The Baseball Buffet for 7/28/2025

Issue #349

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 123rd day of the season featured a full slate of Sunday games:

• COL 1, BAL 5 - In the second inning, 23-year old Colorado rookie 1B Warming Bernabel hit his first major league HR, in only his second game since being called up. That was the only highlight for the Rockies really, as Tomoyuki Sugano otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and three Orioles relievers pitched scoreless frames the rest of the way. Tyler O’Neill hit a 2-run HR in the third inning, and Dylan Carlson was 1-3 with 2 RBI.

• LAD 3, BOS 4 - Michael Conforto was 3-4 with a HR and 2 doubles, but the Dodgers were a dreadful 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base. Down 3-1, The Red Sox scored three in the bottom of the fifth, including a 2-run HR by Alex Bregman. The Red Sox bullpen didn’t allow any runs, and Jordan Hicks got the last five outs for his second save of the year.

• AZ 0, PIT 6 - Paul Skenes was outstanding (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), lowering his MLB-leading ERA to 1.83. The Buccos finally gave him some run support with Oneil Cruz going 3-2 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI, Tommy Pham going 2-4 with a double, and Bryan Reynolds going 1-3 with a double and 2 runs. Carmen Mlodzinski did well in relief, striking out four over the last two innings.

• PHI 3, NYY 4 - The Yankees avoided a sweep by the Phillies by scoring four runs off Zack Wheeler (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER 2 BB, 8 K) in the second inning. Newly acquired 3B Ryan McMahon hit a bases-loaded double which drove in two, and then a sac fly and a Trent Grisham single drove in the other two. Carlos Rodón struck out 8 in 5.1 IP, but also let up three solo HR: two by Otto Kemp, and one by Nick Castellanos. But then four New York relievers kept Philadelphia off the board the rest of the way, including Devin Williams striking out two in the ninth for his 16th save.

• TBR 1, CIN 2 - Shane Baz (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) allowed two runs in the first inning, and that is all it took as the Rays could only muster three hits and a lone run from a Taylor Walls solo homer in the eighth. Reds starter Brady Singer otherwise pitched very well (7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), and Emilio Pagán notched his 22nd save.

• TOR 4, DET 10 - Tigers starter Jack Flaherty pitched a good game (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Bo Bichette went 5-5 with four singles and a double, but Toronto couldn’t get any runs across until finally getting four in the top of the ninth. Max Scherzer struck out 11 in 7 innings of work, allowing a 3-run HR to Gleyber Torres in the third inning. But Chad Green and Justin Bruihl allowed seven runs in the eighth inning, and that was the difference.

• CLE 1, KCR 4 - Noah Cameron did well (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and the Royals produced four runs even though they only had four total hits. Maikel Garcia hit his 10th HR of the year, Carlos Estévez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save.

• ATH 7, HOU 1 - Miguel Andujar and Shea Langeliers each hit a solo HR in the first inning. The Athletics went on to collect 11 hits and five more runs, while J.T Ginn pitched six shutout innings (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). This win made it a four-game series sweep by the A’s.

• WAS 7, MIN 2 - CJ Abrams led off the game with a HR, his 14th of the year, and Washington tallied 11 hits in this one. Minnesota’s Matt Wallner hit a solo HR in the second inning, but Nats starter Jake Irvin otherwise did pretty well (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), and two Washington relievers kept the Twins off the board.

• CHC 5, CHW 4 - The Cubs took the Chicago series two games to one, despite White Sox LF Andrew Benintendi going 2-4 with 2 HR. Aside from letting up one of those dingers, Ben Brown pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2-4 with 2 doubles, a stolen base, and 2 RBI.

• MIA 2, MIL 3 - Both starters did pretty well: Brandon Woodruff (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) and Eury Perez (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Miami had a 2-1 lead though seven, but then Milwaukee scored in both the eighth and ninth innings, with the walk-off game winner being a bases-loaded single by Blake Perkins.

• SDP 9, STL 2 - Alec Burleson hit a 2-run HR in the sixth, but Padres starter Stephen Kolek otherwise pitched fairly well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and three San Diego relievers kept St. Louis off the board. Meanwhile Michael McGreevy allowed a lot of baserunners (4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and the Padres tallied 16 hits in all. Manny Machado was 4-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI, Luis Arraez was 3-5 with 2 runs, Fernando Tatis Jr. was 2-4 with a double, a walk, and 3 runs, and Xander Bogaerts hit the lone San Diego homer, his 7th of the season.

• ATL 1, TEX 8 - Jack Leiter was solid (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), and the Rangers pounded Bryce Elder (2.2 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 3 K). Josh Smith went 3-4 with a 2-run HR, and Wyatt Langford was 2-3 with a double, a walk, and 3 RBI.

