MLB The Show 25 Franchise Discussion

[Itsma806]

2025 Houston Astros 07/18-07/20

Overall Record: 52-47 (2nd AL West/2nd AL West/2.5 behind Texas Rangers

Game Result:

Game 1
Mariners-4
Astros-3

Game 2
Mariners-4
Astros-3

Game 3
Mariners-11
Astros-5

Astros come out of ASB with similar streak continuing.

The Astros have the weirdest streak going since June. Houston hasnt been good enough against poorer opponents (record wise) but have been great against better opponents and even first place teams.

The most recent example is before and after the All-Star Break. Before the break, Houston swept the Texas Ranges to bring them closer to the first spot in the division. However, in their first series after the break, Houston was swept by the Seattle Mariners who at the time, started the series 4th in the division and below .500.

Houston lost games one and two by the same score, 4-3. Hunter Brown (6.0 IP/8 H/4 R/1 BB/4 SO) took the loss in game one and Ronel Blanco (7.0 IP/8 H/4 R/1 BB/9 SO) took the loss in game two.

That left Spencer Arrighetti to start game three in hopes of the Astros avoiding the sweep. That was not to be however as Spencer had possibly he worst outing of the year. He managed just 2.1 innings while he allowed eight hits. In those 2.1 innings, Arrighetti allowed four homeruns to four different players Luke Raley (12), Rowdy Tellez (2), Julio Rodriguez (15) and Randy Arozarena (8). Meanwhile, at least to that point, Bryce Miller was great and hadnt allowed a run.

Lance Mcculers JR came in in relief of the struggling starting pitcher and was mostly really good. But he too had a bad inning in the eighth as he allowed three homeruns of his own.

The Mariners went on to win the game 11-5 and the series, 3-0.

Luckily enough for Houston, Texas was also swept by the Tigers and the divisional deficit still sits at 2.5 games.

The Astros will now finish out their roadtrip with three in Arizona (53-47/2nd NL West/10.0 behind LA Dodgers).

[FluffyTonka]

My experience has been different in that I think the trade/roster logic is pretty damn good.

All the guys you mentioned are still on their respective teams and I’m in the latter part of May 2026 (year 2)

I don’t know if what roster one uses makes any difference but I’m using the default base roster that launched with the game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i had some baffling trades, so much so i restarted my season. 4 games in, red sox put david hamiltion (SS) on the 60 day IL with a season ending acl. then they trade the number 1 SS prospect marcelo mayer to rockies for charlie condon, a RF in an outfield that already can't make room for the roman empire. baffling.

[FluffyTonka]

With the recent call up of marcelo mayer to the redsox, and the fact i was 3 games into my franchise, i started over with the new live rosters and the white sox.

it occurred to me, i've never ever used a superstar in this game. always find the worst teams and play about 5 seasons bring them along. so to try something different, i traded for Oswaldo Cabrrera from the Yanks, and made him a full time SS, and gave him all of Francisco Lindor's stats, swing, kit and celebrations.

i also traded out some prospects for Tanner Houck, Craig Kimbrel and Jake Meyers. In the early doors of the season i think i'll trade for a RP that can be my set up guy too.

First game with Cabrrera and he homered twice and batted in all 5 of my runs in a 5-4 win. My current pen gave up 3 runs over 3 innings after Houck pitched a gem, giving up 2 runs but striking out 9 over 6 innings.

More to come

[countryboy]

Cardinals drop series to Braves in Atlanta

RECORD: 26-24
DIVISION: 2.5 GB
WILDCARD: 3 GB

The Cardinals dropped their 3 game series to the Braves in Atlanta to begin the week. The Braves pitching kept the Cards bats quiet and the Braves bats came up with timely hit after timely hit to win the series.

Griffin Canning started things off on Monday and got a no decision after 5 innings as he gave up 2 runs on 7 hits with 3 strikeouts and 6 walks. Canning left with the game tied at 2, but Chad Green hit a batter and gave up a single to Albies before Marcell Ozuna launched a 3 run bomb into Big Mac Land that put the Braves up 5-2, which would be the final score. The Cardinals got their two runs on a single hit by Willson Contreras who hit a two run line drive homerun into the left field seats off of Reynaldo Lopez, who just baffled the Cards thru 7 innings giving up the lone hit, 2 runs and striking out 9. The Braves bullpen would retire the Cardinals 6 up 6 down to close out the game.

