The Baseball Buffet for 8/13/2025

Issue #365

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 139th day of the season featured a full slate of Tuesday games:

• SEA 1, BAL 0 - Dean Kremer pitched well (8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) but the lone run allowed in the first inning was all it took. George Kirby was outstanding (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), and three Seattle relievers combined for a 5-hit shutout, including Andrés Muñoz notching his 28th save.

• PHI 1, CIN 6 - Brady Singer pitched six innings of shutout ball (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and the only run the Phillies could muster was a solo HR by Bryce Harper in the ninth. Meanwhile, the Reds got 10 hits off Ranger Suárez (5.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), including Miguel Andujar hitting a HR in the fourth inning, and catcher Jose Trevino going 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.

• MIA 3, CLE 4 - The Guardians scored three runs early, including back-to-back HR by José Ramírez and Kyle Manzardo in the first inning. The Marlins scored three in the top of the fifth to tie it up, and it stayed that way until the bottom of the eighth when Ramírez hit his second HR of the game. After recording one out in the top of the eighth, Cade Smith kept the Marlins off the board in the ninth for the win.

• CHC 1, TOR 5 - Cubs starter Javier Assad struggled in his first major league start of 2025 (4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), including giving up a HR to Ernie Clement. Daulton Varsho hit a HR in the eighth as an insurance run, while José Berríos pitched well (5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) and Louis Varland and Jeff Hoffman each struck out two in scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th.

• ATL 5, NYM 13 - The Mets pounded Spencer Strider (4 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and continued to do the same against Austin Cox (2.2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER 1 BB, 2 K). Only non-pitcher Luke Williams could contain them (1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). Against the two actual Atlanta pitchers they put up six HR, two each by Francisco Alvarez and Pete Alonso, and one apiece from Brandon Nimmo and Brett Baty. For Alonso, the first of his two HR moved him past Darryl Strawberry as the all-time leader in HR for the Mets (he has 254 now).

• MIN 1, NYY 9 - The Twins scored one run in the top of the first, but that was all they’d get as Carlos Rodón pitched well (7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Tim Hill and Yerry De Los Santos kept Minnesota off the board. The Yankees had 11 hits, with Aaron Judge going 1-2 with a HR and 3 walks; Giancarlo Stanton was 4-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI; Anthony Volpe was 1-4 with a 3-run HR; and Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 2-3 with a triple and 2 walks.

• PIT 0, MIL 14 - Paul Skenes has been great this year, but yesterday he went up against the red-hot Brewers, and they scored four runs in four innings (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), including homers by Sal Frelick in the first inning and Brice Turang in the fourth. Milwaukee kept piling on against the Bucs bullpen, with more HR coming from Christian Yelich, Andrew Vaughn, and Caleb Durbin. Joey Ortiz was 3-5 with 2 doubles, and William Contreras as 2-4 with a double, a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI. Meanwhile, Freddy Peralta pitched great (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and three Brewers relievers pitched scoreless innings for the combined 4-hit shutout, and their 11 consecutive win.

• WAS 5, KCR 8 - Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-3 with a HR, a double, and 5 RBI, and Jonathan India hit a 2-run HR, his 7th of the season. Lucas Erceg pitched a scoreless ninth for his 2nd save.

• DET 6, CHW 9 - Yoendrys Gómez made his first major league start and did really well over five inning (5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). The White Sox started scoring by putting up five runs in the fifth, and then scored more in each of the next three innings, including a solo HR by Edgar Quero in the 7th. Detroit’s offense came alive late in this one, with Dillon Dingler hitting a 2-run HR in the 7th, and Colt Keith hitting a 3-run HR in the 9th, but it wouldn’t be enough.

• COL 3, STL 0 - Kyle Freeland pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and Victor Vodnik got the last five outs to combine for the shutout. Hunter Goodman provided most of Colorado’s scoring with a 2-run HR in the fourth, his 23rd homer of the year.

• AZ 3, TEX 2 - Blaze Alexander hit a solo HR in the third inning, but Jack Leiter otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). With the game tied 2-2 through eight, Ketel Marte hit a solo HR off Danny Coulombe in the top of the ninth for the go ahead run.