• SEA 1, LAA 4 - Cal Raleigh just keeps hitting homers, with his 41st of the year being the only Seattle run scored in this one. Logan Gilbert struck out 7 in 5 innings, but also allowed four Angels runs, including a 2-run HR by Mike Trout in the fifth. Other than the HR by Raleigh, veteran Kyle Hendricks did well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and three LA relievers pitched scoreless innings, with Kenley Jansen striking out two in the ninth for his 18th save.

• NYM 5, SFG 3 - Matt Chapman hit 2 HR off Kodai Senga, but his 3 RBI accounted for all of the Giants scoring. They used a bullpen day but their seven hurlers allowed 12 hits, with Ronny Mauricio going 4-4 with a HR and two doubles, Jeff McNeil going 2-4 with 2 doubles, and Juan Soto hitting his 25th HR of the year. Five Mets relievers combined for four shutout innings, with Edwin Diaz striking out two in the ninth for his 23rd save.

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:

• The Rangers continued their surge with their win yesterday, and now have a six-game winning streak and are tied with Seattle, only four games back of Houston.

• The Mets have now won seven in a row.

• The Cubs and Brewers both won and so remained tied atop the NL Central.

• The Rockies have somehow played .500 ball over their last 12 games.

Today’s Trivia Question

On Saturday, Cedric Mullins hit his 100th career HR. He also has 139 career stolen bases, making him the third player in Orioles history to have 100 HR and 100 SB while playing with Baltimore. Can you name the other two?

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

• COL RP Zach Agnos

🤕 Placed on the IL

• ATL SP Grant Holmes - 60-day IL (right elbow inflammation) - was initially placed on the 15-day IL, but then transferred to 60-day, so it seems likely his season is over.

• NYY RF Aaron Judge - 10-day IL (right flexor strain)

• KCR RF Jac Caglianone - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• TOR C Alejandro Kirk - 7-day IL (concussion)

• KCR SP Kris Bubic - 15-day IL (left rotator cuff strain)

➡️ Traded

• The Atlanta Braves have acquired starting pitcher Erick Fedde from the St. Lous Cardinals and cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The move was made in the wake of Grant Holmes going on the 60-day IL as noted above, which means that all five of the Braves opening day rotation are now on the ILT (Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver). Fedde had been struggling recently with St. Louis and had been designated for assignment.

League Leaders

Bobby Witt Jr. stroked another double yesterday, giving him 34 on the season:

• 34 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 32 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 29 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 28 - STL Willson Contreras

• 28 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 27 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 27 - SDP Manny Machado

• 27 - KCR Salvador Perez

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 28…

• 1971: Brooks Robinson commits three errors in a game. As described at baseball-reference.com, "Orioles 3B Brooks Robinson, a sixteen-time gold glove winner, commits three errors. Thanks to Frank Robinson's 9th-inning three-run walk-off home run off Rollie Fingers, the Orioles prevail and beat the A's, 3 - 2."

• 1976: Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios throw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “White Sox pitchers Blue Moon Odom (five innings) and Francisco Barrios (four innings) combine to no-hit the A's, 2-1. It is Odom's last major league victory.”

• 1979: Dave Kingman hits 3 HR for the second time in 1979. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Cubs' Dave Kingman continues his slugging with a single and three consecutive home runs during a 6-4 loss to the Mets. Kingman ties two records by having his second three-homer game of the season (the first was on May 17th) and hitting five home runs over two consecutive games.”

• 1989: Vince Coleman’s consecutive SB streak ends at 50. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Vince Coleman's major league record-setting consecutive stolen base streak ends at 50 as Expos backstop Nelson Santovenia nails him trying to swipe second base. The Cardinal speedster surpassed the previous record of 38 established by Davey Lopes of the Dodgers in 1975.”

• 1991: Dennis Martinez throws a perfect game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Dennis Martinez of the Expos tosses the 13th perfect game in major league history (excluding those of Harvey Haddix and Ernie Shore), setting down all 27 Dodgers to face him in a 2-0 win. Martinez strikes out five in the contest. C Ron Hassey becomes the first receiver to catch two perfectos, having been behind the plate for the Indians' Len Barker's masterpiece in 1981. Dodger infielder Alfredo Griffin goes 0 for 3 against Martinez, to go along with his 0 for 3 performance in Tom Browning's perfect game in 1988, and 0 for 2 in Barker's perfecto in 1981.”

• 1993: Ken Griffey Jr. hits a HR for the eighth consecutive game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Seattle's Ken Griffey homers for the eighth consecutive game, tying the major league mark set by Dale Long and tied by Don Mattingly. The Mariners lose to the Twins, however, 5-1.”

• 1994: Kenny Rogers throws a perfect game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Texas P Kenny Rogers hurls a perfect game, defeating the Angels, 4-0. Rogers fans eight in the 11th regular season perfect game of the 20th Century. He becomes the first left-hander in American League history to toss a perfecto and the 14th pitcher in history.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Bullet Rogan (1893) is a Hall of Famer who was a two-way star of the Negro Leagues. According to baseball-reference.com his major league seasons were from 1920-1930 and 1937-1938, during which time as a pitcher he led his league in wins twice, strikeouts twice, ERA once, and complete games three times. Born Charles Wilber Rogan, “Bullet Joe” as he was known relied on an array of curveballs, a spitball, a palmball, a forkball, and the fastball that gave him his nickname. (Wikipedia) When he wasn’t pitching he would often play OF, 1B , or 2B, as he was a great hitter with a career .338/.413/.521 slash line and 152 OPS+ over 2,345 plate appearances.

