Issue #665

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!

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

Yesterday we had a full slate of Tuesday games (15). Here are the results (link to all game box scores):

  • ATL 5, CWS 6 (10) - Matt Olson hit home runs in both the first and third innings, giving him 19 on the season, and the Braves an early 4-0 lead in this contest. The White Sox came back with a 2-run HR by Miguel Vargas in the bottom of the third, his 16th HR of the year. They scored again in the fourth and seventh innings, tying the game 4-4 and eventually leading to extras. In the top of the tenth, Mauricio Dubón led off with a single that drove in the automatic runner. Braves' closer Raisel Iglesias had pitched a scoreless ninth and came back out for the bottom of the tenth. He got two outs, but then gave up a walk-off 2-run HR to rookie Braden Montgomery, who was making his major league debut. Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies each had three hits in the losing effort.

  • PHI 2, TOR 3 - TOR SP Dylan Cease settled in after allowing a first-inning run and had 11 K over 6 IP (3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB). PHI SP Zack Wheeler also pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), giving up a solo HR to Jesús Sánchez which tied the game 1-1 in the sixth. In the ninth, the Blue Jays brought in Louis Varland who has been outstanding this year. He walked Bryce Harper, and then, with two outs and Harper now on second, Bryson Stott drove him in with a double. The Phillies brought in their closer Jhoan Duran, but he gave up two singles, a wild pitch that scored one, and then a walk-off single by Brandon Valenzuela.

  • MIN 4, DET 10 - Both starting pitchers were rocked by several home runs: MIN SP Taj Bradley (4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) gave up 3 HR, and DET SP Troy Melton (5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) allowed 4 HR. The difference was the bullpens as the Tigers' relievers didn't allow any runs past the fifth inning, whereas Minnesota's gave up five more runs across the sixth and seventh frames. Byron Buxton led off the game with a HR, and Minnesota's other long-balls were also solo shots from Josh Bell, Brooks Lee, and Kody Clemens. For the Tigers, Dillon Dingler went 4-5 with 2 HR, 3 runs, and 4 RBI, and Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter each had HRs.

  • SEA 6, BAL 5 (10)

  • BOS 3, TBR 4

  • ARI 6, MIA 10

  • NYY 3, CLE 2

  • STL 7, NYM 0

  • TEX 3, KCR 5

  • LAD 12, PIT 3

  • CHC 3, COL 7

  • CIN 5, SDP 3 (11)

  • HOU 1, LAA 10

  • WSH 6, SFG 3

  • MIL 5, ATH 7

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  • On this day in baseball history

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Today’s Trivia Question

James Wood of the Washington Nationals became the first player to reach 60 runs scored this season. If he should end up leading the majors in runs scored he will be only the second player for the Expos/Nationals franchise to do so. Can you name the other player? (Hint: he did it twice.)

(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)


🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Ken Singleton, Johnny Edwards, Floyd Bannister


Today’s Matchups

As usual for a Wednesday we have a full slate (15) of games today. Here are a few matchups that caught my eye (and here is a link to the full schedule):

  • NYY Carlos Rodón vs. CLE Parker Messick - Two winning teams with solid pitchers today

  • PHI Jesús Luzardo vs. TOR Max Scherzer - Luzardo continues to be inconsistent so far this year, while Scherzer struggled in five early starts but hasn't pitched in the majors since late April

  • TEX MacKenzie Gore vs. KCR Seth Lugo - two pitchers capable of good things but who have had some inconsistency this year

Additional starting pitchers throwing today include TBR Drew Rasmussen, SDP Michael King, SEA George Kirby, LAD Shohei Ohtani, DET Framber Valdez, NYM Christian Scott, ATL Chris Sale, and CHC Shota Imanaga.

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Baseball Quote of the Day

One of today's Birthday Boys is Ken Singleton, so here are two quotes from him:

"Good hitters don't become intimidated. They become infuriated."

After forcing in a run with a walk in the 1983 World Series: "A man once told me to walk with the Lord. I'd rather walk with the bases loaded."

See also the article by Alfred Santasiere III from 2022, which was subtitled "Ken Singleton walks away from baseball having touched the lives of countless admirers.”


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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