The Baseball Buffet for 7/5/2026

TBR 8, HOU 10 - The starting pitching matchup in this one looked good going into it, but neither of them performed very well: TBR SP Drew Rasmussen (5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and HOU SP Hunter Brown (4 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 3 K). The Rays had a 7-4 lead after four innings, but then the Astros came back and tied the game 8-8 in the bottom of the seventh. Bryan King and Josh Hader kept the Rays from scoring in the eighth and ninth, and then Yordan Alvarez capped a big day with a walk-off, 2-run HR in the bottom of the ninth. He was 3-4 with a HR in the first inning as well, and 6 RBI overall, giving him an MLB-leading 67 RBI on the year. Jose Altuve went 2-3 with 2 walks, a triple, a double, and 3 runs, and Yainer Díaz hit a 2-run HR. For the Rays, the hot-hitting Junior Caminero went 2-4 with a walk and HR, giving him 11 HR in his last 11 games. Richie Palacios was 2-4 with a walk and a HR, and Jonny DeLuca was 2-5 with a HR.

MIL 3, ARI 4 - MIL SP Brandon Woodruff gave up a 3-run HR to Adrian Del Castillo in the first inning, and then came out of the game early in the fourth inning with a shoulder injury that it seems likely will land him on the IL. Christian Yelich hit a 2-run HR in the fifth inning to cut the deficit, but then the Diamondbacks made it a 4-2 lead in the eighth. Jackson Chourio hit a 2-out, solo HR in the top of the ninth, but then Paul Sewald closed it out for his 20th save. It was a frustrating loss for Milwaukee not only because they might be losing Woodruff for a while, but also because they actually outhit the D-Backs 12-4 in this game. They couldn't get much going after the first inning, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 runners on base overall.

BAL 8, CIN 5 - CIN SP Hunter Greene struck out seven but otherwise struggled in his first start of 2026 (3.1 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 7 K), giving up a 3-run HR to Samuel Basallo in the first inning, and then another five runs in the fourth. The Reds also scored early against BAL SP Brandon Young (5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), but then the Orioles bullpen mostly shut them down except for one more run in the seventh. Tyler Wells pitched a scoreless ninth for his 2nd save of the year. Pete Alonso went 3-3 with 2 walks, and Adley Rutschman was 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI. For the Reds, Jose Trevino went 3-4 and Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez had two hits apiece.

MIN 11, NYY 4 - Rookie NYY SP Brendan Beck struggled in his first major league start (3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), giving up HRs to Kody Clemens, Luke Keaschall, and Alex Jackson. The Twins piled up seven home runs on the day, with Trevor Larnach hitting one in the fourth, and Josh Bell connecting for HRs in the seventh and eighth innings. Meanwhile, the Yankees did eventually get to MIN SP Zebby Matthews in the fourth and fifth innings (4.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K), including a solo HR by Jasson Domínguez and a 2-run HR by Max Schuemann. But then four Twins relievers combined for four scoreless innings, including rookie Marco Raya who pitched the last two and closed it out.

DET 3, TEX 0

TOR 0, SEA 11

PIT 7, WSH 1

CWS 3, CLE 1

STL 3, CHC 0

NYM 3, ATL 14

PHI 6, KCR 1

SFG 6, COL 4

BOS 8, LAA 1

MIA 7, ATH 2

SDP 0, LAD 3

Game summaries for every game

Current MLB standings

Notable player transactions… injuries, call-ups, free agent signings, trades, etc.

Rotating statistical leader lists

Current hitting streaks of seven or more games

On this day in baseball history…

Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys

Daily Hitter Watch and Pitcher Watch lists - who has historically done well or poorly against their matchup today?

Good Reads… my favorite recent baseball articles from other writers

… and the answers to the daily trivia questions!

… and during the offseason I still publish every day, covering trades, free-agent signings, and other hot-stove season news!

PIT Bubba Chandler vs. WSH Cade Cavalli - Former first-round draft pick Cavalli had 13 K in his last outing (vs. Boston). Both of these teams are on the playoff bubble of sorts; can either make a run before the trade deadline?

SDP SP Sears vs. LAD Emmet Sheehan - Can the Padres snap their 8-game losing streak? Not an easy task when facing the Dodgers.