The Baseball Buffet for 6/29/2026

TEX 3, TOR 2 - Joc Pederson led off the game with a HR, but then TOR SP Shane Bieber settled in and only allowed one other run in the sixth (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K). TEX SP Kumar Rocker pitched six scoreless innings (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), with the Blue Jays finally scoring when Nathan Lukes hit a 2-run HR in the eighth to tie the game. Toronto brought in their closer Louis Varland for the ninth, and he struck out the first two batters. But then he gave up a double to Josh Jung, and after Jarred Kelenic came in to pinch run for Jung, Varland threw a wild pitch and Kelenic scored. The Rangers brought in Tyler Alexander for the bottom of the ninth, and he retired the three batters he faced to earn his 4th save.

HOU 7, DET 5 (10) - DET SP Jack Flaherty did very well with 9 K over 5 innings (2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB). HOU SP Hunter Brown did fairly well (6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), giving up a 2-run HR to Zach McKinstry in the second inning. Down 3-0, the Astros came back with a 2-run HR by Raynel Delgado in the seventh (his first major league home run), and a solo HR by Isaac Paredes in the eighth. The Tigers didn't score in the bottom of the eighth, and neither team scored in the ninth, forcing extras. Kenley Jansen had gotten three straight outs in the ninth, so Detroit stuck with him for the tenth. Unfortunately for the home fans he gave up a walk, a single which drove in the automatic runner on second, and then a 3-run HR by Christian Walker. With a four-run lead, the Astros brought in Enyel De Los Santos for the bottom of the tenth. Spencer Torkelson hit a one-out, 2-run HR to cut the lead in half. McKinstry hit a single, and then after a ground out and a wild pitch he found himself on third base with two outs. After walking one more batter, De Los Santos finally closed it out.

PHI 5, NYM 4 - The Mets took a different approach with their pitching today. They started out with Cionel Pérez as a one-inning opener, then turned to Tobias Myers as a long-man. He only stayed in for three innings (3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), giving way to Kodai Senga who has really struggled this year but did fairly well over five innings (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), giving up a 2-run HR to Kyle Schwarber in the seventh. For Schwarber it was his MLB-leading 30th HR of the year. Meanwhile, the Phillies took a more conventional approach with PHI SP Jesús Luzardo throwing five strong innings (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). Reliever Chase Shugart struggled in the sixth, giving up three runs including a 2-run HR to rookie AJ Ewing. But then four subsequent Philadelphia relievers kept the Mets off the board, with Jhoan Duran pitching the ninth and earning his 21st save.

CHC 4, MIL 3 (10) - This was a low-scoring affair for most of the game. Gary Sánchez hit a solo HR in the second inning off Cubs opener Ryan Rolison, but then recently signed Bryse Wilson did well as the long-man (4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Meanwhile, MIL SP Brandon Woodruff only allowed one hit while pitching into the sixth inning (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), with the Cubs finally tying the game up in the seventh. Neither team scored further, so the contest went into extras.

The Brewers brought in Joel Kuhnel, and he got two quick outs before intentionally walking Pete Crow-Armstrong. Kuhnel hit Alex Bregman with a pitch to load the bases, and then walked Michael Busch. With the bases still loaded, Seiya Suzuki singled to left and drove in two more to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead. Chicago turned to Ethan Roberts for the bottom of the tenth, but he gave up a single, a walk, and another single, which brought in the automatic runner and left the bases loaded for Jordan Wicks who succeeded him. He walked Garrett Mitchell to make the score 4-3 with the bases still loaded and no outs. Wicks managed to get Jake Bauers to fly out in foul territory, and then induced a double play from Sánchez to end the game and earn his first save of the year.

NYY 4, BOS 5 (10) - BOS SP Sonny Gray (7.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning when Amed Rosario hit a single to center. Meanwhile, NYY SP Carlos Rodón also pitched well (5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K), but ran into trouble in the fourth inning. He walked Wilyer Abreu, and then Willson Contreras reached on a fielding error by 3B Oswaldo Cabrera. Both runners advanced when Romy Gonzalez grounded out, and then Caleb Durbin hit a two-out, two-RBI single. The Yankees scored two in the top of the ninth against Red Sox closer (and former Yankee) Aroldis Chapman, and then David Bednar came back out and threw a second scoreless inning to force extras.

Justin Slaten came in for Boston, but Rosario immediately hit a single that drove in the automatic runner. Rosario advanced to second on a throwing error by Abreu, and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Cabrera. Austin Wells hit a check-swing roller down the third base line and Rosario beat the throw home. With a two-run lead, the Yankees brought in Fernando Cruz for the bottom of the tenth, but he immediately gave up a single to Anthony Seigler that drove in the automatic runner. A double by Masataka Yoshida, a sacrifice fly, and finally a walk-off single by Jarren Duran led to a comeback victory for the Red Sox, and a sweep of the four-game series with the rival Yankees.

CIN 4, PIT 9

WSH 6, BAL 4

SEA 5, CLE 6

ARI 1, TBR 5

COL 2, MIN 3

KCR 5, CWS 4

MIA 1, STL 2

ATH 1, LAA 4

ATL 2, SFG 3

LAD 4, SDP 2

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!

LAD Eric Lauer vs. ATH Gage Jump - game 1 of this series features a challenge for rookie Gage Jump, who has been good so far with a 2.04 ERA over six starts

SDP Griffin Canning vs. CHC Shota Imanaga - this is game 1 of a series between two good NL teams with almost identical records, with the Padres looking to feast on Imanaga’s offerings as he has been particularly HR-prone during May and June this year