The Baseball Buffet for 8/11/2025

Issue #363

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 137th day of the season featured a full slate of Sunday games:

• KCR 3, MIN 5 - Twins infielder Ryan Fitzgerald had his first career major league HR, but otherwise Royals starter Ryan Bergert pitched well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). Vinnie Pasquantino gave Kansas City the lead with a 2-run HR in the seventh, and then the Twins tied it up in the bottom of the eighth and the game eventually went into extras. Neither team scored in the tenth, and Minnesota’s Michael Tonkin came back out and pitched a second scoreless inning in the top of the 11th. The Royals brought in their usually reliable closer, Carlos Estévez, but after getting a double play, he let up a walk-off, two-run HR to Luke Keaschall.

• ATH 3, BAL 2 - Jordan Westburg broke the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the fifth with a solo HR, and then the A’s finally scored a run off Cade Povich (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Baltimore scored in the bottom of the seventh, but the Athletics came back with two in the top of the ninth. Elvis Alvarado then pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to pickup the win in relief.

• MIA 1, ATL 7 - Joey Wentz did well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and four Atlanta relievers kept Miami off the board the rest of the way. Meanwhile, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna each hit their 19th HR of the season, and Michael Harris II went 2-4 with a HR and a double.

• CIN 14, PIT 8 - The Pirates outhit the Reds 16-14, but those hits were mostly (13) singles. In addition, they were a mere 4-18 with runners in scoring position, and they left 12 runners on base. Meanwhile, Cincy had a 3-run by Miguel Andujar in the third, a 2-run HR by Spencer Steer in the eighth, and then a 3-run HR by Noelvi Marte in the ninth.

• HOU 7, NYY 1 - Max Fried didn’t do well in this one (5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 Bb, 3 K), and the Yankees only managed three hits on offense. The only positive sign for them was that reliever Devin Williams, who has struggled lately in late-game pressure situations, struck out three in a scoreless sixth inning. Meanwhile, Astros starter Jason Alexander was excellent (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K); Carlos Correa was 2-5 with a HR; Jose Altuve was 2-3 with a HR and 2 walks; and Christian Walker was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a walk.

• LAA 5, DET 9 - Nolan Schanuel hit a 2-run HR in the fifth, but that was after Casey Mize had pitched well otherwise (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Kerry Carpenter went 2-4 with a 3-run HR, a double, and 4 RBI, and Riley Greene went 2-5 with a 2-run HR and 3 RBI.

• CLE 4, CHW 6 - Kyle Manzardo had two HR, one in the fourth and one in the seventh. But the White Sox sored five early off Slade Cecconi (3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), including first-inning homers by Lenyn Sosa and Colson Montgomery.

• NYM 6, MIL 7 - The Mets scored in each of the first five innings, collecting 10 hits off Quinn Priester (4.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), including homers by Brett Baty and Cedric Mullins. William Contreras hit two HR for the Brewers in the fourth and fifth innings, and the Brewers later tied the game 6-6 through eight. Nick Mears pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, and the Mets brought their closer Edwin Díaz back out for the bottom of the ninth after he had gotten the final out in the eighth. Brewers LF Isaac Collins promptly hit a walk-off HR, his 8th of the year, to extend the Brewers winning streak to nine games.

• PHI 4, TEX 2 - Joc Pederson hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the first, but otherwise Zack Wheeler pitched well per usual (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). Four Phillies relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Jhoan Duran who locked down his 20th save. Edmundo Sosa connected for a HR in the fifth inning, his 6th of the year.

• WAS 8, SFG 0 - MacKenzie Gore rebounded from a bad started against the Athletics with a return to form yesterday against the Giants (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K). Three National relievers combined for a 3-hit shutout, and Washington collected 11 hits off Justin Verlander, including CJ Abrams hitting a 2-run HR. James Wood went 2-5 with two doubles and 4 RBI, and Josh Bell and Paul DeJong each had three hits.

• COL 6, AZ 13 - Arizona only barely outhit the Rockies 17-16, but they were very productive by going 10-15 with runners in scoring position. Each team only had one HR, Adrian Del Castillo for Arizona in the first, and Brenton Doyle for Colorado in the seventh. But the difference was the D-Backs explosion for 8 runs in a big fifth inning that put them up 12-3.

• BOS 2, SDP 6 - Dylan Cease pitched fairly well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and three San Diego relievers kept Boston off the board. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-3 with a walk and 2 runs, and Luis Arraez was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

• TBR 3, SEA 6 - Cal Raleigh connected for his MLB-leading 45th HR as part of a four-run first inning for the Mariners. The Rays scored one run in each of the next three innings, as Bryan Woo struck out nine but also allowed seven hits including a HR by Ha-Seong Kim in the fourth. Josh Naylor hit a solo HR in the seventh, his 15th on the year, and Matt Brash pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his 3rd save.

