The Baseball Buffet for 7/26/2025

Issue #347

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 121st day of the season featured a full slate of Friday games:

• MIA 5 vs. MIL 1 - Jackson Chourio hit his 17th HR of the season in the fourth inning, but Miami starter Cal Quantrill otherwise did fairly well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and four Marlins relievers kept the Brewers off the board. Freddy Peralta also pitched well (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), giving up a HR to Kyle Stowers, his 23rd of the year. Otto Lopez also hit well, going 3-5 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI.

• AZ 1, PIT 0 - Mike Burrows pitched a good game (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and three Pirates relievers held the D-Backs scoreless through nine. But Arizona’s pitchers did the same, including Ryne Nelson (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), Anthony DeSclafani (4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and Kevin Ginkel eventually pitching a scoreless 11th (and combining for the 11-inning one-hit shutout). In the top of that inning, with one out and runners on first and third, Eugenio Suárez hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Corbin Carroll for the game’s only run.

• COL 6, BAL 5 - Kyle Freeland (6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) allowed four homers to Jordan Westburg, Tyler O’Neill, Coby Mayo, and Alex Jackson. But the Rockies had three HR of their own from Mickey Moniak, Thairo Estrada, and a solo HR from Ezequiel Tovar in the eighth which broke a 5-5 tie at that point. Tyler Kinley and Seth Halvorsen kept the Orioles from scoring in the final two innings, with Halvorsen earning his 10th save.

• TOR 6, DET 2 - Spencer Torkelson hit his 23rd HR of the year, but the Jays beat up on Tigers starter Keider Montero (4 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) and collected 13 hits overall. Vladimir Guerrero went 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs, and George Springe went 3-5. Meanwhile, José Berríos pitched fairly well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and three Toronto relievers pitched scoreless innings.

• SDP 0, STL 3 - The Padres outhit the Cardinals 11-5 but were 0-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base overall. Nick Pivetta pitched well (6.1 IP, 3 H 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), but the runs he allowed was all it took since San Diego couldn’t get anything going against Miles Mikolas (5 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) and four St. Louis relievers. Ryan Helsley came in and struck out two in the ninth and recorded his 21st save.

• PHI 12, NYY 5 - The Yankees clubbed four HR, including dingers by Cody Bellinger, Austin Wells, Giancarlo Stanton, and Anthony Volpe. But they were all solo shots, while the Phillies had three multi-run HR: Kyle Schwarber hit two, 2-run HR, and J.T Realmuto hit a 3-run HR.

• LAD 5, BOS 2 - Emmet Sheehan pitched pretty well (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and the Dodgers were up 3-2 through seven when Teoscar Hernandez hit a 2-run HR in the eighth to give LA some added insurance. Alex Vesia struck out two in the bottom of that inning, and Ben Casparius pitched a scoreless ninth for his first major league save.

• TBR 2, CIN 7 - The Reds tallied 14 hits, including Elly De La Cruz going 4-5 with two doubles, and Austin Hays going 3-5 with 2 runs scored. Tyler Stephenson was 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI, and TJ Friedl was 2-5 with a 2-run HR. Nick Martinez pitched pretty well (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and four Cincinnati relievers pitched scoreless innings.

• CHC 5, CHW 12 - Cubs catcher Reese McGuire hit a 3-run HR in the seventh that finally chased White Sox starter Adrian Houser from the game (6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K). But the south-siders had already jumped on Shota Imanaga early (3 IP, 12 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), and overall tallied 18 hits with homers by Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Austin Slater, and Mike Tauchman.

• ATL 3, TEX 8 - Nathan Eovaldi pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 7 K) with the Braves only managing three runs late in the game, including a solo HR by Michael Harris II. The Rangers meanwhile spread out four runs across four early innings, and then added another four in the bottom of the eighth. Jonah Heim was 1-3 with a HR, a walk, 2 RBI, and 2 runs.

• ATH 15, HOU 3 - A’s rookie Nick Kurtz, playing this game as their DH, had a game for the ages. He went 6-6… with 4 HR… plus a double and a single, which amounts to 19 total bases and ties the all-time record (see trivia question below). The homers came in the second, sixth, eighth, and ninth innings. Also joining in the Athletics onslaught, Shea Langeliers went 3-5 with a 2-run HR, and Tyler Soderstrom who was 2-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Springs pitched fairly well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), only allowing a 2-run HR to Zack Short in the 5th inning.

• WAS 0, MIN 1 - MacKenzie Gore was a bit wild but held the Twins to only one hit over five innings (5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 6 BB, 4 K). However, Minnesota Zebby Matthews was excellent (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), and three Twins relievers pitched scoreless innings to combine for the 3-hit shutout, including Jhoan Duran who claimed his 16th save on the season.

• SEA 2, LAA 3 - The Angels scored two in the bottom of the first, but then Bryan Woo settled in and did well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Julio Rodriguez hit solo homers in both the first and sixth innings, and the game remained tied 2-2 through nine. Ryan Zeferjahn kept the Seattle off the board in the top of the tenth, and then in the bottom of the frame with two outs and runners on first and second, Zach Neto singled to right to drive in LaMonte Wade Jr. for the win.

