The Baseball Buffet for 7/29/2025

Issue #350

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 124th day of the season featured a full slate of Monday games:

• TOR 4, BAL 11 - Bo Bichette is clearly seeing the ball well, as he went 5-5 on Sunday and 4-5 with four singles in this one. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes each hit homers in the third inning, but those were the only highlights for Toronto. The Orioles jumped on Chris Bassitt in both the second and third innings (2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), including HR by Cedric Mullins and Coby Mayo. Ramon Laureano added a 2-run HR in the 5th, and Colton Cowser had a solo HR in the 7th. Overall, Baltimore tallied 16 hits, including Adley Rutschman going 3-5 with 2 doubles in his first game back from the IL.

• AZ 1, DET 5 - Troy Melton pitched very well in his second major league start (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Andy Ibáñez went 2-4 with a HR and a double, and Dillon Dingler was 3-4 with a HR, his 9th on the year.

• TBR 4, NYY 2 - Junior Caminero hit a 2-run HR in the first inning, his 27th this season. But New York scored two in the bottom of the frame to tie things up. The Rays scored two more runs later, while three Tampa relievers kept the Yankees off the board for the final four innings, including Pete Fairbanks who got four outs for his 18th save.

• LAD 5, CIN 2 - Reds rookie Chase Burns struck out 10 in 5.2 IP, but also allowed 3 runs. Meanwhile, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was outstanding (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), Mookie Betts went 2-4 with a double, a walk, and 3 runs, and Shohei Ohtani was 1-3 with a double, 2 walks, and 2 RBI.

• PHI 2, CHW 6 - Davis Martin pitched fairly well (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) and the White Sox got 2-run homers from Colson Montgomery in the 3rd and Luis Robert Jr. in the 4th. Lenyn Sosa was 3-3 with a walk, and Grant Taylor struck out two in the ninth to close out the game.

• CHC 4, MIL 8 - The Cubs scored three in the first inning off Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowksi, who went on to strike out 7 in his 4 innings (4 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). Milwaukee then used seven relievers to limit further damage by Chicago, with Trevor Megill getting the final out for his 24th save. Three Brewers hit HR, including Andrew Vaughn, Sal Frelick, and Christian Yelich who had his 20th on the year. Jackson Chourio went 0-3 with 2 walks, ending his 20-game hitting streak.

• MIA 1, STL 7 - Alec Burleson hit a HR in the third inning, his 14th of the year. Edward Cabrera otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 R , 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), but the Miami bullpen let up five runs in the seventh inning. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante was outstanding (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and Masyn Winn was 3-4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI.

• WAS 2, HOU 1 - Framber Valdez struck out 12 in 6 innings (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K), but Brad Lord also pitched well (5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). Tied 1-1, Riley Adams hit a solo HR in the top of the seventh and that would end up being decisive as four Nats relievers kept Houston off the board, and Kyle Finnegan picked up his 20th save.

• PIT 6, SFG 5 - The Pirates spoiled 24-year old Carson Whisenhunt’s MLB debut (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), including Nick Gonzalez hitting a solo HR in the first inning. Pittsburgh starter and trade candidate Mitch Keller didn’t last long (2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), and the game was tied 4-4 through six innings. Andrew McCutchen hit a 2-run HR in the top of the seventh, his 10th HR of the year. That would end up being enough, because even though David Bednar let up 3 hits and a run in the ninth, he was able to wrap it up and secure his 17th save.

• COL 8, CLE 6 - Bradley Blalock pitched six shutout innings (6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), and rookie Warming Bernabel’s second HR in as many days put the Guardians up 3-0 at that point. But Cleveland scored five in the bottom of the seventh, including a 3-run HR by Bo Naylor. Hunter Goodman hit a solo HR for Colorado in the top of the eighth, and then the Rockies came back with four runs in the top of the ninth to go ahead for good.

• BOS 4, MIN 5 - Twins OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit a 2-run HR in the third inning, but then Boston’s Alex Bregman hit a 3-run HR in the fifth. The game was tied 3-3 after eight, and the Red Sox went up by one in the top of the ninth. They brought in Jordan Hicks, one of the players acquired in the Rafael Devers trade, but he allowed a single to Keirsey, then hit two batters to load the bases. After getting a force out at home, Brooks Lee hit a bases-loaded, two-run walk-off single for the Twins victory.

• ATL 10, KCR 7 - The Royals scored two in the first inning but then couldn’t get much else going against Spencer Strider (5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). Newly acquired outfielder Randal Grichuk hit a HR in the 8th inning, but that was after Atlanta had built up a sizeable lead as Rich Hill had let up a lot of baserunners (4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 3 K) as well as two, 2-run HR by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna. Austin Riley also hit a HR, his 15th of the year, and after Rafael Montero struggled and allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth, Raisel Iglesias closed things out for his 12th save.

