The Baseball Buffet for 7/7/2026

PHI 1, KCR 15 - PHI SP Cristopher Sánchez (3.1 IP, 12 H, 9 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) had a rare horrible outing, as the Royals scored six in the first inning and then impressively scored in every inning for the rest of the game. Only the final eighth frame involved a position player (Garrett Stubbs) taking the mound, giving up 4 of the 22 total hits that Kansas City collected. Tyler Tolbert went 5-5 with a HR and a double; Salvador Perez went 3-4 with a HR and a double; Lane Thomas was 2-3 with a walk and a HR; and Luke Maile hit a 3-run HR. Nick Loftin went 3-5 with a walk; and Bobby Witt Jr., Jac Caglianone, and Starling Marte had two hits apiece. Meanwhile, KCR SP Noah Cameron allowed five walks but only one run (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K), and three Royals relievers pitched four scoreless innings.

HOU 11, WSH 12 - Both starting pitchers were roughed up early in this one: HOU SP Mike Burrows (4.1 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and WSH SP Miles Mikolas (6 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). The game was tied 6-6 through four innings, but the Nationals scored six more in the bottom of the fifth. The Astros mounted a comeback with one in the sixth and four in the eighth, but finally Clayton Beeter pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to close out this wild game. CJ Abrams went 3-5 with a 3-run HR; Curtis Mead was 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI; James Wood was 1-2 with a grand slam HR, 3 walks, and 3 runs; and Nasim Nuñez was 3-4 with 2 runs and his MLB-leading 33rd SB of the year. For the Astros, Jose Altuve had a 3-run HR; Yainer Diaz was 2-4 with a 2-run HR; Brice Matthews was 2-4 with a 3-run HR; and Christian Walker, Cam Smith, and Braden Shewmake had two hits apiece.

NYM 7, ATL 6 (10) - Carson Benge hit a solo HR in the second inning, but ATL SP Reynaldo López otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). The Braves scored two in the second, and Matt Olson added a solo HR in the third off NYM SP Freddy Peralta (4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The Braves were up 3-2 heading into the ninth and so brought in their closer Raisel Iglesias. He allowed two singles, and then a 2-out HR to Juan Soto, his 19th of the year. The Mets were now up 5-3, so brought in Devin Williams, but he too struggled, giving up a double to Ozzie Albies and then a 2-run HR to Olson, his second dinger of the day.

The game went into extras, and the Mets managed to advance the automatic runner to third, but with two outs so a sacrifice fly wouldn't matter. Jared Young was then hit by a pitch, and Luis Torrens hit a 2-run double. Luke Weaver came in for New York for the bottom of the tenth, and he allowed a one-out double to Michael Harris II that scored the automatic runner. Albies struck out, Weaver intentionally walked Matt Olson, but then also walked Jorge Mateo to load the bases. Mauricio Dubón then grounded out to end it, which earned Weaver his first save of the year.

COL 7, LAD 8 (11) - The Rockies scored first with a run in the second inning, but then the Dodgers put up six across the third and fourth innings against COL SP Kyle Freeland (5 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), including a 2-run HR by Shohei Ohtani. Ezequiel Tovar hit a solo HR in the fifth against LAD SP Eric Lauer (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but Colorado found themselves down 6-3 heading into the ninth. The Dodgers brought in Tanner Scott, and after getting one out he allowed a walk, a single, and a double which scored one. He intentionally walked the dangerous Hunter Goodman to load the bases, and then struck out TJ Rumfield. Rookie Cole Carrigg then hit a double to center that drove in two runs to tie the game, but a sliding Goodman at home was ruled out after a replay challenge to end the inning.

With the game now 6-6, Antonio Senzatela struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to force extras. Both teams scored a run in the 10th inning, and then Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez pitched a scoreless top of the 11th. In the bottom of the 11th Jimmy Herget intentionally walked Max Muncy, and then Tommy Edman successfully bunted the runners over to second and third. Dalton Rushing, who had already hit two doubles earlier in the game, then hit a walk-off single to center.

NYY 5, TBR 1

MIL 4, STL 3

ARI 8, SDP 0

TOR 1, SFG 10

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!

ATL Hurston Waldrep vs. PIT Paul Skenes - Game one of this three-game series will be a big test for Skenes, who has pitched well at times but hasn't managed to get a win since May 12th

LAA José Soriano vs. TEX Jacob deGrom - Soriano started the season hot, but has cooled off since, while the 38-year old deGrom has been fairly consistent this year.

ARI Zac Gallen vs. SDP Germán Márquez - Gallen has the highest ERA of all qualified pitchers (6.36), but can he have a good outing, ahead of the trade deadline, against the recently slumping Padres?