MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

[Bgrd1080]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Everything is Starting to Click in Seattle

The Seattle Mariners dominated the Toronto Blue Jays with a decisive 8-0 victory, powered by an outstanding pitching performance from Logan Gilbert to win the series 2-1. Gilbert threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just three hits while striking out five and walking one.

Offensively, the Mariners were led by Luke Raley, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double, and four RBIs. Cal Raleigh added to the scoring with a 2-for-4 performance, including a home run and two RBIs. Victor Robles contributed with a 3-for-5 night, while Ryan Bliss chipped in with two hits.

On the Blue Jays' side, José Berríos struggled on the mound, allowing six hits and four earned runs over 5.2 innings. Toronto's offense was quiet, managing only three hits, with Bo Bichette’s double being the lone extra-base hit.

Seattle's stars, Arozarena is hurt and Julio isn't doing much, but the role players like Raley, Raleigh, Moore and Crawford have stepped up. Then with the top notch pitching staff, that's all Seattle really needs as it's rare to see The M's give up more than 3 or 4 runs in a game.
Eventually they will need Julio to figure it out as one can only guess how long things will continue to break their way, but for now they'll just smile and enjoy the ride.

Additional Notes:
-J.P. Crawford extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a single in the ninth inning.
-Dylan Moore continues to stay hot, hitting .480 over the last seven games.
-The Mariners (14-8) lead the AL West by one game over the Texas Rangers (14-9).

Next up, Seattle travels to Fenway Park to take on the struggling Boston Red Sox (10-14).

[MarkL1987]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Back to back 3-3 weeks were followed by two consecutive 4-2 weeks. At home, the Jays dropped two of three against Boston before sweeping a Jose Ramirez-less Cleveland Guardians team. (Ramirez is on the IL with a broken shin atm, hence why he did not play in either of those games) Then, it was off to the West Coast where the jays faced off against the Angels. Bowden Francis was in line to grab a win in game one, but Ryan Burr was a little too wild in the 8th inning, and the Angels ended up taking game one in extras. Toronto did bounce back for a 4-3 win in game 2, but then both Mike Trout and Mickey Moniak combined to do serious damage to the Jays in game three resulting in Toronto losing that series. How did the Jays respond? By completely running over the Mariners to win all three games in that set, including a 14-2 thumping in the final game of the road trip. Toronto now comes back home to face off against Tampa and Detroit. Another roster move has also been made as Alek Manoah was sent to Buffalo due to his poor performance on the mound this season. Easton Lucas was called up to take over the roster spot.

[Rocket32]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

It’s been a long time. I’ve ended up dropping my franchises and the game pretty quickly each of the last few years, I’d say mostly due to franchise having become a pretty stale experience lately, but I think I’m finally back to The Show with the presentation additions and revamped offseason. Having a blast so far.

Thought about a few other teams like the Padres and Giants, but I ended up back with my Yankees. There’s been a decent amount of turnover since I last really dove into a franchise with them, and it should at least be a bit more of a challenge than it’s been for many years now, especially with the Cole and Stanton injuries year 1.



Yankees Take Two Of Three From Brewers To Open 2025 Season:


It was a hard fought 3 game set to kick off the season, with the Brewers contact and speed heavy offense giving them fits, while wind suppressed the long ball in games 1 and 3, but the Yankees would ultimately take the series win. In game 1, it was the 7, 8, and 9 trio of Dominguez, Rice, and Volpe, taking it the Brewers in the 2nd, as they each knocked in a run. Temp Ace Max Fried would show some rust in his season and Yankee debut, allowing 3 runs and 2 walks over a short 4.1 inning outing. A go ahead RBI single from Judge in the 6th would be enough for an eventual 4-3 victory, as Hamilton, Effross, Leiter Jr, Cruz, and Williams, combined to shut the Brew Crew out the rest of the way.

