The Baseball Buffet for 6/26/2026

KCR 2, TBR 13 - The Rays roughed up KCR SP Seth Lugo (5 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and then scored six more runs late in the game. Their biggest hitter was Junior Caminero who had 3 HR, including two off Lugo. Victor Mesa Jr. also had a 3-run dinger off Lugo, while Jonathan Aranda went 3-5 with a double and 2 runs on the day. Meanwhile, Casey Legumina got the first four outs as the Rays opener, and then Ian Seymour continued the combined no-hitter through the eighth inning (6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Craig Kimbrel came in for the ninth, walked Starling Marte, and then after getting one out, gave up a 2-run HR to Carter Jensen, ending the no-hitter and the shutout. He then managed to get Nick Loftin to fly out and Jac Caglianone to strike out to close out the game.

HOU 2, DET 1 - This one was a pitcher's duel with both starters doing well: HOU SP Tatsuya Imai (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) and DET SP Troy Melton (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). The one run scored against Melton was a HR by Taylor Trammell in the sixth, and then the Astros scored another run in the top of the ninth against Tigers reliever Kenley Jansen. Houston brought in Enyel De Los Santos for the bottom of the ninth, and he gave up a one-out HR to Dillon Dingler. Riley Greene then hit a single as the Tigers threatened further, but De Los Santos induced Colt Keith to ground into a double play, thereby earning his 5th save of the year.

PHI 10, WSH 5 - PHI SP Cristopher Sánchez had a rare rough first inning, giving up four runs including a HR by Curtis Mead, his 14th of the season. Sánchez settled in after that and only gave up one more run over five innings of work (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Meanwhile, WSH SP Cade Cavalli pitched five scoreless innings (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), finally giving up a 2-run HR to Brandon Marsh in the sixth. The Phillies scored three more in the seventh to tie the game 5-5. Four Phillies relievers threw scoreless frames, while Washington's Gus Varland gave up five runs in the top of the ninth, including 2-run HRs by Bryce Harper and Derek Hill. Although Washington won the first game of this series on Monday, Philadelphia managed comeback victories in the other three. As noted in an article at MLB, the Phillies are the first major league team to ever hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning in three consecutive games.

SEA 1, PIT 5 - PIT SP Bubba Chandler pitched fairly well over 5.1 IP (5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), and four Pirates relievers kept the Mariners from scoring the rest of the game. Meanwhile, SEA SP Bryce Miller had an impressive 11 K in 5.2 IP, but also allowed three runs off HRs by Brandon Lowe in the first inning and Henry Davis in the third.

ATH 9, SFG 6 - ATH SP Jeffrey Springs pitched fairly well (5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), giving up a solo HR to Willy Adames in the fourth inning. The Giants scored five runs in the sixth, including a 2-run HR by Victor Bericoto, his second HR in as many days. Trailing 6-2, the Athletics started a comeback with two runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth to draw within one at 6-5. Caleb Killian came in for the Giants in the ninth, and he immediately gave up a single to Henry Bolte before getting two outs. But then a walk and three singles led to the A's scoring four runs to establish a comfortable lead. Mason Barnett pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his second save of the year. The Athletics had 15 hits in all, with Henry Bolte going 3-5; Lawrence Butler was 2-5 with a double and 2 runs; Jeff McNeil went 3-4 with 2 runs; and Alika Williams went 2-4 with a double and 2 runs.

TEX 6, TOR 5 - The Rangers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead by roughing up TOR SP Kevin Gausman (6 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), with all six runs coming from HRs by Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford, and Jake Burger. Meanwhile, TEX SP Mackenzie Gore pitched a good game through seven innings (7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and Texas was ahead 6-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth. They brought in their closer, Jacob Latz, and he allowed a single to Ernie Clement but then struck out Vlad Guerrero Jr. Kazuma Okamoto hit a 2-run HR, his 18th of the season, but then Latz was able to close it out for his 15th save.

CHC 4, NYM 3 - CHC SP Matthew Boyd pitched well in his first start since coming off the IL (4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K). NYM SP Freddy Peralta threw five scoreless innings, but then ran into trouble in the sixth when two Mets fielding errors mixed with three hits and a walk led to three unearned runs coming across. In the bottom of the sixth, Mets pinch-hitter Eric Wagaman hit a 2-run HR, and then Jared Young tied the game 3-3 with a solo HR in the bottom of the seventh. The game remained tied and eventually went into extras, with Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting a double in the top of the tenth to drive in the automatic runner. Cubs reliever Trent Thornton then pitched a scoreless bottom of the tenth and earned his first save of the year.

