Issue #726
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! ⚾
Yesterday we had a partial slate of Monday games (10), as some teams were traveling or otherwise had the day off. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
TBR 10, ATH 6 - Yandy Díaz led off the game with a HR, but then ATH SP Jacob Lopez settled in for seven strong innings (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The Athletics scored three off TBR SP Freddy Peralta (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), including Zack Gelof hitting a solo HR in the fifth. They added three more in the bottom of the seventh to go up 6-2 at that point. But then the Rays erupted for eight runs in the eighth, including a 3-run HR by Junior Caminero, his 34th of the season. Díaz went 3-4 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI on the day; Jonny DeLuca was 3-5 with 2 runs; and Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson had two hits apiece. Gelof, Jeff McNeil, Lawrence Butler, and Henry Bolte each had two hits in the Athletics' loss.
PHI 6, STL 5 - The Phillies scored three runs (one earned) off STL SP Hunter Dobbins (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). PHI SP Andrew Painter had a no-hitter going through five innings, but finally gave up two hits and two runs in the sixth (5.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). Philadelphia extended their lead with one run in the seventh and two in the eighth, but then the Cardinals scored three in the bottom of the eighth to come within one. Justin Bruihl pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, but then so did Jonathan Bowlan in the bottom of the inning, securing his first major league save. For the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber went 2-3 with a double and 2 walks; Edmundo Sosa was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI; and Bryson Stott went 2-4 with a walk. Iván Herrera was 2-5 with 2 doubles and 2 runs, and Alec Burleson was 2-4 with a double, a walk, and 3 RBI for the Cardinals in the losing effort.
BOS 1, TOR 2 - BOS SP Sonny Gray (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) threw four scoreless innings, but then gave up a solo HR to Charles McAdoo in the fifth, and another run in the sixth. That was all the Blue Jays would need, as TOR SP Jameson Taillon did well in a short start (4 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), and Simeon Woods Richardson, who was just called back up from the minors, only allowed one run in three innings. Louis Varland pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 25th save. Of note, this game had a very strange situation arise in the seventh inning where a rarely used rule needed to be invoked after checking with the office in New York. It didn't end up mattering in the outcome of the game, but see video and read all about it in the article by Keegan Matheson at MLB.
NYM 8, ATL 5
BAL 5, MIN 9
TEX 4, LAA 1
COL 0, ARI 9
MIL 2, SDP 3
HOU 6, SFG 3
KCR 5, LAD 6
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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!
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Vada Pinson. He had five 20/20 HR/SB seasons. The record is of course 10 such seasons, held by both Bobby Bonds and his son Barry Bonds. How many of the other eight players can you name who had six or more 20/20 HR/SB seasons? (Hint: one had nine such seasons, three had seven, and four had six.)
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Vada Pinson, Bobo Newsom, Bill Monbouquette, Pablo Sandoval
Currently active players who were born on August 11 include BAL Dylan Beavers and TOR Brendon Little.
Today’s Matchups
Today we have a full slate of Tuesday games (15), including the following interesting matchups (and here is a link to the full schedule):
SEA Bryan Woo vs. NYY Ryan Weathers - the Mariners are looking to make a playoff push, but begin a tough series today with the Yankees in New York
MIL Kyle Harrison vs. SDP Walker Buehler - similarly the Padres are fighting for a Wild Card spot, but today start a series with the Brewers who have the best record in baseball
KCR Michael Wacha vs. LAD Blake Snell - this is Snell's first game back from the IL, after only pitching one game this year on May 9th. The question for the next several weeks is what role Snell and Tyler Glasnow will play in the Dodgers postseason pitching plans.
Additional starting pitchers who are toeing the rubber include PIT Paul Skenes, CHC Shota Imanaga, TOR Dylan Cease, NYM Nolan McLean, PHI Cristopher Sánchez, TBR Nick Martinez, and HOU Hunter Brown.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Bobo Newsom, so here are some quotes from him:
"I played for Washington five different times. That beat Franklin Delano Roosevelt's record. He was only elected four times."
"Ol' Bobo is pitching today and you can mark it down in the win column."
"I don't go in for strikeouts any more. It doesn't get you anything. Look at that Bob Feller, wearing himself out getting strikeouts. It's for no good."
When Washington manager Bucky Harris asked if he needed to come out after taking a line drive off his leg in 1935, Bobo retorted: "You kidding me? I said it was broke, I didn't say I was dead."
⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾
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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