Latest news with #MikeShildt
Associated Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Padres' Yu Darvish continues progressing toward return from inflammation in his pitching elbow
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Padres right-hander Yu Darvish threw off a mound for a third straight day Wednesday as he continues to progress toward a return from inflammation in his pitching elbow that landed him on the injured list to start the season. Manager Mike Shildt said Darvish would return to San Diego for another bullpen session Friday or Saturday and then the club would determine the next steps in his recovery. 'Came out of it feeling good, spoke with him yesterday after the game, he's very encouraged,' Shildt said. 'Came in earlier today and played catch. ... He got off the mound again yesterday so it's three days in a row off the mound with some throwing, with a bullpen sandwiched in between. So, recovering, still throwing well. He has a plan for another bullpen and then we'll go from there. All favorable and trending in a good place.' The 38-year-old Darvish went on the injured list March 24 and would be pitching in the majors for his 13th season when he's back. Darvish made a pair of spring training starts but was shut down after his second outing, during which he went four innings and threw 54 pitches against Kansas City on March 13. Darvish is 110-88 with a 3.58 ERA over his big league career after pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League from 2005-11. He had Tommy John surgery on March 17, 2015, and returned to a major league mound on May 28, 2016. He had back, neck and elbow problems last season and was on the restricted list for personal reasons from early July to late August. Darvish won three of four starts in September and was 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series. Darvish came to the major leagues in 2012 after agreeing to a $56 million, six-year contract with the Texas Rangers. He was traded to the Dodgers in July 2017, became a free agent after the World Series and signed a $126 million, six-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. Darvish was dealt to San Diego after the 2020 season and in February 2023 agreed to a contract with the Padres that added $90 million guaranteed for a total of $108 million over six years. His 2023 season ended in late August because of a bone spur in his right elbow. ___ AP MLB:
New York Times
4 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Padres' Gavin Sheets exits game after collision with outfield wall
SAN DIEGO — Gavin Sheets, the offensive surprise of the San Diego Padres' season, exited Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after crashing facefirst into the left-field wall at Petco Park. Sheets, the Padres' primary designated hitter, was playing left field during the top of the fourth when Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier drove a fly ball in his direction. Sheets turned, ran toward the wall and collided with it as the ball bounced off the top of the fence for a solo home run. As center fielder Jackson Merrill, manager Mike Shildt and two athletic trainers hurried to his side, Sheets remained on the ground for what would be multiple minutes. He eventually walked off the field under his own power. Outfielder Brandon Lockridge took Sheets' place in the field. Advertisement Sheets, 29, has been an unexpectedly valuable contributor for the Padres. Non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox in November, he joined San Diego on a minor-league deal shortly before spring training. He broke camp with the team and has since hit .267 with 11 home runs and a club-leading 34 RBIs. Sheets has spent the majority of his time at DH, but with veteran Jason Heyward on the injured list and the Padres severely lacking offense from the left-field spot, he recently joined the outfield rotation. Still, Sunday brought just his 15th career start in left, and his awkward fit at the position has been obvious. On May 18, in his first left-field start in several weeks, Sheets also collided with the Petco Park wall trying to make a play on a double. If Sheets must miss time because of a concussion or another injury, the Padres do not have many healthy alternatives in left. Lockridge has a .512 OPS. Utility player Tyler Wade, who also has filled in in left, has a .621 OPS. In April, outfielder Tirso Ornelas collected one hit in 14 at-bats during his first big-league stint.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets leaves game after colliding face-first with padded wall