NYY 3, BOS 6 - BOS SP Connelly Early struck out 9 over 6 innings (5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB), giving up one run in the first inning, and then a solo HR to José Caballero in the fourth. Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler had 9 K over his 5 innings of work (5 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 2 BB). He ran into trouble in the fifth, giving up a walk and a single, and then after getting one out, Willson Contreras reached base on an error by 3B Amed Rosario. Jarren Duran hit a sacrifice fly, and ultimately Caleb Durbin hit a HR before Schlittler was able to end the inning. The Yankees managed to score a run in the seventh, but the damage was done, and the Red Sox tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth inning, again with a fielding error (by pitcher Yerry De Los Santos) involved. Not a pretty game for the Yankees as they were charged with four errors in total.

ARI vs. STL - postponed, makeup game will be on July 23

1996 SLU Jim Thome figure (unopened)

1995 MicroStars Albert Belle figure (unopened)

1972 Alex Johnson 7-Eleven Cup

1994 SLU Kenny Lofton figure

1997 Julio Franco photo baseball

(3) 1984 Fun Foods buttons

(12) different oversized cards

(8) different 1980s team stickers

(37) all different Joe Carter cards

(31) all different Manny Ramirez cards

(28) all different Kenny Lofton cards

(24) all different Sandy Alomar Jr. cards

(9) all different Andre Thornton cards

... and a few other miscellaneous items!

ATH IF Zack Gelof - 10-day IL (right hand contusion)

NYM 2B Marcus Semien - 10-day IL (left ip flexor strain)

TBR SP/RP Steve Matz - 15-day IL (left ankle sprain)

TEX 3B Cody Freeman - 10-day IL (herniated disc)

PIT 1B Spencer Horwitz - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

The Mets traded SP David Peterson to the Cubs for minor league 3B Cole Mathis.

.146 - MIL Jacob Misiorowski

.192 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

.194 - TBR Drew Rasmussen

.197 - CIN Chase Burns

.197 - NYY Cam Schlittler

.199 - PIT Paul Skenes

.204 - NYM Nolan McLean

.207 - LAA Reid Detmers

.207 - CLE Parker Messick

.210 - MIA Max Meyer

16 - KCR Carter Jensen

15 - PIT Bryan Reynolds

14 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

13 - COL Jake McCarthy

9 - LAA Donovan Walton

9 - ARI Gabriel Moreno

9 - PIT Brandon Lowe

8 - STL Masyn Winn

8 - COL T.J. Rumfield

8 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

7 - CHC Ian Happ

1916: An early form of uniform numbers are first used. "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. "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)."

1938: Lonny Frey has eight hits in a double-header. "In the Phils-Reds split, Reds leadoff hitter Lonny Frey bangs out eight hits, just the third Red player to collect eight hits in a twinbill (after Dusty Miller, on October 9, 1898 and Kiki Cuyler, on July 30, 1936). Frey is 5 for 5 in the second game as the Reds win 8 - 5 behind Paul Derringer. Claude Passeau wins the opener, 10 - 3 for the Phils. Buck Jordan has four hits and Phil Weintraub and Chuck Klein hit homers."

1944: A special three-team money-raising event is held. "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. "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. The righthander also hits a home run off loser Bo Belinsky, who pitched his no-hitter six weeks earlier."

1970: Frank Robinson hits consecutive grand slams. "Frank Robinson belts two successive grand slams during a 12 - 2 Oriole romp over the Senators, just the seventh major leaguer to ever accomplish the feat. Dave McNally, the winning pitcher, Don Buford and Paul Blair trot home ahead of him on each blow. They will be Robby's only grand slams for the O's."

1983: Rusty Staub collects his eighth pinch-hit in a row. "Met Rusty Staub delivers his eighth consecutive pinch hit in the 9th inning of an 8 - 4 loss to the Phillies, tying Dave Philley for the all-time major league record. Staub's streak will be snapped by the Cards' Bruce Sutter three days from now."

