The Baseball Buffet for 7/27/2025

Issue #348

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 122nd day of the season featured a full slate of Saturday games:

• PHI 9, NYY 4 - Ranger Suárez pitched a good game (5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and the Phillies tallied 13 hits, including HR by Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa. Trea Turner went 2-5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Giancarlo Stanton hit his 7th HR of the season, but the Yankees otherwise struggled going 1-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 runners on base.

• CLE 3, KCR 5 (Gm 1) - Michael Wacha pitched well (5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and Maikel Garcia got the Royals on the board with a 2-run HR in the fourth. But Gavin Williams otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and the game was tied 2-2 through nine. Cleveland scored one in the top of the 10th, and brought in closer Emmanuel Clase for the bottom of the frame. But with runners on first and second and one out, Jonathan India hit a walk-off 3-run HR for the win.

• CLE 6, KCR 4 (Gm 2) - Tanner Bibee struck out 8 in 5 innings, but also allowed 2-run HR to Freddy Fermin and Bobby Witt Jr. Those four Royals runs weren’t enough though, as Steven Kwan also hit a 2-run HR and the Guardians scored six runs in the first four innings of this one. Three Cleveland relievers pitched four scoreless innings, including Emmanual Clase who again pitched the final inning, but this time shut things down for his 24th save.

• TOR 6, DET 1 - Tarik Skubal once again pitched a good game (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), but the Tigers bullpen gave up six runs in the last two innings, including three HR in the ninth inning to Nathan Lukes, George Springer, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Meanwhile, Kevin Gausman was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) and three Toronto relievers allowed only one run the rest of the way.

• TBR 2, CIN 6 - Both starting pitchers did pretty well: Andrew Abbott (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) and Ryan Pepiot (6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K). Yandy Diaz hit a HR in the top of the sixth for the first score of the game, but then the Reds produced a lot more, with Elly De La Cruz going 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

• AZ 0, PIT 2 - Andrew Heaney pitched five scoreless innings (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and five Pittsburgh relievers combined for the 4-hit shutout, including David Bednar striking out two in the ninth for his 16th save. Merrill Kelly did fairly well (6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), but the 2-run HR he allowed Oneil Cruz in second inning is all it took.

• COL 0, BAL 18 - Trevor Rogers continued his good season (1.49 ERA over 48.1 IP) by allowing only one hit over seven innings (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). And the Orioles bats came alive with 18 hits and 18 runs, with only three of the hits and one of the runs coming against a non-pitcher (Kyle Farmer in the 8th inning). Every Baltimore hitter—all nine starters and three substitutes—had at least one hit. They had three HR from Tyler O’Neill, Cedric Mullins, and Alex Jackson, and Gunnar Henderson went 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk.

• ATL 5, TEX 6 - Michael Harris II had a big game hitting out of the 8th spot in the lineup, as he went 4-4 with a HR, 2 triples, a double, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. But the rest of the Braves hitters didn’t do very much, and the game was tied 4-4 through eight, and then 5-5 through nine. Atlanta failed to score in the top of tenth, and then in the bottom of the frame, with runners on first and second and one out, Marcus Semien singled to left to drive in Josh Smith for the win.

• ATH 5, HOU 1 - Hunter Brown pitched well through five innings (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but his teammates were held to only four hits and one run. The Athletics got most of their runs from a solo HR by Shea Langeliers in the sixth and a 3-run HR by Lawrence Butler in the top of the 9th.

• WAS 9, MIN 3 - Both teams had 12 hits, but the Twins only managed three runs as they went 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left 8 guys on base. Luis Garcia Jr. went 2-5 with a HR and a double, Alex Call was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI, and catcher Drew Millas was 3-4 with 2 runs.

• CHC 6, CHW 1 - This one was a pitching duel early on, with both starters doing well: Cade Horton (6.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and Aaron Civale (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). But then the Cubs scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, including HR from Ian Happ and Matt Shaw.

• MIA 7, MIL 4 - Andrew Vaughn was 2-4 with a HR and a double, and Jackson Chourio was 2-4 with a double and extended his hitting streak to 19 games. But the Marlins got homers from Agustín Ramírez, Heriberto Hernandez, and Dane Myers to power their win.