Game 2 was ugly, as Nestor Cortes made a triumphant return to the Bronx, tossing 6 scoreless innings. Meanwhile, Yankees starter Luis Gil would struggle with his command in the 1st, allowing 4 runs before settling in, eventually leaving in the 5th after a lead off single. The runner would score off Effross, and a scoreless 6th from Leiter Jr later, Will Warren would enter to eat innings down 6-0. He kindly threw some batting practice, getting battered for 7 runs over just 2 IP. Brewers win 13-0.

Game 3 was another battle, as Milwaukee struck first for 3 runs off Clarke Schmidt in the 2nd. Unlike game 2, the Bombers would immediately respond in the bottom half with a Goldschmidt 2 run HR, and an RBI single from
Judge to tie it at 3-3 against Tobias Myers. A pitching duel would ensue, with Schmidt flying after 5, and Myers leaving after 4. The Brewers bullpen would crack first as Austin Wells singled in Bellinger in the 7th to make it 4-3 Yankees. Following several innings of dominance from Leiter Jr, Cruz, and Weaver, Devin Williams would slam the door in his former clubs face a second time. Yankees win 4-3.


Around The League:

Las Vegas A’s of Sacramento Take 3 of 4 From Mariners.


Next Up:
With a Monday travel day, the Yankees head West to take on the Diamondbacks for another 3 game set.

[dragster646]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

2025 Cleveland Guardians

Steven Kwan (7-13, 3RBI in series) finally finds his stride, leads the Guardians in LA

Game 1: W 8-6 , Win: Shane Bieber, Loss: Jack Kochanowicz
Game 2: L 4-3; Win: Ben Joyce, Loss: Cade Smith
Game 3: W 6-1; Win: Joey Cantillo, Loss; Kyle Hendricks

The Guardians arrived in Orange County to assist the Angels in Opening Day festivities. Things started well for the hosts, as Jorge Soler would hit a two run home run in the first inning. The Cleveland offense would heat up, with home runs from Jose Ramirez, Carlos Santana, and a surprise late bomb from Austin Hedges. Cleveland would have fourteen hits in total, and while the Angels attempted a late rally, the Guardians would prevail as Emmanuel Clase earned his first save of the year.

Game Two started out well for Cleveland as they pulled out to a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the second. All three of Cleveland’s runs came on base hits, which will most likely be their offensive approach throughout the season. The Angels would then score two in the second and one in the third to tie the game. Reid Detmers would settle in after a rough start and keep the Guardians off the board. Jose Quijada, Ben Joyce and Kenley Jansen would each go a scoreless inning in relief for LA. Gavin Williams had a solid start, but did end up giving up the three before handing the ball over to Jakob Junis. Junis once again was fantastic, going 1.1 innings, allowing a hit and striking out two. The game would be decided in the 8th, when Cade Smith allowed pinch runner Scott Kingery to score on a sac fly by Joan Moncada. Cleveland would be unable to respond, as Kenley Jansen picked up the save.

Game Three was all Cleveland, as they jumped on Kyle Hendricks right from the get go. Steven Kwan singled and Will Brennan doubled before Jose Ramirez hit a sac fly followed by an RBI groundout from Carlos Santana to give Cleveland an early two run lead. They would extend the lead in the fourth with more small ball, with Brayan Rocchio and Steven Kwan driving in runs. The Guardians then turned to a power approach in the sixth when Carlos Santana and David Fry went back to back, giving Cleveland a 6-0 advantage. LA’s lone run would come on Mike Trout’s second home run of the series, coming off of Ben Lively; who came in following another strong start from Joey Cantillo. He would work 5.2 shutout innings, allowing just four hits while walking one and striking out six.


The Guardians will now have an off day before their Home Opener against the Chicago White Sox, who have started the season with a surprising 6-3 record.

[Bgrd1080]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Red Sox Walk Off Mariners in Thrilling Late-Inning Comeback

BOSTON – In a dramatic late-game finish, the Boston Red Sox stormed back against the Seattle Mariners, securing a thrilling 4-3 walk-off victory at Fenway Park. Triston Casas led the charge for Boston, crushing two home runs and driving in three runs, earning him Player of the Game honors.

