The Baseball Buffet for 7/18/2026

TBR 0, BOS 10 (Gm 1) - Red Sox rookie BOS SP Jake Bennett had yet another strong outing (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 B, 3 K), and fellow rookie Alec Gamboa combined for the shutout with a 3-inning save. Meanwhile, Boston scored against TBR SP Griffin Jax in the second, fourth, and sixth innings (5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The Red Sox collected 15 hits overall, as Masataka Yoshida went 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 runs; Carlos Narváez went 3-4 with a HR, 2 runs, and 3 RBI; and Caleb Durbin was 3-4 with 2 runs.

TBR 3, BOS 5 (Gm 2) - The Red Sox swept the doubleheader and extended their winning streak to an impressive 11 games. The Rays scored three runs early, including a solo HR by Junior Caminero, his 29th of the year. But Boston scored three in the bottom of the first from back-to-back home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras, and Abreu hit a second HR in the third inning as well. With only two pitchers needed in game one, they used a bullpen approach for the nightcap. Five pitchers didn't allow any runs past the third inning, including closer Aroldis Chapman who struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.

SDP 6, KCR 7 - SDP SP Michael King pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), only giving up a solo HR to Lane Thomas in the second inning. KCR SP Seth Lugo also did well through six innings (6 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), giving up two runs in the fifth, though only one was earned due to a fielding error by 2B Michael Massey. The Royals retook the lead with runs in the sixth and the eighth innings, but then Alex Lange blew a save by giving up a two-out, game-tying HR to Ty France in the ninth.

The usually dominant Mason Miller struggled in the bottom of the inning, giving up a double and a single, and then intentionally walking Bobby Witt Jr. to load the bases with no outs. Setting up force outs everywhere can be a good strategy, but with Miller it can also be unnecessary--as he proceeded to strike out three in a row to get out of the jam. The Padres scored three (two earned) against Lucas Erceg in the top of the tenth, with key hits coming from Miguel Andujar and Fernando Tatis Jr., both of whom had three hits on the day. Kyle Hart came in for San Diego to pitch the bottom of the tenth, but he gave up consecutive singles to Salvador Perez, Michael Massey, and Nick Loftin. With the score 6-5 and runners on second and third with one out, he then gave up a walk-off single to Carter Jensen who poked the ball through the left side of the drawn-in infield.

WSH 23, ATH 4 - WSH SP Cade Cavalli had 9 K over 6 innings (4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB), giving up a 2-run HR to Tyler Soderstrom in the fourth. Rookie ATH SP Gage Jump had 8 K in only 3.2 innings, but also allowed four runs (three earned). The big story, however, became the Nationals' offense continuing to produce as it has all year, as they scored four in the fifth inning, six in the sixth, and four more in the seventh. They scored another five in the ninth too, but those were admittedly against Athletics position player Carlos Cortes who again took a turn on the mound. Andrés Chapparo had a big day, going 4-5 with 2 HR, a walk, 4 runs, and an impressive 8 RBI. Rookie prospect catcher Harry Ford made his debut for the Nationals and hit his first major league HR, going 2-5 with a walk, 3 runs, and 3 RBI. Daylen Lile was 2-6 with a HR and 4 RBI; Curtis Mead went 4-6 with 3 doubles, 4 runs, and 3 RBI; and Nasim Nuñez went 3-6 with 3 runs and his MLB-leading 35th SB. Playing at home, this was a rather embarrassing way for the Athletics to lose their 10th game in a row.

LAD 2, NYY 1

TEX 1, ATL 15

CWS 12, TOR 4

MIA 1, MIL 2 (10)

MIN 5, CHC 2

CIN 7, COL 2

BAL 3, HOU 2

DET 2, LAA 1

STL 5, ARI 4

SFG 7, SEA 0

PIT vs. CLE - postponed due to poor air quality, with makeup scheduled for today as a doubleheader

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. LAA Grayson Rodriguez - This game is of interest given all of the trade rumor talk surrounding Skubal... could he have a big day against the Angels?

PIT Jared Jones vs. CLE Gavin Williams - This is now a doubleheader today, because of the postponed game from yesterday. This is a good pitching matchup in game one, with the starters for game two less clear at the time of this writing.

MIA Max Meyer vs. MIL Shane Drohan - Meyer is having a great season at 9-1 with a 2.58 ERA, and was great going into the All-Star break, with a 1.97 ERA across 41.1 IP in the months of June and July so far.