The Baseball Buffet for 6/28/2025

Issue #319

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 93rd day of the season had a full slate of Friday games:

• NYM 1, PIT 9 - Juan Soto hit his 20th HR of the year, but Mitch Keller otherwise pitched well (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Three Pirates relievers held the Mets scoreless the rest of the way, and the Pirates offense came alive in this one with 12 total hits and Bryan Reynolds leading the way by going 2-5 with a double and a 3-run HR.

• TBR 8, BAL 22 - The Rays scored six runs in the second inning, including three HR by Jonathan Aranda, Josh Lowe, and Brandon Lowe. They had 13 hits in the game, and yet got crushed anyway. The Orioles immediately tightened the score back up with four runs of their own in the bottom of the second, then went on to score ten runs in the 5th-7th innings, before piling more on against position player Jose Caballero in the 8th inning. Gunnar Henderson went 4-6 with a HR, Colton Cowser was 3-4 with three doubles, Gary Sánchez was 4-5 with a HR and a double, and Coby Mayo was 2-6 with a HR and a double.

• ATH 0, NYY 3 - The Yankees scored three runs early, including a solo HR by Jazz Chisholm Jr., his 12th on the season. Will Warren pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K), and four Yankees relievers combined on the 3-hit shutout, with Devin Williams notching his 11th save.

• SDP 1, CIN 8 - This one could have seen both a no-hitter and a 4-HR night in the same game. Reds starter Nick Martinez had a no-hitter through eight innings, finally giving up a double to Elías Díaz in the ninth. Meanwhile, Reds 1B Spencer Steer hit three HR in the first five innings, but then struck out in his fourth at-bat in the eighth.

• STL 5, CLE 0 - Sonny Gray pitched a complete game one-hitter, striking out 11 (9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K). Meanwhile the Cardinals got homers from Pedro Pages and Alec Burleson, with Nolan Arenado going 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

• TOR 9, BOS 0 - José Berríos pitched a good game (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), and two Toronto relievers combined for the 4-hit shutout, extending Boston’s losing streak to six. The Jays tallied 16 hits, with George Springer going 3-5 with 2 RBI, and Andres Gimenez going 3-4 with 3 RBI.

• MIN 4, DET 1 - Byron Buxton hit his 18th HR of the year (nice to see him staying healthy this year!), and David Festa pitched quite well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). Gleyber Torres was 2-4 with an RBI, but the Tigers couldn’t get much going, and Jhoan Duran came in for the ninth and notched his 12th save.

• PHI 13, ATL 0 - The Phillies jumped on Bryce Elder (2 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), scoring 11 runs in the first three innings. Trea Turner was 4-6 with two HR and a double, and Philadelphia had additional homers by Nick Castellanos, Otto Kemp (the first of his MLB career), and Kyle Schwarber (his 25th of the year). Rookie Mick Abel was scheduled to start for the Phillies, but with a long rain delay after he had warmed up, reliever Tanner Banks got the start instead, with Taijuan Walker and Alan Rangel combining on the shutout.

• SFG 3, CHW 1 - Landen Roupp pitched fairly well (5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and Patrick Bailey was 1-3 with a walk, a triple, and 2 RBI. Four Giants relievers held the White Sox scoreless, with Camilo Doval striking out two in the ninth for his 13th save.

• SEA 7, TEX 6 - Nathan Eovaldi had a short outing (3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) in his first game back from the IL. Corey Seager hit a HR in the first inning, but then Logan Gilbert did pretty well for several innings before running into trouble in the sixth. There were a lot of hits in this one (Seattle with 16 and Texas with 9), but also a lot of runners left on base (Seattle with 14 and Texas with 13). The game was tied 5-5 after nine, and then both teams scored in the tenth inning. Still tied 6-6 in the top of the 12th, with two outs but the ghost-running Manfred Man still standing on second (Randy Arozarena), Miles Mastrobuoni singled to left to drive him in. Having already used six pitchers, Eduard Bazardo came back out for a second relief inning and held the Rangers scoreless in the bottom of the 12th to secure the win.

• CHC 4, HOU 7 - Nico Hoerner hit his second HR of the year, but Brandon Walter otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Rookie Cam Smith was 2-2 with two walks, a HR, and 3 RBI, and Yainer Diaz went 3-4 with a 3-run HR. Bennett Sousa pitched the 8th, but when he ran into trouble in the ninth, Josh Hader came in for the final out and his 22nd save on the year, extending the Astros winning streak to five.

• LAD 5, KCR 4 - The Royals significantly outhit the Dodgers 11-4, but they also left 11 runners on base. Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 11th HR of the year, but the Dodgers had two HR of their own from Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani, his NL-leading 29th of the season. After Dustin May let up the four Royals runs (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), five LA relievers held the KC scoreless the rest of the way, with Tanner Scott notching his 18th save. The Dodgers have now won five in a row, while the Royals have lost their last six games.