The Mariners jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the third inning and adding two more in the fifth. Seattle’s offense was led by Cal Raleigh, who drove in three runs, and Julio Rodríguez, who added two hits and two RBIs. However, the Red Sox refused to go quietly, slowly chipping away at the deficit.

By the bottom of the eighth, Boston had clawed back to within striking distance, thanks to key contributions from Wilyer Abreu, who went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, and Rob Refsnyder, who added an RBI double.

In the ninth inning, the Mariners called on Andrés Muñoz to close out the game, but the hard-throwing right-hander struggled. With two runners on, Casas delivered a towering home run to right field, sending the Fenway faithful into a frenzy and sealing the Red Sox’s walk-off win.

Josh Winckowski picked up the victory for Boston with two strong innings of relief, allowing no runs and striking out two. Meanwhile, Muñoz was saddled with the loss after surrendering four earned runs without recording an out.

The win marks an impressive comeback for the Red Sox, who attempt to build momentum in the early stages of the season. Seattle, despite showing flashes of offensive firepower, will look to regroup after a frustrating bullpen collapse. Where Andrés Munoz who is closing and covering for the injured Matt Brash who should debut this season in early May.

With this thrilling walk-off, Boston once again proved that no game is over until the final out at Fenway Park.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Cardinals get first series win in over a month against the Mets

The Cardinals (13-22) got a series win against the Mets in St.Louis over the weekend. The Cardinals are still 9 games back of the Reds in the Central Division.

The Cardinals were a win away on Sunday from a sweep, but couldn't pull it off. Still the Cardinals earned their first series win in over a month after beating the Mets on Friday (2-0) and Saturday in extra innings (4-3).

Miles Mikolas pitched his best game of the year on Friday night tossing 8 innings of shutout baseball while yielding just 4 hits. He did give up 3 walks, but was able to get out of jams he found himself in along the way. The Cards only put up 2 runs thanks to Nolan Gorman 2 run double in the 5th. Ryan Helsley closed things out in the 9th.

Saturday was Steven Matz and he pitched just as well tossing 6 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 8 hits with 6 strikeouts. The bullpen, Jo Jo Romero, would blow the lead in the 8th when he gave up a solo homerun to Jeff McNeil that tied the game at 3. A scoreless 9th by both teams would lead to a Lars Nootbaar RBI single in the 10th to walk it off.

Sunday the Cardinals turned to Michael McGreevy with Gordon Graceffo on the IL. McGreevy would get rocked, going 2 2/3 innings with 4 walks, 6 hits and 7 runs given up. Zach Thompson and Andre Pallante would each pitch 3 innings of shutout baseball to help get the Cardinals thru the mess. John King would face 3 batters giving up 3 runs on 3 hits as the lead ballooned to 10-2. The Cardinals offense was powered by Willson Contreras' 2 solo homerun game.

The Cardinals stay home to start the week and will welcome in the Pirates for a 3 game series before hitting the road for a 3 game weekend series with the Nationals in Washington.

[DarthRambo]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

I decided to go ahead and begin a franchise and no plans to restart this one. I will do my Reds franchise after a few roster updates. For this one I spun a wheel, eliminating team by team until there was one left. Well, there were a few teams there's no way I was using (A's, White Sox, and Rays), and were eliminated off the wheel from the start.

Anyways the winning team is the Toronto Blue Jays! I never played with them before. I've done franchises with Baltimore when Chris Davis was there and hitting HRs, and I ran a Red Sox franchise a few years ago. Exciting lineup, not a very good rotation at all IMO. Bullpen is okay, but definitely suspect.

Now to preface how I'll be playing through my franchise this year. Last year using quick counts I played the first and last game of every series. Well, I'm not using QC anymore or at least not this year. So I know there's absolutely no way I can do that same thing and actually finish a season with every game lasting a minimum of one hour or so. This year I'll be playing every game, however I will use the custom game entry settings to play every game. Tried it before the game came out on MLB 24 and found a good setting that allows me to play a big role in outcomes of each game while still finishing up in under 35-40min. If it's a blowout the game simulates a lot and the game can finish within 15min.

