The Baseball Buffet for 6/26/2025

Issue #317

What follows is a new feature for 2025 at Now Taking the Field. 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! Let me know what you think of each issue… I can be reached at [email protected].

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 91st day of the season had a full slate of Wednesday games:

• PIT 2, MIL 4 - The big duel between the young pitchers didn’t entirely materialize as the Brewers scored four runs off Paul Skenes in the second inning (4 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Jacob Misiorowski did his part with a dominating performance (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), albeit against a generally light-hitting Pirates lineup. Three Pirates relievers didn’t allow any more runs over four innings, but the damage was done, and Milwaukee’s closer Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his 18th save.

• AZ 3, CHW 7 - Both teams scored two in the first inning, with Josh Naylor hitting a HR for the D-Backs, and Andrew Benintendi hitting one for the White Sox. Chicago’s starter Sean Burke otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), and 2B Lenyn Sosa went 3-4 with two HR.

• BOS 2, LAA 5 - Boston scored two runs in the first inning, but then Yusei Kikuchi settled in and dominated (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K). Jo Adell hit his 17th HR and Travis d’Arnaud hit his 4th to power the Angels offense.

• WAS 0, SDP 1 - MacKenzie Gore pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but that one run he allowed was all it took. Nick Pivetta was excellent (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), and Adrian Morejon secured his second save of the year.

• TEX 7, BAL 0 - The Orioles could only manage a lone single by Colton Cowser in the eighth, as Jacob deGrom had a no-hitter going through seven (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and two Texas relievers combined for the one-hit shutout. Marcus Semien was 3-4 with a double, Josh Jung was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI, and Jonah Heim was 2-4 with a HR and a double.

• ATH 3, DET 0 - Nick Kurtz went 3-3 with a walk and a 3-run HR in the third inning. That is all Jacob Lopez needed (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and Mason Miller struck out two in the ninth to secure his 15th save.

• TOR 4, CLE 5 - Max Scherzer made his first start since coming off the IL, and only second start of the year (5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 11th HR of the season, and Cleveland’s Lane Thomas hit a solo HR in the sixth inning which tied the game 4-4. It remained tied through nine, and then Nic Enright held Toronto scoreless in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the frame, with runners on first and second, David Fry singled on a bunt ground ball to load the bases. With still no one out, José Ramírez singled to left to drive in the winning run.

• ATL 3, NYM 7 - Atlanta rookie Didier Fuentes struggled in his second major league start (3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 1 K), giving up homers to Ronny Mauricio and Juan Soto. The Mets tallied 13 hits in all, with Soto hitting a second solo HR in the 7th inning. Meanwhile Clay Holmes pitched pretty well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), with the one run allowed coming from a HR by Braves rookie Drake Baldwin. Jonathan Pintaro, in his major league debut, got into some trouble in the ninth, so Edwin Díaz came in to get the last out and notch his 16th save.

• NYY 7, CIN 1 - Brady Singer struck out 9 in 5 innings, but also let up 4 runs, including a 2-run HR by Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Yankees tallied 13 hits in all, with Trent Grisham going 4-6 with two doubles, and Jasson Domínguez going 4-5 with two doubles. Max Fried was excellent once again (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and two New York relievers kept the Reds off the board the rest of the way.

• TBR 3, KCR 0 - Michael Wacha had 9 K in 6 innings, but also allowed 9 hits and 3 runs. And that was all it took as Drew Rasmussen (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and four Rays relievers combined for a 3-hit shutout. Tampa had 11 hits, all singles, with Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe, and Chandler Simpson all getting two hits each. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his 14th save of the year.

• SEA 0, MIN 2 - Only seven total hits in this one, as both George Kirby (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and Joe Ryan (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) pitched well. Kody Clemens hit his 9th HR, and second in as many days, while Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth for his 11th save.

• CHC 8, STL 0 - The Cubs hit homers in each of the first three inning off Erick Fedde (3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), with Ian Happ, Reese McGuire, and Kyle Tucker doing the damage in that order. Michael Busch also contributed by going 3-5 with two runs scored, and Chicago starter Matthew Boyd had another fine outing (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) to lower his ERA this season to 2.65.

• PHI 0, HOU 2 - Zack Wheeler pitched well as usual (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), but his teammates couldn’t muster any runs against Astros rookie Colton Gordon (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and the four Houston relievers who combined for the shutout. Victor Caratini hit a HR to provide an insurance run in the 8th inning, and Josh Hader pitched the ninth and secured his 21st save.

• LAD 8, COL 1 - This game was scoreless through five innings, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto doing particularly well (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The Dodgers scored three in the sixth, and then Max Muncy hit a grand slam in the seventh to really bust things open. He was 2-4 with 6 RBI on the day, and Michael Conforto added a solo HR, his sixth on the year.

• MIA 8, SFG 5 - The Giants scored first, with Mike Yastrzemski hitting a HR to leadoff the bottom of the 1st inning. Edwin Cabrera settled in after that and did pretty well (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but so did Logan Webb for San Francisco (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). The Giants scored two in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 4-4 and force extras. Miami jumped on Camilo Doval in the top of the tenth (0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K), and then the Giants could only muster one run in the bottom of the frame. Top hitters in this one included Otto Lopez going 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI, and Heriberto Hernandez hitting 2-5 with 4 RBI and a key 10th inning double.

