at normal altitude. Any time you have to throw that many pitches in an inning, regardless of where you are, it's tough. But when you're here, it just takes more out of you.' So when a defensive gem like Schmitt's ends an inning here and allows everyone to get back to the dugout? 'Oh, a hundred percent, it's huge,' Beck said. 'Any pitcher will tell you what it's like here. Any chance you get to have a ball fielded and make a play like that, it's so important. That's one of the better plays I've seen behind me in my career. We all knew Casey could do that. Obviously, we're a little used to it with Chappy over there on the regular. But we know Casey can, too.' What a play by Casey Schmitt 🤯 — SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 12, 2025 Schmitt became the best defensive infielder in the Giants' farm system from the moment the club took him in the second round of the 2020 draft out of San Diego State. But every avenue to playing time on the left side of the infield appeared impassable at the end of last year when the Giants agreed to a six-year, $151 million extension with Chapman and then signed shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million free-agent contract. Both Chapman and Adames pride themselves on playing 150-plus games and have to be cajoled into taking a day off. When spring training began, it was unclear what future Schmitt might have in the organization. Advertisement Schmitt made the opening day roster anyway, in a utility role. Then he added to his value when he turned himself into an above-average first baseman seemingly overnight. Now he's expected to receive an extended run of playing time while Chapman recovers — a process that is likely to extend into July. Even though Schmitt acknowledged that he is merely holding down the fort at third base, there's plenty more at stake for him. It's not impossible to envision Schmitt parlaying this opportunity into unseating Fitzgerald, who is in the midst of an inconsistent season at the plate and ran into another out on the basepaths on Wednesday. While Fitzgerald has played a credible second base, he cannot match Schmitt's arm strength or tagging skills, either. If Schmitt can combine better situational at-bats with his defense, then the Giants will be tempted to find a way to keep him in the lineup even after Chapman returns. 'That was huge, (fouling off) breaking ball after breaking ball and taking a fastball on the last pitch,' said Melvin, describing Schmitt's walk against right-hander Tyler Kinley in the eighth. 'It's a great opportunity for him. He's got a real opportunity to do some good things while Chappy is out. We're lucky to have him.' Does it help Schmitt to relax knowing he'll be in the lineup virtually every day for at least a couple weeks? 'I guess so, but I know my role,' he said. 'We all can't wait for (Chapman) to come back to doing his thing here. We're counting down the days.' The Giants also have been counting the days until Adames began to make an impact at the plate following two slow and challenging months. Perhaps these first two games in Denver will be the start of something. Adames hit a home run for the second consecutive game and finished a triple short of the cycle, singling to ignite the four-run rally in the eighth and doubling to help set up the three-run ninth. Advertisement His two-run home run gave the Giants a quick lead in the first inning. He also contributed a sacrifice fly. Arcia took away a potential fourth hit at third base in the fifth. Whether the margin of victory was one run or three, the Giants continued to do just enough to cover up their mistakes. Encarnacion's error in the third might have been the most glaring, but the coaching staff also blundered when Melvin failed to signal in time for a replay challenge on a blown call that ended the seventh inning. It was the second mea culpa of the series for Melvin, who acknowledged on Tuesday that he shouldn't have sent reliever Spencer Bivens out for a third inning. Maybe it didn't feel like the Giants had breathing room when Doval recorded the final out, but the three-run margin meant that the Giants would not equal the all-time one-run margin of victory record. The Cubs set that mark in a season in which they added a new upper deck above the third base stands at Wrigley Field (one year after the name had been changed from Cubs Park) and became the first National League team to draw 1 million fans. The seventh of those one-run triumphs came June 12, 1927, against the New York Giants when Charlie Root retired Rogers Hornsby to seal a 7-6 victory and delight an overflow crowd that spilled onto the grass and required the use of a boundary rope in the outfield. How long ago did the Cubs fashion that streak? The headline in the New York Times the next morning was: 'New York in Holiday Mood Greets Lindbergh Today' It astounded the nation when Charles Lindbergh climbed into the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis and crossed the Atlantic. Bet he couldn't throw a scoreless relief inning at Coors Field, though.
