The Baseball Buffet for 8/2/2025

Issue #354

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 128th day of the season featured a full slate of Friday games:

• ATL 2, CIN 3 - The Braves outhit the Reds 7-5, but were 1-9 with runners in scoring position. Cincy starter Brady Singer was outstanding (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K), and Will Benson hit a 2-run HR in the seventh to give the Reds a 3-0 lead. The Braves managed two runs in the top of the ninth, but it wouldn’t be enough.

• BAL 0, CHC 1 - There were only seven combined hits in this one, as Cade Horton did well (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), four Cubs relievers pitched shutout innings, and Orioles starter Trevor Rogers pitched an 8-inning complete game (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K). The only run he allowed came in the second when Pete Crow-Armstrong doubled to center to advance Carson Kelly from first to third, and then Ian Happ hit a sacrifice fly to right to drive Kelly in.

• DET 4, PHI 5 - Gleyber Torres hit a 3-run HR in the third inning, and Jack Flaherty did well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). But the Phillies came back with five runs in the 7th and 8th innings, and newly acquired closer Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save as a Philly, and his 17th on the season.

• MIL 16, WAS 9 - The Nationals had 15 hits and 9 runs, including a HR by Paul DeJong and CJ Abrams going 3-5 with a double. But that wasn’t enough as the Brewers tallied 25 hits and 16 runs, including clobbering Nats starter Mitchell Parker (4 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). William Contreras was 5-7 with a HR, a double, and 3 runs; Blake Perkins was 2-6 with 2 HR; and Andrew Vaughn continued his hot hitting since joining Milwaukee by going 3-5 with a HR, a walk, 3 runs, and 3 RBI.

• KCR 9, TOR 3 - Vladimir Guerrero hit a solo HR in the first inning, and Addison Barger hit a 2-run HR in the ninth, but those were the only highlights for the Jays in this one. Michael Wacha pitched a good game (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and the Royals had four homers, including Mike Yastrzemski in his first game for the team, Bobby Witt Jr. hitting a 3-run HR, and Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier adding dingers in the ninth.

• PIT 16, COL 17 - This one was crazy, even though coming into the game the Pirates and Rockies had scored the lowest and second-lowest runs per game in all of baseball. The Pirates scored 9 runs in the top of the first, as Antonio Senzatela once again struggled (0.2 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). That barrage included a grand slam by Oneil Cruz, and a 3-run HR by Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates scored three more in the fourth and three more again in the fifth, but the Rockies weren’t quiet as they scored 10 runs through the first five innings as well, including a 3-run HR by rookie Warming Bernabel, bringing the score to 15-10. Pittsburgh only managed one more run, while the Rockies got a 2-run HR by Yanquiel Fernandez in the bottom of the eighth, his first major league homer. Then in the bottom of the ninth, the Pirates brought in Dennis Santana, their presumed closer (having traded David Bednar to the Yankees), but he gave up five runs including homers to Hunter Goodman and Brenton Doyle.

• HOU 1, BOS 2 - Christian Walker hit a HR in the second inning, but Cooper Criswell otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Astros starter Hunter Brown matched him through seven (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and both bullpens kept runs off the board to force extras. Houston didn’t score in the top of the tenth, while Boston advanced their ghost-running Manfred Man to third and then Roman Anthony singled to center to drive him in for the win.

• SFG 4, NYM 3 - Robbie Ray pitched well, finally allowing a HR to Pete Alonso in the seventh (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The game was tied 3-3 through nine, and the Mets brought in closer Edwin Diaz for the top of the tenth. With a runner on third and one out, Dominic Smith singled to center to put the Giants ahead. The Mets managed to load the bases in the bottom of the frame, but then with two outs Randy Rodriguez stuck out Ronny Mauricio to end it and earn his second save on the year.

• MIN 2, CLE 3 - Joe Ryan pitched pretty well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and Gavin Williams was excellent (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). The game was tied 2-2 through nine, and Cleveland brought Cade Smith back out for a second relief inning and he kept the Twins off the board in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the inning, Steven Kwan got a bunt single that advanced the ghost-running Manfred Man (Brayan Rocchio) to third. David Fry struck out, José Ramírez was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Kyle Manzardo then singled to left to drive in the winning run.

