The Baseball Buffet for 7/13/2025

Issue #333

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 108th day of the season had a full slate of Saturday games:

• PIT 4, MIN 12 - The Twins got to Pirates rookie starter Mike Burrows in the second inning and were up 9-0 after three. Byron Buxton was 5-5 and hit for the cycle, including his 21st HR of the year (and it was his bobblehead day at the stadium too!). Willi Castro went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI, and Kody Clemens and Matt Wallner also hit homers.

• CHC 5, NYY 2 - Max Fried struggled in this one (3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), and left after three innings with a blister on his left index finger. The only offense for the Yankees came from Aaron Judge who was 3-4 with a HR and 2 doubles. Matthew Boyd was excellent (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), Carson Kelly added the final Cubs run with a solo HR late in the game, and Daniel Palencia recorded the last two outs for his 11th save.

• SEA 15, DET 7 - Detroit had HR by Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry, but Seattle tallied 19 hits and 15 runs, including HR by Luke Raley, Julio Rodriguez, and Randy Arozarena. (Cal Raleigh somehow went 0-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in this one.) J.P. Crawford went 2-6 with a double and 4 RBI, Dominic Canzone was 4-5 with a double, and Ben Williamson was 3-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.

• ATL 7, STL 6 - The Braves had HR early from Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna, but then the Cardinals tied the game 3-3 in the second inning including a 2-run HR by Nolan Gorman. Yohel Pozo added a St. Louis HR later, but so did Sean Murphy for Atlanta with a 3-run dinger in the 8th. The game was tied 6-6 going into the top of the ninth, when the Cardinals’ usually reliable closer Ryan Helsley allowed two hits and a go-ahead run to cross. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias pitched the bottom of the frame and held St. Louis scoreless for his 11th save.

• LAD 2, SFG 1 - Landen Roupp pitched well (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) but those two runs were all it took as the Giants couldn’t get much going on offense. Shohei Ohtani was stretched to three innings this time, striking our four while only allowing a single. Michael Conforto was 3-4 and scored both of the Dodgers runs, while Tanner Scott struck out two in the ninth for his 19th save.

• MIA 6, BAL 0 - Trevor Rogers pitched well (6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), but other than Gunnar Henderson going 2-4 with 2 doubles, the Orioles offense struggled. The Marlins scored six runs in the final three innings, including a 2-run HR by Xavier Edwards in the ninth. Janson Junk pitched a good game (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) and two Marlins relievers completed the shutout.

• COL 3, CIN 4 - 24-year old Ryan Ritter his a 2-run HR, the first of his major league career. But Brady Singer otherwise pitched pretty well, striking out 9 in 6.1 innings. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, with no outs the Reds got a single from Spencer Steer, a triple by Will Benson, and then scored the winning run when 2B Orlando Arcia’s fielding error allowed Noelvi Marte to reach base and Will Benson to score.

• NYM 3, KCR 1 - Frankie Montas pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) in his fourth start of the season, a good sign for the Mets as they enter the All-Star break. Three New York relievers held the Royals scoreless the rest of the way, with Edwin Díaz pitching two innings for his 19th save. Juan Soto hit a 2-run HR, his 23rd on the year.

• TBR 0, BOS 1 - Shane Baz pitched well (6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but the one run he allowed was all it took as Garrett Crochet pitched the first shutout of his career (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). He is now leading MLB in strikeouts with 160, six more than Zack Wheeler and seven more than Tarik Skubal.

• CLE 6, CHW 2 - The Guardians spread their six runs across five different innings, including Kyle Manzardo hitting his 14th HR of the year in the sixth. Tanner Bibee pitched fairly well (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and three Cleveland relievers held the Sox scoreless the rest of the way. José Ramírez was 1-3 with 2 walks and 3 SB, giving him 29 steals on the season.

• WAS 5, MIL 6 - Brandon Woodruff had an impressive 10 K in 4.1 innings, though also allowed two solo HR to Dalen Lile and Brady House (his first of two HR on the day). The Brewers were down 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth and facing the Nats closer Kyle Finnegan. With runners on first and second, Andrew Vaughn hit a double to drive in both Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich. Then later with runners on second and third, Caleb Durbin singled to drive in Andruw Monasterio for the walk-off win.