• LAD 2, BOS 4 - Shohei Ohtani led of the game with his 38th HR of the season, and Teoscar Hernandez hit his 16th two batters later. But Garrett Crochet did well after that (6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K) and three Boston relievers held the Dodgers scoreless the rest of the way, with Aroldis Chapman picking up his 18th save. Jarren Duran was 3-4 with 2 triples, a double, and 2 RBI, and Alex Bregman went 3-4 with three singles.

• SDP 3, STL 1 - Randy Vásquez did well in a short start (4.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and four Padres relievers held the Cardinals scoreless the rest of the way, with Robert Suarez recording his 30th save.

• NYM 2, SFG 1 - The Giants outhit the Mets 9-7, but were 0-8 with runners in scoring position. David Peterson let up eight of those hits, but otherwise pitched well enough (6 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), and three NY relievers kept the Giants off the board, with Edwin Diaz pitching the ninth for his 22nd save. The Mets have now won six games in a row.

• SEA 7, LAA 2 - Taylor Ward hit his 24th HR, but Seattle starter George Kirby otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K). Seattle’s sluggers were productive, with Julio Rodriguez hitting his 18th HR, Randy Arozarena hitting his 20th, an Cal Raleigh hitting his MLB-leading 40th.

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.

Notes:

• Toronto has now built a 6.5 game lead over the Yankees.

• The Rangers are surging in the AL West, on a 5-game winning streak, while Houston has lost three in a row.

• The Mets have won six in a row, but remain only a half game ahead of Philadelphia.

• Even closer, the Cubs and Brewers have identical records atop the NL Central.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Cal Raleigh hit his 40th HR yesterday. How many can you name of the six other players who were primarily catchers and hit 40 or more HR in a season? (Hint: two of them did it twice.)

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

• KCR RP Daniel Lynch IV

• CHC RP Porter Hodge

• SFG 2B Christian Koss

🤕 Placed on the IL

• LAA RF Jorge Soler - 10-day IL (low back inflammation)

• LAA CF Chris Taylor - 10-day IL

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• MIN C Ryan Jeffers

📝 Notable Free Agent Signings

• Detroit has signed 33-year old reliever Luke Jackson, who was recently released by the Texas Rangers after pitching 35 innings with 9 saves, 24 strikeouts, a 4.11 ERA, and 1.46 WHIP

➡️ Traded

• The Washington Nationals have traded 29-year old 2B/3B Amed Rosario to the New York Yankees for RHP Clayton Beeter (AAA) and CF Browm Martinez (Rookie level).

• The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded 33-year old RF Randal Grichuk to the Kansas City Royals for RHP Andrew Hoffmann (AAA, recently called up).

MLB Debut

• COL IF Warming Bernabel - The 23-year old started at 1B and hit 8th in the lineup, but shifted to 3B later in the game. He went 1-3 with a single in the Rockies 18-0 loss to the Orioles. Before the call-up he had 8 HR and 5 SB with a .301 average at AAA.

League Leaders

As noted above, Robert Suarez notched his 30th save yesterday, the first reliever of the year to do so. He is now three ahead of Josh Hader on the overall MLB leaderboard:

• 30 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 27 - HOU Josh Hader

• 26 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 24 - CLE Emmanuel Clase

• 24 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 23 - MIL Trevor Megill

• 23 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 22 - NYM Edwin Diaz

• 21 - STL Ryan Helsley

• 21 - CIN Emilio Pagán

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 27…

• 1927: 18-year old Mel Ott hits a unique first HR. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Mel Ott, 18 years old, hits his first major-league home run, an inside-the-park round-tripper. It is the only inside-the-park homer he will hit of his 511 career homers.”

• 1946: Rudy York hits two grand slams. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Rudy York of Boston hits grand slam home runs in the 2nd and 5th innings off Tex Shirley of the St. Louis Browns, as the Red Sox win, 13-6. Only Tony Lazzeri and Jim Tabor have accomplished this feat before York. York also has a two-run double to knock in ten runs. He had five RBI against the Browns the day before.”

• 1978: Duane Kuiper hits two bases-loaded triples. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Yankees win the first game of a doubleheader, 11-0, but the Indians rebound to win the second, 17-5. Duane Kuiper ties the major-league record with two bases-loaded triples in the nightcap, only the third player (after Bill Bruton and Elmer Valo) to do so in the 20th Century.”