• NYM 8, SFG 1 - Clay Holmes pitched well through five (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), and three Mets relievers held the Giants scoreless the rest of the way. New York had little trouble today against Logan Webb (4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), with Francisco Lindor hitting a HR in the third inning and going 3-5 with a double and 3 runs overall.

• CLE vs. KCR - postponed

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.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz went 6-6 with 19 total bases, including 4 HR yesterday. Who is the only other player to have amassed 19 total bases in one game? Bonus points if you can also name the players who had 18 total bases in a game. (Hint: one came after the player who had 19, one came several decades before.)

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

• TEX RP Josh Sborz

🤕 Placed on the IL

• TBR SS Ha-Seong Kim - 10-day IL

• BOS 3B/2B Marcelo Mayer - 10-day IL (right wrist sprain)

• SFG SP Landen Roupp - 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation)

• MIN RP Anthony Misiewicz - 15-day IL (left should impingement)

• HOU SP Brandon Walter - 15-day IL (left elbow inflammation)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• COL RP Victor Vodnik

• CIN RP Scott Barlow

➡️ Traded

• The Orioles traded 30-year old reliever Gregory Soto to the Mets for RHP Wellington Aracena (A) and RHP Cameron Foster (AAA).

• The Rockies traded 30-year old 3B Ryan McMahon to the Yankees for RHP Josh Grosz (A) and LHP Griffin Herring (A).

League Leaders

Here is one I haven’t reported on yet this season—BAA, or Batting Average Against. The qualifying pitchers with a BAA under .200 are as follows:

• .186 - PIT Paul Skenes

• .187 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• .188 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• .191 - TEX Jacob deGrom

• .192 - DET Tarik Skubal

• .195 - HOU Hunter Brown

• .197 - MIN Joe Ryan

• .197 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• .199 - SDP Nick Pivetta

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 26…

• 1922: The Yankees fight each other, then beat up on the Browns. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In several pregame fights between Yankee teammates, Bob Meusel and Wally Schang duke it out in the dugout. Then Babe Ruth and Wally Pipp take a turn. The players then turn on the Browns, beating them, 11-6. Ruth bangs two homers, Pipp adds another, and Schang chips in with a two-run triple.”

• 1928: Bob Meusel hits for the cycle for the third time. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Navin Field in Detroit, Bob Meusel again hits for the cycle. The Yankees outfielder becomes the first big leaguer to accomplish the feat for a third time during his career.”

• 1933: Joe DiMaggio once had an even longer hitting streak. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The 61-game hitting streak of the San Francisco Seals' 18-year-old rookie, Joe DiMaggio, is stopped by Ed Walsh, Jr. of the Oakland Oaks.”

• 2010: Matt Garza throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Matt Garza pitches the first no-hitter in the history of the Tampa Bay Rays franchise, blanking the Tigers, 5-0. He is helped by a great over-the-shoulder catch by Ben Zobrist in the 3rd inning. The only baserunner is Brennan Boesch, who draws a 2nd-inning walk but is erased in a double play. Matt Joyce hits a 6th-inning grand slam for the Rays, the first hit allowed by Detroit's Max Scherzer. Tampa Bay had been no-hit twice this season - by Dallas Braden and Edwin Jackson - and has now featured in three of this year's five no-nos.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Hoyt Wilhelm (1922) is a Hall of Famer who had a 21-year major league career, spanning from 1952-1972, with the majority of his time spent with the White Sox, Giants, and Orioles, but some time with six other clubs as well. One of the most famous and effective knuckleball pitchers ever, Wilhelm was mostly a relief pitcher, with some time spent as a starter in the middle of his career. He came in second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote in 1952 after posting a 15-3 record as a reliever and leading the league with a 2.43 ERA, as his 159.1 IP were just enough to qualify. He led the AL in ERA with a 2.19 mark, to go along with a 15-11 record, in 1959 with the Orioles—his only full season as a starter. Wilhelm as an All-Star in five seasons, and overall had 228 saves, a 2.52 ERA, and a 147 ERA+.

• Alex Radcliff (1905) had a 17-year major league career in the Negro Leagues spanning from 1926-1946, and was often considered one of the greatest 3B in Negro Leagues history. Radcliff was an All-Star in 11 seasons, and according to the data available at baseball-reference.com had a career .292/.336/.416 slash line and 112 OPS+ over 1,728 plate appearances.

• Sad Sam Jones (1892) had a 22-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1914-1935, with most his time spent with the Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, and Senators. He won 15+ games in six seasons, with a 23-16 record in 1921 for the Red Sox and a 21-8 mark in 1923 with the Yankees. Overall, Jones had a 229-217 career record, a 3.84 ERA, and a 104 ERA+.

• Ellis Kinder (1914) had a 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1946-1957, mostly with the Boston Red Sox. Working as a starter early in his career, Kinder went 23-6 with a 3.36 ERA in 1949, coming in fifth in the league MVP voting. He later became an effective relief pitcher, with an AL-high 27 saves and a tidy 1.85 ERA in 1953. Overall, he had a 102-71 record, 104 saves, a 3.43 ERA, and a 125 ERA+.