• COL 6, MIL 10 - No runs were scored in the first three innings, but with 25 total hits there was eventually plenty of action. For Colorado, Thairo Estrada was 3-4 with 2 RBI and rookie catcher Braxton Fulford was 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI. For Milwaukee, Jackson Chourio had a 3-run HR, Brice Turang was 2-4 with 2 RBI, and Caleb Durbin was 3-4 with a double.

• WAS 15, LAA 9 - This contest involved 30 hits and 24 runs, with both starting pitchers in particular struggling: Jose Soriano (4 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Jake Irvin (4.1 IP, 9 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 4 BB, 5 K). The Angels had HR from Jo Adell, Nolan Schanuel, and Taylor Ward. The Nationals meanwhile spread out their scoring, tallying 19 hits with just one HR by Josh Bell. All nine Washington hitters had at least one hit, and seven of the nine had at least two.

• MIA 9, AZ 8 - The Marlins had HR by Kyle Stowers and Heriberto Hernandez and HR while the D-Backs got homers from Jack McCarthy, Geraldo Perdomo, and Alek Thomas. Miami was up 7-5 through eight, and Otto Lopez hit a 2-run HR in the top of the ninth for some added insurance. Tyler Phillips came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, and he let up a walk, three hits, and three runs (two earned), but finally got Tim Tawa to ground into a double play to end the game.

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

We are at about the half-way point in the season. The Dodgers are not surprisingly leading MLB in runs per game, HR, and batting average. But which team with a losing record is leading the majors with the lowest pitching ERA?

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

• MIN 3B Royce Lewis

• TBR RP Alex Faedo

🤕 Placed on the IL

• NYM SP Grinning Canning - 60-day IL (left achilles rupture)

• TEX LF Wyatt Langford - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• CIN RF Jake Fraley - 10-day IL (right shoulder sprain)

League Leaders

The strikeout leaderboard shifts around a bit as each starter has their latest game, but for now Garrett Crochet is in the lead:

• 135 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 129 - WAS MacKenzie Gore

• 126 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 125 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 120 - SFG Logan Webb

• 119 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• 118 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 117 - SDP Dylan Cease

• 114 - ATL Chris Sale

• 110 - PIT Paul Skenes

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 28…

• 1907: Catcher Branch Rickey allows 13 stolen bases. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The last-place Washington Senators steal a record 13 bases off C Branch Rickey in a 16-5 win over New York. Rickey, acquired last February from the Browns, is pressed into service despite a bad shoulder because of an injury to starter Red Kleinow. Rickey's first throw to second base ends up in right field and the subsequent tosses are not much better. He almost nips Jim Delahanty on a steal of third base. In his eight innings, relief pitcher Lew Brockett helps Washington with a deliberate windup. Only pitcher Tom Hughes and 2B Nig Perrine are steal-less, while Hal Chase swipes one for New York.”

• 1919: Carl Mays throws two complete games. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Red Sox submariner Carl Mays hurls two complete games beating the Yankees, 2-0, in the first game and losing the nightcap, 4-1.”

• 1979: The Pirates trade for 3B Bill Madlock. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Pirates trade pitchers Ed Whitson, Al Holland and Fred Breining to the Giants for P Dave Roberts and infielders Bill Madlock and Lenny Randle. Madlock, whose average dropped after the Giants moved him to 2B, will rebound with the Bucs, hitting .328 the rest of the way and leading them to a pennant.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Mark Grace (1964) had a 16-year career in the majors, 13 seasons with the Cubs and his final three with the Diamondbacks. Although he had only modest power for a 1B with four seasons of 15+ HR, he was frequently amongst the league leaders in batting average. A three-time All-Star, Grace won four Gold Glove Awards for his defensive excellence. Overall he had 173 HR, 511 doubles, 1,179 runs, 1,146 RBI, a .303/.383/.442 slash line, and a 119 OPS+.

• Ken Williams (1890) was a star LF of the 1920s, playing 14-seasons in the major leagues, mostly with the St. Louis Browns. His biggest numbers came in 1922 when he led the AL with 39 HR and 155 RBI, while also scoring 128 runs, stealing 37 bases, and batting .332. The next year he posted his career high average of .357 along with 29 HR, 91 RBI, 106 runs, and 18 SB. Overall he had 196 HR, 916 RBI, 154 SB, a .319/.393/.530 slash line, and a 138 OPS+.

