Issue #671
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 partial slate of 10 Monday games, as some teams were either traveling or otherwise had the day off. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
COL 4, CHC 5 - Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff HR in the bottom of the first against COL SP Michael Lorenzen (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). He went on to have quite a day, going 4-4 with 2 RBI and the first cycle of the season. CHC SP Shota Imanaga had a good game (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), but then rookie Cole Carrigg hit a 3-run HR in the top of the eighth. Ahead 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, Rockies reliever Juan Mejia loaded the bases with no outs and was replaced by Seth Halvorsen. Cubs rookie Pedro Ramírez singled to tie the game, and then with the bases still loaded Matt Shaw worked a walk-off walk for the win.
DET 9, HOU 3 - Detroit's Colt Keith finally had his first HR of the season on June 11th. Then yesterday he hit three HRs, two off HOU SP Kai-Wei Teng, and one in the ninth against Astros reliever Bryan Abreu. The Tigers also had HRs early in this game from Kevin McGonigle and Spencer Torkelson, and Dillon Dingler went 2-4 with a triple and 3 runs. The Astros scored their three runs in the third inning when Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back HRs against reliever Jacob Waguespack, who had come in for DET SP Drew Anderson (2.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) who was making a short spot start.
SDP 0, STL 3 - STL SP Dustin May had a perfect game going through six innings, but finally allowed a walk and a single in the seventh. He ended up with a one-hit shutout (9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), while his teammates scored three runs in the middle innings off Lucas Giolito (5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) who was the Padres' long man after Wandy Peralta had opened. Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, and Masyn Winn each had two hits for St. Louis.
MIA 0, PHI 7
KCR 3, WSH 7
NYM 0, CIN 12
MIN 4, TEX 2
PIT 2, ATH 11
LAA 3, ARI 4
TBR 3, LAD 4
Get full access for 12 months… for the price of only 5
All-Star subscribers of The Baseball Buffet from Now Taking the Field receive all of the following, every day:
Game summaries for every game
Current MLB standings
Notable player transactions… injuries, call-ups, free agent signings, trades, etc.
Rotating statistical leader lists
Current hitting streaks of seven or more games
On this day in baseball history…
Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys
Daily Hitter Watch and Pitcher Watch lists - who has historically done well or poorly against their matchup today?
Good Reads… my favorite recent baseball articles from other writers
… and the answers to the daily trivia questions!
… and during the offseason I still publish every day, covering trades, free-agent signings, and other hot-stove season news!
Become an All-Star subscriber to The Baseball Buffet today for $7 a month, or just $35 a year—that’s right, get 12 months for the price of only 5. That is less than 10 cents a day for more baseball goodness delivered to your inbox every morning!
Today’s Trivia Question
Jacob Misiorowski had 15 strikeouts in his most recent start. One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Kerry Wood, who famously had 20 strikeouts in a game as a rookie in 1998. That tied a major league record for the most strikeouts in a nine inning performance. Who are the three other pitchers to accomplish this feat? (One pitcher did it twice.)
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Wally Joyner, Kerry Wood, Ron LeFlore
Currently active players who were born on June 16 include NYY Will Warren, CIN Will Benson, ATL Ian Hamilton, and MIA Tyler Zuber.
Today’s Matchups
Today we have a full slate of Tuesday games (15), with the following as some particularly interesting matchups (and here is a link to the full schedule):
CWS Davis Martin vs. NYY Gerrit Cole - The rising White Sox and their new ace Davis Martin will be tested in facing the Yankees lineup and their ace Gerrit Cole
DET Framber Valdez vs. HOU Hunter Brown - Valdez has been inconsistent this year, while Brown only made two appearances in March before going on the IL
TBR Drew Rasmussen vs. LAD Justin Wrobleski - Rasmussen hasn't allowed a run in is last two starts, and has posted 22 K in 14 IP
Some other starters taking the mound today include PHI Jesús Luzardo, BOS Payton Tolle, SDP Michael King, and SEA Logan Gilbert.
Affiliate Advertisement
Father’s Day is coming up soon…
BBQ Tools made with baseball bat handles!
Crafted with real baseball bat handles, get grilling with gear that's all about performance and personality.
Show your team pride at the cookout with spatulas, tongs, and cutting boards repping your favorite franchise
Engrave names, messages, or dates on signature bat-handle tools--perfect for Father's Day, birthdays, or team gifts!
Shop the Baseball BBQ store at Amazon today!
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Kerry Wood, so here are some quotes from him:
"A lot of times, when young guys come up, you think you don't have to work as hard because the talent is going to get you as far as you need to go. But as you get older, it's not that way. An injury is really a wake-up call and a slap in the face that maybe you were slacking a bit, and don't let it happen again."
"I love the slider. I'll throw it anytime. It helps the curve. The last five feet, it dives toward the left-handed hitter's box. It's a pitch that looks like a fastball coming in. It's a pitch I throw when I need a ground ball with a man on base."
"At home, when I'm not pitching, I'll sit and sign autographs for the kids. I've always done that and I'll continue to do it. That's part of the job."
"I'm just a normal kid who lives to play baseball. I'm living my dream."
⚾ 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.
This newsletter was produced with beehiiv.
New to Now Taking the Field? Become a subscriber and get each article in your email inbox so that you don’t miss anything!