The Baseball Buffet for 7/19/2025

Issue #340

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 114th day of the season featured a full slate of Friday games, a fresh set of weekend series coming of the All-Star break:

• BOS, 1, CHC 4 - Seiya Suzuki hit a 3-run HR in the bottom of the first inning, his 26th on the year. Colin Rea pitched well over five innings (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) and five Cubs relievers held Boston scoreless, with Daniel Palencia locking down the ninth for his 13th save.

• CHW 10, PIT 1 - The Sox scored three against Bailey Falter in the first inning, including a solo HR by Edgar Quero, and then Luis Robert Jr. added a solo HR in the fourth. Chicago tallied 11 hits in all, scored another six runs off Pittsburgh relievers, with Jonathan Cannon pitching a good game (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K).

• SDP 7, WAS 2 - Dylan Cease was dominant, striking out ten in just over five innings of work (5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). Michael Soroka pitched well for the Nationals (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but the Padres had a 2-0 lead after seven. In the bottom of the eighth, CJ Abrams hit a 2-run HR to tie the game. Washington’s closer Kyle Finnegan then got into trouble in the top of the ninth, with some singles leading to one run, and then a grand slam by Manny Machado bringing in four more.

• LAA 6, PHI 5 - The Phillies scored all five of their runs from a HR by Kyle Schwarber in the 1st inning, and two HR from Bryce Harper in the 3rd and 8th innings. But the Angels had three homers of their own by Jorge Soler, Jo Adell, and Taylor Ward. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 17th save on the year.

• SFG 0, TOR 4 - The Giants out hit the Blue Jays 11-10, but they were 0-9 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile Justin Verlander struggled again (2.2. IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) dropping his record to an unsightly 0-8 on the season. Chris Bassitt allowed most of those Giants hits, but didn’t let up any runs (6.1 IP, 10 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), while Jeff Hoffman struck out three in the ninth to close it out.

• CIN 8, NYM 4 - Juan Soto hit a HR in the first inning, and Sean Manaea did well in his first start of 2025 (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)—a welcome sign for the Mets. But Nick Lodolo also pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and the Reds scored a lot off of New York’s relievers, with Austin Hays going 2-3 with 2 HR and 2 walks, Matt McLain going 2-4 with a HR, a double, and a walk, and Tyler Stephenson also 2-4 with a HR and a walk.

• ATH 6, CLE 8 - Cleveland hit JP Sears pretty well (4 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), including homers by David Fry and Jonathan Rodriguez—the first of his major league career. Slade Cecconi went deep into this one (8.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), but the Athletics eventually caught up with him, including HR by Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker. Emmanuel Clase came in and got the last two outs via strikeouts, eaerning his 21st save of the year.

• KCR 7, MIA 8 - Royals rookie John Rave had a big day, hitting his first major league HR in the 4th inning, and then tying the game with a solo HR in the top of the ninth. But Marlins all-star Kyle Stowers had an even bigger game, going 3-5 with a 2-run HR in the first inning, and then a walk-off, two-run HR in the bottom of the tenth. And this performance after he hit three HR the day before the all-star break.

• NYY 3, ATL 7 - Spencer Strider was solid (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) and Ozzie Albies hit a 3-run HR in the 3rd inning which put the Braves up 6-0 early on. Ronald Acuña Jr. was 2-3 with a triple, a double, a walk, and an outstanding throw from deep RF to 3B to gun down rookie Jorbit Vivas who was attempting to advance.

• BAL 1, TBR 11 - Colton Cowser was 3-3 with three singles, and Gunnar Henderson went 2-4 with a triple and a double. But those were the only five hits the Orioles could muster, as Taj Bradley pitched a good game (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Meanwhile the Rays had four HR on the day, including two from Junior Caminero (showing no ill effects from having been a HR derby participant), and one apiece by Danny Jansen and Yandy Diaz.

• DET 0, TEX 2 - This one was a pitchers duel early on between Reese Olson (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Patrick Corbin (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Texas finally scored two in the bottom of the eighth, powered by a pair of doubles by Kyle Higashioka and Corey Seager. Robert Garcia then came in and struck out two in the ninth to secure his 7th save.

• MIN 4, COL 6 - The Twins scored four via HR from Byron Buxton and Willi Castro, but that wouldn’t be enough as the Rockies tallied 13 hits including homers from Ryan McMahon and Jordan Beck, who was 3-5 on the day. Colorado veteran Kyle Freeland pitched pretty well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) and Seth Halvorsen struck out two in the ninth for his 9th save.

• STL 3, AZ 7 - The Cardinals finally scored three runs in the ninth, including a 2-run HR by Victor Scott II. But that wasn’t nearly enough as Brandon Pfaadt had pitched great through seven innings (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), and the D-Backs had managed 11 hits and scored seven runs across four different innings.

• HOU 1, SEA 6 - Both starters did well in this one: Brandon Walter (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Luis Castillo (6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). But already up 2-0 from solo HR by Randy Arozarena and Mitch Garver, the Mariners added another four runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull away.

