The Baseball Buffet for 7/20/2026

LAD 8, NYY 2 (Gm 1) - NYY SP Cam Schlittler had 8 K over 4.1 innings, but also gave up 6 hits and 3 runs. After two relievers pitch well, Jake Bird came in and allowed a lot of baserunners and five runs in the eighth inning. Shohei Ohtani was 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI; Max Muncy went 2-4 with a double and a walk; and Tommy Edman was 2-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBI. Meanwhile, LAD SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a complete game against the Yankees (9 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), giving up a solo HR to Trent Grisham in the fourth inning, and just one other run in the eighth.

LAD 1, NYY 2 (Gm 2) - In the nightcap of the doubleheader both teams went with a bullpen day approach. The Yankees scored a run in the first inning off Will Klein, but then neither team did so again through the seventh. Tommy Edman tied the game in the top of the eighth with a HR off Fernando Cruz. But then Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a solo HR of his own against Evan Phillips in the bottom of the eighth. Yankees closer David Bednar, who had replaced Cruz in the eighth, pitched a scoreless ninth for the Yankees win.

TBR 1, BOS 6 - The Rays scored first, with an inside-the-park HR by Victor Mesa Jr. in the top of the second inning. And they went on to outhit the Red Sox 8-6, but it is hard to win if your offense is a pitiful 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position and leaves 11 runners on base overall. BOS SP Sonny Gray pitched well after the HR (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K), and three Red Sox relievers threw scoreless innings. Meanwhile, TBR SP Shane McClanahan gave up runs in three different innings (5 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), including Willson Contreras hitting a 2-run HR in the fifth, his 22nd HR of the year. The win was Boston's 13th in a row as they continue their remarkable turnaround this year.

SDP 19, KCR 2 - The Royals scored first as Jac Caglianone hit a solo HR in the bottom of the first off SDP SP Germán Márquez (3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). But three Padres relievers pitched six scoreless innings, while the Royals pitching staff had a decidedly different sort of day. The Padres collected 19 hits and 19 runs, though six hits and six runs admittedly came off position player Tyler Tolbert in the final inning. Jackson Merrill went 4-6 with 2 HR and 4 RBI; Ty France was 2-6 with a grand slam and a solo HR; and Fernando Tatis Jr. was 2-5 with a HR, 3 runs, and 4 RBI. Other contributors included Luis Rengifo who went 3-5 with a walk and 3 runs; rookie Jase Bowen who was 2-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; and rookie Sung-Mun Song who was 3-3 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI.

CIN 9, COL 6 - The Reds hammered COL SP Ryan Feltner (2.1 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) for eight runs in the first two innings, including HRs by Nathaniel Lowe, Tyler Stephenson, and Sal Stewart. Stephenson was 3-4 on the day with 2 HR, a double and 3 RBI. Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman did all he could by hitting three HRs, including two off CIN SP Hunter Greene (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Willi Castro led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo HR, but Emilio Pagán recovered and was able to close out the game.

CWS 3, TOR 0

PIT 7, CLE 1

NYM 6, PHI 1

TEX 5, ATL 8

BAL 5, HOU 2

MIA 1, MIL 3

MIN 1, CHC 10

WSH 5, ATH 2

SFG 3, SEA 6

DET 2, LAA 3

STL 7, ARI 8

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!

TBR Nick Martinez vs. TOR Dylan Cease - Two All-Star pitchers face off to start this AL East series.

LAD Emmet Sheehan vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez - Game one of another big series for the Dodgers, and they face All Star game starter Sánchez in this first contest.