• TEX 4, HOU 5 - Jacob deGrom struck out 8 over 6 innings, but also allowed solo homers to Jose Altuve and Yainer Diaz. Framber Valdez was excellent (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) and the Astros were up 3-1 after seven innings. Marcus Semien was given extra life after a missed check-swing call, and proceeded to hit a HR off Bryan Abreu in the eighth. DH Kyle Higashioka hit a two-out HR in the ninth off Josh Hader to tie the game 3-3. Neither team scored in the 10th, and the Rangers scored one in the top of the 11th. The Astros loaded the bases and Christian Walker hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Zach Short then hit a single to drive in Cam Smith for the win.

• PHI 4, SDP 5 - Jackson Merrill had been in an 0-20 slump coming into this game, but he snapped out of it with two HR off Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (6 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Yu Darvish again had mixed results in his second start of the year (4.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), but five Padres relievers held the Phillies scoreless the rest of the way, with Jeremiah Estrada pitching the ninth for his 3rd save.

• AZ 5, LAA 10 - Eugenio Suárez hit two HR early off Yusei Kikuchi (5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), giving him 31 on the season. But Zac Gallen struggled (5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), including Mike Trout hitting a 2-run HR in the fifth, his 17th of the year. The Angels tallied 15 hits in all, with Nolan Schanuel going 3-4 with a walk, and Travis d’Arnaud going 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored.

• TOR 3, ATH 4 - Leo Jimenez hit his first HR of the year, but A’s starter Jacob Lopez otherwise pitched fairly well (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Brent Rooker was 2-2 with a walk, a double, a HR, and 3 RBI to drive the Athletics offense, while Mason Miller struck out two in the ninth to secure his 18th save.

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

In the Yankees loss yesterday, Aaron Judge connected for the 350th HR of his career. He has played in 1,088 games which according to research by Sarah Langs at MLB is by far the fewest career games to get to 350 homers. How many of the next five fastest players in history to get to 350 HR can you name?

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

• HOU SP Cristian Javier

• TEX RP Josh Sborz

🤕 Placed on the IL

• ATL 3B Austin Riley - 10-day IL (strained right abdomen)

• BOS SP Hunter Dobbins - 15-day IL (right ACL tear)

➡️ Traded

• The Red Sox traded 27-year old C Blake Sabol to the White Sox for cash.

League Leaders

San Diego’s Robert Suarez has continued to rack up saves lately, and now leads all of MLB by three:

• 28 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 25 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 25 - HOU Josh Hader

• 22 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 21 - MIL Trevor Megill

• 21 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 20 - CLE Emmanuel Clase

• 19 - NYM Edwin Díaz

• 19 - CIN Emilio Pagán

• 19 - CIN LAD Tanner Scott

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 13…

• 1896: Ed Delahanty hit four HR in a game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Ed Delahanty hits four home runs, but it's not enough as the Phillies lose to the Chicago Colts, 9-8. "Big Ed" is the second man to hit four homers in one game in the National League, after Bobby Lowe two years earlier. It will be another 90 years until another man hits four long balls in defeat, when Bob Horner does it for the Atlanta Braves on July 6, 1986.”

• 1935: Doc Cramer is 6-for-6… again. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The A's Doc Cramer has a 6-for-6 game, tying the American League mark for the second time. He had also done it in 1932.”

• 1991: Four Orioles pitchers combine for a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Orioles defeat the A's, 2-0, on a combined no-hitter by pitchers Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson. It is only the second time in history that four pitchers have combined to throw a no-hitter. On September 28, 1975, Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers turned the trick for Oakland against the California Angels. Milacki is lifted in the 6th after Willie Wilson smashes a ball off the pitcher's index finger.”

• 1999: Pedro Martinez strikes out first four he faces in All-Star game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Fenway Park, hometown favorite Pedro Martinez strikes out five of the six batters he faces to win MVP honors in the 70th Mid-Summer Classic. The two All-Star pitching squads combine for a record 22 strikeouts as the American League tops the National League, 4-1. The game begins 15 minutes late as Hall of Fame OF Ted Williams rides out in a cart for the first-pitch ceremony. Players from both teams surround the former Red Sox star in a spontaneous display of homage.”