• MIL 2, LAD 0 - Tyler Glasnow pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and that is good news for the Dodgers for the rest of the year. But LA’s lineup couldn’t get much going against Quinn Priester (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), and three Milwaukee relievers pitched scoreless innings, with Trevor Megill securing his 22nd save.

Standings

I am tinkering with how to provide current standings as part of The Baseball Buffet (full each day or rotating through divisions, what data and format to provide that works for both large and small screens, and so on.) Here also is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Of note to me:

• The Red Sox came out of the All-Star break with a loss, ending their 10-game winning streak.

• The Brewers on the other hand extended their winning streak to 8 games,

• The Tigers still have the best record overall, but continued their slide and are now on a five-game losing streak.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, the Tigers have lost five in a row. They nonetheless have the best record in baseball—just barely ahead of the Dodgers and Cubs. Looking ahead to postseason possibilities, the Tigers have won the World Series four times—can you name the years?

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

• BAL C Chadwick Tromp

• TBR CF Jonny DeLuca

• BAL SP Zach Eflin

• CHW LF Brooks Baldwin

• PIT SP Johan Oviedo

• KCR 2B Michael Massey

• MIN SP Bailey Ober

• HOU SP Cristian Javier

• HOU 2B Brendan Rodgers

• CLE SS Gabriel Arias

• MIN 2B Luke Keaschall

• MIL SP Nestor Cortes

• SFG RP Scott Alexander

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIL RF Sal Frelick - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• TEX CF Sam Haggerty - 10-day IL (ankle inflammation)

📝 Signed as a Free Agent

• Detroit signed RP Tanner Rainey, who has played eight years in the majors, including appearing in 11 games for the Pirates this season.

➡️ Traded

• The Rangers traded SP/RP Dane Dunning to the Braves for RP José Ruiz.

MLB Debut

• TEX IF Cody Freeman - 24-year old Cody Freeman entered the game in the 8th inning as a pinch-runner for catcher Kyle Higashioka, and scored one of the games only two runs. Prior to the call-up, Freeman had been doing well at AAA Round Rock, with 12 HR, 54 RBI, 8 SB, and a .315 average across 79 games, playing a mix of 3B, 2B, and SS.

League Leaders

Now past the All-Star break, I’ll start a fresh round of check-ins here, starting with the HR leaderboard:

• 38 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 35 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 32 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 31 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 31 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 26 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 25 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 25 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 24 - DET Riley Greene

• 24 - NYM Juan Soto

• 24 - WAS James Wood

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 19…

• 1909: The aptly named Neal Ball completes the first modern major league unassisted triple play. As described at baseball-reference.com, “With two men on base, Cleveland shortstop Neal Ball catches Amby McConnell's line drive, gets Heinie Wagner at second, and then tags Jake Stahl completing the first modern major league unassisted triple play in a 6-1 win over the Red Sox.”

• 1933: The Ferrell brothers each hit a HR in the same game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “For the first time, brothers on opposite teams homer in the same game. Red Sox C Rick Ferrell hits his home run off brother Wes of Cleveland. Wes hits his off Hank Johnson in the 3rd inning.”

• 1936: 17-year old Bob Feller makes his debut. As described at baseball-reference.com, “17-year-old Iowa farm boy Bob Feller makes his major league debut, pitching one inning of relief against the Senators in Washington, D.C. The hard-throwing kid allows no hits and no runs, striking out none, and walks two batters.

• 1960: Juan Marichal throws a one-hitter in his debut. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In his major league debut, Giants rookie righty Juan Marichal one-hits the Phillies at Candlestick Park, 2-0. Philadelphia's lone hit is a two-out, 8th-inning single by pinch hitter Clay Dalrymple. Marichal winds up with 12 strikeouts and is the first National League hurler since 1900 to debut with a one-hitter.”

• 1974: Dick Bosman throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Cleveland's Dick Bosman no-hits Oakland, 4-0. He has no one but himself to blame for not picking up a rare perfect game. His throwing error in the 4th puts the A's only runner on base. The two clubs combine to set an American League record with only two runners left on base.”

• 1982: 75-year old Luke Appling hits a HR. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In the first annual Cracker Jack Oldtimers Classic at Washington's Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, 75-year-old Luke Appling hits a 250-foot homer off Warren Spahn to help the American League to a 7-2 win over the National League in a five-inning battle of retired baseball stars.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Bob Meusel (1896) had an 11-year major league career, spanning from 1920-1930, and playing all but his final season for the New York Yankees. Although not as famous as teammates Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig, Meusel was nonetheless an important part of the dominant Yankees teams of that era. He hit .328 with 40 doubles and 83 RBI in his rookie season, and then had 24 HR, 138 RBI, and a .318 average in 1921. He drove in 100+ runs five times, and led the AL with both 33 HR and 134 RBI in 1925. He played a mix of LF and RF, and is one of only a half-dozen players to have hit for the cycle three times. Overall, Meusel had 156 HR, 1,071 RBI, 143 SB, a .309/.356/.497 slash line, and a 118 OPS+.

