The Baseball Buffet for 7/24/2025

Issue #345

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! ⚾

The 119th day of the season featured a full slate of Wednesday games:

• DET 1, PIT 6 - Andrew McCutchen hit a HR in the first inning, and Spencer Horwitz hit his first career grand slam in the second—a nasty way to welcome Detroit’s rookie pitcher Troy Melton to the big leagues (5 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). Meanwhile, Bailey Falter did very well (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K), and Carmen Mlodzinski kept the Tigers off the board for the last two innings.

• CIN 5, WAS 0 - Michael Soroka pitched well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but Reds starter Nick Lodolo was outstanding, throwing a 4-hit shuout (9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K).

• SDP 2, MIA 3 - Sandy Alcantara pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) in what might have been a much-needed solid audition before the trade deadline given his shaky season so far. Jesús Sánchez hit a 2-run HR in the 5th inning, and Calvin Faucher recorded a five-out save, his 9th on the year.

• SFG 9, ATL 3 - Spencer Strider struck out 7 in 5 innings, but also allowed two HR in the fifth inning to Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman. Devers hit another HR in the sixth inning, while Justin Verlander was a bit wild but only allowed one hit over five innings (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K), finally getting his first win of the season.

• LAA 3, NYM 6 - Mike Trout hit a HR, his 18th of the season, but Mets starter Sean Manaea otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Brandon Nimmo hit his 19th HR, Pete Alonso hit his 22nd HR, and Edwin Díaz got the last four outs to secure his 21st save.

• KCR 8, CHC 4 - Seth Lugo pitched pretty well through six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), with Matt Shaw and Pete Crow-Armstrong later hitting solo homers off Royals’ relievers. But that wasn’t enough for the Cubs as Kansas City had four, 2-run HR in this game: Vinnie Pasquantino hit two of them, Salvador Perez had one, and rookie Tyler Tolbert had the other—his first major league HR.

• STL 0, COL 6 - Rockies starter Tanner Gordon did well through six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), and two Colorado relievers combined for the shutout. The Rockies tallied 12 hits, including Ezequiel Tovar hitting his 5th HR of the year, and his second since recently returning from the IL.

• HOU 4, AZ 3 - Ketel Marte hit a HR in the bottom of the first, his 20th on the year. But Astros starter Brandon Walter did well after that (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and Houston had 11 hits including Yainer Diaz going 3-5 with two doubles. Josh Hader struck out two in the ninth to notch his 27th save.

• MIL 10, SEA 2 - Quinn Priester pitched well (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and Tobias Myers struck out three over the last two innings. Luis Castillo struck out 7 over 5 innings, but also allowed 10 hits. The Brewers had 17 hits overall, with Brice Turang going 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI, and William Contreras was 3-5 with 2 RBI.

• MIN 3, LAD 4 - This one was a pitchers duel early on, as the two starters combined for 20 strikeouts: Chris Paddack (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and Tyler Glasnow (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 12 K). The only run Glasnow allowed was a HR by Royce Lewis, and the only run Paddack allowed was a HR by Shohei Ohtani, his 37th on the season. Minnesota was ahead 3-2 through eight, when Dodgers reliever Anthony Banda came in and got three strikeouts in the top of the ninth. Griffin Jax came in for the Twins but loaded the bases and then let up a 2-RBI walk-off single to Freddie Freeman.

• BAL 2, CLE 3 - Slade Cecconi did fairly well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), eventually giving up a solo HR to Jackson Holliday in the sixth. The Guardians managed to get three runs from only four hits, and three Cleveland relievers pitched shutout innings, including Emmanuel Clase who struck out two in the ninth for his 23rd save.

• NYY 4, TOR 8 - Chris Bassitt struck out 9 in 7.1 innings, and only allowed three hits—all homers by Jasson Dominguez, Anthony Volpe, and Aaron Judge. But Toronto tallied 10 hits including Bo Bichette hitting a 2-run HR, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI, and Ernie Clement going 2-4 with a triple.

• ATH 1, TEX 2 - Corey Seager hit his 15th HR of the year, but JP Sears otherwise did well through five innings (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). The Athletics couldn’t get much going though, as Patrick Corbin struck out seven (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), and three Rangers relievers kept the A’s off the board, including Jon Gray making his first appearance of 2025, and Robert Garcia who struck out two in the ninth for his 8th save.