• TEX 4, LAA 6 - Jacob deGrom struck out eight, but otherwise had a rare poor outing (5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), giving up HR to Kevin Newman in the third inning and Taylor Ward in the sixth. Luis Rengifo also homered in the sixth, and ultimately closer Kenley Jansen came in for the final four outs and his 19th save.

• NYM 6, SDP 7 - The game was tied 1-1 when the Mets Mark Vientos hit a grand slam in the fifth inning. The Padres came right back to retake the lead with five runs in the bottom of the frame, including a 2-run HR by Luis Arraez. San Diego tallied 14 hits in all, and were an impressive 7 for 15 with runners in scoring position. Ronny Mauricio hit a HR off Robert Suarez in the top of the ninth to tie the game 6-6, but then in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and runners on first and second, Elias Diaz singled to left to drive in Jose Iglesias for the win.

• SEA 3, ATH 1 - Newly acquired 1B Josh Naylor hit a HR in the second inning, and overall went 2-4 with a SB and 2 runs scored on the day. Luis Castillo pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and three Seattle relievers kept the Athletics off the board, with Andrés Muñoz notching his 24th 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 longest current streak is a modest five-game losing streak by the Astros.

• The Brewers beat the Cubs yesterday, so are now one up in the NL Central.

• The Rockies won yesterday and so are now OVER .500 in their last 13 games.

Today’s Trivia Question

I’m making a “club”, the 40/25/100/100/.300 club. Only 12 players have ever had 40+ HR, 25+ SB, 100+ runs, 100+ RBI, and a .300+ average in a season. Can you name the only 2B to do so? (Bonus points for however many of the other 11 guys you can name.)

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

• HOU SS Jeremy Peña

🤕 Placed on the IL

• DET CF Parker Meadows - 10-day IL (right quad strain)

• DET SP Reese Olson - 60-day IL (right shoulder strain) - out for the rest of the season

✖️ Placed on Administrative Leave

• CLE RP Emmanuel Clase - This is described as a “non-disciplinary paid leave through games on August 31st while MLB continues its sports betting investigation.”

➡️ Traded

• The New York Yankees have traded RHP Carlos Carrasco to the Atlanta Braves for cash.

• The Minnesota Twins have traded RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Randy Dobnak to the Detroit Tigers for 19-year old C Enrique Jimenez (rookie level).

• The Tampa Bay Rays have traded C Danny Jansen and cash to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2B Jadher Areinamo (A+ level).

MLB Debut

• SFG SP Carson Whisenhunt - As noted above, the 24-year old started against the Pirates yesterday (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). A second-round draft pick by the Giants in 2022, before the call-up he had an 8-5 record, 4.52 ERA, and 86 K in 97.2 IP at AAA Sacramento.

League Leaders

Shohei Ohtani is the first to reach 100 runs this season, and has a 10-run lead over Aaron Judge who leads the AL, and a 22-run lead over Elly De La Cruz who is in second in the NL.

• 100 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 90 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 78 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 75 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 75 - NYM Juan Soto

• 73 - CHC Kyle Tucker

• 73 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• 71 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 71 - PHI Trea Turner

• 71 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 71 - SEA Cal Raleigh

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 29…

• 1911: Smoky Joe Wood throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds, Joe Wood of the Red Sox whiffs twelve Browns en route to a 5-0 no-hitter.”

• 1983: Steve Garvey’s consecutive games streak ends. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Due to a dislocated thumb caused by a collision at home plate trying to score in the first game of a doubleheader against the Braves, Padres 1B Steve Garvey's consecutive game streak ends in the nightcap at 1,207.”

• 1990: The Red Sox set a new record with 12 doubles in one game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Detroit, the Red Sox bang out 12 doubles, setting an American League record, in a 13-3 win over the Tigers. Wade Boggs has three, while Tim Naehring, Jody Reed and Ellis Burks each have two. Greg Harris wins easily. The previous AL record was 11, set on July 14, 1934 by Detroit against New York. The 12 two-baggers will be tied in 1996 by Cleveland.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Earl Moore (1877) had a 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1901-1914, with most of that time spent with the Indians and Phillies. He posted a 20-8 record and led the AL with a 1.74 ERA with Cleveland in 1903, then later went 18-12 with a 2.10 ERA for Philadelphia in 1909, and the 22-15 with a 2.58 ERA and NL-best 185 strikeouts in 1910. Overall, Moore had a 163-154 record, a 2.78 ERA, and a 111 ERA+.

