The Baseball Buffet for 8/27/2025

Issue #379

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 153rd day of the season featured a full slate of Tuesday games:

• TBR 0, CLE 3 - Not a lot of hits in this one, with the Rays outhitting the Guardians 5-3 but not able to get any runs across. Cleveland scored three in the bottom of the first, and that is all it took as Parker Messick was outstanding in his second major league start (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). Hunter Gaddis and and Cade Smith combined with him for the shutout, with Smith earning his 8th save.

• BOS 5, BAL 0 - Kyle Bradish, making his first start of the season for the Orioles, struck out 10 in 6 innings. But he also allowed solo homers to Trevor Story and David Hamilton. Lucas Giolito had a good game (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and Justin Wilson struck out two in the ninth to complete the shutout.

• ATL 11, MIA 2 - Ozzie Albies had a HR in fourth, but Sandy Alcantara otherwise pitched pretty well (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). The Marlins offense tallied 12 hits, but were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 guys on base overall. Braves starter Hurston Waldrep spread around some of those hits, but otherwise did well (5.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K). The game was tied 2-2 through eight, but then Atlanta erupted for nine runs in the top of the ninth off Tyler Zuber and Josh Simpson, including Albies hitting another dinger, this time a 3-run HR. With the pitchers not working out, 3B Victor Sanoja switched to the mound to secure the final out.

• WAS 1, NYY 5 - The Nationals outhit the Yankees 8-6, but they could only bring one run across as Luis Gil did pretty well (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) and four Yankees’ relievers struck out seven in four innings. Giancarlo Stanton did most of the damage, going 2-3 with a HR, a double, and 5 RBI.

• MIN 7, TOR 5 - The Blue Jays collected 14 hits, including 10 off Bailey Ober (5 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), with George Springer going 4-5 with two HR. They were winning 4-3 through eight innings, so brought in their closer Jeff Hoffman. He proceeded to let up a solo HR to Mickey Gasper (his first major league homer), and then a 3-run HR to Matt Wallner. Toronto scored one in the bottom of the ninth, but it would not be enough as Justin Topa closed it out for his 4th save.

• PIT 8, STL 3 - Nolan Gorman hit a 2-run HR in the fourth inning, but Mitch Keller pitched quite well (6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) and two Pirates’ relievers kept the Cards off the board the rest of the way. St. Louis’ starter Andre Pallante struggled (5 IP, 8 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), with Henry Davis hitting a solo HR in the fourth, and Bryan Reynolds collecting two doubles off him.

• PHI 5, NYM 6 - Sean Manaea struck out 8 in only 4.2 innings, but also let up six hits and 2 runs. The Mets finally got on the board with five runs in the bottom of the fifth. Down 5-3, Harrison Bader hit a 2-run HR in the top of the eight to tie the game. Edwin Díaz came in after that and shut things down, striking out four across the rest of the 8th and 9th innings. Jhoan Duran came in for Philadelphia, but without getting any outs proceeded to allow four consecutive singles, with Brandon Nimmo delivering the walk-off that scored Starling Marte.

• KCR 5, CHW 4 - Veteran lefty Martín Pérez was outstanding, only allowing one hit in seven innings of work (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). The White Sox built up a 4-0 lead, including a solo HR by rookie Colson Montgomery, his 14th on the year. But then Chicago’s bullpen let up two in the 8th and three in the 9th, and Royals’ closer Carlos Estévez struck out two in the ninth for his MLB-leading 35th save.

• AZ 8, MIL 9 - Milwaukee took an early 6-0 lead, scoring five of those runs in the third inning, including a 2-run HR by William Contreras. Brewers’ rookie Jacob Misiorowski struck out 10 in 5 innings, but also let up a 3-run HR to Gabriel Moreno in the fourth. That was part of a comeback for Arizona that continued later with five more runs scored in the 7th and 8th innings to tie the game 8-8. Shelby Miller kept Arizona from scoring in the top of the ninth, and then Milwaukee loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, and with one out Isaac Collins hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Brandon Lockridge for walk-off win.

• LAA 3, TEX 7 - Texas’ starter Patrick Corbin was outstanding, pitching eight shutout innings (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). The Angels managed three runs in the top of the ninth from HR by Zach Neto and Jo Adell, but it wasn’t enough as the Rangers had scored five in the first two innings and added two more later on. Michael Helman, Kyle Higashioka, and Corey Seager all hit homers for Texas, and Adolis García was 2-4 with a double.

• COL 6, HOU 1 - The lone Astros run came from a HR by Jesús Sánchez in the second inning, as Tanner Gordon otherwise did well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and three Rockies’ relievers pitched scoreless frames. Hunter Goodman hit a 2-run HR in the third inning, his 26th of the year.

• SDP 7, SEA 6 - The Padres scored five runs in the top of the first, including a grand slam by Ramón Laureano. Luis Castillo settled in after that (5 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and the Mariners took the lead with a big bottom of the fifth when they scored six runs from 3-run homers by Randy Arozarena and Eugenio Suárez. San Diego however came back immediately with two runs in the top of the sixth, and their bullpen pitched four scoreless innings, including Robert Suarez securing his 35th save (tied for the MLB lead).