• Norm Siebern (1933) played in the majors as a 1B and LF for 12 seasons, spanning from 1956-1968, with time spent at six different clubs. A 3-time All-Star, his best numbers came in 1962 with the Kansas City Athletics when he hit 25 HR with 117 RBI, 114 runs, and a .308/.412/.495 slash line. Overall, Siebern had 132 HR, a .272/.369/.423 slash line, and a 118 OPS+.

• Pete Ward (1937) played 9 seasons in the majors as a 3B, LF, and 1B, spanning from 1962-1970, mostly with the White Sox. His two best seasons came early, when he hit 22 HR with 84 RBI and a .295 average in 1963 and then 23 HR with 94 RBI and a .282 average in 1964.

Currently active players who were born on July 26 include 1B Ryan O’Hearn, CLE Gavin Williams, NYM Ryne Stanek, PIT Ji Hwan Bae, PIT Tsung-Che Cheng, MIL Tyler Black, and TOR Braydon Fisher.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Saturday games (15), plus an extra CLE/KCR game due to yesterday’s postponement, so we have lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• PHI vs. NYY is game two between these strong teams, with the starters today being Ranger Suárez (2.66 ERA, 82 K in 88 IP) and Marcus Stroman (5.64 ERA, 19 K In 30.1 IP)

• TOR vs. DET is game three of the four-game series between two division leaders, this time featuring Kevin Gausman (4.01 ERA, 112 K In 116.2 IP) and Tarik Skubal (2.19 ERA, 164 K in 127.2 IP)

• LAD vs. BOS features future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw (3.27 ERA, 37 K in 55 IP) against one of the best pitchers of today in Garrett Crochet (2.19 ERA, 165 K in 135.1 IP)

• NYM vs. SFG features two good starters in David Peterson (2.90 ERA, 97 K in 115 IP) and Robbie Ray (2.92 ERA, 131 K in 123.1 IP)

Also on the mound today are AZ Merrill Kelly, KCR Kris Bubic, CIN Andrew Abbott, HOU Hunter Brown, MIN Joe Ryan, and SEA George Kirby.

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:

• AZ Ketel Marte, 6-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• KCR Vinnie Pasquantino, 7-11 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• BOS Alex Bregman, only 2-9 but with 2 HR vs. LAD Clayton Kershaw

• CHW Miguel Vargas, small sample but is 2-2 with 2 HR vs. CHC Cade Horton

• LAA Taylor Ward, 6-24 with 2 HR and a double vs. SEA George Kirby

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:

• BAL Tyler O’Neill, small sample but is 6-8 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• SEA Julio Rodriguez, 6-14 with a HR and a double vs. LAA Tyler Anderson

• CLE José Ramírez, small sample but is 5-9 with a double vs. KCR Kris Bubic

• AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr., 5-11 vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• ATH Lawrence Butler, 5-11 with a HR and a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 18 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 12 - ATH Nick Kurtz

• 9 - CHW Luis Robert

• 9 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 8 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 8 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 7 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 7 - CHC Matt Shaw

• 7 - NYM Brett Baty

• 7 - TOR Bo Bichette

HR streaks

• 3 - CHW Colson Montgomery

• 3 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 2 - PHI J.T. Realmuto

• 2 - SEA Julio Rodriguez

• 2 - DET Spencer Torkelson

• 2 - COL Ezequiel Tovar

• 2 - NYY Anthony Volpe

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:

• KCR Salvador Perez, 0-15 with 5 K vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• KCR Kyle Isbel, 1-12 with only 1 K vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• KCR MJ Melendez, 0-12 with 7 K vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• KCR MJ Melendez, 2-14 with 5 K vs. CLE Gavin Williams

• KCR Maikel Garcia, 1-11 with 2 K vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• KCR Maikel Garcia, 1-13 with 3 K vs. CLE Gavin Williams

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 2-15 with 3 K vs. CLE Gavin Williams

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, 1-11 with 7 K though the one hit was a HR vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• SEA Dylan Moore, 2-16 with 8 K vs. LAA Tyler Anderson

• DET Spencer Torkelson, 1-10 with 2 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• LAA Logan O’Hoppe, 0-9 with 6 K vs. SEA George Kirby

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 3-24 though only 2 K and one hit was a HR vs. NYY Marcus Stroman

• PHI Bryce Harper, 2-16 with 4 K vs. NYY Marcus Stroman

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The 19 total bases by Nick Kurtz yesterday tied the all-time record of 19 set by Shawn Green of the Dodgers, on May 23, 2002, against the Brewers. That broke the record held by Joe Adcock of the Milwaukee Braves, who had 18 total bases on July 31, 1954, against the Brooklyn Dodgers. After Green’s big game, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers also had 18 total bases on May 8th, 2012, against the Baltimore Orioles.

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.

• Each team's top trade chip going into Deadline, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 7/26/2025

• These are the players with the most total bases in an MLB game, by Manny Randhawa at MLB, 7/26/2025

• Top five starting pitchers in White Sox history, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 7/25/2025

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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