Matthew Liberatore started on Tuesday and was knocked around pretty much every one of his 6 innings of work. Liberatore grinded thru but took the loss giving up 5 runs on 10 hits with 4 strikeouts. Chris Sale dominated the Cardinals bats tossing a complete game shutout allowing just 4 hits over his 9 innings of work and striking out 11.

Wednesday was the only game in which the Cards bats showed any life but still managed just 5 hits, but the Braves weren't much better as they hit the ball hard, but right at people, plush hit into 3 inning ending double plays. Dustin May would get thru 6.1 allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with just 2 strikeouts. The two runs came off the bat of Ronald Acuna Jr's 2 run double in the 4th. Alec Burleson was the hot bat for the Cardinals as was Lars Nootbaar. Each recorded 3 RBI's on 2 hits each. The Cardinals would avoid the sweep with a 6-3 victory.

The Cardinals will now travel to Chicago for a showdown with the first place Cubs.

[countryboy]

Cardinals take series from Cubs to move within 1/2 game of divisional lead

RECORD: 28-25
DIVISION: 1/2 GB
WILDCARD: 2 GB

The Cardinals took 2 games of an early season pivotal series against the defending World Series Champion and division leading Cubs in Chicago over the weekend. The Cardinals are now within a half game of the lead.

Sonny Gray continued his strong performances on Friday as he continues to be in the top 3 in strikeouts in the NL as he recorded 9 strikeouts over 7 innings earning the win as the Cardinals took down the Cubs 5-1. Jordan Walker had his first hit in the past 4 games, which was a grand slam in the 5th to put the Cards up 4-0. Ryan Fernandez pitched the last 6 outs retiring the Cubs on just 14 pitches for those 6 outs.

Jordan Montgomery got rocked in his start on Saturday as the Cubs put up 11 runs in the 4 innings that Montgomery pitched, as the Cubs blasted the Cards 14-1. The Cards lone run was a sac fly by Alec Burleson in the 5th, to make it 11-1 at the time. Chad Green would walk two hitters and then give up a 3 run homerun to Dansby Swanson in his lone 1/3 inning of work.

Sunday was the Cardinals turn to the slug the baseball as they beat the Cubs 15-4 securing 21 hits, 5 of which were homeruns. They also scored 4 doubles and a triple on the afternoon. Griffin Canning was good thru 6 innings but was pulled due to a high pitch count. Canning had given up a run on 4 hits in his work. Sam Hentges gave up 3 runs out of the bullpen, but Jordan Hicks and Luke Weaver were able to stop the rally and secure the 15-4 win. Nolan Arenado and Alec Burleson each had 5 RBIs and 2 homeruns on the afternoon.

The Cardinals will return home to face the Diamondbacks for a 3 game series to begin the week before welcoming the Cubs for another 3 game series this weekend.

[Cyrus09]

2025 Milwaukee Brewers

It took 1 series to play the most Brewers game possible!

Series Recap: vs Royals
Game 1: W 7-1
Game 2: W 1-0
Game 3: L 0-2

Game 1 was very unusual: We hit 4 home runs in the game Chourio, Yelich(2x, his first hits of the season), Hoskins. The Royals actually took the lead after a hit by Pasquatino brought Witt home in the 4th, but we scored twice in the 5th and 6th inning to put the game out of reach. Very good pitching peformance by Myers and the bullpen only giving up 5 hits.

The second game had a stunning combined 4 hits for both teams: 3 on the side of the Royals. Sal Frelick, who scored the only run of the game got on base by a hit by a pitch, then stole base and was brought home with 2 sac plays. All of that in the 8th inning of course, so we only had to bring it home in the first half of the 9th. Megill got his first save of the season.

The next game both teams got better, but not by much. 6 combined hits, 3 on each side in the duel of Ragans vs Peralta. The fans didn't get that much exciting action though because the Royals scored both runs in the first inning. A solo shot by Maikel Garcia to open the game, Canha who got on base at the next at-bat was broguth home by Freddy Fermin.

