The Baseball Buffet for 6/30/2025

Issue #321

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 95th day of the season had a full slate of Sunday games:

• STL 7, CLE 0 - Matthew Liberatore walked five guys, but otherwise did well (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K). Three St. Louis relievers combined on a 3-hit shutout, and for offense Nolan Gorman hit a 3-run HR and Victor Scott II hit a 2-run HR.

• TBR 1, BAL 5 - Dean Kremer had a good game (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), with the Rays only getting on the board from a solo HR by Brandon Lowe in the 9th inning. That wasn't nearly enough as the Orioles scored five off 10 hits, with Ramon Laureano and Gary Sanchez each going 2-4.

• NYM 1, PIT 12 - The Pirates completed the sweep of the Mets, and uncharacteristically beat them solidly again, making the combined score of the three games 30-4. Mets catcher Luis Torrens hit a HR, but otherwise Mike Burrows did well in a short outing (4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The Pirates tallied 16 hits in this one, with 2 HR by Oneil Cruz, and one homer each by Tommy Pham and Bryan Reynolds. In addition, Ke'Bryan Hayes went 3-5 with two doubles, and catcher Henry Davis was 4-4 with a double and two runs scored.

• TOR 5, BOS 3 - Boston catcher Carlos Narváez hit a solo HR, but Toronto had two solo HR from Addison Barger and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer allowed the three Red Sox runs, but then four Toronto relievers held the Sox scoreless for over four innings, including Jeff Hoffman striking out three in the ninth for his 18th save.

• PHI 2, ATL 1 - After hitting a grand slam yesterday, Sean Murphy had a solo HR today. But that was the only run the Braves would get, as Ranger Suárez did well (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), and Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm held Atlanta scoreless in the final two innings. Spencer Strider did fairly well (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), but the two runs he allowed in the fifth inning was all it took in this one.

• ATH 5, NYY 12 - Willie MacIver hit his second career HR, but Marcus Stroman otherwise did well in his return from the IL (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). Meanwhile the Yankees spread their hits and runs around, with Aaron Judge hitting two, 2-run HR, Cody Bellinger going 3-5 with a double and 3-run HR, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. going 2-4 with a HR, a triple, and 4 RBI.

• SDP 2, CIN 3 - Nick Lodolo let up some baserunners, but overall did fairly well (5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Xander Bogaerts had a big game for the Padres, going 3-4 with a HR and two doubles. San Diego had a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but closer Robert Suárez let up a walk and four hits and the Reds plated two for the win.

• CHC 0, HOU 2 - The two Astros runs came from a 2-run HR by Jose Altuve in 5th inning, his 13th of the season. That was all Houston needed, as Framber Valdez pitched well once again (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), Bryan Abreu struck out four in two innings to lower his ERA to 1.63, and Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth for his 23rd save and lowered his ERA to 1.67.

• LAD 5, KCR 1 - Kiké Hernández hit a 2-run HR, his 8th HR of the year, but otherwise Kris Bubic pitched fairly well (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Will Smith added a solo HR in the 6th inning, and after opener Lou Trivino allowed a run in the first inning, Justin Wrobleski pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and two Dodgers relievers held the Royals scoreless in the last two innings.

• SFG 2, CHW 5 - Justin Verlander tossed a good game (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but then the Giants bullpen allowed four runs in the 7th inning. Mike Tauchman and rookie catcher Kyle Teel each went 3-4 with a double, and six White Sox pitchers combined to limit the Giants to just six hits and two runs.

• COL 4, MIL 3 - This game was scoreless through five innings, as Chad Patrick was excellent (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and Germán Márquez was doing well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) until he allowed solo homers to Sal Frelick and Christian Yelich in the sixth. The Rockies scored runs in the eighth and ninth to tie the game, including a HR by Orlando Arcia off Brewers closer Trevor Megill. Both teams scored in the 10th, and then in the top of the 11th, with Brenton Doyle on second as the ghost-running Manfred Man, Kyle Farmer singled to center to drive in what would be the winning run.

• SEA 6, TEX 4 - This one was a pitching duel until extra innings, as both starters did really well: Jack Leiter (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Luis Castillo (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Tied at 1-1, both teams scored two runs in the 10th and then failed to score in the 11th, making it 3-3 going into the 12th. Seattle then scored three runs, including Mitch Garver hitting a 2-run HR off Cole Winn. Texas scored one run in the bottom of the frame, but it wouldn’t be enough as Seattle took two of three in this AL West series.

• WAS 7, LAA 4 - Each team scattered four runs during regulation, with Taylor Ward notably getting three doubles off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker. Neither team scored in the 10th, but then the Nationals got three in the top of the 11th when Drew Millas had a double to drive in one, and CJ Abrams hit a triple that drove in two. Already having pitched two innings, Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan went back out and pitched a scoreless 11th inning for the win.

• MIA 6, AZ 4 - Ketel Marte hit a HR in the third inning, but Cal Quantrill otherwise did pretty well (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Eduardo Rodriguez pitched well too (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but then D-Backs reliever Jalen Beeks walked four and allowed two hits and five earned runs in the eighth inning. Arizona scored two in the bottom of the inning, but then couldn’t muster anything further as Ronny Henriquez pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth.