• 2013: Tim Lincecum threw a no-hitter. The Giants’ Tim Lincecum strikes out 13 as he no-hits the Padres, winning 9-0.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Stan Coveleski (1889) is a Hall of Famer who pitched 14 years in the majors, spanning from 1912-1928, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. He won 20+ games five times, and led the AL in ERA with a 2.76 mark in 1923 and 2.84 in 1925. He was critical to the Indians in the 1920 World Series, pitching three complete game wins while allowing only two runs in 27 innings (0.67 ERA). Over his regular season career he had a 215-142 (.602) record, a 2.89 ERA, and a 127 ERA+.

• Yadier Molina (1982) had a 19-year career as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, from 2004-2022. He developed into a good hitting catcher, with two 20+ HR seasons, 176 career HR, and a .277/.327/.399 slash line. A 10-time All-Star, his biggest value came from his outstanding defense which earned him 9 Gold Glove Awards. He was usually amongst the leaders in caught-stealing percentage, and led the NL in CS% four times. He is fourth all-time in games played at catcher, and is the all-time leader in putouts at the position.

• Cody Bellinger (1995) is now in his ninth season in the majors, having played six years with the Dodgers, two with the Cubs, and now in the midst of his first season with Yankees. He won the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 after hitting 39 HR with 97 RBI and 10 SB. His power slumped the following year, but then in 2019 he won the NL MVP Award after hitting 47 HR with 115 RBI, 121, runs, 15 SB, and a .305/.406/.629 slash line. He also won a Gold Glove Award that year for his fine work in RF. A 2-time All-Star, Bellinger has played mostly at CF and 1B over his career, though this year the Yankees have been using him at all three OF spots. So far in his career he’s had 212 HR, 100 SB, a .261/.334/.485 slash line, and a 121 OPS+.

• DJ LeMahieu (1988) was the second round pick of the Cubs in the 2009 draft, and had his first taste of the majors in 2011. He was traded to the Rockies after that season, and it was in Colorado that LeMahieu blossomed into an All-Star second baseman. He won the NL Batting title with a .348 average in 2016, scoring 104 runs that year. He signed with the Yankees as a free agent for the 2019 season and proceeded to have career highs with 26 HR and 102 RBI, along with a .327 average. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season LeMahieu led the AL with a .364 average and .421 OBP. He also provided New York with a lot of position versatility as he spent significant time at 2B, 3B, and 1B. A 3-time All-Star and 4-time Gold Glove Award winner, his offensive numbers have not been very strong for the past several years, and so he was recently released by the Yankees and awaits his next opportunity.

• Shin-Soo Choo (1982) was signed by the Mariners as a free agent at the age of 18 out of South Korea. He worked his way up through their farm system, and just as he was ready for the major leagues the Mariners traded him the Indians. He started to see regular playing time in the majors in 2008, and hit .300 with 20+ HR, 85+ RBI, and 20+ SB in both 2009 and 2010. Mostly playing RF, he was with Cleveland through 2012, then had one year with the Reds, and then finished with seven seasons for the Rangers. He hit 20+ HR seven times and had 20+ SB four times. Overall he accumulated 218 HR, 157 SB, with a .275/.377/.447 slash line, and a 122 OPS+.

• Ryan Ludwick (1978) was drafted in the second round by the Athletics in 1999, and was up and down between the minors and majors for several years in the Rangers and Indians systems, often putting up solid HR numbers at AA and AAA. After the 2006 season he signed with the Cardinals as a free agent, and in 2008 he was an All-Star and had by far his best numbers with 37 HR, 40 doubles, 104 runs, 113 RBI, and a .299/.375/.591 slash line. He would go on to hit 20+ HR two more times, and overall in a 12-year career had 154 HR, a .260/.330/.451 slash line, and a 109 OPS+.

In addition to Cody Bellinger and DJ LeMahieu, other currently active players who were born on July 13 include AZ Seth Brown and MIN Ty France.