With our 4-2 start to the season we actually are in 4th place in the division, since the Cards and Pirates did not lose a game yet. Next up we get the Reds though for 4 games at home. Let's hope the offense gets on the same level as the pitching in those games.

[FluffyTonka]

ChiSox 2025 Season

Opening Series

Chicago took the series, but couldn't solve Tyler Anderson and complete the sweep.

Chicago 5 LAA 4
Chicago 6 LAA 2
Chicago 1 LAA 7

Cabrera cooled in game 3, going 0-4 and taking his BAA from .475 to .250. T. Anderson spun a gem, keeping the batters off balance all night long spotting his changeup on a dime at will. Mike Trout woke up from his first two hitless games scorching two HR's and and collecting 4RBIs in a 3-4 effort.

Chicago now hosts the Twins who also share a 2-1 record in a division matchup where the Chicago offense tries to get something going against the Twins pitching. Rookie Sean Burke takes the mound against 24 year old David Festa in a battle of young guns with first at 1:10pm tomorrow.

[countryboy]

Cardinals offense struggles in series loss to Diamondbacks

RECORD: 29-27
DIVISION: 1.5 GB
WILDCARD: 2 GB

The Cardinals offense struggled in the 3 game series with the Diamondbacks to begin the week. The Cardinals were shutout both Monday and Tuesday night and only managed a combined 7 hits in those 3 games. The real downside is that the Cardinals pitching staff pitched well in the series, almost too well to lose 2 games. The Cardinals pitching staff gave up a combined 8 runs over the 3 games.

At least on Wednesday the offense did something and the pitching staff maintained its strong performance as the Cards would win 3-2 to avoid the sweep.

The series took an even more deflating turn on Wednesday when Lars Nootbaar left the game in the 3rd with what was later determined to be a torn pectoral. Nootbaar will likely miss 3 months which will put him back in the lineup late August.

The Cardinals remain at home as they welcome the Cubs to town for another 3 game weekend series with the Central Division leaders.

Lars Nootbaar to 60 Day IL - Chase Davis recalled from Memphis

As mentioned Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbaar was placed on the 60 Day IL following Wednesday's game with a torn pectoral muscle. Nootbaar will be out past the all-star break and likely to return in late August. Nootbaar was having a bounce back season hitting .282 with 5 homeruns and 19 RBIs. He was striving as the Cards new leadoff hitter and his success lead to more offensive production from a lineup that sputtered for the first month or so of the season.

With Nootbaar out the Cardinals will call up Chase Davis to fill the roster vacancy. Its expected that recently acquired Dylan Carlson will now be the everyday left fielder.

[dragster646]

I’m struggling keeping an interest with my Twins franchise. I’m currently 32-18, six games up in the division. I see S&B has an updated slider set which looks to eliminate the problems I’m having (mostly opponents offense, or lack of), so I’m going to run with that for a bit and see if it can improve my experience. If not, I may need to start over again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mryan2]

SF CHRONICLE SPORTS




Holding the Line: Giants Lead NL Wild Card After 120 Games Amid Injury Chaos

By Jake Ellison | SF Chronicle Sports August 10th, 2028

SAN FRANCISCO — There’s nothing graceful about the San Francisco Giants’ 2028 season. It’s been messy. It’s been patched together with duct tape and depth. But it’s also been resilient.

Through 120 games, the Giants sit at 67–53—two games back of the Dodgers in the NL West, but more critically, clinging to the top Wild Card spot with a rotation that’s steady and a bullpen now bolstered by a quiet but impactful trade deadline.

The Giants made two key moves: acquiring 35-year-old closer Jeff Hoffman from the Rays (2.44 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 22 saves) and versatile middle infielder José Caballero (.246 AVG, 12 SB) to help weather the extended absences of Nick Loftin and Osleivis Basabe.

“We’ve had every reason to fold. But we didn’t,” said manager Bob Melvin after Sunday’s win. “We trust the guys in that room.”

The Giants’ pitching has kept them afloat. Nick Lodolo (2.74 ERA), Kyle Harrison (2.69), and Logan Webb (3.88) form a steady trio, while Clase and Hoffman may now be the most dangerous 8-9 combo in the National League.