• 1982: Rickey gets caught three times. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Against California, Oakland's Rickey Henderson steals his 95th base but gets caught stealing three times in an 8-7, 13-inning California win. Not since 1916 has an American Leaguer been thrown out three times in a game. Rickey will be thrown out 42 times this year, breaking the mark of 38 caught stealings set by Ty Cobb in 1915. Bob Boone, who is behind the plate, homers for the Angels. Reggie Jackson and Brian Downing also homer and Jackson adds two doubles.”

• 1988: Tommy John commits three errors on one play. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Tommy John achieves what is believed to be a major league first by committing three errors on one play in the Yankees' 16-3 rout of the Brewers. He bobbles a grounder by Jeffrey Leonard, throwing it into right field, then, takes the relay throw from Dave Winfield and promptly fires it over C Don Slaught's head to let Jim Gantner and Leonard both score The feat ties the major-league record for errors in one inning by a pitcher.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Max Scherzer (1984) has had an 18-year major league pitching career, and at now age 41 is still going with the Toronto Blue Jays. Drafted by the Diamondbacks in the first round (11th overall) in 2006, he was up in the majors in 2008, and traded to the Tigers after the 2009 season as part of a three team deal. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 2013 after leading the AL in wins with a 21-3 record, along with a 2.90 ERA and 240 strikeouts. Scherzer signed with the Nationals after the 2014 season and went on to win two more Cy Young Awards, in 2016 and 2017. An 8-time All-Star, Scherzer has led his league in wins four times and strikeouts three times, with nine seasons of 200+ K. Overall he has 217-112 (.660) record, 3.18 ERA, and a 132 ERA+. His 3,435 career strikeouts currently rank 11th all-time.

• Álex Rodríguez (1975) was the first-overall pick in the 1993 draft, selected by the Mariners for whom he would play for seven seasons starting the very next season at age 19. By 1996 he was one of the best players in the game, coming in second in the AL MVP vote after leading the league with a .358 average, 54 doubles ,and 141 runs, while providing 36 HR, 123 RBI, and 15 SB. That was his first of 14 All-Star seasons across a 22-year career spent with the Mariners, Rangers and Yankees. He had 13 straight seasons with 100+ runs, leading the AL five times. He had 14 seasons with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI, and led the AL in HR five times and RBI twice. He was AL MVP in 2003 with the Rangers, and then again in 2005 and 2007 with the Yankees. He played SS for most of the first half of his career, and then switched to 3B when he joined the Yankees. Overall, Rodríguez had 3,115 hits, 2,021 runs, 2,086 RBI, 696 HR, 329 SB, a .295/.380/.550 slash line, and a 140 OPS+. His impressive career numbers are tarnished by his admission to using PEDs, and by his lengthy suspension that led him to miss the entire 2014 season. After retiring, A-Rod went into business and was also a broadcaster for Fox Sports, ABC, and ESPN.

• Biz Mackey (1897) is a Hall of Famer who had a 22-year major league career in the Negro Leagues. Primarily a catcher with a great throwing arm, Mackey was also very versatile and eventually played every position on the field. He was a star throughout the 1920s, and then once the annual All-Star began in 1933 he was an All-Star four times in his late 30s. According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, Mackey led is league in hits twice, doubles once, and batting average once with an impressive .423 mark (182 at-bats) in 1923. Overall he had a .328/.390/.470 slash line and a 131 OPS+. Born James Raleigh Mackey, he was very talkative as a player, often “giving opponents the business”, hence the nickname “Biz”.

• Joe Tinker (1880) is a Hall of Fame shortstop who had a 15-year career, mostly with the Cubs. Part of the famed Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance double play trio, Tinker truly was a good defensive player, often amongst or leading the NL in various SS fielding stats. He was only a .262 career hitter, and didn’t have much power (31 HR in 7,166 plate appearances), but he stole plenty of bases, with 20+ SB in his first 11 seasons. Tinker died on his birthday, July 27, 1948, at the age of 68.