• TOR 5, LAD 4 - Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman each had a solo HR in the bottom of the first inning to give the Dodgers an early lead. Tyler Glasnow did fairly well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 8 K) and three LA relievers held the lead through seven. But then Toronto connected for three solo HR in the last two innings, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Addison Barger, and Ernie Clement doing the damage.

• CHC 2, STL 3 - The Cubs outhit the Cards 8-4, but their only scoring came from a 2-run HR by Matt Shaw in the fifth. Sonny Gray otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and with the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Nolan Gorman singled to right to drive in Jordan Walker for the go-ahead run. Riley O’Brien and JoJo Romero allowed some runners, but kept the Cubs from scoring.

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 two hottest teams are the Mariners (7-game winning streak) and the Brewers (9 game streak). Seattle is now only one game behind the Astros in the AL West, while Milwaukee has built a six-game lead over the once-leading Cubs in the NL Central.

• The Mets lost again, and have lost their last seven games to fall 5.5 behind the Phillies in the NL East.

• Current Wild Card Leaders: SEA/BOS/NYY and CHC/SDP/NYM

Today’s Trivia Question

Jose Altuve yesterday hit his 250th career HR, a somewhat round-number milestone. While has played mostly LF this season, over his career he has of course been primarily a 2B. How many of the ten other players can you name who had over 250 career HR and who primarily played 2B (over 50% of their games)?

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 Rehab Assignment

• SFG SP Landen Roupp

• PHI 3B Alec Bohm

🤕 Placed on the IL

• DET CF Matt Vierling - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• NYY IF Amed Rosario - 10-day IL (left SC joint sprain)

📝 Signed as a Free Agent

• TEX C Omar Narváez

• COL RP Xzavion Curry

League Leaders

Cal Raleigh had another HR, so he is now at 45 and four ahead of the two NL leaders:

• 45 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 41 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 41 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 37 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 37 - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 32 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 28 - NYM Juan Soto

• 27 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 27 - DET Riley Greene

• 27 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 27 - LAA Taylor Ward

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 August 11…

• 1940: Stan Musial’s pitching career ends due to an injury. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Pitcher Stan Musial of the Daytona Beach Islanders lands on his left shoulder while making a shoestring catch in the outfield, ending his pitching career. Musial will become a full-time outfielder in 1941.”

• 1970: Jim Bunning becomes second pitcher with 100 wins in both the NL and AL. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Jim Bunning of the Phillies achieves his 100th National League win to go with his 100 victories in the American League, the first pitcher since Cy Young to accomplish the feat. Bunning beats the Astros, 6-5.”

• 1986: Pete Rose even at 45 does what he does best. As described at baseball-reference.com, “45-year-old Pete Rose of the Reds bangs out five hits for the National League-record tenth time in his career. The Reds lose to the Giants‚ 13-4.”

• 1991: Wilson Alvarez throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Wilson Alvarez, pitching his first game for the White Sox and second major league game ever, no-hits the Orioles, 7-0.”

• 2003: The Royals and Yankees combine for 19 doubles in one game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Royals beat the Yankees‚ 12-9‚ as the teams set an American League record by stroking 19 doubles. Kansas City strokes 11 of the two-baggers‚ just one shy of the AL mark.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Vada Pinson (1938) had an 18-year major league career, spanning from 1958-1975, with most and his best seasons for the Reds, and the remainder with four other clubs. As an 18-year old in 1957 he lit up Class C pitchers to the tune of 20 HR, 20 triples, 40 doubles, 53 SB, 165 runs in 135 games, and a .367/.445/.613 slash line. At AAA Seattle in 1958 his numbers remained impressive, and so in 1959 he was up with the Reds and was an immediate star scoring 131 runs with 47 doubles, 20 HR, 21 SB, and a .316 average. That was his first of five 20/20 HR/SB seasons and his first of four consecutive years with 100+ runs scored. A good defensive CF early in his career, he earned a Gold Glove Award in 1961. He led the NL in hits twice, doubles twice, and triples twice, and overall had 2,757 hits, 1,365 runs, 256 HR, 305 SB, a .286/.327/.442 slash line, and a 111 OPS+.