• Vida Blue (1949) was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in the second round in 1967, and went on to have a 17-year major league pitching career, mostly with the A’s and Giants. In his age-21 and first full season in 1971, Blue went 24-8 with 301 strikeouts, leading the AL with a 1.82 ERA and 8 shutouts, earning the AL Cy Young Award and the AL MVP. He would later win 20+ games two more times, and 18+ another two times. A 6-time All-Star, Blue overall had a 209-161 (.565) record, a 3.27 ERA, and a 108 ERA+.

• Freddie Fitzsimmons (1901) had a 19-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1925-1943, and spent with the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. He won 15+ games eight times, including a 20-9 record in 1928 for the Giants, and a 16-2 mark late in his career in 1940 with the Dodgers. Known for his knuckle-curve, Fitzsimmons was not a high strikeout pitcher, as he had 10 seasons of 200+ innings, but never topped 80 K in a year. Overall he had a 217-146 (.598) record, a 3.51 ERA, and a 112 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on July 28 include BOS Walker Buehler, NYM Tylor Megill, and MIN Jorge Alcalá.

Today’s Matchups

Like last Monday we again have a full slate of games (15), so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• LAD vs. CIN is an interesting game as the Reds are fighting for a wildcard spot, and the pitchers in this one are Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.55 ERA, 124 K in 109.1 IP) and Reds rookie Chase Burns making his sixth start and carrying 35 K in 21.2 IP.

• ATL vs. KCR has always potentially electric Spencer Strider (3.72 ERA, 89 K in 72.2 IP) and the Royals countering with 45-year old Rich Hill making his second start of the season.

• CHC vs. MIL has Matthew Boyd, who is in the midst of his best season (2.20 ERA, 108 K in 118.2 IP) and hasn’t let up a run in his last three starts (20 IP). But Milwaukee will have the exciting rookie Jacob Misiorowski (2.45 ERA, 40 K in 29.1 IP) who is coming off a short but effective start and his All-Star game appearance before that.

Also on the bump today are TOR Chris Bassitt, TBR Drew Rasmussen, PHI Cristopher Sánchez, HOU Framber Valdez, TEX Jacob deGrom, SDP Dylan Cease, and SEA Luis Castillo.

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:

• DET Gleyber Torres, 9-27 with 4 HR, a triple, and a double vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 4-12 with 3 HR and a double vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• LAA Travis d’Arnaud, 3-10 with 2 HR vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• TEX Adolis Garcia, small sample but is 3-6 with a 2 HR vs. LAA Jack Kochanowicz

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 4-10 with 2 HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 7-21 with 2 HR and a double vs. BAL Zach Eflin

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 Ryan O’Hearn, 7-13 with a HR and a double vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• BAL Ramón Urías, small sample but is 4-8 with a HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• SDP Luis Arraez, 6-9 with 2 doubles vs. NYM Frankie Montas

• TEX Marcus Semien, 6-12 vs. LAA Jack Kochanowicz

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 20 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 13 - ATH Nick Kurtz

• 10 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 9 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 9 - CHC Matt Shaw

• 9 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 8 - CHW Chase Meidroth

• 8 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 7 - SEA Mitch Garver

• 7 - PIT Tommy Pham

• 7 - CLE José Ramírez

• 7 - SDP Jackson Merrill

• 7 - SEA Josh Naylor

• 7 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 7 - WAS Paul DeJong

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:

• ATH Luis Urias, 3-21 with 7 K vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 1-12 with 6 K vs. NYM Frankie Montas

• ATL Matt Olson, 1-10 with 5 K vs. KCR Rich Hill

• SEA Julio Rodriguez, 4-25 with 5 K though one hit was a HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• TOR Bo Bichette, 2-17 with 3 K vs. BAL Zach Eflin

• SEA J.P. Crawford, 3-20 with 3 K vs. ATH JP Sears

• BAL Tyler O’Neill, 2-17 though only 2 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Cedric Mullins now has 100 HR and 139 SB with the Orioles. The other two players who have had over 100 of each for the Baltimore Orioles are:

• Brady Anderson, 209 HR and 307 SB

• Paul Blair, 126 HR and 167 SB

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.

• Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner, Parker, Allen take rightful spots in Hall, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 7/27/2025

• 7 storylines to follow on the 2026 HOF ballot, by Brian Murphy at MLB, 7/27/2025

• A look at the next 5 Hall of Fame ballots, by Andrew Simon at MLB, 7/27/2025

• 5 Baseball Cards that Once Ruled the Hobby, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 7/27/2025

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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