• CHC 2, SFG 5 - Matthew Boyd struck out 8 in 5.1 innings, but also allowed five runs (5.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), including homers to Wilmer Flores and Matt Chapman. Justin Verlander pitched well (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), finally picking up his second win of the year. Ryan Walker struck out two in the ninth for this 12th save.

• DET 6, ATH 7 - Jacob Wilson hit a 3-run HR in the bottom of the first, but then Riley Greene hit a mammoth, 471-ft grand slam in the top of the third. The Athletics retook the lead in the bottom of the frame, and then Detroit tied it up in fifth with a HR by Colt Keith. Both bullpens did well through the end of nine, so the game went into extras tied 5-5. The Tigers scored one in the top of the tenth, but then Will Vest had some control issues and with the bases loaded walked Darell Hernaiz, forcing in Tyler Soderstrom for the winning run.

• CIN 3, LAD 6 - The Dodgers scored a couple runs early, but then did most of their damage with four runs in the bottom of the sixth, including Will Smith hitting his 16th HR of the year. Clayton Kershaw had a solid game (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), and Tanner Scott eventually pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his 20th save.

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:

• Both Boston and New York one, while Toronto lost, so the AL East race tightened up by a game.

• As noted above, the Mets won a walk-off against the Phillies, so that cuts the NL East difference down to five games.

• Current Wild Card Leaders: In the AL it is BOS/NYY/SEA; in the NL it is CHC/SDP/NYM.

Today’s Trivia Question

Growing up as I did in the 70s and 80s, there were only three guys with 600+ HR: Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays. As noted below, Jim Thome’s birthday is today and he has 612 career HR. That ranks him 8th all-time — can you name the other five guys who have 600+ HR, besides Aaron, Ruth, Mays, and Thome? (Bonus points if you can list the entire top-nine on the HR leaderboard in order.)

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 a Rehab Assignment

• PIT RP Tim Mayza

• PIT RP Justin Lawrence

• BOS RP Luis Guerrero

• HOU LF Zach Dezenzo

• HOU SP Luis Garcia

• AZ RP Ryan Thompson

• CLE SP John Means

🤕 Placed on the IL

• HOU RP John Rooney - 15-day IL (left elbow inflammation)

• ATH SP Jacob Lopez - 15-day IL (left elbow flexor strain)

• BOS SP Richard Fitts - 15-day IL (right arm neuritis)

• SFG RP Randy Rodríguez - 15-day IL (right elbow sprain)

• PHI RP Jordan Romano - 15-day IL (right middle finger inflammation)

League Leaders

The versatile José Caballero entered the game yesterday as a defense replacement for Giancarlo Stanton in RF, but he still managed to draw a walk and steal a base, giving him 41 on the season.

• 41 - NYY José Caballero

• 38 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 36 - CLE José Ramírez

• 34 - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 34 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 33 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 32 - PHI Trea Turner

• 31 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 31 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 31 - STL Victor Scott II

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. Unless otherwise noted, the descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On August 27…

• 1911: Ed Walsh throws a no-hitter. “Chicago's Ed Walsh pitches a 5-0 no-hitter against the Red Sox. A 4th-inning walk produces the only Red Sox runner. After going 18-20 in 1910, Walsh bounces back to win 27 and lead the league in games (56), IP (369), and strikeouts (255).”

• 1912: Earned-Run Average (ERA) becomes an official statistic in the NL. “In response to demands for an alternative way to rate pitchers besides wins and losses, the National League will officially keep ERA's for the first time; the Giants' Jeff Tesreau will lead the league at 1.96. Despite an increase in .300 hitters from 22 to 32 this year, there will be 19 pitchers with ERA's under 3.00. The American League will not make ERA part of its official statistics until 1913.”

• 1938: Joe DiMaggio has three triples, and Monte Pearson throws a no-hitter. “Joe DiMaggio has three triples in the first game of a doubleheader with Cleveland, an 8-7 win in New York. Monte Pearson has a no-hitter in the second game, winning his tenth straight game, 13-0. The Yankees, playing their sixth successive doubleheader, increase their lead to 12 games.”

• 1977: Back-to-back inside-the-park HR. “At Yankee Stadium, Rangers Bump Wills and Toby Harrah hit back-to-back inside-the-park homers on consecutive pitches. Texas wins the game, 8-2.”

• 1978: Joe Morgan becomes the first with 200 HR and 500 SB. “The Reds' Joe Morgan belts his 200th homer to become the first player in history to have 200 homers and 500 stolen bases.”

