The Baseball Buffet for 7/1/2025

Issue #322

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 96th day of the season had a short slate of Monday games:

• SDP 0, PHI 4 - Zack Wheeler did well yet again (8 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), lowering his ERA on the year to 2.27, and Tanner Banks held the Padres scoreless in the ninth. Meanwhile knuckleballer Matt Waldron struggled in his first major league start of 2025 (4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 K), including Nick Castellanos hitting his 10th HR of the year.

• STL 0, PIT 7 - Andrew Heaney had a strong performance, taking a no-hitter into the sixth (6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Chase Shugart went the rest of the way for a 4-hit shutout. The Pirates offense continued to roll as they tallied 11 hits and were 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Spencer Horwitz hit leadoff and went 2-4 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI, and all nine Pirates batters had at least one hit.

• NYY 4, TOR 5 - Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his 14th HR, but Max Scherzer otherwise pitched fairly well (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Cody Bellinger had a solo HR in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Jays had scored one run in the fifth, and then four runs on a string of singles in the sixth. Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman contained the Yankees in the ninth to record in his 19th save.

• CIN 6, BOS 13 - After Chase Burn’s exciting first MLB start against the Yankees last week, things went a bit differently in Boston today. He let up 2 walks, 5 hits, 7 runs, and 5 earned runs, including a 3-run HR by Trevor Story, while managing to only get one out. The Red Sox did more damage later in the game, with a total of 14 hits including an inside-the-park HR and a grand slam by Wilyer Abreu—the first player to do that since Roger Maris in 1958 (according to research by Sarah Langs at MLB). Garrett Crochet struck out 9 in 6 innings, though did allow 7 hits, 5 runs (4 earned). The top Reds hitters in the loss were Matt McLain who went 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, and Austin Hays who went 2-4 with a HR, a triple, and 3 RBI.

• ATH 6, TBR 4 - The Rays scored all of their runs in the fourth inning, including Junior Caminero hitting a 2-run HR, his 21st of the season. For the Athletics, Lawrence Butler, Jacob Wilson, and Brent Rooker each had two hits, and Shea Langeliers hit a 3-run HR in his first game since coming off the IL.

• BAL 10, TEX 6 - Marcus Semien hit a HR in the sixth inning, but before that Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers had been doing well (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). The game was tied 3-3 after seven innings, and neither team scored in the eighth or ninth so it went into extras. Both teams scored three runs in the tenth inning, with Baltimore getting HR by Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser, and then Adolis Garcia hitting a 3-run HR in the bottom of the frame. Hoby Milner came in to the pitch for the Rangers and proceeded to allow 2 walks, 3 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), including doubles by Ramon Laureano, his third of the day, and Henderson, who was 2-5 with 4 RBI overall. Baltimore reliever Andrew Kittredge then shut out the Rangers in the bottom of the 11th to close it out.

• KCR 2, SEA 6 - George Kirby pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and the Mariners had three HR in this one, two from Randy Arozarena and one by Cal Raleigh, his MLB-leading 33rd of the season.

• SFG 2, AZ 4 - The D-Backs had HR by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suárez, his 26th of the year. Ryne Nelson pitched well (6.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Shelby Miller got that last four outs for his 10th save 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

As I’ve noted before, Shohei Ohtani is far ahead in runs scored this year—he is a great player of course, but batting leadoff for the strong Dodgers lineup no doubt helps! He has 82 runs, which is nine more than Aaron Judge’s 73, and is 15 ahead of Elly De La Cruz’ 67, which is second in the NL. Ohtani is currently on pace for 156 runs. Ronald Acuña Jr. came close to the 150 runs mark with 149 in 2023, but who was the last player to score 150 or more in a 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

• PIT SP Johan Oviedo

🤕 Placed on the IL

• SFG 3B Casey Schmitt - 10-day IL (left hand inflammation)

• NYY RP Fernando Cruz - 15-day IL (left oblique strain)

• CIN RP Ian Gibaut - 15-day IL (right shoulder impingement)

• HOU SS Jeremy Peña - 10-day IL (small rib fracture on left side)

• BAL SP Zach Eflin - 15-day IL (low back discomfort)

MLB Debut Yesterday

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

• ATH OF Colby Thomas - Entered as a pinch-hitter for Tyler Soderstrom in the eighth inning and popped out to first base. He stayed in at LF, and made a great run-saving throw on a single by Josh Lowe by throwing out Brandon Lowe at home. Before the call-up, the 24-year old Thomas was hitting well at AAA Las Vegas with 17 HR, 70 RBI, 21 doubles, 7 SB, and a .297/.365/.542 slash line in 76 games.