San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets, second from right, is greeted by Jose Iglesias, third from right, as he heads back to the dugout after running into the wall in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets, center, walks off the field with members of the training staff after running into the wall in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, right, tends to Gavin Sheets, center, after Sheets ran into the wall during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets (30) attempts to catch a fly ball at the wall hit by Pittsburgh Pirates' Adam Frazier in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets (30) attempts to catch a fly ball at the wall hit by Pittsburgh Pirates' Adam Frazier in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets, second from right, is greeted by Jose Iglesias, third from right, as he heads back to the dugout after running into the wall in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets, center, walks off the field with members of the training staff after running into the wall in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt, right, tends to Gavin Sheets, center, after Sheets ran into the wall during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) San Diego Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets (30) attempts to catch a fly ball at the wall hit by Pittsburgh Pirates' Adam Frazier in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 1, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan) SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres left fielder Gavin Sheets left Sunday's game against Pittsburgh after colliding face-first with the padded wall while tracking Adam Frazier's opposite-field home run in the fourth inning. Sheets gave the wall a quick glance before looking back at the ball and slamming into the wall, leaving an imprint. The ball hit the top of the wall and bounced into the crowd, giving Pittsburgh a 4-1 lead. Sheets was on the ground for a few minutes while being checked by a trainer. He walked off under his own power and was replaced by Brandon Lockridge. ___ AP MLB:
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
5 takeaways from Padres-Yankees: Carlos Rodón delivers again, Jackson Merrill returns and more
For decades, a visit to the Bronx from the San Diego Padres was an ultra-rarity. The franchise's first trip to face the Yankees came in the 1998 World Series, when the Padres were swept during the height of the late-'90s Yankees dynasty. The introduction of interleague play in 1997 opened the possibility of such a matchup occurring in the regular season, yet the Yankees hosted the Padres just three times over the next 24 years. Nowadays, however, thanks to the balanced schedule MLB instituted in 2023, we're guaranteed to see these bicoastal behemoths square off every season. And while the novelty of the matchup might be gone, there's still ample intrigue in watching two heavyweights battle it out — and this week's three-game series in the Bronx was no exception. The Padres stayed hot Monday, with a dramatic 4-3 win that included an hour-long rain delay. The Yankees held a 2-0 lead at the time of the stoppage, but an eventful eighth inning featuring a highly entertaining Mike Shildt ejection and subsequent four-run rally resulted in a sixth straight win for San Diego. The Yankees bounced back Tuesday with some late-inning offense of their own, exploding for 10 runs in the seventh, highlighted by an Austin Wells grand slam. And the rubber match Wednesday was a certified nail-biter. Dylan Cease and Max Fried were both tremendous for seven innings, the teams traded blows in the late frames, and the Yankees emerged victorious with a walk-off sac fly from rookie catcher J.C. Escarra in the bottom of the 10th. Here are five takeaways from this week's trio of contests between contenders. Before the Padres' comeback soured the vibes in the Bronx on Monday, New York got another standout performance from Rodón, a continuation of what has arguably been his most consistent run of form since he became a Yankee. It was the third time in his past four starts that Rodón did not allow an earned run, a stark contrast to last season, when he had just five such starts — let alone his disastrous debut campaign in 2023, when he had none. Opponents are hitting just .149 against Rodón this season, by far the lowest mark among qualified starting pitchers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto is second at .171). And while that will likely regress to some degree — Rodón's .181 BABIP against is surely too good to be true — it's broadly reflective of a pitcher who is performing at an exceptionally high level, and not in a way that is especially flukey. Rodón leads all AL pitchers with 57 strikeouts in 48 ⅔ innings, but garnering whiffs has never been the issue. What's more encouraging is how much more weak contact Rodón is inducing, exemplified by a 46.8% ground-ball rate (his highest since his rookie year) and a modest decrease in hard-hit rate allowed, from 40.9% last year to 37.8%. The introduction of a sinker to his arsenal, which he is throwing roughly 9% of the time, has certainly helped these efforts. After years of relying heavily on his four-seam fastball and slider, Rodón now has two additional weapons (changeup and sinker) to keep opponents off-balance. The strike-throwing has remained shoddy at times — Rodón's 10.6% walk rate is his highest since 2019 — but everything else appears to be trending in a positive direction for the 32-year-old southpaw. Few teams, if any, boast a duo of left-handers as formidable as the Yankees' pair of Rodón and Max Fried. Credit to the Padres for continuing to play well while Merrill was on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain, but Merrill's absence from the lineup has been rather glaring at times, so it was great to see him back in the cleanup spot Tuesday. The 22-year-old showed zero signs of rust in his return, seamlessly picking up where he left off from a blistering start before his injury. He collected four hits in the two games, including a titanic, 417-foot blast off Fried on Wednesday. It was