The Baseball Buffet for 6/30/2026

MIN 5, HOU 4 - The Twins hit three HRs off HOU SP Peter Lambert (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), including back-to-back HRs by Royce Lewis and Victor Caratini in the fourth, and then a 2-run HR by Josh Bell in the sixth. Meanwhile, MIN SP Zebby Matthews pitched well over seven innings (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), only allowing a solo HR to Cam Smith in the fifth. Minnesota's bullpen almost lost it in the bottom of the ninth, as the Astros scored three runs off back-to-back, two-out HRs of their own, including a 2-run HR by Taylor Trammell and then a second HR of the day by Smith. But then Twins reliever Yoendrys Gómez recovered from the Smith home run to get Joey Loperfido to ground out to finish the game.

SDP 2, CHC 3 - The Padres took a 2-0 lead against CHC SP Shota Imanaga (6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), but the Cubs quickly tied it 2-2 by the end of the fifth inning off SDP SP Griffin Canning (4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). Neither team scored for three innings, and Cubs reliever Trent Thornton pitched a scoreless top of the ninth as well. Padres reliever Jason Adam had pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, so he came out again for the ninth but immediately gave up singles to Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong. So in came closer Mason Miller, but he gave up a single to Alex Bregman to load the bases. Michael Busch then hit a fly to shallow left field, which Jase Bowen caught and then threw to home perfectly for a double play. But with the other runners having advanced to second and third, Seiya Suzuki hit a walk-off single for the Cubs win.

PIT 11, PHI 7 - Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh both hit solo HRs in the first inning, and then Bryce Harper added a 2-run HR in the third, all coming at the expense of PIT SP Braxton Ashcraft (6 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). Down 5-0, the Pirates fought back with 2 runs in the fourth and six runs in the fifth, all charged to PHI SP Aaron Nola (4.1 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Pirates reliever Gregory Soto gave up two runs in the eighth, including Marsh's second HR of the day, narrowing the Bucs' lead to only 8-7. But then in the ninth inning, Endy Rodriguez hit a 3-run HR off Chase Shugart to give the Pirates some breathing room. Pittsburgh's bullpen has been quite shaky this year, but this time Mason Montgomery pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out. Rodriguez was 2-3 with 2 walks and 4 RBI on the day; Esmerlyn Valdez went 2-3 with 2 walks, a HR, a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; Jared Triolo hit a solo HR; and Konnor Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn had two hits apiece.

CWS 8, BAL 2

DET 7, NYY 3

NYM 1, TOR 2

WSH 3, BOS 6

TEX 6, CLE 3

CIN 3, MIL 5

MIA 10, COL 7

LAA 2, SEA 6

SFG 4, ARI 5

LAD 9, ATH 4

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!

DET Tarik Skubal vs. NYY Cam Schlittler - This is an exciting matchup of two aces for sure!

NYM Nolan McLean vs. TOR Kevin Gausman - Two generally solid pitchers, one rookie and one veteran, who have both had some mixed results so far this year.

LAA José Soriano vs. SEA Bryan Woo - Again, two generally solid pitchers, with Soriano having cooled a bit since his outstanding early start, and Woo having mixed results so far this year