League Leaders

We currently have three qualified hitters with an OPS over 1.000, and are down to only a dozen over .900.

• 1.175 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 1.036 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 1.021 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• .945 - LAD Will Smith

• .938 - WAS James Wood

• .932 - CHC Kyle Tucker

• .921 - NYM Pete Alonso

• .916 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• .914 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• .913 - MIN Byron Buxton

• .903 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• .901 - NYM Juan Soto

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 July 1…

• 1910: White Sox Park opens. As described at baseball-reference.com, “White Sox Park opens with a 2-0 loss to the Browns. The stadium, since called Comiskey Park, is baseball's biggest and cost $750,000 to build. 24,900 attend the game, 1,100 less than capacity. This stadium will close in the fall of 1990, to be replaced by a new structure, which will be known as New Comiskey Park.”

• 1911: Walter Johnson allows a career-high 13 runs. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The A's pound Walter Johnson for 13 runs, the most he'll allow in his career, and beat Washington, 13-8. Frank Baker hits his second of five career homers off Johnson in the 6th with a man on.”

• 1920: Walter Johnson pitches a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Walter Johnson pitches a no-hitter, his first, against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. An error by Bucky Harris costs him a perfect game, but Harris's hit drives in Washington's only run. The next day, Johnson comes up with the first sore arm of his life and is useless for the rest of the year, finishing 8-10.”

• 1951: Bob Feller throws his third no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Veteran Bob Feller pitches the third no-hitter of his career, tying the [then] record of Cy Young and Larry Corcoran, as he beats Detroit's Bob Cain, 2-1. Feller loses his shutout in the 4th when Johnny Lipon reaches on an error, swipes second base, goes to third on a errant pickoff, and scores on a sacrifice fly.”

• 1982: Cal Ripken is shifted from 3B to SS. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In what is considered a questionable decision at the time, Cal Ripken Jr. is moved from third base to shortstop by Oriole manager Earl Weaver.” As further explained at Wikipedia: “Weaver decided to permanently shift Ripken to shortstop, deciding that it was harder to find a shortstop who could hit than it was to find a third baseman who could hit. Weaver said, ‘You never know. Rip might be a great shortstop.’”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• John Clarkson (1861) is a Hall of Famer who was a 19th century star pitcher, playing primarily for Chicago, Boston, and Cleveland in the early National League. He pitched 12 seasons spanning from 1882-1894, and as was common for the best pitchers of that era, threw 400+ IP in six seasons, including highs of 623 IP in 1885 and 620 IP in 1889. In those two seasons he posted a 53-16 and 49-19 record, with four other seasons of 30+ wins. He led the NL in ERA once and strikeouts three times, and overall had a 328-178 (.648) record, 2.81 ERA, and 133 ERA+.

• Roger Connor (1857) is a Hall of Famer who was a 19th century star 1B playing 18 seasons from 1880-1897, mostly with the New York Giants, though concluding his career with the St. Louis Browns (of the National League). He scored 100+ runs eight times and had 100+ RBI four times. He was a strong triples hitter, leading the NL twice with 18 in 1882 and 20 in 1886. He had 15+ triples in nine seasons, including a career high of 25 in 1894. Overall he had 1,620 runs scored, 233 triples, 1,323 RBI, a .316/.397/.486 slash line, and a 153 OPS+.

• Ben Taylor (1888) is a Hall of Famer who was a star 1B of the Negro Leagues, playing in the majors from 1920-1929, but with a full career that started in 1909. Early on he was a part-time pitcher in addition to being a good hitter, and for many seasons later in his career he was a player-manager. Based on the data available at baseball-reference.com, during his time in the majors he regularly hit over .300, with a high of .392 in 1921 when he led his league in hits with 160 and doubles with 25. He wasn’t a power hitter, but had an impressive career .337/.398/.461 slash line, and a 133 OPS+.

• Nelson Cruz (1980) was a slugging RF and DH for 19 years in the majors from 2005-2023. He played eight years with the Rangers, four with the Mariners, and the rest spread between six other clubs. A 7-time All-Star, Cruz hit 25+ HR in ten seasons, including leading the AL with 40 in 2014 and hitting a career high 44 the following season. He had 100+ RBI four times, including leading the AL with 119 in 2017. Cruz often performed well in the postseason, hitting 18 HR in 50 games, and winning ALCS MVP honors 2011 with the Rangers when he went 8-22 with 6 HR, 2 doubles, and 13 RBI. Overall in his regular season career Cruz had 464 HR, 1,325 RBI, a .274/.343/.513 slash line, and a 130 OPS+.