• BOS 14, HOU 1 - Spencer Arrighetti only allowed one hit in five innings, but walked five guys and let up two runs. Meanwhile Boston starter Dustin May struck out 8 over 6 shutout innings (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). The Red Sox got things going against the Astros relievers, scoring 12 runs from the sixth inning forward. Standouts included Carlos Narváez 2-4 with a 3-run HR; Alex Bregman 2-5 with a HR and a walk; Roman Anthony 1-2 with a HR, 4 walks, a SB, and 4 runs; and Wilyer Abreu 2-4 with 2 doubles, a walk, and 3 RBI.

• LAD 6, LAA 7 - The lead went back and forth in this one, with Dalton Rushing hitting a HR in the second inning, Taylor Ward hitting a HR in the third, and Shohei Ohtani hitting a go-head HR in the top of the ninth (his 43rd of the year). His old team the Angels came back in the bottom of the frame by loading the bases and then with only one out Nolan Schanuel hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Luis Rengifo to tie it back up again. Connor Brogdon kept the Dodgers from scoring in the top of the tenth, and consecutive singles by Christian Moore and Joe Adell advanced and then drove in Taylor Ward for the win. Of note, in the sixth inning Shohei Ohtani lined into a triple play, only the 8th in Angels history.

• SDP 5, SFG 1 - Giants 2B Casey Schmitt went 4-5 on the day, and scored their only run in the bottom of the first. Nestor Cortes otherwise did well enough in a short start (4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and four Padres relievers kept the Giants off the board the rest of the way. Jose Iglesias hit a 2-run HR in the second inning, his first homer of the year, and Jackson Merrill hit a solo HR as an extra insurance run in the 8th.

• TBR 0, ATH 6 - Jacob Lopez was outstanding (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) and two Athletics relievers combined for the 4-hit shutout. Tyler Soderstrom was 2-4 with a doubles and 2 runs; Colby Thomas was 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI; and Lawrence Butler was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

Standings

I am providing current standings as part of The Baseball Buffet, with the image being a modified version of the text-based standings at Plain Text Sports. Here also is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Notes:

• The Brewers won again (big), extending their streak to 11.

• Cleveland has gained three on Detroit and now sits 5.5 back in the AL Central.

• The Astros and Mariners are now tied in the AL West! Seattle is on an 8-game winning streak to close the gap they were facing.

• Similarly, in the NL West the Dodgers and Padres are now tied! SDP has won four in a row, while LAD has lost three in a row.

• Current Wild Card Leaders: In the AL Either HOU or SEA, plus BOS & NYY; in the NL it is either LAD or SDP, plus CHC & NYM.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Pete Alonso moved past Darryl Strawberry to become the Mets all-time HR leader (he had two yesterday, so has 254 for his career, which has all been with the Mets). Can you name the two franchises that have an all-time HR leader with fewer HR than the Mets’ 254, and who their top HR leader is in each case? (Bonus points if you can name any of the other three franchises and their respective all-time HR leaders that have a bit more than the Mets, but still less than 300 HR).

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

• PHI RP Daniel Robert

• SEA RF Victor Robles

• COL SS Ryan Ritter

• BAL RP Albert Suarez

• AZ 1B Pavin Smith

• ATL SP Chris Sale

• TEX CF Evan Carter

• KCR RF Jac Caglianone

• NYM SP Tylor Megill

• KCR LF Mark Canha

• AZ 2B Ildemaro Vargas

🤕 Placed on the IL

• HOU RP Josh Hader - 15-day IL (left shoulder strain)

• LAA RF Gustavo Campero - 10-day IL (left ankle sprain)

• TBR SS Taylor Walls - 10-day IL (left groin sprain)

• LAD RP Brock Stewart - 15-day IL (right shoulder inflammation)

League Leaders

A rare tough outing for Paul Skenes raised his ERA, but he still has the overall lead. Nathan Eovaldi is lurking close to qualifying for this leaderboard (he has a 1.71 ERA in 116 innings, but would need 121 as of now to qualify).

