Issue #669
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 Saturday games (15). Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
LAD 7, CWS 1 - LAD SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (8.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) had a perfect game going into the eighth, and still had a no-hitter going into the ninth. Tristan Peters led off that inning with a HR, so after getting one out Yoshinobu Yamamoto was relieved by Alex Vesia who closed it out. Meanwhile, the Dodgers had scored three in the first inning on a solo HR by Shohei Ohtani and a 2-run HR by Max Muncy. They added four more runs later, including Muncy hitting another 2-run HR in the eighth. Mookie Betts went 3-5 with 3 runs, and Kyle Tucker was 1-3 with a walk and 2 RBI.
STL 9, MIN 6 - This game was a slugfest with seven home runs in total. The Cardinals got things going by scoring four runs in the first two innings off MIN SP Connor Prielipp (6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), including Iván Herrera hitting a first-inning HR. The Twins came back with four runs in the middle innings off STL SP Matthew Liberatore (4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), including HRs by Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Luke Keaschall. With the game still tied 4-4, the Cardinals scored five in the seventh, all from HRs by Herrera (his second of the game), Jordan Walker (his 18th of the year), and Blaze Jordan (the first of his major league career). The Twins tried to come back by scoring a run in both the eighth and ninth, but it wouldn't be enough.
DET 1, CLE 3 - The Tigers scored a run in the top of the first, but then CLE SP Joey Cantillo settled in and did well (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). DET SP Tarik Skubal made his first start (4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) after coming back rather quickly from surgery, but allowed a 2-run HR by Daniel Schneemann in the third inning. Four Guardians relievers kept the Tigers off the board for four innings, including closer Cade Smith securing a 4-out save, his MLB-leading 23rd of the year.
HOU 8, KCR 7
MIA 2, PIT 3
NYY 3, TOR 1
SDP 9, BAL 3
SEA 3, WSH 8
ARI 1, CIN 2
TEX 3, BOS 6
ATL 3, NYM 1
PHI 9, MIL 8
COL 5, ATH 7
CHC 6, SFG 1
TBR 0, LAA 8
First Prize Winner for June!
One of the benefits for readers who are All Star subscribers of The Baseball Buffet is the chance to win a monthly drawing for baseball memorabilia from their favorite team. This is new for 2026, and so far I have had 11 drawings of lucky winners from January to March.
For June, the first winner is John S. from near the Twin-Cities in Minnesota. He is not surprisingly a Twins fan, so as shown in the photo below, here is what he will be getting soon in the mail:
1987 Star Tribune Official Homer Hanky
1971 Jim Perry 7-Eleven Cup
1967 Topps Jim Kaat #300
1982 Donruss Kent Hrbek RC
1993 SLU Shane Mack figure (unopened)
1995 SLU Harmon Killebrew figure
Donruss Puzzles of Rod Carew and Harmon Killebrew
(4) 1984 Fun Foods Buttons
(14) different oversized cards
(9) different 1980s team stickers
(6) Bert Blyleven cards
(2) Joe Mauer cards
(2) Rod Carew cards
(77) all different Kirby Puckett cards
... and a few other miscellaneous items!
Today’s Trivia Question
Byron Buxton recently had a HR and a SB in the same game for the 19th time in his career. That tied the Twins franchise record for such games—can you name the player he is tied with?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Don Newcombe, Charlie Buffinton, Bobby Witt Jr.
In addition to Bobby Witt Jr., currently active players who were born on June 14 include STL Yohel Pozo, TEX Robert Garcia, and Hector Neris (free agent).
Today’s Matchups
We have another full slate of games today (15), with the following matchups looking particularly interesting (and here is a link to the full schedule):
MIA Max Meyer vs. PIT Paul Skenes - two pitchers who are having good seasons so far with Meyer (6-0, 2.85 ERA) and Skenes (0.89 WHIP and 2.84 ERA)
DET Casey Mize vs. CLE Gavin Williams - Mize has a 2.27 ERA over 9 starts, while Williams is 9-3 with a 3.34 ERA and 99 K in 86.2 IP over 14 starts
PHI Cristopher Sánchez vs. MIL Kyle Harrison - two pitchers having outstanding seasons in Sánchez (8-2, 1.54 ERA) and Harrison (7-1, 2.72 ERA)
Other starters tossing the ball today include SEA Emerson Hancock, NYM Freddy Peralta, HOU Spencer Arrighetti, SFG Logan Webb, and BOS Connelly Early.
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Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Don Newcombe, so here are a few quotes from him:
"Mule [Suttles] told me, 'I want you to knock Campanella down.' So I threw the ball high, but I didn't get it in enough, and Roy hit the ball into the seats." (Recalling an early 1944 Negro Leagues matchup that sparked a lifelong friendship with Roy Campanella)
"I could have rolled the ball up there against Musial, and he would have pulled out a golf club and hit it out."
On aging as a pitcher: "I throw the ball as hard as ever, but it just takes longer to get to the plate."
⚾ 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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