• Bobo Newsom (1907) had a long and winding 20-year major league pitching career, which spanned from 1929 to 1953, and included time spent with 9 different teams—over half of the AL/NL clubs of his era. This included parts of 8 seasons over five separate stints with the Washington Senators, and then several years each with the Browns, Athletics, Dodgers, and Tigers. He won 20+ games three times, but also lost 20+ games three times. A four-time All-Star, he didn’t always have great control, twice leading his league in walks and posting a career high 192 walks in 1938. Overall, Newsom had a 211-222 record, a 3.98 ERA, and a 107 ERA+.

• Bill Monbouquette (1936) had an 11-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1958-1968, including eight seasons with the Red Sox, and the rest spread between three other clubs. An All-Star in three seasons, he posted a 20-10 record in 1963, but then led the league with 18 losses two years later, even though his ERA was lower (3.70 vs. 3.81). Overall, he had a 114-112 career record, a 3.68 ERA, and a 104 ERA+.

• Pablo Sandoval (1986) played 14 years in the majors, from 2008-2021, mostly with the Giants but with some time with the Red Sox and Braves. A two-time All-Star, Sandoval had modest power, hitting 20+ HR twice, including in his impressive first full season in 2009 when he batted .330 with 25 HR, 44 doubles, and 90 RBI. Primarily a 3B, Sandoval was a key member of three Giants World Series champions, and generally did well in the post-season, with 6 HR and a .338 average over 157 at-bats. His most important contributions came in 2012 when he was World Series MVP after going 8-16 with 3 HR. Overall, Sandoval had 153 HR, a .278/.330/.443 slash line, and a 111 OPS+.

A currently active player who was born on August 11 is TOR Brendon Little.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a partial slate of Monday games (11), as some teams are either travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• BOS vs. HOU is game one of a series between two teams in the postseason hunt, and features Boston ace Garrett Crochet (2.24 ERA, 183 K in 148.1 IP) and Houston countering with Cristian Javier making his 2025 debut.

• SFG vs. SDP is the beginning of an NL West series, and features two veterans in the steady Logan Webb (3.24 ERA, 165 K in 147.1 IP) vs. Yu Darvish (6.51, 23 K in 27.2 IP), who has been inconsistent in his six starts so far this year.

Also on the bump today are MIL Freddy Peralta, CIN Andrew Abbott, TEX Nathan Eovaldi, and LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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:

• MIL Joey Ortiz, small sample but is 3-5 with 3 HR vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• WAS Josh Bell, small sample but is 5-9 with 2 HR and a double vs. KCR Bailey Falter

• AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr., 8-23 with 2 HR vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

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:

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 14-36 (.389) with a HR, a triple, and 2 doubles vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• SDP Luis Arraez, 9-17 with a HR vs. SFG Logan Webb

• SDP Jackson Merrill, 6-10 with 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• SDP Gavin Sheets, 5-11 with 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• MIL Brice Turang, small sample but is 4-5 vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• CHW Andrew Benintendi, 4-10 with a HR vs. DET Chris Paddack

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 13 - SFG Dominic Smith

• 12 - MIN Ryan Jeffers

• 11 - MIN Luke Keaschall

• 10 - ATH Tyler Soderstrom

• 9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 8 - HOU Carlos Correa

• 8 - HOU Jose Altuve

• 7 - MIL Brice Turang

• 7 - AZ Geraldo Perdomo

Active HR Streaks

• 3 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 2 - TOR Ernie Clement

• 2 - MIL William Contreras

• 2 - COL Brenton Doyle

• 2 - Shohei Ohtani

• 2 - ATL Marcell Ozuna

• 2 - LAA Luis Rengifo

• 2 - CHC Matt Shaw

• 2 - NYM Starling Marte

• 2 - MIL Brice Turang

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:

• SDP Elias Díaz, 3-25 with 5 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

• AZ Ketel Marte, small sample but is 1-9 though only 1 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Jose Altuve now has 250 HR. Here are the 10 players ahead of him on the career list for guys who played over 50% of their games at 2B:

• 377 - Jeff Kent

• 335 - Robinson Cano

• 301 - Rogers Hornsby

• 291 - Craig Biggio

• 282 - Ryne Sandberg

• 268 - Joe Morgan

• 259 - Chase Utley

• 257 - Ian Kinsler

• 253 - Joe Gordon

• 252 - Bret Boone

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.

• Trailblazing umpire Pawol debuts behind plate: 'Big day for her, big day for MLB', by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB, 8/10/2025

• Robertson puts tennis rackets away, rejoins Phils' active roster, by Paul Casella at MLB, 8/10/2025

• 5 Baseball Cards for 'Rocky' Times, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 8/10/2025

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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