• 2.13 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 2.35 - Tarik Skubal

• 2.36 - PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• 2.41 - CIN Andrew Abbott

• 2.45 - CHC Matthew Boyd

• 2.48 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 2.51 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 2.68 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 2.79 - MIN Joe Ryan

• 2.84 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

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 13…

• 1910: A very evenly matched Pirates vs. Superbas game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In the most evenly matched game ever, the Pirates and Superbas each have eight runs, 13 hits, 38 at bats, five strikeouts, three walks, one hit batter, one passed ball, 13 assists, 27 putouts, two errors, and use two pitchers. Darkness ends the game before the symmetry does.”

• 1922: The Cubs’ Charlie Hollocher hits three triples. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Led by SS Charlie Hollocher's three triples, the Cubs cook the Cardinals, 16-5. Hollocher is in the middle of his best season, and will hit .340 while leading the loop in fielding for the second straight year.”

• 1931: The Reds’ Tony Cuccinello goes 6-6. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Tony Cuccinello wakes up the last-place Reds by going 6 for 6, with three singles, two doubles and a triple, as Cincy wins the first game of a doubleheader against Boston, 17-3. Cuccinello doesn't stop there, belting a three-run homer in the 8th inning of the nitecap to give the Reds a 4-2 win. "Cooch" has eight RBIs for the day.”

• 1969: Jim Palmer throws a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Baltimore's Jim Palmer leaves no doubt about his comeback with a 8-0 no-hitter against Oakland. Reggie Jackson, leading the American League with 42 home runs, walks three times, as the A's drop two games behind the Twins in the West. Palmer, now 11-2, pushes the O's lead to a comfortable 14 1/2 games.”

• 1995: Mickey Mantle dies from liver cancer at age 63.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Sid Gordon (1917) had a 13-year major league career, which spanned from 1941-1955, with two years missed for military service. He played a mix of LF and 3B, mostly with the Giants, but also spent time with the Braves and Pirates. He hit 25+ HR five times, and had 100+ RBI three times. A two-time All-Star, Gordon received down-ballot MVP votes in five seasons. Overall, he had 202 HR, a .283/.377/.466 slash line, and a 129 OPS+.

• Jay Buhner (1964) had a 15-year major league career, spanning from 1987-2001. Drafted by the Pirates in the second round in 1984, he was traded late that year in a multi-player deal to the Yankees. He saw a little action with New York, but was traded in 1988 to the Mariners for Ken Phelps. By 1991, in his age-26 season, he was Seattle’s regular RF with a strong throwing arm and a powerful bat. He hit 25+ HR in seven seasons, with 40+ HR each year from 1995-1997. He had career highs of 44 HR and 138 RBI in 1996, his one All-Star campaign and also the year he took home an AL Gold Glove Award. Overall, Buhner had 310 HR, a .254/.359/.494 slash line, and a 124 OPS+.

• Andre Thornton (1949) had a 14-year major league career, spanning from 1973-1987. He started out as a 1B with the Cubs, and then later spent more time as a 1B and then DH with the Indians. He had six seasons with 20+ HR, including 32 HR with 116 RBI in 1982 and 33 HR and 99 RBI in 1984, his two All-Star seasons. Overall, Thornton had 253 HR, a .254/.360/.452 slash line, and a 123 OPS+.

• Fielder Jones (1871) had a 15-year major league career, spanning from 1896-1915, mostly spent with Brooklyn in the NL and Chicago in the AL. Like most players of his era, he didn’t have much power, connecting for only 21 HR in 7,924 plate appearances. But he hit over .300 six times, and had 25+ SB eight times, including a high of 48 SB in 1897. He scored 100+ runs three times, and overall had 1,180 runs, 350 SB, a .285/.368/.347 slash line, and a 112 OPS+. Of note, he was player-manager for the White Sox from 1904-1908, and led them to the World Series Championship in 1906. Also of note, he was born Fielder Allison Jones—clearly destined to be a baseball player and a fine defensive outfielder in particular.