• BOS 9, PHI 8 - Lucas Giolito allowed four HR in four innings of work (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), including dingers by Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and Bryson Stott. Their 5-0 lead was erased when Boston finally got on the board with six runs in the top of the fifth, including a grand slam by Romy Gonzalez. A solo HR by J.T. Realmuto in the eighth tied the game, and it eventually went into extras. Both teams scored a run in the 10th, and then in the top of the 11th Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez hit a 2-run HR. Philadelphia scored one more in the bottom of the 11th, but it wasn’t enough.

• CHW 11, TBR 9 - The Rays struck first, with four runs in the first inning coming from HR by Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero. But the White Sox scored four in the second inning, including a 3-run HR by rookie Colson Montgomery. There were a total of 26 hits in this game, with Chicago’s rookie catcher Kyle Teel having a big day going 4-5 with a HR. Down 7-5 through seven innings, the Sox came back with six runs in the top of the eighth, all scored off Tampa reliever Kevin Kelly.

Standings

I am providing current standings as part of The Baseball Buffet (regular standings by division most days, wild-card standings on Wednesdays) The image below is a modified version of the text-based standings at Plain Text Sports, and here also is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

A few notes:

• Houston and Toronto are now tied for the best record in the AL, a half-game ahead of Detroit who is 1-9 in their last ten contests.

• Cleveland and Texas are on nice little winning streaks and have each one 8 out of their last 10.

• Milwaukee’s 11-game win streak may have ended, but they got back in the win column yesterday and retain the best record in baseball for now.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Shohei Ohtani hit another HR, his 37th of the year, and he now has a HR in five consecutive games. Two-part trivia today:

• Common question… which three players are tied at 8 for the longest consecutive game HR streak?

• How many of the six other Dodgers who have hit a HR in five consecutive games can you name? (Hints: One is still with the team, four others were also during this century, so only one was during the 20th century.)

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

• CIN SP Hunter Greene

• BAL RP Keegan Akin

• HOU 3B Luis Guillorme

• NYY SP Luis Gil

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIN SP David Festa - 15-day IL (right shoulder inflammation)

• KCR LF Nick Loftin - 7-day IL (concussion)

• COL SP Germán Márquez - 15-day IL (right bicep tendinitis)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• DET SP Tarik Skubal

MLB Debut

• DET SP Troy Melton - As noted above, the 24-year old struck out 7 in five innings, but also let up 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 ER as the Tigers fell 6-1 to the Pirates. Melton was drafted in the fourth round by Detroit in 2022, and before the call-up had a 2.99 ERA with 101 K in 75.1 IP across AAA/AA this year.

League Leaders

José Caballero of the Rays stole another base yesterday, but Oneil Cruz of the Pirates stole two so they are not tied atop the SB leaderboard. Watch out though, as Tampa’s rookie Chandler Simpson is right behind them with 31.

• 33 - TBR José Caballero

• 33 - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 31 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 30 - CLE José Ramírez

• 28 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 27 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 27 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 25 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 25 - STL Victor Scott II

• 25 - PHI Trea Turner

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 24…

• 1926: Gehrig and Ruth win it for the Yankees… with stolen bases. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth demonstrate that power hitting is not the only thing they can do when Lou scores on a double steal with the Babe in a victory over the White Sox. They had pulled the same double steal against the Red Sox on April 13th.”

• 1983: The one and only Pine Tar Game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In the memorable ‘Pine Tar Game’ at Yankee Stadium, George Brett hits an apparent two-run home run off Rich Gossage to give the Kansas City Royals a 5-4 lead with two outs in the 9th inning, only to have the homer taken away when Yankees manager Billy Martin, at the urging of coach Don Zimmer, points out that the pine tar on Brett's bat handle exceeds the 17 inches allowed in the rules. As a result, Brett is called out for illegally batting the ball, giving New York a 4-3 victory. Brett goes ballistic and the Royals immediately protest. American League President Lee MacPhail overrules his umpires for the first time, saying that the umpire's call went against the spirit of the rule, which should be rewritten and clarified, and that the home run will stand. The game will be resumed from that point on August 18th.”
  
