The Baseball Buffet for 3/16/2026

PIT SP Paul Skenes did well considering the lineup he was facing, with 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, and 2 K. He hit two guys, but the zero walks helped him a lot.

The only run he allowed came from a solo HR by TBR DH Junior Caminero in the second inning.

ATH SP Luis Severino essentially matched Skenes with good control, but some hits allowed against a tough USA lineup, with 3.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K.

BAL 3B Gunnar Henderson got the start at the hot corner over CHC Alex Bregman because Henderson over his career had been an incredible 7 for 9 with 1 HR against Severino. In his first at-bat he grounded out, but in his second chance he hit a solo HR off Severino to tie the game 1-1.

PIT RP Gregory Soto came in for the DR and allowed a solo HR to BOS LF Roman Anthony, giving the USA a 2-1 lead.

When Skenes ran into some trouble in the fifth, USA manager Mark DeRosa wisely brought in TOR RP Tyler Rogers. Skenes is an overhand power-pitcher, while Rogers is the most extreme submarine hurler in the game today. That contrast made it very likely he would induce a ground ball, and sure enough Juan Soto grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Both teams’ bullpens were excellent for the rest of the game, including COL Juan Mejia, NYM Huascar Brazobán, MIL Abner Uribe, CHW Seranthony Domínguez, and NYY Camilo Doval for the Dominican Republic; and TBR Griffin Jax, NYY David Bednar, BOS Garrett Whitlock, and SDP Mason Miller for the United States.

In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, a full count, and Julio Rodríguez on third, Mason Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo on a called third strike… on what appeared to be breaking ball low and out of the strike zone. Unlike the regular season this year, there is no ABS challenge system for the WBC, so that ended the game.

In the future, I assume the WBC might adopt the ABS — which if we’d had that last night, Miller would have had to face his Padres teammate RF Fernando Tatis Jr., who was up next (1-1 vs. Miller in his career). While I understand DR fans not liking the final call, it is also true that they had plenty of other opportunities in this game, but were only 2-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight total runners on base.

8:00pm ET: Venezuela (DET SP Keider Montero) vs. Italy (COL SP Michael Lorenzen)

STL SP Richard Fitts did well with 4.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, and STL LF Nelson Velázquez went 2-3 with his fourth HR of the spring

PIT SS prospect Konnor Griffin was 1-3 with his fourth HR of the spring

TBR SP Shane McClanahan did very well with 7 K in 3.2 IP, allowing 0 H, 2 BB, and 0 ER, while TBR CF Cedric Mullins went 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI

MIN SP Zebby Matthews, who is competing for a rotation spot, did fairly well with 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

PHI SP Taijuan Walker did well with 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, and 3 K

Two Braves’ pitchers threw four solid innings each, including José Suarez (4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and 22-year-old prospect JR Ritchie (4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K)

HOU SP Cristian Javier did well with 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K

MIA SP Eury Pérez pitched well with 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K

NYY SP Luis Gil struggled with 3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, and 2 K, giving up three HR to DET 1B Spencer Torkelson, CF Matt Vierling, and LF Riley Greene

DET SS prospect Jordan Yost was the Tigers’ first-round draft pick last year and has yet to even play in the minor leagues. In his first spring at-bat, the 19-year-old came in as a pinch-hitter and hit a grand slam HR off NYY pitcher Zach Messinger.

DET SP Framber Valdez did well with 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 3 K

NYM SS Francisco Lindor made his spring debut and went 1-3 with a run, while NYM 2B Marcus Semien went 1-2 with his second HR of the spring

CHC 2B Nico Hoerner was 1-2 with a walk and his second HR of the spring, while CHC 3B Devin Ortiz went 1-2 with a grand slam HR

CHC SP Jameson Taillon struggled against the Dodgers with 3.1 IP, 8 H, 10 ER, 4 BB, and 2 K, giving up HR to RF Jack Suwinski and SS Mookie Betts

CLE SP Tanner Bibee struggled against the Athletics with 5.2 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, and 5 K, giving up HR to RF Colby Thomas, DH Cade Marlowe, and SS prospect Leo De Vries

Cleveland’s lineup produced four homers against the Athletics: 1B Rhys Hoskins, C David Fry, RF CJ Kayfus, and CF Stuart Fairchild

TEX RF Mark Canha went 2-4 with a 2-run HR

LAD SP River Ryan did well with 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 5 K, and RF Kyle Tucker had his second HR of the spring

CHW 3B Miguel Vargas went 2-2 with 2 walks and 2 doubles, giving him six doubles so far this spring

CHW SP Hagen Smith had 5 K in 2 IP, with 0 H, 1 BB, and 0 ER, while CHW pitcher Erick Fedde struggled some with 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, and 4 K

KCR SP Cole Ragans had 5 K in 3.2 IP, but also allowed 4 H, 2 BB, and 2 ER

SFG SP Robbie Ray was outstanding against the Brewers with 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 8 K

SFG 3B Matt Chapman went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a run, giving him six doubles so far this spring

COL SP Tanner Gordon did well with 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, and 4 K, and COL DH Hunter Goodman went 2-4 with a 3-run HR

LAA DH Jorge Soler went 2-3 with 2 runs and fifth double of the spring, and LAA 3B Jeimer Candelario went 1-3 with a walk and a 2-run HR

SDP SP Randy Vásquez had 4 K in 4.1 IP, but also allowed 5 H and 4 ER

AZ SP Brandon Pfaadt did very well with 5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, and 6 K