a rare blemish for Fried amid a marvelous beginning to his Yankees tenure. Among starting pitchers, only Logan Webb has been more difficult to go yard against than Fried over the past six seasons, highlighting just how impressive Merrill's homer was. But that fact alone doesn't do Merrill justice. Since adding a sweeper in the 2023 season, Fried has thrown the pitch a total of 327 times in the big leagues. Just once has it resulted in a home run: Merrill on Wednesday. Welcome back, Jackson Merrill!His first home run since returning from the IL gives the @Padres the lead. — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 In fact, there has been only one other instance of a Fried sweeper being hit 350 feet — and that was also Merrill, earlier in the same game, when he flew out to deep left-center field. These special swings against an elite arm at the top of his game are exciting reminders of how good Merrill is and the degree to which he can elevate this Padres lineup. It didn't translate to Padres victories in his first couple of games back, but Merrill's superstar presence is sure to make a big difference for San Diego in the long run. Before Merrill took over as San Diego's center fielder, the job belonged primarily to Grisham, who from 2020 to '23 started 441 games in center for the Padres before he was dealt to the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade. In 2024, although he spent the entire season on the major-league roster, Grisham played a fairly limited role in his first season as a Yankee, appearing in just 76 games as a down-lineup option against certain right-handers and a defensive replacement in the later innings. He did not play once during the Yankees' run to the World Series. Entering his second year in New York, there was minimal indication that Grisham's role would increase beyond fourth-outfielder status. Even with Alex Verdugo gone, the addition of Cody Bellinger and the organization's commitment to playing time for rookie Jasson Domínguez made it difficult to imagine how Grisham would make much of an impact. Yet here we are on May 8, and Grisham has more home runs (10) than he did all of last season (9) and, against all odds, has seemingly passed Domínguez on the depth chart. Trent Grisham ties it with his 10th home run of the year! 💪 — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 Grisham cranked two homers against his former team this week, including a game-tying, pinch-hit blast Wednesday off San Diego's top setup arm, Jason Adam. Grisham has always drawn a lot of walks and showcased impressive raw power in spurts, but now he's combining those two core competencies with noticeably improved contact ability — his career strikeout rate was 26.3% before this season; it's currently at 18.8% — enabling his overall production to soar. If Grisham can sustain anything close to this level of performance for the remainder of the season, he could be primed to cash in this winter as he enters free agency at age 29. For now, the Yankees can enjoy the fruits of this unexpected breakout. Let's stay in the Yankees' outfield and turn our focus to Bellinger, who was expected to play a far bigger role than Grisham in the New York lineup but has been relatively quiet thus far. Bellinger hit his 200th career home run on Sunday against the Rays, a benchmark certainly worth celebrating, albeit one that puts his unlikely career trajectory in perspective: Bellinger hit an astonishing 111 home runs over his first three big-league seasons, inviting the possibility that by this point, in his ninth season, he'd be approaching 300 home runs, not 200. More pertinently for the Yankees, it would be great if this milestone mash is a sign of a burgeoning power surge for Bellinger. Wednesday offered some evidence in support of that, as Bellinger launched his 201st career homer to tie the game and end Dylan Cease's no-hit bid in the seventh. No-hitter Bellinger to the second deck 💥 — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 That was Bellinger's third homer in his past eight games after he hit just two in his first 26 games with the Yankees. He has raised his OPS more than 100 points over those eight games, from a woeful .574 to a more respectable (but still disappointing) .676. If Bellinger is to continue being slotted into the heart of the Yankees' lineup, it's crucial for him to find his groove or risk falling out of favor with a fan base not exactly known for its patience. In San Diego's win Monday, it was Bogaerts who delivered the pivotal knock, with a two-run single against Luke Weaver to score two runs and give the Padres the 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. BOGEY IN THE BRONX! PADRES LEAD — Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) May 6, 2025 Bogaerts finally hit his first home run of the season a week earlier, and Monday marked his third multi-hit game in his past six, suggesting that perhaps the veteran shortstop is making strides toward being a meaningful presence in the middle of San Diego's lineup. But the rest of his time in the Bronx was less promising, with an 0-for-4 game Tuesday and a huge strikeout against Devin Williams with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Wednesday, squandering San Diego's chance to retake the lead. Last year, Bogaerts was a roughly league-average hitter while primarily playing second base, which was perfectly sufficient in the context of a roster that also featured Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim bolstering the team's offense and defense, respectively. This year's squad — especially with Jake Cronenworth still injured — doesn't have nearly the same depth, which puts more pressure on Bogaerts to perform at a high level in support of the superstars atop the lineup. So far, Bogaerts has struggled to meet that standard. His offensive production has underwhelmed (92 wRC+), and he has rated rather poorly on defense at shortstop. For a 32-year-old with another eight years and more than $200 million remaining on his contract, Bogaerts' current form is troubling to say the least.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