Today’s Matchups

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

• TEX vs. HOU is a fun AL West, Texas series. The Rangers won game one, the Astros came from behind in the 11th to take game two yesterday. Game three today features Nathan Eovaldi (1.62 ERA, 86 K in 83.1 IP) vs. Hunter Brown (2.21 ERA, 129 K in 110 IP).

• LAD vs. SFG is similarly game three of an NL West, California rivalry series, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.77 ERA, 109 K in 97.1 IP) facing Robbie Ray 2.63 ERA, 122 K in 113 IP).

• PHI vs. SDP is also a nice pitching matchup between Cristopher Sánchez (2.59 ERA, 116 K in 107.2 IP) and Nick Pivetta (3.07 ERA, 114 K in 102.2 IP)

Also on the bump today are CHC Shota Imanaga, SEA Logan Gilbert, NYM Clay Holmes, MIL Freddy Peralta, STL Sonny Gray, and AZ Merrill Kelly.

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:

• HOU Jose Altuve, 16-55 (.291) with 7 HR and 2 doubles vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• HOU Christian Walker, 6-11 with 2 HR and a double vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, 5-16 with 3 HR and a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• MIL William Contreras, 3-9 with 2 HR and a double vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• LAD Teoscar Hernandez, 3-7 with 2 HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• WAS Paul DeJong, 4-14 with 2 HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• PHI Trea Turner, only 5-21 (.238) but with 2 HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• PHI Bryce Harper, 5-16 with 2 HR with a double vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• BOS Trevor Story, 5-8 with 2 HR vs. TBR Ryan Pepiot

• TEX Jake Burger, 5-7 with 2 HR vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Adolis García, 6-18 with 2 HR and a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown

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:

• TEX Marcus Semien, 12-22 with a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TBR Yandy Diaz, 7-15 with 2 doubles vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• TBR Josh Lowe, 7-20 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• TBR Jonathan Aranda, 6-15 with a double vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• ATH Gio Urshela, 6-12 vs. TOR José Berríos

• PHI J.T. Realmuto, 6-15 with 3 doubles vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• TOR Bo Bichette, 5-13 vs. ATH Jeffrey Springs

• SDP Jose Iglesias, 5-11 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:

• 17 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 15 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 13 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 10 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 9 - BOS Ceddanne Rafaela

• 9 - NYY Jazz Chisholm Jr.

• 8 - BOS Roman Anthony

• 8 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 8 - TEX Adolis Garcia

• 7 - TEX Corey Seager

• 7 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• 7 - NYM Francisco Lindor

• 7 - CHC Kyle Tucker

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:

• HOU Isaac Parades, 2-18 with 10 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• LAD Will Smith, 2-13 with 7 K though the hits were a HR and a double vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• ATH Brent Rooker, 2-12 with 7 K vs. TOR José Berríos

• ATH Shea Langeliers, 1-10 with 3 K vs. TOR José Berríos

• TOR George Springer, 1-10 with 5 K vs. ATH Jeffrey Springs

• ATL Ozzie Albies, 2-16 with 5 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• TBR Taylor Walls, 1-13 with 3 K vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• CLE Carlos Santana, 1-13 with 3 K vs. CHW Aaron Civale

• TEX Jonah Heim, 2-16 with 3 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Wyatt Langford, 1-11 with 2 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• MIN Harrison Bader, 1-10 with 2 K vs. PIT Mitch Keller

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Aaron Judge hit his 350th HR yesterday, accomplishing that milestone in only 1,088 games. As Sarah Langs at MLB noted, that is far fewer than anyone else in MLB history:

• 1,088 games - Aaron Judge

• 1,280 games - Mark McGwire

• 1,298 games - Juan Gonzalez

• 1,301 games - Alex Rodriguez

• 1,319 games - Harmon Killebrew

• 1,320 games - Albert Pujols

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’s how all 30 teams’ prospects fared in the Futures Game, by Joe Trezza and Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB, 7/12/2025

• 4 Japanese-born pitchers get the start on same day for 1st time in MLB history, by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB, 7/12/2025

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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