Issue #683
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 Saturday games (15). Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
KCR 1, CWS 2 - The score was 0-0 through six innings, as both starting pitchers did well: KCR SP Michael Wacha (7.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and CWS SP Davis Martin (5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). The game was tied 1-1 after eight, and White Sox reliever Grant Taylor got three straight outs in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, the White Sox loaded the bases with consecutive singles by Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Braden Montgomery. The Royals brought in John Schreiber to replace Daniel Lynch IV, and he struck out Junior Perez before allowing a walk-off single to Jacob Gonzalez.
COL 8, MIN 5 - Rockies DH Hunter Goodman hit three HRs, including two off MIN SP Mike Paredes (5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K). Kyle Karros added a 2-run HR in the eighth, while COL SP Michael Lorenzen pitched well enough (5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K). Jake McCarthy went 2-5 with a triple and 2 runs; TJ Rumfield was 2-4 with a walk and a double; and Tyler Freeman was 2-5 with a double. Trevor Larnach was 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI, and Brooks Lee went 2-4 with a double in the Twins loss. For Goodman, his three HRs give him 25 longballs for the season.
ARI 2, TBR 4 - The Rays scored in three different innings against ARI SP Jose Cabrera who was making his second major league start (5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). That included Junior Caminero hitting a solo HR in the first inning, and Jonathan Aranda hitting a 2-run HR in the fifth. For Caminero it was his 21st HR of the year, and his fifth in three days. The Rays used a bullpen day approach today, including Michael Grove who was making his major league appearance since 2024 when he was with the Dodgers. He did well as the second out of five pitchers (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), and eventually closer Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth for his 21st save. Ketel Marte hit a solo HR and Geraldo Perdomo went 3-4 with a double in the D-Backs loss.
ATL 0, SFG 5 - SFG SP Logan Webb was outstanding over seven innings, only allowing a double to Mauricio Dubón in the second (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Two Giants relievers combined for a rare 1-hit shutout of the Braves. Meanwhile, San Francisco tagged ATL SP Bryce Elder for five runs in the second and third innings (4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), with Rafael Devers doing most of the damage with a solo HR and a 3-run HR--on his bobblehead night at the stadium.
HOU 8, DET 6
NYY 1, BOS 4
TEX 7, TOR 4
CIN 9, PIT 7
PHI 2, NYM 6
SEA 3, CLE 4
CHC 8, MIL 2
MIA 5, STL 1
WSH 4, BAL 3 (10)
LAD 15, SDP 3
ATH 2, LAA 5
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Don Baylor. He ranks fourth all-time in times hit-by-pitch. Two of the players with more career HBP were old-timers from the 19th century, Hughie Jennings and Tommy Tucker. So amongst players from more modern times, say during the Expansion Era (1961 to present), Baylor's 267 HBP rank second. Can you name the leader in HBP since 1961? And for bonus points how many can you name of the other four players who have had 200+ HBP since 1961?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: Mark Grace, Ken Williams, Don Baylor
Row 2: Chris Speier, Brandon Phillips, Al Downing
Currently active players who were born on June 28 include MIA Jakob Marsee, TOR Josh Winckowski, BOS Kristian Campbell, and SFG Spencer Bivens.
Today’s Matchups
Today we have a full slate of Sunday games (15), including these two interesting matchups (and here is a link to the full schedule):
SEA Emerson Hancock vs. CLE Gavin Williams - these two clubs are hovering right around .500, and these two pitchers started out the season really strong but have come back to Earth as the season has progressed
NYY Carlos Rodón vs. BOS Sonny Gray - easy to highlight every game of this rivalry, but this one again features two pretty solid pitchers in Rodón and Gray
A few of the other starters also on the mound today include HOU Hunter Brown, TBR Drew Rasmussen, PHI Jesús Luzardo, MIL Brandon Woodruff, ATL Chris Sale, and SDP Michael King.
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Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Don Baylor, so here are some interesting quotes from him:
"Playing for Yogi is like playing for your father; playing for Billy is like playing for your father-in-law."
"It's what you've been a part of for so long. I don't think I can watch a game without an interest in who wins."
"I've been in just about every situation as a player and coach and manager. I've been in the playoffs, World Series, and I know how to get there."
"My bones are as hard as a rock. Every time I have a biopsy, the doctors are doing hand exercises a week, ten days out."
⚾ 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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