  See this 3-minute video interview between Dan Patrick and George Brett for some interesting insights into the famous incident.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Barry Bonds (1964), the son of baseball star Bobby Bonds, was the first-round (6th overall) draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1985. He was already up and contributing with the Buccos in 1986, stealing 30+ bases in three of his first four seasons. He won the NL MVP award in both 1990 and 1992, and came in second in 1991. He then signed as a free agent with the Giants and played out the rest of his 22-year career with San Francisco, setting many records along the way, including all-time HR (762), all-time walks (2,558), all-time intentional walks (688), and the most HR in a single season (73) in 2001. Bonds was a 14-time All-Star and won seven NL MVP Awards. He was the most feared hitter of his generation, but was also a greater defensive left fielder, taking home eight Gold Glove Awards. His career slash line was .298/.444/.607 and his career OPS+ was 182. Bonds would have been an obvious first-ballot selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame except for the heavy suspicion of significant PED use during the second-half of his career.

• Tommy McCarthy (1863) is a Hall of Famer who had a 13-year major league career, spanning from 1884-1896 and with time spent for five different clubs. He was good on the bases, with seven seasons with 30+ SB including 93 in 1888 and a league-leading 83 in 1890. He was also adept at scoring runs, with seven consecutive seasons of 100+ runs, including highs of 136 in 1889 and 137 in 1890. Overall, McCarthy had 1,066 runs scored, 468 stolen bases, a .292 average, and a .364 OBP.

• Jack Clements (1864) had a 17-year major league career as a catcher, spanning from 1884 to 1900, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was a good hitter for his position and era, with 17 HR and 80 RBI in only 94 games in 1893, and then 13 HR and 75 RBI in 88 games in 1895. Overall, Clements had a .287/.348/.421 slash line and 117 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

A very thin slate of Thursday games (5), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have a day off since all teams just completed a 3-game series. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• TOR vs. DET is the beginning of a four-game series between two division leaders, with game 1 pitchers being Eric Lauer (2.80 ERA, 65 K in 61 IP) and Reese Olson (2.71 ERA, 61 K in 63 IP).

• SDP vs. STL features two veteran hurlers in Yu Darvish who is making his fourth start of 2025, and Sonny Gray (4.04 ERA, 123 K in 111 IP) who was hit hard in his last outing against Arizona.

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:

• STL Nolan Arenado, 9-23 with 3 HR vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• HOU Yainer Diaz, 4-10 with 2 HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

• CLE Carlos Santana, 5-14, with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. BAL Charlie Morton

• SDP Manny Machado, 11-32 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. STL Sonny Gray

• SEA Randy Arozarena, only 5-22 but with 2 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 17 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 11 - HOU Victor Caratini

• 10 - ATH Nick Kurtz

• 9 - CHW Luis Robert

• 9- CIN Matt McLain

• 8 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 7 - STL Masyn Winn

• 7 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 7 - ATL Matt Olson

HR streaks

• 5 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 2 - WAS Josh Bell

• 2 - TEX Corey Seager

• 2 - CHW Colson Montgomery

• 2 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

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:

• SEA Julio Rodríguez, 1-12 with 6 K vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• SEA J.P. Crawford, 1-10 though only 1 K vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• CLE Nolan Jones, 0-8 with 5 K vs. BAL Charlie Morton

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Shohei Ohtani has a HR in five consecutive games.

• The three players who hold the record at 8 consecutive games with a HR are Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987), and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).

• The six other Dodgers who have hit a HR in five consecutive games are Max Muncy (2019), Joc Pederson (2015), Adrian Gonzalez (2014-15), Matt Kemp (2010), Shawn Green (2001), and Roy Campanella (1950).

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.

• Who is baseball's premier speedster? MLB players weigh in, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 7/23/2025

• 10 teams with the prospects to make major moves at the Trade Deadline, by Rob Terranova, Jonathan Mayo, and Jim Callis at MLB, 7/23/2025

• Each team's new names, big moves on NEW Top 30 Prospects lists, by Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo, and Jim Callis at MLB, 7/23/2025

• 13 players with impressive feats on the line in the 2nd half, by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB, 7/23/2025

• How will division races impact Deadline moves?, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 7/23/2025

• Much has changed in 10 years. MLB's fastest players haven't, by Mike Petriello at MLB, 7/23/2025

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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