5 takeaways from Padres-Yankees: Carlos Rodón delivers again, Jackson Merrill returns and more
For decades, a visit to the Bronx from the San Diego Padres was an ultra-rarity. The franchise's first trip to face the Yankees came in the 1998 World Series, when the Padres were swept during the height of the late-'90s Yankees dynasty. The introduction of interleague play in 1997 opened the possibility of such a matchup occurring in the regular season, yet the Yankees hosted the Padres just three times over the next 24 years. Nowadays, however, thanks to the balanced schedule MLB instituted in 2023, we're guaranteed to see these bicoastal behemoths square off every season. And while the novelty of the matchup might be gone, there's still ample intrigue in watching two heavyweights battle it out — and this week's three-game series in the Bronx was no exception. The Padres stayed hot Monday, with a dramatic 4-3 win that included an hour-long rain delay. The Yankees held a 2-0 lead at the time of the stoppage, but an eventful eighth inning featuring a highly entertaining Mike Shildt ejection and subsequent four-run rally resulted in a sixth straight win for San Diego. The Yankees bounced back Tuesday with some late-inning offense of their own, exploding for 10 runs in the seventh, highlighted by an Austin Wells grand slam. And the rubber match Wednesday was a certified nail-biter. Dylan Cease and Max Fried were both tremendous for seven innings, the teams traded blows in the late frames, and the Yankees emerged victorious with a walk-off sac fly from rookie catcher J.C. Escarra in the bottom of the 10th. Here are five takeaways from this week's trio of contests between contenders. Before the Padres' comeback soured the vibes in the Bronx on Monday, New York got another standout performance from Rodón, a continuation of what has arguably been his most consistent run of form since he became a Yankee. It was the third time in his past four starts that Rodón did not allow an earned run, a stark contrast to last season, when he had just five such starts — let alone his disastrous debut campaign in 2023, when he had none. Opponents are hitting just .149 against Rodón this season, by far the lowest mark among qualified starting pitchers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto is second at .171). And while that will likely regress to some degree — Rodón's .181 BABIP against is surely too good to be true — it's broadly reflective of a pitcher who is performing at an exceptionally high level, and not in a way that is especially flukey. Rodón leads all AL pitchers with 57 strikeouts in 48 ⅔ innings, but garnering whiffs has never been the issue. What's more encouraging is how much more weak contact Rodón is inducing, exemplified by a 46.8% ground-ball rate (his highest since his rookie year) and a modest decrease in hard-hit rate allowed, from 40.9% last year to 37.8%. The introduction of a sinker to his arsenal, which he is throwing roughly 9% of the time, has certainly helped these efforts. After years of relying heavily on his four-seam fastball and slider, Rodón now has two additional weapons (changeup and sinker) to keep opponents off-balance. The strike-throwing has remained shoddy at times — Rodón's 10.6% walk rate is his highest since 2019 — but everything else appears to be trending in a positive direction for the 32-year-old southpaw. Few teams, if any, boast a duo of left-handers as formidable as the Yankees' pair of Rodón and Max Fried. Credit to the Padres for continuing to play well while Merrill was on the injured list due to a right hamstring strain, but Merrill's absence from the lineup has been rather glaring at times, so it was great to see him back in the cleanup spot Tuesday. The 22-year-old showed zero signs of rust in his return, seamlessly picking up where he left off from a blistering start before his injury. He collected four hits in the two games, including a titanic, 417-foot blast off Fried on Wednesday. It was a rare blemish for Fried amid a marvelous beginning to his Yankees tenure. Among starting pitchers, only Logan Webb has been more difficult to go yard against than Fried over the past six seasons, highlighting just how impressive Merrill's homer was. But that fact alone doesn't do Merrill justice. Since adding a sweeper in the 2023 season, Fried has thrown the pitch a total of 327 times in the big leagues. Just once has it resulted in a home run: Merrill on Wednesday. Welcome back, Jackson Merrill!His first home run since returning from the IL gives the @Padres the lead. — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 In fact, there has been only