Hall of Famer

First-round draft pick (6th overall) in 1992 by the Yankees

20-year major league career, spanning from 1995-2014, all as a SS with the Yankees

Was AL Rookie of the Year in 1995 after batting .314 with 104 runs, 10 HR, and 14 SB

14-time All-Star

Had 100+ runs an impressive 13 times and had 200+ hits eight times, including 216 hits in his age 38 season in 2012

He 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 World Series MVP award in 2000, and overall did well with 20 HR and 18 SB in 158 games, with a .308 average and .374 OBP.

Overall for his regular-season career he had 3,465 hits, 1,923 runs, 260 HR, 1,311 RBI, 358 SB, a .310/.377/.440 slash line, and a 115 OPS+

Hall of Famer

11-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1937-1948, mostly as a CF/LF with the Kansas City Monarchs

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 eight times and RBI seven times

Overall he had an impressive .353/.400/.584 slash line and a 179 OPS+, and then he continued to hit well in the minor leagues through 1957.

13-year major league career, spanning from 1926-1945, with seven seasons as a RF 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 had 181 HR, 110 triples, 997 RBI, a .324/.383/.532 slash line, and a 141 OPS+

First-round draft pick (23rd overall) in 1992 by the Pirates

15-year major league career, spanning from 1996-2010, as a catcher for the Pirates, Athletics, Brewers, Cubs, and Royals

Three-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.

Was frequently among his league's leaders in various catching defensive statistics

Overall had 2,195 hits, 189 SB, and a .288/.366/.378 slash line

14-year major league career, spanning 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 had 247 SB, a .276/.384/.370 slash line, and a 128 OPS+

Had a 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1941-1956 (missing 1944-45 for military service), mostly with the Cardinals, with the rest spread across the Pirates, Cubs, and White Sox

Three-time All-Star

He 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 had a 131-116 (.530) record, a 3.51 ERA, and a 113 ERA+

CIN Andrew Abbott vs. PIT Paul Skenes - The Pirates Cy Young Award winner is always worth watching, and the Reds will counter with Abbott who has only allowed one earned run in each of last two outings

CHC Colin Rea vs. MIL Jacob Misiorowski - Both teams have won four in a row, but the Brewers have the second-best record in all of baseball, a 6.5 game lead on the second-place Cubs in the NL Central... and Misiorowski on the mound today!

PHI Zack Wheeler vs. NYM TBD Pitcher - The Phillies start a set against the Mets, and are coming off three consecutive come-from-behind victories, with an ace in Zack Wheeler on the mound

TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 12-27, 2 HR, 2 doubles vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

TOR Alejandro Kirk, 7-14, HR, 2 doubles vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

CLE Steven Kwan, 7-17, HR, double vs. SEA Luis Castillo

SFG Rafael Devers, 6-15, HR, double vs. ATL Reynaldo Lopez

COL Willi Castro, 2-14, 4 K vs. MIN Taj Bradley

LAD Freddie Freeman, 1-10, 3 K though the hit was a HR vs. SDP Walker Buehler

SFG Matt Chapman, 3-18, 6 K vs. ATL Reynaldo Lopez

MIL Jacob Misiorowski, 48 AB, 0 HR, 20 K, 4 BB, .148/.212/.170 vs. CHC hitters

PIT Paul Skenes, 69 AB, 0 HR, 30 K, 2 BB, .217/.250/.273 vs. CIN hitters

CIN Andrew Abbott, 47 AB, 1 HR, 11 K, 4 BB, .213/.275/.325 vs. PIT hitters

BAL Trevor Rogers, 42 AB, 1 HR, 3 K, 3 BB, .357/.404/.543 vs. WSH hitters

TEX Nathan Eovaldi, 112 AB, 5 HR, 23 K, 8 BB, .321/.372/.552 vs. TOR hitters

189 - Jason Kendall

128 - Carlton Fisk

127 - Iván Rodríguez

107 - J.T. Realmuto

105 - John Wathan

102 - Brad Ausmus

101 - Russell Martin

Phase 1 results are in! Here are the finalists to start All-Star Game, by Theo DeRosa at MLB, 6/25/2026

Ranking All-Star Ballot finalist decisions, from toughest to easiest, by Will Leitch at MLB, 6/25/2026

Stats of the Week: Schwarbombs and a walk-off we hadn't seen in 20 years, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 6/25/2026

Multi-game winning streaks, all by a run, are rare, by Andrew Sharp at Here's the Pitch: The IBWAA Newsletter