Issue #670
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 Sunday games (15), though one contest was postponed due to weather. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
COL 23, ATH 9 - The AAA ballpark in Vegas this time hosted eight home runs, six by the Rockies and two by the Athletics. The A's actually led 4-2 after the first inning, but Colorado tied the game 5-5 after two. They then poured on far more offense than the Athletics could muster, with only their final three hits and one run coming off a non-pitcher (Carlos Cortes). Normally collecting 15 hits and 9 runs would be enough for a win, but not when the other team gets 24 hits and 23 runs. Standouts for the A's were Tyler Soderstrom who went 2-4 with a HR and a double, Lawrence Butler who was 3-5, and Max Muncy who hit a 3-run HR. For the Rockies, it is a longer list: Hunter Goodman was 5-6 with 2 HR and a double; Willi Castro was 4-6 with 2 HR (one was a grand slam) and 7 RBI; Troy Johnston was 2-5 with a HR and a double; TJ Rumfield was 2-6 with a HR; Kyle Karros was 4-6 with a double and 4 runs; and Ezequiel Tovar was 3-6 with a double.
LAD 4, CWS 6 - Freddie Freeman hit a solo HR in the top of the first inning, and LAD SP Emmet Sheehan pitched five scoreless innings. But then the White Sox erupted for six runs in the sixth, including three charged to Sheehan (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and three that went against reliever Jack Dreyer. Five of those runs came from a trio of HRs by Sam Antonacci, Colson Montgomery, and Chase Meidroth. The Dodgers scored a run in each of the final three innings, including Mookie Betts connecting for a HR in the eighth, but it wasn't enough as the White Sox took two of three from the mighty Dodgers.
ATL 1, NYM 8 - The Braves scored one in the top of the first, but then NYM SP Freddy Peralta settled in and pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), and four Mets relievers kept the Braves from scoring further. Meanwhile, New York scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and Bryce Elder (4 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) later gave up back-to-back HRs to AJ Ewing and Marcus Semien in the fifth. Ewing was 3-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI on the day, while Carson Benge, Bo Bichette, Juan Soto, and Brett Baty had two hits apiece.
MIA 4, PIT 2
SEA 1, WSH 10
SDP 5, BAL 2
NYY 8, TOR 3
ARI 5, CIN 3
HOU 0, KCR 4
STL 4, MIN 5
PHI 0, MIL 4
CHC 1, SFG 5
TBR 8, LAA 3
TEX 6, BOS 4
DET vs. CLE - postponed, with makeup set for September 4th.
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Game summaries for every game
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Current hitting streaks of seven or more games
On this day in baseball history…
Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Hall of Famer Billy Williams. He had 392 of his 426 career home runs while with the Cubs. Which two players had more HRs with the Cubs? For bonus points, how many of the other six players can you name who had 200+ HRs while with the Cubs?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: Wade Boggs, Billy Williams, Andy Pettitte, Tim Lincecum
Row 2: Lance Parrish, Brett Butler, Dusty Baker, Tony Clark
Currently active players who were born on June 15 include NYM Christian Scott, ATL Dominic Smith, LAA Oswald Peraza, MIN Garrett Acton, and KCR Steve Cruz.
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 Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, so here are several quotes from him:
"A positive attitude causes a chain of reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results."
"I played the game one way. I gave it everything I had. It doesn’t take any ability to hustle."
"A swing is like a car. You’ve got the fan belt, carburetor, pistons, spark plugs, fuel pump. If any part isn’t working, the car doesn’t run. Same way with hitting."
"I felt that I'd rather be lucky than good. That's the aspect I kept bringing to baseball. The more superstitions I had, the better off I'd have of finding more luck."
"The old saying was, 'Boggs never drives in any runs.' I played in 155 games. I led off. That's 155 plate appearance where I come up with nobody on."
"I didn't get over 1300 walks without knowing the strike zone."
⚾ 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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