The Baseball Buffet for 7/28/2026

SEA 3, TEX 7 - The Rangers jumped on SEA SP George Kirby early (4 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), with Joc Pederson leading off the game with a HR, and also hitting a 3-run HR in the second inning. Ezequiel Duran and Jake Burger then added HRs off him in the third inning. TEX SP Kumar Rocker pitched effectively (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), giving up a solo HR to Randy Arozarena in the second inning. Brandon Nimmo was 2-4 with 2 doubles, and Evan Carter was 2-4 with a double.

PHI 7, MIA 8 - The Marlins did what few have done and that is score early on PHI SP Zack Wheeler (3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), including HRs by Heriberto Hernández and Griffin Conine in the first and second innings, respectively. Bryce Harper also connected for a 2-run HR in the first inning, but then MIA SP Tyler Phillips threw five innings of work (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Philadelphia scored four in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead, and then added one more insurance run in the eighth also. They naturally brought in closer Jhoan Duran for the bottom of the ninth, but the Marlins--who were on a 12-game losing streak--once again did the unlikely. They connected for five singles including a bases-loaded walk-off by Conine. Otto Lopez was 3-5 with a triple and 2 runs; and Hernández, Conine, Xavier Edwards, and Jakob Marsee had two hits apiece.

ATL 3, NYM 14 - Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to lead off the game, in his first at-bat in the majors since June 9th. Ozzie Albies drove him in with a single, and later connected for a 2-run HR in the fourth off NYM SP Zac Thornton (6.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), but little else went well for the Braves in this one. ATL SP Martín Pérez gave up a lot of baserunners (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), including a 2-run HR to Francisco Lindor. The bigger problem was reliever Connor Thomas, who gave up two runs in the sixth, four in the seventh, and another five in the eighth (2.2 IP, 10 H, 11 ER, 5 BB, 2 K). I guess once they were down 9-3, the Braves figured why use up another bullpen arm? The Mets collected 19 hits in all, with Lindor having a huge game going 3-5 with 2 HR, a triple, a walk, and 6 RBI. Marcus Semien was 3-4 with a HR, a walk, 3 runs, and 2 RBI; Tyrone Taylor was 3-5 with a HR, 3 runs, and 3 RBI; AJ Ewing was 3-5 with 2 runs; and Bo Bichette went 3-5... meaning five Mets hitters had three hits apiece.

HOU 6, LAA 4 - HOU SP Tatsuya Imai walked four of the seven batters he faced and wasn't able to finish the first inning (0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 1 K). The Angels scored two in the first and two in the third, including a solo HR by Vaughn Grissom. Those runs supported LAA SP Walbert Ureña who was effective over six innings (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), only allowing a solo HR to Taylor Trammell in the fourth. The Astros narrowed the gap to 4-2 in the eighth, and then brought José Fermin in for the ninth inning.

Fermin hit Trammell with a pitch, and then Christian Walker hit a single. An error by Grissom allowed Lucas Spence to reach base and Trammell to score. The Angels got two outs with the score still 4-3 in their favor, with Sam Bachman now pitching. He intentionally walked the dangerous Yordan Alvarez to load the bases, but then hit Isaac Paredes with a pitch which tied the game 4-4 and kept the bases loaded. LaMonte Wade Jr. then walked to give the Astros the lead, and then Jose Altuve reached due to a fielding error by Bachman, giving the Astros a 2-run lead. They brought in closer Josh Hader at that point for the bottom of the ninth, and although he walked two batters himself, he was able to close out the game for his 13th save. That was a messy, Little League-style top of the ninth, with 10 batters, 4 runs, but only 1 hit!

BAL 8, DET 5

ARI 2, PIT 3 (10)

TOR 3, WSH 2

NYY 9, CWS 5

CHC 7, STL 3

BOS 4, ATH 2

MIL 0, SFG 3

CLE vs. CIN - postponed due to rain, makeup is a doubleheader today.

1988 SLU Andre Dawson figure (unopened)

1988 SLU Ryne Sandberg figure

1992 Sports Illustrated with Ryne Sandberg on the cover

Cubs mini-helmet

(8) 1984 Fun Foods Buttons

(10) different oversized cards

(7) different 1980s team stickers

(62) all different Ryne Sandberg cards

(53) all different Mark Grace cards

(42) all different Andre Dawson cards

(20) all different Sammy Sosa cards

(19) all different Lee Smith cards

(19) all different Bill Buckner cards

... and a few other miscellaneous items!

ATL Chris Sale vs. NYM Christian Scott - Sale (11-6, 2.19 ERA) is a Cy Young Award candidate, though it will be tough to beat out Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski

NYY Gerrit Cole vs. CWS Anthony Kay - Game two of this important series between two potential, perhaps likely, AL Playoff teams (amazing we can say that about the White Sox at this point!)

CLE Slade Cecconi vs. CIN Chase Burns (Game 1) - see comment above about Sale, as it applies to Burns also (12-1, 2.42 ERA)