Currently active players who were born on August 13 include KCR Randal Grichuk, PHI Taijuan Walker, DET Chase Lee, TOR Mason Fluharty, and CLE Kolby Allard.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a full slate of Wednesday games (15), so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• PHI vs. CIN has a nice pitching matchup with Cristopher Sánchez (2.36 ERA, 151 K in 144.2 IP) taking on Hunter Greene (2.72 ERA, 73 K in 59.2 IP), who is coming off the IL and making his first start since June 3rd.

• SEA vs. BAL also is an interesting pitching setup with Logan Gilbert (3.35 ERA, 118 K in 83.1 IP) up against Trevor Rogers (1.44 ERA, 54 K in 62.1 IP), who has surprised to the upside in 10 starts this year.

Also on the mound today are MIL Brandon Woodruff, KCR Seth Lugo, TEX Merrill Kelly, SDP Nick Pivetta, CLE Gavin Williams, MIN Joe Ryan, TOR Kevin Gausman, HOU Hunter Brown, NYM David Peterson, LAD Shohei Ohtani, and TBR Drew Rasmussen.

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:

• ATL Matt Olson, 5-19 with 4 HR vs. NYM David Peterson

• HOU Christian Walker, 6-27 with 3 HR vs. BOS Walker Buehler

• STL Willson Contreras, small sample but is 4-8 with 3 HR vs. COL Austin Gomber

• SEA Randy Arozarena, small sample but is 3-6 with 2 HR vs. BAL Trevor Rogers

• MIL William Contreras, 5-19 with 2 HR vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• CHC Justin Turner, 8-24 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

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:

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 6-15 with a HR and a double vs. LAA Kyle Hendricks

• MIL Joey Ortiz, small sample but is 5-8 with a triple and a double vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• NYY Anthony Volpe, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR vs. MIN Joe Ryan

• SFG Willy Adames, 5-13 with a HR and 4 doubles vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• PHI Trea Turner, 5-13 with a HR vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• PHI Nick Castellenos, small sample but is 4-6 with 2 doubles vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• STL Masyn Winn, small sample but is 4-8 with 3 doubles and a triple vs. COL Austin Gomber

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 15 - SFG Dominic Smith

• 12 - ATH Tyler Soderstrom

• 11 - LAD Shohei Ohtani - is batting .439 with 5 HR

• 9 - MIL Brice Turang - also has 6 HR during this 9-game streak!

• 9 - AZ Geraldo Perdomo

• 7 - MIA Xavier Edwards - is hitting .455 during this streak

• 7 - LAD Mookie Betts

• 7 - WAS Riley Adams

• 7 - ATH Gio Urshela

Active HR Streaks

• 4 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 4 - MIL Brice Turang

• 3 - TOR Ernie Clement

• 2 - AZ Blaze Alexander

• 2 - BOS Roman Anthony

• 2 - NYM Brett Baty

• 2 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 2 - CLE Kyle Manzardo

• 2 - NYY Giancarlo Stanton

• 2 - MIL Christian Yelich

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:

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 2-18 with 10 K vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 1-14 with 6 K though the one hit was a HR vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• PIT Jack Suwinski, 1-11 with 3 K vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• WAS Josh Bell, 2-13 with 3 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• ATL Michael Harris II, 1-13 with 6 K vs. NYM David Peterson

• TEX Jonah Heim, 0-14 with 8 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• TEX Joc Pederson, 3-24 with 7 K but one HR was a double vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• LAD Miguel Rojas, 2-14 though 0 K vs. LAA Kyle Hendricks

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The six franchises whose all-time HR leader has less than 300 HR are:

• 167 - Padres, Manny Machado

• 224 - D-Backs, Luis Gonzalez

• 254 - Mets, Pete Alonso

• 261 - Rays, Evan Longoria

• 267 - Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton

• 284 - Nationals/Expos, Ryan Zimmerman

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.

• Starting pitchers have been re-engineered to support a good bullpen, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 8/13/2025

• Ranking every MLB farm system, 1-30, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo at MLB, 8/12/2025

• New leader in each league in latest Rookie of the Year poll, by Manny Randhawa at MLB, 8/12/2025

• Here is 1 X-factor player in each division race, by Brent Maguire at MLB, 8/13/2025

• Each team's all-time home run leader, by Manny Randhawa and Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 8/12/2025

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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