Issue #649
The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day!
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Yesterday’s schedule included a full slate of Saturday games, plus a make-up game rained out on Saturday. However, one game again was rained out, so we ended up with 15 contests. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
NYM 0, MIA 4 - The Marlins went with a bullpen-day approach, letting Tyler Phillips go into the fourth (3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and then leveraging five other relievers who combined for a shutout. NYM SP Christian Scott pitched well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and three Mets relievers continued their own shutout through eight frames. For the bottom of the ninth New York turned to Devin Williams, and he immediately allowed a double to Christopher Morel. Esteury Ruiz pinch-ran for Morel, and then Javier Sanoja hit a sacrifice bunt to advance Ruiz to third. Liam Hicks drew a walk, and then Williams intentionally walked Xavier Edwards to load the bases. This setup force outs everywhere, and the chance for a double play. But instead Heriberto Hernández hit a walk-off grand slam to center field, continuing the woes of the Mets this season.
DET 3, BAL 5 (Gm 1) - The Tigers scored first, with two runs in the fourth inning after a throwing error by 1B Pete Alonso. BAL SP Brandon Young (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) pitched well otherwise, as did DET SP Framber Valdez (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), only giving up a solo HR to Gunnar Henderson in the sixth. The Tigers were up 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, with closer Kenley Jansen on the mound. He walked Jackson Holliday and Leody Taveras, and then Colton Cowser hit a walk-off 3-run HR.
DET 4, BAL 1 (Gm 2) - Dillon Dingler got things going in game two with a 2-run HR in the top of the first inning. The Tigers added another two runs in the top of the fifth off BAL SP Trevor Rogers (4.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), and that was all the scoring they would need as DET SP Troy Melton pitched well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) in his first start of the season. Two Detroit relievers kept the Orioles from scoring, including Drew Anderson who struck out four over the final two innings, earning his 2nd save.
TBR 0, NYY 2 - This game was a pitcher's duel with both starters throwing seven strong innings: Drew Rasmussen (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Ryan Weathers (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). Fernando Cruz and Tim Hill combined with Weathers for a shutout, while Kevin Kelly gave up a walk-off 2-run HR to Aaron Judge in the bottom of the ninth, his 17th HR of the year.
TEX 1, LAA 2 - Texas scored first with Jake Burger hitting a solo HR in the second inning. But that would be the only hit that LAA SP Reid Detmers would allow over eight innings, as he dominated with 14 strikeouts and no walks allowed. Meanwhile, TEX SP MacKenzie Gore also allowed only one hit and one run, in his case over six innings of work (6 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). Reliever Jakob Junis struck out four over two innings, but then in the bottom of the ninth Gavin Collyer gave up a single to Jorge Soler and hit Jo Adell with a pitch. Oswald Peraza grounded into a force out at second, but a throwing error by 2B Justin Foscue didn't get the double play, allowing Donovan Walton to score the winning run.
PIT 4, TOR 1
MIN 6, BOS 5
CLE 3, PHI 1
SEA 6, KCR 8
LAD 5, MIL 1
HOU 8, CHC 5
CHW 5, SFG 8
COL 1, ARI 9
ATH 5, SDP 2
WSH 2, ATL 1
STL vs. CIN - postponed (will be made up on August 17th)
Memorial Day Remembrance
When baseball fans think of major league players who served in the military (and therefore missed baseball seasons), they tend to think of the most famous players such as Ted Williams and Bob Feller, among many others. But there have been about a dozen major league players who died during military service—see the list at baseballsgreatestsacrifice.com. Gary Bedingfield does a great job researching and tracking baseball players and their time in the military, during war time and otherwise. In addition to the above website, see also www.baseballinwartime.com. See also the 2016 article by Lindsay Berra at MLB.
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Miguel Tejada. He was a very durable SS during his career, and put up some impressive offensive numbers, particularly during the decade from 2000-2009. In fact, amongst players who played 51% or more of their games during that decade as a SS, Tejada led in HR (251), RBI (1,046), and total bases (3,010). Even though he led the AL with 50 doubles in 2005 and 46 doubles in 2009, he did not lead all primary SS in doubles during that decade—can you name who did?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Martin Dihigo, Miguel Tejada, Joe Judge
Currently active players who were born on May 25 include SDP Michael King, TBR Jake Fraley, and LAA Donovan Walton.
Today’s Matchups
Today we have a pretty full slate of games (13) for a Monday, as only four teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Here are some matchups that caught my eye (and here is the full schedule):
STL Matthew Liberatore vs. MIL Jacob Misiorowski - the Cardinals have surprised many of us so far, but they are up against Misiorowski who has become must-watch lately with his 103-mph fastballs and 1.89 ERA on the season
PHI Jesús Luzardo vs. SDP Randy Vasquez - it seems we can't be sure what we'll get each time out for Luzardo, and he'll be tested today against the Padres who have been solid this year
MIA Janson Junk vs. TOR Trey Yesavage - even with high expectations after the end of the 2025 season, Yesavage has so far delivered with a 1.07 ERA and 29 K in 25.1 IP over five starts
Other starters on the bump today include TBR Shane McClanahan, KCR Michael Wacha, and NYM Nolan McLean.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo, so here a few quotes about him by other famous ballplayers:
"He is my ideal ballplayer, makes no difference what race either. If he's not the greatest I don't know who is. You take your Ruths, Cobbs, and DiMaggios. Give me Dihigo and I bet I'd beat you almost every time." - Buck Leonard
"The best Latin ballplayer I've ever seen was Martín Dihigo." - Buck O'Neil
"He was a big man, but he was big in all ways, as a player, as a manager, as a teacher, as a man." - Minnie Miñoso
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.
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