• Jack Quinn (1883) was born in Slovakia, but emigrated to the US as an infant. He had a 23-year major league pitching career, which spanned from 1909-1933. Though he went 18-12 in 1910 and 26-14 in 1914, Quinn was often up and down between the majors and minors even until his early 30s. He played for eight different major league teams, but spent the most seasons with the New York Highlanders/Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics, and Boston Red Sox. Late in his career he was used mostly as a reliever, in his age 46-49 seasons. Overall, Quinn had a 247-218 (.531) record, a 3.29 ERA, and a 114 ERA+.

• Charlie Blackmon (1986) retired after last season having spent 14 years with the Colorado Rockies. A four-time All-Star, Blackmon played a mix of RF, CF, and DH. He stole 28 bases in 2014 and then a career high 43 bases in 2015. He provided more power in the following four seasons, scoring 110+ runs each year with 29-37 HR each season. His best campaign came in 2017 when he led the NL with 137 runs, 213 hits, 14 triples, and a .331 average, to go with 35 doubles, 37 HR, and 14 SB. Overall, Blackmon scored 996 runs, with 227 HR and 148 SB, a .293/.353/.479 slash line, and a 111 OPS+.

Currently active players who were born on July 1 include KCR Michael Wacha, CHC Colin Rea, and CHC Chris Flexen.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Tuesday games (15), so we have lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• NYY vs. TOR is game two of this important series between two strong AL East teams and features Max Fried (1.92 ERA, 104 K in 108 IP) vs. Kevin Gausman (4.21 ERA, 90 K in 94 IP).

• SDP vs. PHI is also game two of a solid series between winning teams, with Nick Pivetta (3.36 ERA, 101 K in 91 IP) facing Cristopher Sánchez (2.79 ERA, 103 K in 93.2 IP).

• MIL vs. NYM is the start of a similarly good series between two winning teams, with Freddy Peralta (2.90 ERA, 98 K in 93 IP) taking on Clay Holmes (2.97 ERA, 75 K in 88 IP).

Also on the hill today are PIT Paul Skenes, MIN Joe Ryan, CHC Matthew Boyd, TEX Jacob deGrom, and LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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 Aaron Judge, 14-42 (.342) with 6 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• CLE José Ramírez, 12-41 (.293) with 3 HR, a triple, and a double vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• NYY Giancarlo Stanton, 7-22 with 2 HR and a double vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• PHI Bryce Harper, 4-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• PHI Trea Turner, only 4-18 (.222) but has 2 HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• ATL Ozzie Albies, small sample but is 4-6 with 3 HR and a double vs. LAA Tyler Anderson

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, small sample but is 2-4 with 2 HR vs. SFG Hayden Birdsong

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:

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 7-13 with a HR vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• STL Alec Burleson, 6-15 with a double vs. PIT Paul Skenes

• PHI J.T. Realmuto, 5-13 with 3 doubles vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• SDP Jose Iglesias, small sample but is 4-8 with a HR and a double vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

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

• 9 - PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes

• 8 - CHC Nico Hoerner

• 8 - WAS Daylen Lile

• 8 - AZ Eugenio Suárez… with 5 HR and a .457 average!

• 8 - PIT Bryan Reynolds

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 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:

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 2-17 with 3 K though both hits were HR vs. STL Andre Pallante

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 2-19 with 9 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• SFG Willy Adames, 1-18 with 6 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 0-10 with 4 K vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• STL Masyn Winn, 2-15 with 3 K vs. PIT Paul Skenes

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Shohei Ohtani currently has 82 runs scored, and is on pace for 156. As noted, Ronald Acuña Jr. came close to the 150 runs mark with 149 in 2023. The last player to have 150 or more runs was Jeff Bagwell with 152 in 2000. I checked and Rickey Henderson topped out at 146 in 1985. The last player before Bagwell was Ted Williams who had exactly 150 in 1949.

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.

• 5 Players Who Should Get Extensions, at Ballpark Buzz, 7/1/2025

• Remembering “The Cobra,” Dave Parker (1951-2025), by Jay Jaffe at FanGraphs, 6/30/2025

• 7 pressing questions as July begins, by Will Leitch at MLB, 6/30/2025

• Answering the AL's biggest questions as Trade Deadline looms, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 6/30/2025

• Ranking the All-Star ballot decisions, toughest to easiest, by Will Leitch at MLB 6/30/2025

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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