Offensively, it’s been streaky but enough—Jung Hoo Lee (.257 AVG), Pete Alonso (26 HR), and Willy Adames (20 HR) have done most of the heavy lifting. With Patrick Bailey and Kyle Tucker both tracking for late-season returns, there’s belief this team hasn’t peaked yet.

“Every game matters now,” said Jeff Hoffman in his postgame scrum. “I didn’t come here to hang on. I came here to win.”

The Giants may not be the healthiest team in baseball, but they’re dangerous. And come October, that’s all that matters.



95.7 THE GAME – “The Bay Wake-Up” Morning Show

Hosts: Bonta Hill, Joe Shasky, and Kate Scott

Bonta: “67 wins. Top Wild Card. Melvin has this patched-up squad punching above its weight. Gotta give it up for to the Front Office. Hoffman’s been nails. That’s a vet who’s been there before.”

Shasky: “I love what Caballero brings. Defense. Baserunning. Doesn’t try to do too much. The kind of glue guy you win with while your studs are in casts.”

Kate: “Losing Tucker, Bailey, Tibbs—all within weeks—and still finding ways to win? That’s heart. That’s leadership. That’s a front office that didn’t panic.”

Fan Caller “Lenny from Alameda”: “People keep doubting this team, but this is a group built for October. Clase and Hoffman in the 8th and 9th is lights out. Tucker and Bailey come back? Watch out.”

Fan Caller “Jen in Daly City”: “Melvin’s pulling all the right strings. But can we please get Alonso going again? .221 ain’t gonna cut it in a Wild Card game.”

Kate: “Let the man heat up at the right time. October legends are born in late August.”

Bonta: “One thing’s for sure: this Giants team has guts. And guts win playoff games.”

[Arkansas Ranger]

Texas Rangers Season 2 update MOM

The Texas Rangers head in to the final 10 games of the season at 81-71. They are 3 games behind the Mariners and just a half game out of the Wild Card. Coming off a 6 game winning streak, Texas closed the gap in the playoff race. Scottie McAlpin has been surprisingly the best pitcher on the staff. His 3.1 era and 13 wins have paced the team. Meanwhile Seagar, Burger, and Langford anchor the offense. It will be pins and needles as we try to finish strong and get to the post season. Will update when the Playoffs start

[Itsma806]

2025 Houston Astros 07/21-07/23

Overall Record: 53-49 (2nd AL West/ 2.5 behind Texas Rangers)

Game Results:

Game 1
Astros-4
Diamondbacks-3

Game 2
Diamondbacks-9
Astros-2

Game 3
Diamondbacks-4
Astros-0

Astros fall to 1-5 since ASB with 1-2 series loss to D-Backs.

Lets just get this out of the way. Eugenio Suarez is a thorn in my side. He went 6/12 in the series with 9 RBI's in the series that led to the 2-1 series victory for the D-Backs.

Houston won the first game, 4-3 behind a strong starting performance from Cristian Javier who went 6 innings, allowed just 3 hits and 1 run. Offensively, Yordan Alvarez and Ben Gamel combined for two, two rbi HRs to give the Astros their only win of the series, 4-3.

Games two and three saw the Astros lose, 9-2 and 4-0 as Arizona took the series 2-1 and had the Astros hoping for better results at home.

Speaking of which, Houston will return home for the remainder of July. First, they will welcome the Athletics (44-60/5th AL West/12,5 games back) to town. So far, Houston is 2-3 against the Athletics in 2025.

[Arkansas Ranger]

Texas Rangers Season 2 MOM.

Well it was one of the most frustrating years I have ever had on the show. With 6 games remaining against Houston and the Angels both who were out of the race we managed to win 2 of 6 games. Going in to those 2 series we were tied for the last wild card spot. We went 85-77 and a dissapointing end of a season. The bats just went cold. Here is a look at the postseason

Wild Card
Yankees over Red Sox in 3
Mariners over Guardians in 3
Phillies over Dodgers in 3
Padres over Brewers in 3

Division
Yankees over Orioles in 5
Twins over Mariners in 3
Braves over Phillies in 5
Padres over Giants in 5

Championship
Twins over Yankees in 7
Braves over Padres in 5

World Series
Braves over Twins in 7

The MVP's were
Aaron Judge 2nd year in a row and Pete Alonso
Cy Young
George Kirby and Framber Valdez of the Braves

Texas signed Kirk and Bednar as we were looking for Starting Pitching Catcher and Bullpen Help. We put bids in on Skubal and Crochet but lost out.

