The Baseball Buffet for 7/8/2025

Issue #329

What follows is a new feature for 2025 at Now Taking the Field. 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! Let me know what you think of each issue… I can be reached at [email protected].

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 103rd day of the season had a partial slate of Monday games:

• TBR 1, DET 5 - Keider Montero, who was recently called back up, pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and then three Tigers relievers pitched scoreless innings. On offense, Detroit scored most of their runs from three HR by Javier Baez, Colt Keith, and Zach McKinstry.

• PIT 3, KCR 9 - Tommy Pham hit a 2-run HR, but Royals rookie starter Noah Cameron otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Meanwhile the Royals had 12 hits, including four HR by Vinnie Pasquantino, Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, and Nick Loftin.

• COL 3, BOS 9 - The Red Sox had three HR in this one, a 2-run HR by Roman Anthony, and solo shots from Ceddanne Rafaela and Romy Gonzalez. Richard Fitts pitched fairly well (5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and four Red Sox relievers held the Rockies scoreless the rest of the way.

• TOR 8, CHW 4 - Sean Burke let up six runs in five innings, include three HR to Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes, and Addison Barger. José Berríos pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) leading the Blue Jays to their ninth consecutive win.

• LAD 1, MIL 9 - Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto couldn’t escape the first inning (0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K), including Andrew Vaughn hitting his first HR for Milwaukee. Freddy Peralta pitched great (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and Christian Yelich added a 2-run HR in the ninth, his 18th of the season.

• CLE 7, HOU 5 - After only seeing zeroes for four innings, both teams scored four runs in the fifth inning with José Ramírez hitting a 3-run HR, his 15th HR of the year, and the Astros getting homers from Taylor Trammell and Isaac Paredes. Cleveland would go on to score three more, including a HR by David Fry in the ninth. Three Guardians relievers pitched shutout ball for the final three innings, including Emmanuel Clase securing his 19th save, as Cleveland snapped a 10-game losing streak.

• MIA 5, CIN 1 - Xavier Edwards was 3-5 with two doubles, and Agustín Ramírez was 2-4 with a HR and a double. Marlins pitcher Janson Junk did really well (6 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and two Miami relievers held the Reds scoreless the rest of the way.

• TEX 5, LAA 6 - Corey Seager hit a HR in the first inning, but Travis d’Arnaud countered with one in the second inning. The lead in this game went back and forth a few times, with the score ultimately tied 5-5 through eight innings. Kenley Jansen held the Rangers scoreless in the top of the ninth, and in the bottom of the ninth the Angels loaded the bases and then Nolan Schanuel drew a walk-off walk for the win.

• AZ 6, SDP 3 - Manny Machado hit his 15th HR of the year, and Yu Darvish made his 2025 debut, striking out 5 in 3.2 innings, but also allowing two runs. But Zac Gallen pitched really well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), and the D-Backs spread six runs across several innings with Corbin Carroll going 2-5 with a triple and a double, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. going 3-5 with a double, and Josh Naylor hitting his 11th HR of the year.

• PHI 1, SFG 3 - Cristopher Sánchez pitched well again (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), but so did Landen Roupp (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). Matt Chapman was 3-4 with a double and two runs scored, while four Giants relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Camilo Doval securing his 14th save.

I plan to start including the current standings in some form here, but until then… here is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Today’s Trivia Question

Yesterday San Diego 3B Manny Machado was 3-5 and reached the 2,000 hit milestone for his career. Can you name the four other active players who have over 2,000 career hits? And bonus points if you can name the player who is next in line for 2,000 after Machado.

Trivia answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

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 SP Luis Garcia

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW 1B Ryan Noda - 10-day IL (right quad strain)

• MIL 1B Rhys Hoskins - 10-day IL (sprained left thumb)

• LAA RP Hunter Strickland - 15-day IL (right shoulder inflammation)

• LAD IF/OF Kiké Hernández - 10-day IL (left elbow inflammation)

• AZ RP Shelby Miller - 15-day IL (right forearm strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• HOU 1B Christian Walker

MLB Debut Yesterday

Here I’ll try to keep up with players who just made their MLB debut the day before!

• HOU CF Kenedy Corona - The 25-year old batted ninth and was 0-2 with a walk and a strikeout in Houston’s 7-5 loss to Cleveland. Before the call-up, Corona was hitting .228 with 6 HR and 8 SB in 76 games at AAA Sugar Land. Corona has previously displayed a nice power/speed combo in the minors, with 22 HR and 32 SB in 117 games between A/AA in 2023, and 19 HR and 28 SB in 107 games at A-level in 2022.

League Leaders

It is natural for the batting average leaders to trend downward after the first month or two, as the players who were on fire early come back to earth. But at this point the National League in particular is looking rather shallow in this area, with only two Dodgers who qualify having averages over .300:

• .360 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .335 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .332 - LAD Will Smith

• .322 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• .319 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• .308 - HOU Jake Meyers

• .307 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• .306 - PHI Maikel Garcia

• .300 - TOR Alejandro Kirk

• .299 - AZ Josh Naylor

• .299 - PHI Trea Turner

I’ll note that the overall batting average across all of MLB this year is .245, two points higher than the .243 posted in 2024. (It has been below .250 each year since 2018.) And the overall NL average is actually higher, at .247, than the overall AL average at .244.

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 8…

• 1939: Before you can play, the bugs must be cleared away. As described as baseball-reference.com, “Prior to the first game of a doubleheader with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, a wall of Japanese beetles forms in front of the home dugout. Although over 5000 insects will be captured, the problem will return later in the month.”

• 1970: Jim Ray Hart has six RBI in one inning. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Jim Ray Hart ties a modern major-league record with six RBIs in one inning (the 5th) with a three-run homer and a three-run triple; Hart is the first player in 59 years to accomplish the feat. The Giants score 11 in the frame. Hart also hits for the cycle as the Giants rout the Braves, 13-0.”