Now I've already gotten through 20 games in year one. Instead of giving a overall summary I'll go back and write up the box scores etc for each series like I normally have on this thread. So I have quite a bit to catch up on here and will be posting fairly quickly.

Sorry for the long winded post with no real franchise stuff lol. Love reading through these and seeing how others go along with their own franchise worlds.

P.S. please everyone I plead for easier reading use paragraphs lol. Pretty please?!

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Tapatalk

[DarthRambo]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Super realistic if you ask me. It's going to be a long season for Cardinals fans.

Reds fan here and I sure hope so! [emoji120] Lol

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Tapatalk

[dragster646]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Reds fan here and I sure hope so! [emoji120] Lol

Sent from my Pixel 8a using Tapatalk

Brutal!

Excited to see what the Reds can do with Tito at the helm. I'm a little bitter about the "I'm going to retire from coaching but I hope to return to the Cleveland organization in some facet in the future...JUST KIDDING" deal, but I love Tito and can't really fault him for having a change of heart.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Cardinals sweep the Pirates for first series sweep of 2025

The Cardinals (16-22) got their first series sweep of the 2025 season as they swept the Pirates in a 3 game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals have now climbed to within 7 games of the Central leading Reds.

Pitching was the key to the series. Sonny Gray, Erick Fedde, and Miles Mikolas all tossed gems in their respective starts. Gray and Fedde each went 7 innings while Mikolas went 6. The only blemish was on the bullpen in Tuesday nights game when the Cards led 4-0 heading to the 9th, and Jo Jo Romero left with the bases loaded and one out. Helsley came in and got the 2nd out, but then gave up a game tying grand slam to Spencer Horowitz. Thankfully John King would get thru the 10th allowing Jordan Walker to drive home Matt Koperniack for the walk off win in the bottom half of the inning.

Willson Contreras and Jose Fermin both had big series while Brendan Donovan just continues to slump. Donovan has one hit in his last 19 at-bats.

The Cardinals are off on Thursday as they travel to Washington for a 3 game weekend series with the Nationals.

[DarthRambo]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

**Blue Jays offense leads the way to a season opening series win (3-1) over the Orioles**

Game one: Blue Jays (11 15 0) vs Orioles (4 5 1)

W- K. Gausman (1-0) 6.1ip 5h 4er 1bb 5k
L- K. Bradish (0-1) 4.1ip 8h 6er 1bb 2k

HRs- V. Guerrero (1), A. Santander (1,2), W. Wagner (1); G. Henderson (1), Tyler O'Neill (1), Jordan Westburg (1)


Game two: Blue Jays (5 11 1) vs Orioles (8 9 0)

W- Z. Eflin (1-0) 7ip 7h 1er 1bb 0k
L- B. Francis (0-1) 3ip 7h 6er 1bb 4k
S- F. Bautista (1)

HRs- A. Kirk (1); C. Cowser (1), J. Mateo (1)

Game three: Blue Jays (5 11 0) vs Orioles (1 5 0)

W- J. Berrios (1-0) 7ip 5h 1er 0bb 7k
L- F. Montas (3-2) 4.2ip 6h 7er 1bb 4k

HRs- V. Guerrero (2); C. Cowser (2)

Game four: Blue Jays (3 12 0) vs Orioles (0 5 0)

W- Y. Garcia (1-0), SP M. Scherzer 5ip 1h 0er 4bb 4k
L- Y. Cano (0-1), SP C. Morton 5.2ip 8h 0er 0bb 4k
S- J. Hoffman (1)

HRs- W. Wagner (2)
__________________________________________________ ___________

**The Jays continue their homestand to open the season vs the Nationals**

Up next: Blue Jays (3-1) vs Nationals (1-2)

Game one: Chris Bassitt vs Jake Irvin

Game two: Kevin Gausman vs Mike Soroka

Game three: Bowden Francis vs DJ Herz

[Cyrus09]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

The 2025 Seattle Mariners

If you ask me the Red Sox are the best AL team this season, at least on paper. But since Baseball is not played on paper, that doesn't matter.