• MIN 0, DET 3 - Capping off the Sunday in the evening game, reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal had a tremendous game, striking out 13 in 7 innings (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K). Tommy Kahnle and Will Vest pitched scoreless innings to combine for the two-hit shutout. On offense, Kerry Carpenter went 2-4 with a HR and a triple, and Riley Greene hit his 19th HR of the season.

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

Nationals star OF James Wood was 1-2 yesterday with four intentional walks. Such walks have only began being recorded separately from overall walks for hitters in 1955. Since that time, only five other hitters have been intentionally walked four times in a game… how many of them can you name? (Hint: One is easy to guess, three are understandable, and one is rather surprising until you learn he led his league in intentional walks twice and came in third in another season.)

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

• ATL RP Daysbel Hernandez

• MIL SP Brandon Woodruff

• NYM LF Jesse Winker

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW CF Luis Robert Jr. - 10-day IL (left hamstring sprain)

• TOR RP Paxton Schultz - 15-day IL (right middle finger inflammation)

MLB Debut Yesterday

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

• SFG RP Carson Seymour - The 26-year old entered and pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the Giants 5-2 loss to the White Sox. Before his call-up, Seymour has been primarily a starter in the minors, including this season posting a 4.14 ERA with 83 K in 74 IP at AAA Sacramento.

League Leaders

Bobby Witt Jr. keeps hitting doubles, lengthening his overall MLB lead in this category:

• 29 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 24 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 23 - ATH Lawrence Butler

• 22 - PHI Nick Castellanos

• 22 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 22 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• 21 - STL Brendan Donovan

• 21 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 21 - DET Riley Greene

• 21 - ATL Matt Olson

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 30…

• 1908: Cy Young threw his third career no-hitter. As described by baseball-reference.com, “Cy Young's third career no-hitter is an 8-0 Boston win over New York. Cy almost duplicates his perfect game of 1904, walking just one batter - leadoff hitter Harry Niles. Niles is then caught stealing and the next 26 batters make out. Cy also tallies three hits and drives in half the Pilgrims' runs off Rube Manning. At 41 years and 3 months, he is the oldest pitcher to turn the no-hit trick. Nolan Ryan will beat him in 1990 at the age of 43.”

• 1912: Joe Jackson hits three triples. As described by baseball-reference.com, “In the second game of a doubleheader at St Louis, Joe Jackson ties the major-league record with three triples to pace Cleveland to a 15-1 pasting of the Browns.”

• 1948: Bob Lemon threw a no-hitter. As described by baseball-reference.com, “In his first full season as a pitcher, Bob Lemon of the Cleveland Indians pitches a no-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, in front of 49,628 at Briggs Stadium. Lemon has only two scares: Dale Mitchell makes a miraculous catch of a George Kell drive in the 4th and Ken Keltner makes a great stop behind third base in the 5th. The Tigers' home was the last park in the junior circuit to use lights, installing illumination only two weeks ago.”

• 1962: Sandy Koufax threw his first no-hitter. As described by baseball-reference.com, “With the aid of 13 strikeouts and a Frank Howard home run, Sandy Koufax no-hits Bob Miller and the Mets, 5-0 in Los Angeles. Sandy starts off the game by fanning the side on nine pitches in the 1st inning, the first National League pitcher to strike out the side on nine pitches since Brooklyn's Dazzy Vance, in 1924. It will be the first of four career no-hitters thrown by Koufax.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Trea Turner (1993) was a first round (13th overall) pick of the Padres in 2014. He was hitting well at AA in 2015 when he was traded to the Nationals, who called him up towards the end of that season. He came in second in the NL Rookie of the Year award vote the following year after hitting .342 with 13 HR, 8 triples, and 33 SB in only 73 games. Turner led the NL with 43 SB in 2018, and then hit .335 during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. In 2021 he was traded during the season to the Dodgers, and ended up leading the NL in hitting with a .328 average, 195 hits, and 32 SB. In his only full season with the Dodgers he hit 21 HR and 39 doubles, with 100 RBI and a .298 average. He signed with the Phillies as a free agent and has continued to produce, including so far this year as he’s currently leading the NL with 100 hits, and also has 11 HR, 20 SB, and a .299 average. A 3-time All-Star, overall in 11 seasons so far Turner has 182 HR, 299 SB, a .296/.348/.480 slash line, and 121 OPS+.

• Tony Fernández (1962) had a 17-year career, with 12 seasons with the Blue Jays and the rest spread between six different clubs. Primarily a shortstop, Fernández also played some 2B and 3B. A five-time All-Star, in his prime he took home four consecutive AL Gold Glove Awards at SS. He didn’t have much power as a hitter, but led the AL with 17 triples in 1990, hit over .300 four times, and stole 20+ bases seven times. Overall for his career Fernández scored 1,057 runs, had 246 SB, with a .288/.347/.399 slash line.