• 1982: Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock’s single-season SB record. “With Ted Simmons catching and Doc Medich pitching in a 5-4 loss to the Brewers, the A's Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock's 1974 single-season record of 118 stolen bases. By stealing a total of four bases, Rickey ends the day with 122 and will finish the season with 130.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Jim Thome (1970) wasn’t drafted until the 13th round by the Indians in 1989, and it took him a little while to establish himself in the majors with three seasons of less than 50 games each from 1991-1993. But then in the strike-shortened 1994 season he had 20 HR, the first of 16 he’d have with 20+ HR, with six providing 40+ HR. Playing 3B for his first half-dozen seasons, he switched to 1B and then eventually became primarily a DH. Thome struck out a lot, leading the league three times, and his 2,548 career strikeouts rank second all-time behind only Reggie Jackson. But he also walked a lot, leading his league three times and with nine seasons of 100+ BB. Thome was very productive, with eight seasons where he compiled both 100+ runs and 100+ RBI. A five-time All Star, he received down-ballot MVP votes in nine seasons. Overall, in his 22-year major league career Thome had 612 HR, 1,699 RBI, a .276/.402/.554 slash line, and a 147 OPS+.

• Buddy Bell (1951), like Thome later, was drafted by the Indians, but not with a high pick as he was taken in the 16th round in 1969. He too was a 3B, but unlike Thome, David “Buddy” Bell possessed elite defense at the hot corner, eventually earning him six Gold Glove Awards. He had an 18-year major league career, playing mostly with Cleveland, Texas, and Cincinnati. A capable batsman, he had modest power, with four seasons of 15+ HR, but hit .329 in 1980 and .315 in 1984, which were two of his five All-Star campaigns. Overall, Bell had 2,514 hits, 201 HR, a .279/.341/.406 slash line, and a 109 OPS+. A part of a big baseball family, Buddy is the son of Gus Bell who had a 15-year major league career, and the father of David Bell (12 seasons) and Mike Bell (1).

• José Vidro (1974) had a 12-year major league career, mostly with the Expos/Nationals franchise, and his final two seasons spent with Seattle. A three-time All-Star, Vidro was a high-average hitter with a career-best .330 in 2000, a season in which he also had 51 doubles, 24 HR, 101 runs, and 97 RBI. Overall, he had 128 HR, a .298/.359/.445 slash line, and a 108 OPS+.

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. NYM is game three of this NL East leaders’ series, with Taijuan Walker (3.44 ERA, 70 K in 96.2 IP) going for the Phillies, and rookie Nolan McLean making his third major league start (1.46 ERA, 15 K in 12.1 IP).

• SDP vs. SEA is game two of this important inter-league series, and has Yu Darvish (5.36 ERA, 39 K in 43.2 IP) taking on Bryan Woo (2.94 ERA, 160 K in 159 IP).

• CIN vs. LAD has the Reds who are trying to catch up in the NL Wild Card race taking on the Dodgers who are in a battle with the Padres for the NL West title. Nick Lodolo (3.05 ERA, 124 K in 129.2 IP) goes up against Shohei Ohtani (4.61 ERA, 35 K in 27.1 IP).

Also on the bump today are STL Sonny Gray, NYY Max Fried, TBR Drew Rasmussen, MIL Quinn Priester, HOU Framber Valdez, and DET Casey Mize.

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:

• NYM Pete Alonso, 5-18 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 7-27 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. STL Sonny Gray

• SDP Fernando Tatis Jr., small sample but is 2-6 with 2 HR vs. SEA Bryan Woo

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 4-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• KCR Salvador Perez, 6-19 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. CHW Aaron Civale

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:

• SEA Luke Raley, 5-10 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• WAS CJ Abrams, 4-10 with a HR and a double vs. NYY Max Fried

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 15 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 13 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 11 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 10 - HOU Carlos Correa

• 9 - PIT Nick Gonzalez

• 9 - MIL Brice Turang

• 9 - PHI Bryce Harper

• 9 - NYM Mark Vientos

• 9 - PHI Alec Bohm

• 7 - PIT Jared Triolo

• 7 - BAL Colton Cowser

• 7 - CHW Mike Tauchman

Active HR streaks

• 4 - CHW Colson Montgomery

• 3 - MIN Matt Wallner

• 2 - MIL Caleb Durbin

• 2 - SDP Ramón Laureano

• 2 - LAA Zach Neto

• 2 - HOU Jesús Sánchez

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:

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 2-20 with 4 K vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• WAS Riley Adams, small sample but is 1-8 with 5 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• BOS Jarren Duran, 1-12 with 4 K vs. BAL Cade Povich

• BAL Ryan Mountcastle, 1-10 with 4 K vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• KCR Kyle Isbel, 2-15 with 4 K though one hit was a HR vs. CHW Aaron Civale

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The all-time HR leaderboard, for those with 600+ HR, is as follows:

• 762 - Barry Bonds

• 755 - Hank Aaron

• 714 - Babe Ruth

• 703 - Albert Pujols

• 696 - Álex Rodríguez

• 660 - Willie Mays

• 630 - Ken Griffey Jr.

• 612 - Jim Thome

• 609 - Sammy Sosa

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.

• 13 biggest surprises of the season ... so far, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 8/26/2025

• Will they opt out? Will teams opt in? These players have big decisions looming, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 8/26/2025

• Batting average is still meaningful, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 8/27/2025

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!