Pete Alonso went to the Yankees.

[countryboy]

Cardinals take series from Cubs in St.Louis

RECORD: 31-28
DIVISION: 1/2 GB
WILDCARD: 1 GB

The Cardinals took 2 games of a 3 game series with the Cubs in St.Louis over the weekend, moving the Cards to within a half game of the Cubs for the Central Division lead as the calendar flips to June.

The series didn't start out well on Friday night as once again Jordan Montgomery was knocked around hard in his start. Montgomery only lasted 4.1 innings before being lifted having given up 6 runs. Montgomery's short outing meant the bullpen would be relied upon heavily in game 1 of the series, and the bullpen didn't do much to help matters as they allowed 5 runs over the final 4.2 innings as the Cubs would blow out the Cardinals 11-1.

Saturday things were better as Griffin Canning pitched well but only went 5 innings thus meaning the bullpen would be called upon again. Canning left with the score tied at 2 having thrown 97 pitches thru 5 innings. This time, the bullpen would be up to the task as Ryan Fernandez tossed two shutout innings, Luke Weaver would toss two shutout innings to close things out as the Cards bats came alive for 8 run 7th inning to beat the Cubs 10-2. The 7th inning was capped by an Alec Burleson grand slam.

Sunday Matthew Liberatore started shaky, but settled in going 6 innings and earned the win as the Cardinals defeated the Cubs 4-2. Liberatore gave up a 2 run bomb to Matt Shaw in the 5th inning, but pitched the 6th to try to help the bullpen. Chad Green, Jordan Hicks and Ryan Helsley would close things out for the win. A Nolan Gorman 3 run homerun and an Alec Burleson RBI double would be all the Cardinals would need for the win.

The Cardinals are off on Monday as they travel to Philly to begin a 9 game road trip starting with 3 against the Phillies on Tuesday night.

[FBeaule04]

RTTS Tales : Walker hit the wall in AAA start!!!

Larry Walker - 6’3 - 235 - RF – L/R
18 years old - 63 overall (May 2025)
Drafted in 2024 – Round 2 – Pick 16 – Colorado Rockies
Team: Albuquerque Isotopes (AAA)
Top 100 Prospects: 2^nd / MLB ETA: 2026

Last Series: 6G / 2 for 26 / .077 BA / 1 BB / 5 SO

2025 AAA Stats: 16G / .077 BA / .111 OBP / .077 SLG / .188 OPS / 1 BB / 5 SO

Team Last Series: vs Tacoma Rainiers / 3W – 3L / 20 Runs Scored / 15 Runs Allowed

Performance: “You can see the glass half-full, half-empty, and you could also see that there’s not even a freakin’ glass! Ask me again how I feel about playing sh*tt* as I did in those 6 games!” a frustrated Walker told reporters after series end. While the stats line doesn’t leave many doubts about how it went, the play on the field didn’t leave doubt either. “He’s 18 years old; we’ll be patient.” said manager Alexis Ramirez

Team: It was an entertaining series between the Rainiers and the Isotopes. Many close games and good pitching on both sides. The Isotopes left a lot of runners on the base, and that cost them a few wins. “We couldn’t take advantage of opportunities in game 1 and 6, games we lost 2-1 and 2-0. That could have been a 5-win series, but it didn’t. We know we’re better than that.” explained Ramirez.

Isotopes: 22W – 23L – 5.0 GB – 2^nd in Pacific Coast League East

Next: at Reno Aces (28W – 17L, 0.0 GB – 1^st in PCL West)

**********
The RTTS Lineup :
Frank Thomas (1B) – AAA (CIN)
Larry Walker (RF) – AA (COL)
Ozzie Smith (SS) – AAA (MIL)
Kirby Puckett (CF) - AAA (STL)
Cal Ripken Jr. (3B) - AA (WAS)
Rickey Henderson (LF) - AA (ATH)
Ryne Sandberg (2B) – AAA (MIN)
Ichiro Suzuki (RF) – AA (HOU)