• Garret Anderson (1972) had a 17-year major league career, mostly as a LF with the Angels. He led the AL with 56 doubles in 2002 and then 49 doubles the next season. He hit 25+ HR with 115+ RBI in four consecutive years, with a high of 35 HR in 2000. A three-time All-Star, Anderson overall had 287 HR, 1,365 RBI, and a .293/.324/.461 slash line.

• Bud Black (1957) pitched in the majors for 15 seasons, winning 10+ games seven times, with a high of 17 in 1984 along with a 3.12 ERA. Overall he had a 121-116 career record and 3.84 ERA, pitching seven years with the Royals, but also spending time with four other clubs. Since then Black has had a long career as a manager, first with the Padres from 2007-2015 and then with the Rockies from 2017 until earlier this year when he was let go after a rough 7-33 start.

• Chan Ho Park (1973) came over from Korea as a 21-year old in 1994 and after 20 starts at AAA was promoted up to the Dodgers. He had a 17-year major league career, with 9 seasons in LA and the rest spread between six different clubs. He had 12+ wins in five seasons, including an 18-10 record in 2000 and then his one All-Star season in 2001 when he went 15-11 with 218 K. Overall Park had a 124-98 (.559) record and 4.36 ERA.

• Mark Grudzielanek (1970) had a 15-year career that spanned from 1995-2010. He played for six different teams, but primarily with the Expos, Dodgers, and Royals. He started out as a SS, but then shifted to mostly playing 2B and took home a Gold Glove Award late in his career in 2006. He led the NL with 54 doubles in 1997, had some speed early in his career as well, stealing 33 bases in 1996 and then 25 the following year. Overall he scored 946 runs and posted a .289/.332/.393 slash line.

In addition to Trea Turner, other currently active players who were born on June 30 include CHW Josh Rojas and LAD Blake Treinen.

Today’s Matchups

As is typical, a short slate of Monday games (8), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• NYY vs. TOR is an interesting matchup with future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer making his third start of the year and the Yankees countering with Carlos Rodón (2.92 ERA, 119 K in 101.2 IP).

• CIN vs. BOS is also an interesting matchup, with Boston starting ace Garrett Crochet (2.06 ERA, 135 K in 109.1 IP) and the Reds going with 22-year old rookie Chase Burns making his second major league start.

Also on the mound today are PHI Zack Wheeler, TBR Drew Rasmussen, and SFG Logan Webb.

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:

• NYY Giancarlo Stanton, 7-25 with 4 HR vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• TOR George Springer, only 5-22 (.227) but with 2 HR and a double vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

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., 8-12 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• PHI Bryson Stott, small sample but is 4-6 with 3 doubles vs. SDP Matt Waldron

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., small sample but is 4-9 with 2 doubles vs. SEA George Kirby

• TEX Adolis García, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and a double vs. BAL Trevor Rogers

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:

• 16 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 13 - MIL Brice Turang

• 12 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 11 - LAA Jo Adell

• 10 - MIA Otto Lopez

• 7 - CIN Spencer Steer

• 7 - CHC Nico Hoerner

• 7 - PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes

• 7 - WAS Daylen Lile

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 7 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 7 - PIT Bryan Reynolds

• 7 - MIL Caleb Durbin

• 7 - ATL Matt Olson

• 7 - TEX Evan Carter

• 7 - DET Gleyber Torres

• 7 - MIA Kyle Stowers

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:

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 2-17 with 9 K vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 2-16 with 7 K though the hits were a HR and a double vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• SEA Cal Raleigh, 0-10 with 3 K vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• AZ Randal Grichuk, 1-12 with 4 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

• AZ Geraldo Perdomo, 2-18 with 4 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

• AZ Alek Thomas, 2-12 with 4 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

• SDP Jake Cronenworth, 2-14 with 4 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• SDP Manny Machado, 3-19 with 3 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Nationals star OF James Wood had four intentional walks yesterday. Such walks have only been officially recorded separately from overall walks for hitters since 1955. Since that time, only five other hitters have been intentionally walked four times in a game (according to Sarah Langs’ research, as reported in the article by Brian Murphy: Wood becomes 1st player since Bonds to draw 4 intentional walks in a game).

• 2004 Barry Bonds - four games

• 2001 Manny Ramírez

• 1990 Andre Dawson - this is the record, as he had five intentional walks on May, 22, 1990, against the Reds.

• 1985 Garry Templeton

• 1962 Roger Maris

Bonds of course led his league in intentional walks an amazing 12 times. Ramírez led his league twice, and Dawson led the NL with 21 in 1990. Garry Templeton was the surprise to me here, until I checked and saw he led the NL with 23 IBB in 1984 and 24 IBB in 1985 (and then came in third with 21 IBB in 1986). Templeton wasn’t a power hitter, and didn’t draw many regular walks—but he was a capable batsman and often batted 8th in the lineup, ahead of the pitcher’s spot.

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.

• Here is each team's MVP of the first half, by MLB writers, 6/29/2025

• '5' Baseball Cards Stuck in the First Half, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 6/29/2025

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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