CIN SP Brandon Williamson did well with 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 4 K, while CIN 2B Matt McLain went 2-3 with a his sixth HR of the spring

SEA SP George Kirby had 4 K in 4.2 IP, but also allowed 7 H, 1 BB, and 2 ER

SEA 3B Brendan Donovan went 4-4 with a double and 3 RBI

18 - BOS Braiden Ward… as I’ve mentioned a few times, this 27-year old is running wild! (and is 14-38, a .368 average)

11 - SFG Jared Oliva… a 30-year-old OF, he had 57 SB in 95 games at AAA last year

7 - MIN James Outman

6 - HOU Brice Matthews

6 - COL Jake McCarthy

6 - CHC Matt Shaw

6 - LAA Bryce Teodosio

5 - CHW Darren Baker

5 - SDP Jase Bowen

5 - ATL Michael Harris II

5 - CHC Scott Kingery

1961: A bond is approved for what will become Shea Stadium. “The state of New York approves a bond issue for the construction of a 55,000-seat stadium on the site of the 1939-40 World Fair in Queens' Flushing Meadows area. Shea Stadium will be inaugurated three years later.”

1972: Pie Traynor dies at age 72. “Hall of Fame third baseman Pie Traynor dies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 72. Traynor batted .320 over a 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with a career-high .366 in 1930.”

1985: Denny McLain is convicted on several counts. “Denny McLain, winner of the American League Cy Young Award in 1968, is convicted of racketeering, extortion, and cocaine possession in Tampa, Florida. McLain will serve 29 months of a 23-year sentence before an appeals court overturns the decision.”

1992: The Twins acquire John Smiley. “The Pittsburgh Pirates trade pitcher John Smiley to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for pitcher Denny Neagle and outfielder Midre Cummings.”

1999: Young phenom Kerry Wood gets injured. “National League Rookie of the Year Kerry Wood suffers a ligament tear in his right elbow. It will require surgery that will keep him out of action until 2000.”

2000: Three teams trade their 1B around. “In a three-team deal, the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos all exchange first basemen. Toronto trades David Segui to Texas, the Rangers then send Lee Stevens to the Expos, and Montreal then swaps Brad Fullmer to the Blue Jays to complete the circle.”

16-year major league career, spanning from 2004-2019, mostly with the Tigers, Mets, and Yankees

Three-time All-Star as a CF

Had 20+ HR ten times, with highs of 41 HR in 2011 and 43 HR in 2012

Led the AL with 23 triples in 2007, the most in a single season since Dale Mitchell also had 23 in 1949. Also led the AL with 13 triples in 2008.

Led the AL with 136 runs and 119 RBI in 2011

Had 20+ SB three times

Overall had 344 HR, 153 SB, 1,217 runs, a .249/.337/.465 slash line, and a 113 OPS+

So far has played seven years in the major leagues, all with the Blue Jays

Five-time All-Star, and won a Gold Glove Award at 1B in 2022

Led the AL with 48 HR and 123 runs in 2021

Did very well in the 2025 postseason with 8 HR, 15 RBI, 18 runs, and a .397 average (29-73) in 18 games

So far has had 183 HR, a .288/.366/.495 slash line, and a 136 OPS+

Hall of Famer

18-year major league career, spanning from 1927-1945, mostly as a CF with the Pirates, with some time at the end of his career spent with four other clubs

Had an outstanding rookie season in 1927 batting .355 with 223 hits, 14 SB, and an NL-leading 133 runs

Hit .335 with 121 runs in 1928, and then hit .353 with 134 runs and an NL-leading 20 triples in 1929

Had very little power, with only 27 HR in 8,337 career plate appearances

Overall had 1,201 runs, 118 triples, and a .316/.353/.393 slash line

17-year major league career, spanning from 1925-1941, mostly with the Senators

Played a mix of 3B and SS early in his career, then shifted to 2B for the majority

Led the AL with 30 SB in 1928, and a .349 average in 1935

Hit 10+ triples seven times, but had very little HR power, with only 38 HR in 8,194 career plate appearances

Overall had 1,174 runs, 130 triples, 157 SB, a .303/.389/.406 slash line, and a 108 OPS+

9-year major league pitching career, spanning from 2006-2014, with the Giants and Dodgers

Three-time All-Star

Was the Giants closer for four seasons, with 35+ saves each year, including leading the NL with 48 saves in 2010 while also providing a 1.81 ERA

Was very good in the postseason, with 6 saves, a 0.00 ERA, and 25 K in 18 IP over 17 appearances

Overall had 172 saves, a 3.30 ERA, and a 122 ERA+

17-year major league career, spanning from 1890-1907, mostly as a RF with the Pirates and Cardinals, but with some time spent with five other clubs

Was a threat on the bases with 25+ SB in 13 seasons, including a career high of 56 SB in 1892, and an NL-leading 45 SB in 1900

Scored 100+ runs six times

Didn't have much power, only hitting 10 triples once, and having only 16 HR in 8,173 career plate appearances

Overall had 1,321 runs, 518 SB, a .301 average, and a .348 OBP

First-round draft pick (15th overall) in 2004 by the Diamondbacks

12-year major league career, spanning from 2006-2017, playing SS with the Diamondbacks for seven years and the rest spread across four other clubs

Had 15+ HR three times, and 10+ triples three times

Had career highs of 21 HR, 91 runs, 44 doubles, and 67 RBI in 2008

Overall had 123 HR and a .252 average

Don't Turn Your Back on These 5 Baseball Cards, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 3/15/2026