• Leo Durocher (1905) had a 17-year playing career which spanned from 1925-1945, mostly as a SS for the Yankees, Reds, Cardinals, and Dodgers. He was a very light hitter (24 HR in 5,829 plate appearances) with only a .247/.299/.320 slash line and 66 OPS+. He was good defensively, but what got him into the Baseball Hall of Fame was his career as a manager, which started as a player-manager for the Dodgers, and then included time with the Giants, Cubs, and finally two seasons with the Astros. Overall he had a 2,000-1,709 (.540) record as a manager, with three pennants and one World Series championship, which came in 1954 with the Giants.

• Ray Boone (1923) had a 13-year career spanning from 1948-1960, mostly with the Tigers and Indians, but with some time playing with four other clubs. Early on he was mostly a SS, then shifted to 3B, then ultimately to 1B. A 2-time All-Star, Boone hit 20+ HR in four seasons, including in 1955 when he led the AL with 116 RBI. Overall he had 151 HR, a .275/.361/.429 slash line, and a 114 OPS+. Ray Boone was also the father of Bob Boone, a long-time major league catcher, and grandfather of two other major-league All-Stars, Aaron Boone and Bret Boone.

In addition to Max Scherzer, other currently active players who were born on July 27 include SDP Wandy Peralta, CHC Brad Keller, WAS Jacob Young, and TBR Drew Rasmussen.

Today’s Matchups

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

• PHI vs. NYY is game three between these strong teams, with the Phillies having won the first two. Going today are Zack Wheeler (2.39 ERA, 164 K in 128 IP) and Carlos Rodón (3.10 ERA, 139 K in 124.2 IP).

• AZ vs. PIT is interesting in part simply because Paul Skenes is pitching (1.91 ERA, 137 K in 127 IP). But also the opponent Arizona is clearly in sell mode here at the deadline so their lineup might look a bit different. They will go with Zac Gallen on the mound (5.58 ERA, 116 K in 121 IP) who has allowed six runs in each of his last two games and has been very inconsistent this year—but facing the light-hitting Pirates lineup could help him turn things around.

Also on the hill today are TOR Max Scherzer, MIL Brandon Woodruff, SEA Logan Gilbert, and NYM Kodai Senga.

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:

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 6-15 with 5 HR and a double vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• NYY Jazz Chisholm Jr., 6-20 with 2 HR, 2 triples, and a double vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• LAA Logan O’Hoppe, 3-9 with 2 HR vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 5-18 with 2 HR vs. BOS Walker Buehler

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:

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 5-13 with a HR and a triple vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• TOR Bo Bichette, 4-10 with a double vs. DET Jack Flaherty

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 19 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 13 - ATH Nick Kurtz - he not only had the insane 6-6, 4-HR game recently, but this streak continues, during which he is now 28-51 (.549) with 9 HR.

• 9 - CHW Luis Robert

• 9 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 8 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 8 - CHC Matt Shaw

• 8 - NYM Brett Baty

• 8 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 7 - CHW Chase Meidroth

• 7 - SEA Mitch Garver

• 7 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

HR streaks

• 3 - SEA Julio Rodriguez

• 2 - ATL Michael Harris II

• 2 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 2 - BAL Alex Jackson

• 2 - BAL Tyler O’Neill

• 2 - ATH Shea Langeliers

• 2 - NYY Giancarlo Stanton

• 2 - CHW Mike Tauchman

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:

• TOR George Springer, 0-16 with 6 K vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• DET Javier Báez, 1-15 with 9 K vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• DET Gleyber Torres, 0-10 with 3 K vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• NYY Trent Grisham, 2-13 with 7 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• MIA Jesús Sánchez, 0-11 with 6 K vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• PHI Max Kepler, 1-15 with 5 K vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 1-13 with a 3 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• LAA Luis Rengifo, 2-15 with 3 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

In addition to Cal Raleigh this year, here are the other seasons in which players hit 40+ HR and were primarily catchers (51% or more of their games):

• 48 - Salvador Perez, 2021

• 45 - Johnny Bench, 1970

• 43 - Javy López, 2003

• 41 - Roy Campanella, 1953

• 41 - Todd Hundley, 1996

• 40 - Johnny Bench, 1972

• 40 - Mike Piazza, 1997

• 40 - Mike Piazza, 1999

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.

• A Triple Shy of the Cycle, by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 7/26/2025

• 5 biggest Trade Deadline blockbusters, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 7/26/2025

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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