Issue #662
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! ⚾
We once again had a full slate (15) of Saturday games yesterday, though the Boston vs. Yankees contest was postponed due to weather. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
LAA 2, LAD 9 - The Angels scored one run in the top of the first, but then the Dodgers came back with an epic 9-run bottom of the first inning, teeing off on LAA SP Jack Kochanowicz (0.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K), with Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani each hitting 2-run HRs. With that run support in place, LAD SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto had a great outing (8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), with Zach Neto finally hitting an inconsequential solo HR in the ninth off Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer.
ATH 2, HOU 13 - The Astros spoiled the debut of 23-year-old rookie ATH SP Kade Morris (4 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), with LaMonte Wade Jr. and Jose Altuve hitting solo HRs and Yordan Alvarez hitting a grand slam. Christian Walker went 2-4 with a double; Isaac Paredes went 2-3 with a walk and a double; and Christian Vázquez was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs. Meanwhile, Tatsuya Imai had 8 K in 5 IP (5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB), and two Astros relievers each threw two scoreless frames to close it out. Of note, Alvarez is now close to leading the AL in all three Triple Crown categories, as he is leading the league with 22 HR and 48 RBI, and is second with a .316 batting average (Yandy Díaz of the Rays is batting .326).
MIL 7, COL 1 - I noted yesterday that it seemed a bit unfair for the Rockies to have to face MIL SP Jacob Misiorowski right now. He threw 45 pitches at 101+ mph (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), and lowered his ERA to 1.50 on the season. Meanwhile, the Rockies tried to cobble together a bullpen day but allowed five HRs with Brice Turang hitting two, and David Hamilton, William Contreras, and Jake Bauers hitting one apiece.
SEA 4, DET 0
KCR 3, MIN 2
CIN 5, STL 6
SFG 2, CHC 3 (10)
BAL 4, TOR 6
CWS 6, PHI 3
WSH 6, ARI 1
PIT 3, ATL 6
TBR 3, MIA 4
CLE 6, TEX 0
NYM 2, SDP 3
BOS vs. NYY - postponed (makeup will be on August 29)
Start June with the 50% off discount!
The Memorial Day weekend 50%-off sale pricing I had recently led many readers to upgrade to receive the full Baseball Buffet every day. So I thought I’d run it again to kickoff the new month!
Paid All-Star subscribers receive all of the following, every day:
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!
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Today’s Trivia Question
A few days ago the consecutive scoreless innings streak by Phillies’ pitcher Cristopher Sánchez came to an end at 50.2 IP. That made it the fifth longest such streak of the modern era (1901 to present). How many of the four pitchers with longer streaks can you name? (Hint: The streak by Sánchez is now the longest by a left-hander.)
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Thurman Munson, Don Money, Heathcliff Slocumb, Herb Score
Today’s Matchups
Today is a typical Sunday with a full slate (15) of mostly afternoon contests. The following are a few interesting matchups (and here is a link to the full schedule):
BOS Ranger Suarez vs. NYY Cam Schlittler - After yesterday's rainout (which will be made up in August), the Yankees look to simply even up what is now a 2-game set at home, and they have Schlittler and his 1.89 ERA going for them today
BAL Shane Baz vs. TOR Kevin Gausman - Baz has a 1.80 ERA over his last three starts
KCR Noah Cameron vs. MIN Connor Prielipp - Cameron has a 1.50 ERA over his last three starts
Some other starters climbing the hill today include MIA Sandy Alcantara, TEX Jacob deGrom, and LAA José Soriano.
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Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys is Thurman Munson, so here are a few quotes from him (curated from the list available at The Baseball Almanac):
"I like hitting fourth and I like the good batting average, but what I do everyday behind the plate is a lot more important because it touches so many more people and so many more aspects of the game."
"I started playing as a kid and I was 'littler' than most. This might sound corny but I remember seeing a lot of horses back in Ohio and baseball reminded me of a stallion just running free. There was freedom to the game. No matter what your problems were and what you had on your mind, when you played baseball you forgot about it."
"Maybe they made me captain because I've been here so long, but if I'm supposed to lead by example, then I'll be a terrible captain."
"The catcher is the most important man in the game. He does the same kind of job a quarterback does in football. He directs the pitchers and calls the game for them. He must know the capabilities and weaknesses of each batter who comes to the plate. He also acts as kind of a field general because from his position he can oversee the entire field. Even more, he has the important duty of protecting home plate as the runner comes tearing in to try to make the score."
⚾ 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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