• 1979: Slugger Ben Oglivie has a big day. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Ben Oglivie has three home runs in three at bats as the Brewers beat the Tigers, 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader. Oglivie drives in the winning run in the second game as the Brewers take it, 3-1.”

• 1994: SS John Valentin has an unassisted triple play. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In Seattle's 7-4 win over Boston, Red Sox SS John Valentin turns the tenth unassisted triple play in major league history. In the 2nd inning, he catches a line drive off the bat of Marc Newfield, steps on second base to retire Mike Blowers, then tags runner Keith Mitchell who is heading for second. Valentin then homers in the bottom of the inning. Blue chipper Alex Rodriguez, 18, is 0 for 3 in his major league debut, but makes a long throw to start a double play.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Terry Puhl (1956) was born in Canada and was already playing minor league baseball in the US by his late teens. He hit .300 in 60 games for the Astros in his age-20 season in 1977, and then was an All-Star the following year when he had 32 SB, 87 runs, and a .289 average. He had 20+ SB in six seasons, and retired after 15 seasons with 217 SB, a .280/.349/.388 slash line, and a 112 OPS+.

• Josh Harrison (1987) had a 13-year major league career, playing a mix of 2B, 3B, and OF. Although drafted by the Cubs, he was traded to the Pirates while still in the minor leagues. He went on to play eight seasons for Pittsburgh, with his remaining years spread between the Nationals, White Sox, A’s, Phillies, and Tigers. A two-time All-Star, Harrison hit 10+ HR twice, had 10+ SB four times, and compiled a .270 career average.

• Hank O’Day (1859) had a 7-year major league pitching career from 1884-1890. He had several losing seasons before finally going 22-13 in his final campaign with the New York Giants of the Players League. Overall he had a 3.74 ERA, which translated to a nearly league-average 97 OPS+. But he is a Hall of Famer due to his extensive post-playing career as an umpire. O’Day umpired for 30 years spanning from 1895-1927, working ten World Series including five of the first seven, and specifically was behind home plate for the first World Series game ever played in 1903. As described at Wikipedia, “O'Day interrupted his umpiring career twice for single seasons as a manager, leading the Cincinnati Reds in 1912 and the Chicago Cubs in 1914. He remains the only person ever to serve full seasons in the NL as a player, manager and umpire.”

Currently active players who were born on July 8 include STL Michael McGreevy, KCR Sam Long, LAA Reid Detmers, and TEX Dustin Harris.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Tuesday games (15), so we have lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• PIT vs. KCR is interesting because some trade rumors are starting to appear around Pirates starter Mitch Keller, who has done well in his last several starts (3.64 ERA, 84 K in 106.1 IP). Kansas City is countering with Seth Lugo who is having a solid season (2.65 ERA, 83 K in 95 IP).

• LAD vs. MIL features a future Hall of Fame veteran in Clayton Kershaw (3.43 ERA, 32 K in 44.2 IP) and Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski, who had one rough outing after three strong ones to start his major league career.

• AZ vs. SDP is game two of this NL West series and features two solid starters in Merrill Kelly (3.55 ERA, 103 K in 104 IP) and Nick Pivetta (3.25 ERA, 107 in 97 IP).

Also on the mound today are KCR Seth Lugo, NYM Clay Holmes, SEA Logan Gilbert, CHC Shota Imanaga, STL Sonny Gray, HOU Hunter Brown, TEX Nathan Eovaldi, and SFG Robbie Ray.

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:

• SDP Fernando Tatis Jr., 10-28 with 4 HR and a double vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, is only 3-14 (.214) but with 2 HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• SFG Willy Adames, small sample but is 4-8 with 2 HR vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 5-14 with 2 HR vs. CHW Aaron Civale

• PHI Bryce Harper, 6-12 with 2 HR and a double vs. SFG Robbie Ray

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:

• KCR Jonathan India, 8-18 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• PIT Tommy Pham, 7-15 vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• PHI Alec Bohm, 4-10 vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• SDP Luis Arraez, 4-11 with a triple and 3 doubles vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• CLE Steven Kwan, small sample but is 4-5 with a triple vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Corey Seager, small sample but is 4-5 with a HR vs. LAA José Soriano

Who is streaking?

These are players on active hit streaks and who for this reason (if playing) might also be interesting picks to get a hit today:

• 13 - WAS Daylen Lile

• 12 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 11 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 11 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 8 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 8 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 8 - AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

• 8 - SFG Willy Adames

• 7 - HOU Mauricio Dubón

• 7 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 7 - PHI Trea Turner

• 7 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 7 - SFG Rafael Devers

• 7 - COL Brenton Doyle

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:

• PHI J.T. Realmuto, 1-12 with 6 K vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• LAA Luis Rengifo, 1-10 with 4 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• SFG Matt Chapman, 0-11 with 2 K vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 2-13 with 3 K vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The active leaders in career hits are:

• 2,358 - Freddie Freeman

• 2,323 - Jose Altuve

• 2,226 - Andrew McCutchen

• 2,145 - Paul Goldschmidt

• 2,001 - Manny Machado

• 1,901 - Nolan Arenado

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.

• Here are the 2025 Home Run Derby participants, by MLB writers, 7/7/2025

• How all 30 teams can upgrade at Trade Deadline, by MLB writers, 7/7/2025

• 'The Satchel Project' maps Paige's every known outing, by Anthony Castrovince, 7/7/2025

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.

This newsletter was produced with beehiiv, an outstanding platform for creating email newsletters and blogs. If this might be of interest for your own creative work, get a 30-day trial and 30% off your first three months!