one other instance of a Fried sweeper being hit 350 feet — and that was also Merrill, earlier in the same game, when he flew out to deep left-center field. These special swings against an elite arm at the top of his game are exciting reminders of how good Merrill is and the degree to which he can elevate this Padres lineup. It didn't translate to Padres victories in his first couple of games back, but Merrill's superstar presence is sure to make a big difference for San Diego in the long run. Before Merrill took over as San Diego's center fielder, the job belonged primarily to Grisham, who from 2020 to '23 started 441 games in center for the Padres before he was dealt to the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade. In 2024, although he spent the entire season on the major-league roster, Grisham played a fairly limited role in his first season as a Yankee, appearing in just 76 games as a down-lineup option against certain right-handers and a defensive replacement in the later innings. He did not play once during the Yankees' run to the World Series. Entering his second year in New York, there was minimal indication that Grisham's role would increase beyond fourth-outfielder status. Even with Alex Verdugo gone, the addition of Cody Bellinger and the organization's commitment to playing time for rookie Jasson Domínguez made it difficult to imagine how Grisham would make much of an impact. Yet here we are on May 8, and Grisham has more home runs (10) than he did all of last season (9) and, against all odds, has seemingly passed Domínguez on the depth chart. Trent Grisham ties it with his 10th home run of the year! 💪 — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 Grisham cranked two homers against his former team this week, including a game-tying, pinch-hit blast Wednesday off San Diego's top setup arm, Jason Adam. Grisham has always drawn a lot of walks and showcased impressive raw power in spurts, but now he's combining those two core competencies with noticeably improved contact ability — his career strikeout rate was 26.3% before this season; it's currently at 18.8% — enabling his overall production to soar. If Grisham can sustain anything close to this level of performance for the remainder of the season, he could be primed to cash in this winter as he enters free agency at age 29. For now, the Yankees can enjoy the fruits of this unexpected breakout. Let's stay in the Yankees' outfield and turn our focus to Bellinger, who was expected to play a far bigger role than Grisham in the New York lineup but has been relatively quiet thus far. Bellinger hit his 200th career home run on Sunday against the Rays, a benchmark certainly worth celebrating, albeit one that puts his unlikely career trajectory in perspective: Bellinger hit an astonishing 111 home runs over his first three big-league seasons, inviting the possibility that by this point, in his ninth season, he'd be approaching 300 home runs, not 200. More pertinently for the Yankees, it would be great if this milestone mash is a sign of a burgeoning power surge for Bellinger. Wednesday offered some evidence in support of that, as Bellinger launched his 201st career homer to tie the game and end Dylan Cease's no-hit bid in the seventh. No-hitter Bellinger to the second deck 💥 — MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025 That was Bellinger's third homer in his past eight games after he hit just two in his first 26 games with the Yankees. He has raised his OPS more than 100 points over those eight games, from a woeful .574 to a more respectable (but still disappointing) .676. If Bellinger is to continue being slotted into the heart of the Yankees' lineup, it's crucial for him to find his groove or risk falling out of favor with a fan base not exactly known for its patience. In San Diego's win Monday, it was Bogaerts who delivered the pivotal knock, with a two-run single against Luke Weaver to score two runs and give the Padres the 4-3 lead in the eighth inning. BOGEY IN THE BRONX! PADRES LEAD — Talking Friars (@TalkingFriars) May 6, 2025 Bogaerts finally hit his first home run of the season a week earlier, and Monday marked his third multi-hit game in his past six, suggesting that perhaps the veteran shortstop is making strides toward being a meaningful presence in the middle of San Diego's lineup. But the rest of his time in the Bronx was less promising, with an 0-for-4 game Tuesday and a huge strikeout against Devin Williams with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Wednesday, squandering San Diego's chance to retake the lead. Last year, Bogaerts was a roughly league-average hitter while primarily playing second base, which was perfectly sufficient in the context of a roster that also featured Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim bolstering the team's offense and defense, respectively. This year's squad — especially with Jake Cronenworth still injured — doesn't have nearly the same depth, which puts more pressure on Bogaerts to perform at a high level in support of the superstars atop the lineup. So far, Bogaerts has struggled to meet that standard. His offensive production has underwhelmed (92 wRC+), and he has rated rather poorly on defense at shortstop. For a 32-year-old with another eight years and more than $200 million remaining on his contract, Bogaerts' current form is troubling to say the least.