• NYY 12, MIA 13 - This was another Friday night wild one, with the Yankees putting up 15 hits and 12 runs, but the Marlins seemingly answering them each time and tallying 12 hits and ultimately getting the win in the end. New York had three HR from Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham, and Anthony Volpe, but Miami also had three homers, two from Javier Sanoja, and a grand slam by Kyle Stowers. Besides losing in the bottom of the ninth, what was particularly troubling for the Yankees was that all three of the relievers they acquired at the trade deadline struggled: Jake Bird (0.1 IP 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K), David Bednar (1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), and Camilo Doval (0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K).

• LAD 5, TBR 0 - Shane Baz struck out 8 in 5 innings, but also allowed 8 hits and five runs, including a HR by Freddie Freeman, his 12th on the year. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) and so did Justin Wrobleski the rest of the way (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K).

• CHW 6, LAA 3 - The White Sox tagged Angels starter Tyler Anderson with three HR by Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa, and Colson Montgomery. Josh Rojas added a solo HR in the ninth, and Steven Wilson struck out three over the final two innings to earn his second save on the year.

• STL 1, SDP 4 - Willson Contreras hit a HR in the fifth inning, but that was the only hit that Nick Pivetta allowed through seven (7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). The Padres scored four in the bottom of the fifth, and that is all they’d need as the now rather scary bullpen combination of Mason Miller and Robert Suarez finished off the game, with Suarez earning his MLB-leading 31st save.

• AZ 1, ATH 5 - The Athletics scored four in the bottom of the first, including a 2-run HR by catcher Shea Langeliers, his 19th of the year. Starter Jacob Lopez did well (5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Tyler Soderstrom contributed by going 2-5 with 2 doubles.

• TEX 3, SEA 4 - Logan Gilbert struck out 7, but also allowed three runs in the third inning (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Seattle’s bullpen held back Texas from there, and the score was 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth. Robert Garcia came in for the Rangers, but allowed a single to Dominic Canzone and then a 2-run HR by J.P. Crawford, his first career walk-off homer.

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 Phillies and Mets remain very close in the NL East, with Philadelphia currently up by half a game.

• The Padres have the longest streak going at present, a 6-game winning streak, and are sitting 3 games back of the Dodgers.

Today’s Trivia Question

In the crazy PIT/COL game yesterday, Ezequiel Tovar went 4-6 with four doubles. Hitting four doubles in a game is somewhat rare, having happened only 50 other times since 1901 before yesterday. This is a tough one… can you name either of the two players who have done it twice? (Hints: One player did in the 1990s, the other in the 1930s/40s).

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

• SEA SP Bryce Miller

• BOS RP Nick Burdi

• PHI RP Joe Ross

• TOR C Alejandro Kirk

• HOU SP Luis Garcia

• PHI SP Aaron Nola

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIL CF Jackson Chourio - 10-day IL (strained right hamstring)

• STL 3B Nolan Arenado - 10-day IL (right shoulder strain)

• SEA RP Trent Thornton - 15-day IL (left achilles tear)

• LAD RP Kirby Yates - 15-day IL (lower back pain)

• TOR RF George Springer - 7-day IL (concussion)

• PHI RP Daniel Robert - 15-day IL (right middle finger blister)

👋🏻 Released

• NYY SP Marcus Stroman

• CHC RP Ryan Pressly

MLB Debut

• COL RP Dugan Darnell - The 28-year old closed out the crazy PIT/COL game with two shutout innings, allowing one hit with one strikeout. Before the call-up Darnell had a 3.19 ERA with 63 K in 53.2 IP as a reliever for AAA Albuquerque.

• BAL Jeremiah Jackson - The 25-year old was the DH and batted ninth in the Orioles 1-0 loss to the Cubs, going 1-3 with a single, a caught stealing, and a strikeout. A second-round draft pick by the Angels in 2018, before the call-up Jackson was hitting very well at AAA Norfolk with a .377 average, 11 HR and 9 SB in 40 games.