I plan to start including the current standings in some form here, but until then… here is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Today’s Trivia Question

Finishing the outfield in this trivia series, who played the most career games in LF? And again, bonus points for each of the rest of the top five that you can name.

Trivia answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

Who’s on the move?

In this section I won’t list 26th-man moves, or every time a team shuttles relievers back and forth to AAA to keep a stock of fresh arms in the bullpen. I’ll focus on the biggest, more impactful demotions, promotions, and injury list changes (for a full list, see all the latest MLB transactions).

➕ Sent on a Rehab Assignment

• CIN 3B Noelvi Marte

• BAL SS Jorge Mateo

• ATH C Shea Langeliers

🤕 Placed on the IL

• SDP SP Ryan Bergert - 15-day IL (right forearm contusion)

• AZ 2B Ildemaro Vargas - 10-day IL (fractured fifth metatarsal in right foot)

MLB Debut Yesterday

Here I’ll try to keep up with players who just made their MLB debut the day before!

• NYM RP Jonathan Pintaro - As noted above, Pintaro entered late but got into some trouble (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) before Edwin Díaz came on to get the final out and the save in the Mets 7-3 win. The 27-year old has mostly been a starter in college and the minor leagues, this year posting a 3.61 ERA with 57 K in 42.1 IP at AA Binghamton.

League Leaders

As we near the half-way point in the season (some teams already have played 81 games), we are seeing a settling downward of the batting average leaderboard, with Aaron Judge having come back to Earth though remaining the only qualifying hitter over .350:

• .361 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .347 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .331 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• .330 - LAD Will Smith

• .325 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• .318 - CLE José Ramírez

• .311 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• .310 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• .310 - TOR Alejandro Kirk

• .307 - HOU Jake Meyers

It is worth noting that Ronald Acuña Jr. is batting .383, but with only 132 plate appearances he isn’t close to qualifying yet (he’d need 245 PA right now). If he stays healthy and keeps hitting leadoff, he might qualify by the end of the year and so could sneak into the batting average race towards the end of the campaign.

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history (for a longer list, see the feature at the Baseball Almanac or the Bullpen feature at Baseball-Reference.com):

📅 On June 26…

• 1916: An early form of uniform numbers are first used. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Cleveland players, in a game with the White Sox, wear numbers pinned to their sleeves, marking the first time players are identified by numbers corresponding to those on the scorecard. Jack Graney, leading off for the Tribe, is the first batter to wear a number in the 20th Century.”

• 1920: A young Lou Gehrig first garners baseball attention. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Lou Gehrig gets his first national mention when, as a high school junior for New York City's School of Commerce, he steals the show in a high school championship game against Lane Tech in Chicago. His grand slam home run in the 8th gives the New York team a 12-8 victory. Scouts sit with open mouths as the ball sails out of the National League park (later known as Wrigley Field).”

• 1944: A special three-team money-raising event is held. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At the Polo Grounds, with over 50,000 fans looking on, the three New York major league teams play against each other in a six-inning three-team game (each team plays consecutive innings against the other two teams then sits out an inning). The contest, which is played to raise money for war bonds ends with the final score of Dodgers 5, Yankees 1, Giants 0.”

• 1960: Ron Santo makes his major league debut. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Forbes Field, Cubs rookie Ron Santo, making his major league debut, leads Chicago to a sweep of the first-place Pirates. Santo is 3 for 7 and drives in five runs as the Cubs win, 7-5 and 7-6.”

• 1962: Earl Wilson threw a no-hitter. Earl Wilson pitches a no-hitter, his first major league shutout, as Boston beats the Los Angeles Angels, 2-0. He also hit a HR in the game.

• 1993: Roy Campanella died at age 71 of heart failure. Campanella is a Hall of Famer who was an All-Star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers eight times, won three NL MVP Awards, including in 1953 when he led the NL with 142 RBI. A tragic car accident in January, 1958 left him paralyzed and ended his career early at age 36.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Derek Jeter (1974) is a Hall of Famer who was the Yankees first round (6th overall) draft pick in 1992, and then the AL Rookie of the Year in 1995 after batting .314 with 104 runs, 10 HR, and 14 SB. He went on to have a 20-year major league career, all with the Yankees, scoring 100+ runs an impressive 13 times and had 200+ hits eight times, including 216 hits in his age 38 season in 2012. A 14-time All-Star, Jeter provided a modest combination of power and speed, with three 20+ HR seasons and eight 20+ SB seasons. His defensive prowess at SS has been the subject of much debate: he won five Gold Glove Awards and led the AL in SS fielding percentage twice, but some more advanced defensive statistics, notably range factor, show Jeter was consistently below average. Jeter had lots of postseason opportunities, won the WS MVP award in 2000, and overall did well with 20 HR and 18 SB in 158 games, with a .308 average and .374 OBP. For his regulars season career Jeter had 3,465 hits, 1,923 runs, 260 HR, 1,311 RBI, 358 SB, a .310/.377/.440 slash line, and a 115 OPS+.