• Don Baylor (1949) had a 19-year career primarily with the Angels and Orioles, but also spending time with the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, and Twins. He played a mix of LF and RF early on before becoming primarily a DH for much of his time in the majors. He had 20+ HR in nine seasons, including a career high of 36 in 1979 when he led the AL with both 120 runs and 139 RBI, while also stealing 22 bases and batting .296 and ultimately winning the AL MVP Award. That was the last of his eight consecutive seasons with 20+ SB, with a high of 52 SB in 1976. Baylor led the AL in being hit-by-pitch eight times, and sits fourth on the all-time HBP leaderboard with 267. Overall, he had 338 HR, 285 SB, 1,236 runs, 1,276 RBI, a .260/.342/.436 slash line, and a 118 OPS+.

• Chris Speier (1950) had a 19-year career from 1971-1989, mostly spent with the Giants and Expos, but with a little time with the Cubs, Cardinals, and Twins. He was an All-Star each year from 1972-1974 as he was good defensively at SS, and as a hitter had above average power for the position, with highs of 15 HR and 71 RBI in 1972. In an odd quirk, over his long career Chris Speier variously had seasonal HR totals of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11.

• Brandon Phillips (1981) played 17 years in the major leagues, from 2002-2018, though had his best seasons from 2006-2016 with the Reds. A 3-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove Award winner at 2B, Phillips also provided a nice combination of power and speed. He hit between 17-30 HR in eight consecutive seasons, including oddly hitting exactly 18 HR each year from 2010-2013. He stole 20+ bases five times, and overall for his career had 211 HR, 209 SB, and a .275/.320/.420 slash line.

• Al Downing (1941) pitched in the majors for 17 years, spanning from 1961-1977, with the first half of his career spent with the Yankees, and the second half mostly with the Dodgers. He won between 10-14 games each season from 1963-1967 with a solid 3.15 ERA during that span. He later posted a 20-9 record and 2.68 ERA in 1971. Many fans will remember Downing for an event late in his career, as he was the pitcher who allowed Hank Aaron’s 715th home run on April 8, 1974, which of course broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing record. Overall, Downing had a 123-107 (.535) record, a 3.22 ERA, and a 106 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on June 28 include BOS Josh Winckowski, BOS Kristian Campbell, and SFG Spencer Bivens.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Saturday games (15), so lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• LAD vs. KCR features Shohei Ohtani starting for the Dodgers (he has thus far been limited to one inning only in each of his first two starts) and the Royals countering with Seth Lugo (2.93 ERA, 68 K in 83 IP).

• CHC vs. HOU is game two in this series of two first-place teams, with Colin Rea (4.42 ERA, 54 K in 73.1 IP) matching up against Lance McCullers Jr. (4.91 ERA, 39 K in 29.1 IP).

• PHI vs. ATL features Jesús Luzardo (4.08 ERA, 104 K in 90.1 IP) against Spencer Schwellenbach (3.21 ERA, 96 K in 103.2 IP).

Also on the bump today are DET Casey Mize, SEA Bryan Woo, CIN Andrew Abbott, and SFG Robbie Ray.

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:

• TOR Alejandro Kirk, 5-14 with 4 HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• NYY Giancarlo Stanton, 3-10 with 2 HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• NYY Aaron Judge, small sample but is 3-8 with 2 HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• BAL Colton Cowser, 4-11 with 2 HR and a triple vs. TBR Zack Littell

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 7-18 with 2 HR and a double vs. TBR Zack Littell

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 Bo Bichette, 7-17 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 6-14 with a HR vs. PIT Bailey Falter

• CLE Lane Thomas, 5-13 with 2 doubles vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• TEX Corey Seager, small sample but is 5-7 with a HR and a double vs. SEA Bryan Woo

• TEX Marcus Semien, 5-13 with a HR and a double vs. SEA Bryan Woo

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, 5-13 with a HR and a double vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

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:

• 14 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 12 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• 11 - MIL Brice Turang

• 10 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 9 - LAA Jo Adell

• 8 - MIA Otto Lopez

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 7 - MIN Carlos Correa

• 7 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

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:

• DET Javier Báez, 1-15 with 9 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• DET Spencer Torkelson, 2-19 with 7 K though his hits were a HR and a double vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• ATL Matt Olson, 3-21 with 7 K though one hit was a HR vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

• ATL Michael Harris II, 1-10 with 6 K vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

• TOR Andrés Giménez, 1-11 with 6 K though the one hit was a HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• BOS Connor Wong, 1-10 with 3 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• BOS Ceddanne Rafaela, 1-10 with 3 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The Texas Rangers are leading all of MLB with a 3.26 ERA, slightly better than the Mets at 3.28. They have a losing record largely because of the significant under-performance of their hitters, who collectively currently rank 29th in batting average and 26th in runs per game.

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.

• Which Trade Deadline seller could make the biggest impact?, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 6/27/2025

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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