• MIA CF Jacob Marsee - The 24-year old was the CF and batted ninth in the Marlins wild 13-12 win over the Yankees, going 1-2 with a double, 3 walks, two runs, and one strikeout. A sixth round draft pick by the Padres in 2022, before the call-up Marsee was batting .246 with 14 HR and an impressive 47 SB in 98 games for AAA Jacksonville.

• ATH RP Luis Morales - The 22-year old pitched two innings of reliever allowing 3 hits and 1 run, while walking one with no strikeouts. Before the call-up Morales was used as both a starter and a reliever at AA and AAA this year, posting a 3.73 ERA with 107 K in 89.1 IP.

League Leaders

Aaron Judge’s batting average is frozen atop the leaderboard while he is on the IL, but Jeremy Peña is back from the IL and went 3-5 so that is a good sign. And here comes Luis Arraez, on a 14-game hitting streak, and about to crack .300 after a slow start to the year.

• .342 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .326 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• .325 - LAD Will Smith

• .316 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• .312 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .304 - TOR Alejandro Kirk

• .302 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• .302 - SDP Manny Machado

• .299 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• .298 - CLE José Ramírez

• .297 - MIA Kyle Stowers

• .297 - SDP Luis Arraez

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 2…

• 1907: Walter Johnson makes his debut. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Senators rookie Walter Johnson makes his major league debut, losing to the Tigers, 3-2. Ty Cobb gets the first hit off the future Hall of Famer with a bunt single.”

• 1921: Eight White Sox players are acquitted, but… As described at baseball-reference.com, “With the jurors lifting the men onto their shoulders, the eight White Sox players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series are acquitted by the jury. The next day, Commissioner Kenesaw Landis will say the overwhelming evidence clearly shows the Black Sox fixed the games with gamblers and all involved will be banned from playing professional baseball again.”

• 1959: Bill Bruton hits three triples, including two with the bases load. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Billy Bruton of the Braves hits three triples in an 11-5 win over the Cardinals. Two of the triples are with the bases loaded, the only time it has happened in the National League in the 20th Century.”

• 1979: Thurman Munson dies in a plane crash. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Yankees C Thurman Munson, 32, perishes at Canton, Ohio, in a crash of the plane he was piloting. A crowd of 51,151 will attend the memorial tribute at Yankee Stadium tomorrow.”

• 1990: Yankees rookie Kevin Maas continues record-breaking start. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Yankees rookie Kevin Maas hits his tenth home run in just 77 at bats, the fastest any player has ever reached that mark. But the Yanks lose to Detroit, 6 - 5, in 11 innings.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Grady Sizemore (1982) had a 10-year career in the majors that spanned from 2004-2015, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. Early in his career Sizemore was one of the better all-around players in the league, with a nice combination of power and speed, having three 20/20 HR/SB seasons and topping out with 33 HR and 38 SB in 2008. He led the AL with 134 runs and 53 doubles in 2006, his first of three consecutive All-Star seasons. He took home two Gold Glove Awards for his outstanding defense in CF, and received down-ballot MVP votes in four seasons. Unfortunately, his early success was short-lived as a series of injuries and surgeries arose, leading to both a decline in performance and even sitting out both the 2012 and 2013 seasons entirely. Sizemore attempted a comeback in his early 30s, but his career ended two seasons later. Overall he had 150 HR, 143 SB, a .265/.349/.457 slash line, and a 115 OPS+.

• Huston Street (1983) was a first-round draft pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2004, did well immediately in the minors, and was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2005 after posting 23 saves with a 1.72 ERA. He went on to have a 13-year major league career, spending time with the A’s, Rockies, Padres, and Angels. He had nine seasons with 20+ saves, with highs of 37 in 2006, 41 in 2014, and 40 in 2015. A two-time All-Star, Street’s career numbers include 324 saves, a 2.95 ERA, and a 1.41 ERA+.

• Tim Wakefield (1966) had a 19-year career as a knuckleball pitcher spanning from 1992-2011, with two seasons for the Pirates and the rest for the Red Sox. He won 12+ games in seven seasons, including his first year for Boston in 1995 when he went 16-8 with a 2.95 ERA to come in third in AL Cy Young Award vote. Overall for his career Wakefield had a 200-180 record, a 4.41 ERA, and 105 ERA+.