• Dan Driessen (1951) had a 15-year career spanning from 1973-1987, mostly spent with the Reds. He played some 3B and LF, but became their primary 1B in 1977 after they traded Tony Perez. That was also his most productive offensive season, as he hit 17 HR with 91 RBI, 31 SB, and a .300 average. That was his first of five seasons with 15+ HR, and his first of three with 15+ SB. Overall, Driessen had 153 HR, 154 SB, a .267/.356/.411 slash line, and a 113 OPS+.

• Greg Minton (1951) had a 16-year major league career as a relief pitcher, spanning from 1975-1990, mostly with the Giants, but his last few seasons for the Angels. He had between 19-30 saves each year from 1980-1984, and was an All-Star in 1982 when he posted a 10-4 record, with 30 saves, and a 1.83 ERA. Overall, Minton had 150 saves, a 3.10 ERA, and a 118 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on July 29 include PIT Jack Suwinski, SEA Cole Young, TOR Will Wagner, and AZ Tommy Henry.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a full slate of Tuesday games (16), including a TOR/BAL double-header, so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• CHC vs. MIL is a critical NL Central series that started with the two teams tied for first place. The Brewers won yesterday, and today the matchup is Colin Rea (4.06 ERA, 73 K in 102 IP) and Quinn Priester (3.28 ERA, 86 K in 101.2 IP).

• ATL vs. KCR is interesting because the Braves are immediately putting the new acquired Erick Fedde (5.22 ERA, 63 K in 101.2 IP for the Cardinals) to work. The Royals will counter with Seth Lugo (2.95 ERA, 99 K in 113 IP)

Also on the mound today are SFG Justin Verlander, DET Casey Mize, NYY Max Fried, LAD Tyler Glasnow, PHI Jesús Luzardo, and STL Sonny Gray.

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:

• MIN Carlos Correa, 6-26 (.231) with 3 HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• TEX Adolis Garcia, 4-15 with 2 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

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:

• LAA Travis d’Arnaud, 9-20 vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• LAA Taylor Ward, 6-13 with a HR and a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• LAA Zach Neto, small sample but is 4-6 with a HR and a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• SDP Manny Machado, 7-19 with 3 doubles vs. NYM Sean Manaea

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 7-15 with a HR and a 2 doubles vs. NYM Sean Manaea

• SDP Luis Arraez, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR vs. NYM Sean Manaea

• ATL Ronald Acuña Jr., 6-12 vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 6-15 with 2 doubles vs. BAL Charlie Morton

• PIT Tommy Pham, 6-13 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 6-14 with a HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

• TEX Jonah Heim, 5-10 vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 14 - ATH Nick Kurtz

• 11 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 10 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 10 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 8 - PIT Tommy Pham

• 8 - SDP Jackson Merrill

• 8 - SEA Josh Naylor

• 8 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 8 - WAS Paul DeJong

• 7 - TEX Josh Jung

• 7 - CLE Kyle Manzardo

• 7 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 7 - NYM Mark Vientos

• 7 - TBR Jonny DeLuca

Active HR streaks

• 3 - BAL Tyler O’Neill

• 2 - COL Warming Bernabel

• 2 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 2 - STL Alec Burleson

• 2 - NYM Ronny Mauricio

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:

• MIN Byron Buxton, 2-21 with a 9 K though one hit was a HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• MIN Trevor Larnach, 1-11 with 6 K vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• ATL Jurickson Profar, 0-11 with 6 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, 1-11 with 5 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• TEX Kyle Higashioka, 2-16 with 6 K vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• SDP Fernando Tatis Jr., 2-14 with 6 K vs. NYM Sean Manaea

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 3-24 with 6 K vs. SFG Justin Verlander

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Today’s trivia question was of course in honor of Ryne Sandberg, who died yesterday after a battle with cancer at the age of 65. In 1990 he had 40 HR, 25 SB, 116 runs, 100 RBI, and a .306 average, and is the only 2B in the 40/25/100/100/.300 club.

The other members of this “club” are, in chronological order:

• 1963 - Hank Aaron

• 1988 - Jose Canseco

• 1993, 1996 - Barry Bonds

• 1996 - Ellis Burks

• 1997 - Larry Walker

• 1998 - Alex Rodriguez

• 1999 - Chipper Jones

• 1999 - Jeff Bagwell

• 2012 - Ryan Braun

• 2023 - Ronald Acuña Jr.

• 2024 - Shohei Ohtani

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.

• Five New Legends, Eighty-Five Syllables, by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 7/27/2025

• 6 teams that should feel the most urgency at the Deadline, by Will Leitch at MLB, 7/28/2025

• These are the top moments of Ryne Sandberg's career, by Chris Haft at MLB, 7/28/2025

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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