Issue #686
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! ⚾
Yesterday was the last day of June and we had a full slate of Tuesday games (15). Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
TBR 10, KCR 4 - Carter Jensen continued his hot hitting with a lead-off HR in the bottom of the first inning, thereby extending his consecutive games hitting streak to 20. But the also-streaking Junior Caminero smashed a 3-run HR in the third inning. He has now homered in five consecutive games, has eight HRs in his last seven games, and 23 HRs for the year. Ryan Vilade immediately followed that up with a solo HR of his own, as KCR SP Noah Cameron gave up six runs in the inning (3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 0 K). Bobby Witt Jr. then hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the third off TBR SP Griffin Jax (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), but the Rays kept attacking with two more runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Witt Jr. hit another HR later in the eighth, but it wouldn't be nearly enough.
SDP 7, CHC 9 - This game was a slugfest with a total of nine home runs. SDP SP JP Sears was roughed up (4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and allowed HRs to Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman, and Michael Busch. Swanson hit two HRs on the day, and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 18th HR of the year as well. For their part the Padres got HRs from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado early against CHC SP Matthew Boyd (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), and then Gavin Sheets and Tatis Jr. again hit HRs off Javier Assad in the eighth.
MIA 14, COL 3 - The Marlins scored in each of the first three innings off COL SP Tanner Gordon (5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), including Javier Sanoja connecting for a 3-run HR in the third. They also scored in each of the final four innings off three Rockies relievers, collecting 21 hits in all. Sanoja was 3-5 with 3 runs; Kyle Stowers went 3-6 with a triple and a double; Griffin Conine was 4-5 with a walk and a double; Xavier Edwards was 4-6 with a double; Leo Jiménez went 3-4 with a walk and a double; and rookies Joe Mack and Owen Cassie each had a HR. Meanwhile, MIA SP Eury Pérez pitched well (5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K), only giving up an early HR to Mickey Moniak in the first inning.
CWS 9, BAL 3
TEX 4, CLE 2
DET 9, NYY 3
NYM 3, TOR 0
PIT 0, PHI 8
WSH 8, BOS 1
STL 5, ATL 3
CIN 2, MIL 7
MIN 4, HOU 6
LAD 9, ATH 3
SFG 2, ARI 8
LAA 3, SEA 8
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On this day in baseball history…
Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is slugger Nelson Cruz. Did you know that he had the most home runs of any player during the decade from 2010-2019? He did, with 346. Can you name the two other players who had 300+ HRs from 2010-2019?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: John Clarkson, Roger Connor, Ben Taylor
Row 2: Nelson Cruz, Jack Quinn, Charlie Blackmon
Currently active players who were born on July 1 include KCR Michael Wacha, CHC Colin Rea, ATL Jair Camargo, and SDP Ron Marinaccio.
Today’s Matchups
Today we have a nearly full slate of games (14), with only the Angels and Mariners having the day off to accommodate the soccer game in Seattle (the two teams will conclude their three-game series tomorrow). Here are a couple of interesting matchups (and here is a link to the full schedule):
PIT Paul Skenes vs. PHI Zack Wheeler - pitching matchups don't get much better than this, and as noted below, both of these aces have historically done quite well against their opposing hitters today!
DET Troy Melton vs. NYY Will Warren - the young Melton is 4-1 with a 2.39 over six starts in his second season, while the Yankees are hungry for a win after losing the last six in a row
Other starting pitchers toeing the rubber today include TEX MacKenzie Gore, BOS Payton Tolle, NYM Freddy Peralta, TBR Shane McClanahan, and MIA Max Meyer.
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Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Charlie Blackmon, so here are a few quotes from him:
On his love for the game: "I feel like I've never really worked a day in my life."
"For me spiritually realizing that, you know, baseball is something that I spend a lot of time doing but you can’t turn baseball into an idol, what you derive your self-worth from. It has to be something you do, not who you are. And once I figured all those things out, honestly baseball seemed a lot smaller to me, with the ups and downs and the struggles of failure that are going to happen, inevitably, within the game of baseball."
"I ask for a grateful heart every day and even when it seems tough, you know, you should rejoice in being tested. Everything needs to be an opportunity in my eyes and not an obstacle."
"You can't be a leader unless you start thinking outside of yourself. It's really hard as a young player without a track record to spend time trying to elevate the guys around you when you yourself have glaring weaknesses. I've had lots and lots of failures and struggles in my career, and trying to recognize that in someone else's life or career or swing or whatever it is, and then maybe help them get over it quicker than I did, is my chosen leadership method."
⚾ 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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