Series Recap: Red Sox
Game 1: L 1-6
Game 2: W 9-7
Game 3: W 4-3
The Pink Gorilla Games high performer of the series: Victor Robles. 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBI, 1 HR in 2 games

The first game was weird: Bryan Woo had a no-hitter going into the 5th inning, then the Red Sox hit 3 solo shots.
On the other side of the ball we made a ton of solid contact, but the defense of Boston was right there every time.

Game 2 was insane. We scored 7 runs in the first 4 innings, Boston couldn't get anything going. They scored 3 runs between the 3rd and 6th, but that felt more like a cosmetic score to save face.
Until the 9th inning.
I had to take a screenshot to get everything that happened.



We could not stop them, it was so annoying. And the game just did not want to stop: In the 13th inning it was the struggling J.P. Crawford who hit a 2 run homer to finally get us home.

The third game then was dominated by Luis Castillo on the pitching side and Julio on offense. But because that looks to be a Red Sox thing they came back again in the 9th, but not all the way to steal the series win for the Mariners.

Julio is playing in MVP form: 25 games, .314 AVG, 6 home runs, 7 additional extra base hits, 11 steals. It's so much fun playing with him!

[Ghost Of The Year]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

This is one of the questions that intrigues me every year. Lasyt year it was Cleveland's Tristan McKenzie, this year its Yankees Luis Gil. A week into the game, how well are you Yankee guys faring with Gil as a starting pitcher and his three pitch selection? How well are you guys in the AL East faring against him, you Boston Baltimore Toronto and Tampa guys? Last year on the default roster Cleveland's Tristan was somewhere in the low 80's Over All and now this year he's dropped to low 60's Over All. I heard people last year say it didn't hurt McKenzie only having three pitches as a starter but it certainly didn't help him either.

I'll be interested in seeing if batters catch on to RoY Gil this time around with more knowledge of what to expect, and it contributes to a sophomore slump. Or maybe he exceeds all expectations and by the end of the year he's sitting as a 90's Over All pitcher. If he is, I sure wouldn't mind having him come across town to play for me and my pitching hungry Mets. But I thought the same about McKenzie. Who knows, maybe he will bounce back this year.

[DarthRambo]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

**Blue Jays pitching helps team sweep Nationals at home**

Game one: TOR (4 9 1) vs Nationals (3 11 0)

W- C. Bassitt (1-0) 6ip 6h 1er 1bb 5k
L- J. Irvin (0-1) 5ip 8h 4er 0bb 2k
S- J. Hoffman (2)
HRs- N. Lowe (1)

Game two: TOR (10 16 0) vs Nationals (6 11 1)

W- K. Gausman (2-0) 5.1ip 7h 4er 4bb 5k
L- M. Soroka (0-1) 3.2ip 7h 6er 2bb 4k
HRs- V. Guerrero (2), A. Santander (3), E. Clement (1); L. Garcia (1), K. Ruiz (1)

Game three: TOR (3 8 0) vs Nationals (2 7 0)

W- B. Francis (1-0) 5.1ip 4h 1er 2bb 2k
L- DJ Herz (1-1) 4ip 4h 3er 1bb 2k
S- J. Hoffman (3)
HRs- G. Springer (1)

__________________________________________________ ___________
Up next: Blue Jays (6-1) @ Mets (4-3)

Game one: Jose Berrios vs David Peterson
Game two: Max Scherzer vs Clay Holmes
Game three: Chris Bassitt vs Sean Manaea

[reyes the roof]

Re: MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

Mets finish their season opening road trip at 4-2 after taking 2 of three from both the Astros and Marlins. Jose Siri and Mark Vientos lead the team with 8 RBIs while Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker both have 7. I'm struggling a bit to get my timing down with Soto, but he's so good that I've been able to crush three home runs with him on pitches I timed pretty poorly. The pitching staff has been an adventure, they either hold the opposing team to 2-3 runs or give up 10 plus