• Red Ames (1882) had a 17-year major league pitching career spanning from 1903-1919. He played the first half of his career with the Giants, and the rest mostly with the Reds and Cardinals. He went 22-8 with a 2.74 ERA in 1905 and won 15+ games in three other seasons (including in 1914 when although he had a 2.64 ERA he led the NL with 23 losses). Overall, Ames had a 183-167 record, a 2.63 ERA, and a 109 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on August 2 include WAS Paul DeJong, SEA Dylan Moore, CLE Triston McKenzie, and COL Keston Hiura.

Today’s Matchups

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

• DET vs. PHI is two good teams facing off and clearly the pitching matchup of the day, with Tarik Skubal (2.09 ERA, 171 K in 133.2 IP) vs. Zack Wheeler (2.56 ERA, 172 K in 133.2 IP).

• LAD vs. TBR features Blake Snell making his third start of the year, and first since April 2nd, and the Rays countering with Drew Rasmussen (2.96 ERA, 87 K in 100.1 IP).

• KCR vs. TOR is an interesting pitching matchup with rookie Noah Cameron (2.44 ERA, 71 K in 81 IP) who is having a good season, taking on future Hall-of-Famer Max Scherzer (4.89 ERA, 39 K in 35 IP) who struck out 11 in 7 innings in his last outing.

• TEX vs. SEA has Merrill Kelly (3.22 ERA, 121 K in 128.2 IP) making his Texas debut up against Luis Castillo (3.19 ERA, 111 K in 127 IP).

• ATL vs. CIN features two big strikeout guys in Spencer Strider (3.71 ERA, 92 K in 77.2 IP) and rookie Chase Burns (6.26 ERA, 45 K in 27.1 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are PIT Paul Skenes, CHC Matthew Boyd, MIL Brandon Woodruff, and NYM Kodai Senga.

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:

• SFG Matt Chapman, small sample but is 3-4 with 2 HR vs. NYM Kodai Senga

• MIL William Contreras, 4-12 with 2 HR and a double vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• CHW Josh Rojas, 4-9 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. LAA Kyle Hendricks

• CHW Luis Robert Jr., 5-12 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. Kyle Hendricks

• KCR Salvador Perez, 10-31 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Max Scherzer

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:

• TEX Josh Smith, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• MIL Christian Yelich, small sample but is 4-9 with 2 doubles vs. WAS Jake Irvin

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 14 - SDP Luis Arraez

• 10 - PIT Tommy Pham

• 10 - CLE Kyle Manzardo

• 10 - NYM Mark Vientos

• 9 - TEX Josh Jung

• 9 - SDP Manny Machado

• 9 - CLE Steven Kwan

• 8 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• 7 - MIL Andrew Vaughn

• 7 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 7 - NYY Giancarlo Stanton

Active HR streaks

• 2 - NYY Trent Grisham

• 2 - NYY Giancarlo Stanton

• 2 - MIL William Contreras

• 2 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 2 - CHW Colson Montgomery

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:

• MIN Edouard Julien, 1-14 with 8 K though the one hit was a HR vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• MIN Trevor Larnach, 1-12 with 2 K vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• KCR Randal Grichuk, 2-16 with 7 K vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• DET Javier Báez, 2-15 with 4 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• CLE Steven Kwan, 2-17 though 0 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• CLE Carlos Santana, 2-14 with 3 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• CLE Brayan Rocchio, 1-11 with 5 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• CLE Bo Naylor, 0-10 with 5 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Ezequiel Tovar went 4-6 with four doubles yesterday. Hitting four doubles in a game has only happened 50 other times since 1901. The only players who have done so twice are:

• Albert Belle of the Orioles, who did it twice in the same season in 1999

• Billy Werber in 1935 with the Red Sox and then in 1940 with the Reds

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.

• WPA – Win Probability Added is More Fun Than It Looks, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 8/1/2025

• Many Top Players Survived Trade Deadline, by Dan Schlossberg at

  Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 8/1/025

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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