• Phil Cavarretta (1916) had a 22-year career in the majors, entirely in Chicago, mostly for the Cubs and his final two seasons with the White Sox. He usually played 1B, but got into some games in the OF as well. He didn’t have much homerun power or speed on the bases, but did hit for a pretty good batting average, including several seasons over .300. A 3-time All-Star, Cavarretta led the NL with 197 hits in 1944, and then earned NL MVP honors in 1945 after leading the league with a .355 average while posting a career high 97 RBI. Overall he had 1,977 hits, a .293/.372/.416 slash line, and a 118 OPS+.

• Preston Wilson (1974) was the first-round draft pick (9th overall) in 1992 by the New York Mets. Wilson had a great combination of power and speed, but also struck out a lot and so it took several years to work his way up through the minors. After playing briefly with the Mets in 1998 he was dealt to the Marlins in a package for star catcher Mike Piazza. Primarily a CF, Wilson blossomed in Miami, hitting 31 HR with 121 RBI and 36 SB in 2000. His one All-Star season came in 2003, his first with the Colorado Rockies, when he hit 36 HR with 141 RBI and a career-high .282 average. Overall, Wilson had six seasons with 20+ HR, and 189 HR and 124 SB over his 10-year major league career.

Currently active players who were born on July 19 include TEX Patrick Corbin, CHW Jonathan Cannon, and HOU Mauricio Dubón.

Today’s Matchups

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

• BOS vs. CHC is game two of an interesting inter-league series, and features Brayan Bello (3.14 ERA, 70 K in 91.2 IP) vs. Shota Imanaga (2.80 ERA, 48 K in 68 IP), both of whom have been pitching well lately.

• MIL vs. LAD is game two of this series between two winning NL clubs, with Milwaukee ace Freddy Peralta (11-4, 2.66 ERA, 118 K in 111.2 IP) getting the call and the Dodgers countering with 25-year old Emmet Sheehan (2.03 ERA, 13 K in 13.1 IP), pitching in his fourth game of the season.

Also on the hill today are SFG Logan Webb, NYM Clay Holmes, and STL Sonny Gray.

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:

• LAA Mike Trout, 11-19 with 3 HR and a triple vs. PHI Taijuan Walker… that are some good numbers!

• CLE José Ramírez, 6-19 with 3 HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

• CLE Carlos Santana, only 5-22 but with 2 HR and a double vs. ATH Luis Severino

• TBR Danny Jansen, small sample but is 2-7 with 2 HR vs. BAL Dean Kremer

• BAL Colton Cowser, 4-14 with 2 HR and a triple vs. TBR Zack Littell

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 7-21 with 2 HR and a double vs. TBR Zack Littell

• AZ Josh Naylor, 7-22 with 2 HR and a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

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:

• PIT Tommy Pham, 6-12 vs. CHW Adrian Houser

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 6-13 with a HR vs. HOU Lance McCullers Jr.

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, 5-11 with a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• SDP Luis Arraez, small sample but is 5-9 vs. WAS Mitchell Parker

• SDP Jackson Merrill, small sample but is 4-5 with a double vs. WAS Mitchell Parker

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 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 15 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 11 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 11 - BOS Ceddanne Rafaela

• 10 - BOS Roman Anthony

• 7 - PHI J.T. Realmuto

• 7 - STL Ivan Herrera

• 7 - ATH Brent Rooker

• 7 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• 7 - HOU Victor Caratini

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:

• MIN Harrison Bader, 1-11 with 6 K vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• WAS Paul DeJong, 1-11 with 5 K vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• TBR Yandy Diaz, 2-20 with 4 K vs. BAL Dean Kremer

• TBR Taylor Walls, 1-10 with 3 K vs. BAL Dean Kremer

• WAS Keibert Ruiz, 0-9 with 6 K vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• LAD Mookie Betts, 1-12 though only 1 K and the hit was a HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• BAL Tyler O’Neill, 2-14 with 4 K vs. TBR Zack Littell

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The four times that the Detroit Tigers have won the World Series have been:

• 1984 - Led by Jack Morris, Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon, and a career year by reliever Willie Hernández who won both the AL Cy Young Award and MVP Award that year.

• 1968 - Led by AL Cy Young and MVP Award winner Denny McLain, Mickey Lolich, Al Kaline, Bill Freehan, Norm Cash, Jim Northrup, and Willie Horton.

• 1945 - Led by Rudy York, Roy Cullenbine, Hank Greenberg, Dizzy Trout, and AL MVP Hal Newhouser.

• 1935 - Led by AL MVP Hank Greenberg, Charlie Gehringer, Mickey Cochrane, Goose Goslin, Pete Fox, Schoolboy Rowe, and Tommy Bridges.

The Tigers never won a World Series during the Ty Cobb era, losing the WS each year from 1907-1909.

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.

• These are the top pitches of the first half of the season, by Brent Maguire at MLB, 7/18/2025

• These 8 teams are facing a critical pre-Trade Deadline stretch, by Will Leitch at MLB, 7/17/2025

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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