• Willard Brown (1915) is a Hall of Famer who had an 11-year major league career in the Negro Leagues. He was both a high average and power hitter, and according to the data available at baseball-reference.com he led his league in hits seven times and RBI eight times. From 1937-1948 in major leagues Brown had an impressive .351/.398/.579 slash line and 178 OPS+, and then he continued to hit well in the minor leagues through 1957.

• Babe Herman (1903) played 13 years in the majors, seven seasons with Brooklyn and the rest spread between the Reds, Cubs, Pirates, and Tigers. He was a very capable hitter, and received down-ballot MVP consideration five times. His best two years came in 1929 when he hit .381 with 21 HR, 113 RBI, and 21 SB, and then in 1930 when he hit .393 with 35 HR, 130 RBI, 48 doubles, 18 SB, and an impressive 143 runs. Overall for his career he had 181 HR, 110 triples, 997 RBI, a .324/.383/.532 slash line, and a 141 OPS+.

• Jason Kendall (1974) had a 15-year major league career as a catcher spanning from 1996-2010. He was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) in 1992 by the Pirates, and then was an All-Star as a rookie for them in 1996. He continued with Pittsburgh for nine seasons in all, and then played out his career with the A’s, Cubs, Brewers, and Royals. A 3-time All-Star, he was a capable hitter who batted .300+ five times, and also ran the bases well for a catcher, with five seasons of 15+ SB. He was good defensively behind the plate, and overall had 2,195 hits, 189 SB, and a .288/.366/.378 slash line.

• Topsy Hartsel (1874) had a 14-year major league career from 1898-1911, primarily as a LF for the Philadelphia Athletics. He was a capable batsman who scored 100+ runs twice and had 30+ SB twice including an AL-leading 47 SB in 1902. He had a good eye at the plate, leading the AL in walks five times and OBP twice. Overall he had 247 SB, a .276/.384/.370 slash line, and a 128 OPS+.

• Howie Pollet (1921) had a 14-year major league career that spanned from 1941-1956, with two seasons missed for military service in 1944-45. He played nine years with the Cardinals, with the rest spread across the Pirates, Cubs, and White Sox. A three-time All-Star, Pollet led the NL in wins with a 21-10 record and with a 2.10 ERA in 1946. He later posted a 20-9 record and 2.77 ERA in 1949. Overall he had a 131-116 (.530) record, 3.51 ERA, and 113 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on June 26 include WAS Riley Adams, ATL Eli White, TOR Justin Bruihl, and AZ Ryan Thompson.

Today’s Matchups

A typical partial slate of Thursday games (9), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• PHI vs. HOU is two division leaders facing off with solid starting pitchers in Cristopher Sánchez (2.87 ERA, 92 K in 87.2 IP) and Hunter Brown (1.88 ERA, 109 K in 91 IP).

• ATL vs. NYM is the fourth and final game of this important series, with the Braves having taken two of the first three. The pitchers today are Grant Holmes (3.71 ERA, 97 K in 85 IP) and Griffin Canning (3.91 ERA, 67 K in 73.2 IP).

Also pitching today are CHC Shota Imanaga, LAD Clayton Kershaw, and SFG Hayden Birdsong.

HR Watch

Predicting who might hit a HR on any given day is a challenge. But here are a few to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• ATL Matt Olson, only 4-18 but with 2 HR and a double vs. NYM Griffin Canning

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, small sample but is 4-5 with 2 HR vs. NYM Griffin Canning

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 4-11 with 2 HR and a triple vs. COL Austin Gomber

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 6-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Austin Gomber

Hits Watch

If you play MLB’s Beat the Streak mobile game, or otherwise bet on/parlay players to collect hits, I’ll try to provide some good options in this section. In addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., small sample but is 4-8 with a HR vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• LAD Mookie Betts, small sample but is 3-7 with a HR and a double vs. COL Austin Gomber

• CHC Ian Happ, 4-10 with 2 doubles vs. STL Andre Pallante

Who is streaking?

These are players on active hit streaks and who for this reason (if playing) might also be interesting picks to get a hit today:

• 15 - TBR Yandy Diaz

• 13 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 12 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 12 - COL Tyler Freeman

• 12 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 10 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• 10 - MIL Brice Turang

• 9 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 8 - LAA Jo Adell

• 7 - MIA Eric Wagaman

• 7 - COL Jordan Beck

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

Who might struggle today?

Betting against any given player to not get a hit is tough, as guys in the starting lineup get at least one hit in a game more often than not. That said, here are some guys who clearly have struggled against their opposing SP today:

• LAD Will Smith, 0-12 with 4 K vs. COL Austin Gomber

• ATL Alex Verdugo, 1-11 with 2 K vs. NYM Griffin Canning

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The all-time leader in games played in LF is Barry Bonds. Here are the all-time top-five:

• 2,715 - Barry Bonds

• 2,421 - Rickey Henderson

• 2,418 - Luis Gonzalez

• 2,328 - Zack Wheat

• 2,161 - Lou Brock

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• The Zack Wheeler Ten, by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 6/25/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

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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