The Baseball Buffet for 8/30/2025

Issue #382

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 156th day of the season featured a full slate of Friday games:

• STL 7, CIN 5 - The Reds outhit the Cardinals 12-9, but it is hard to win when you are 2-13 with runners in scoring position and leave 14 guys on base. Elly De La Cruz was 2-6 with a triple and a double, and the Reds had three solo HR by Noelvi Marté, Spencer Steer, and Ke’Bryan Hayes. The Cardinals got homers from Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés. The game was tied 5-5 through nine, and in the top of the tenth the Cards scored two, including an RBI single from Masyn Winn who was 3-5 on the day, with a double and 3 RBI.

• TBR 4, WAS 1 - Similar to the Reds above, the Nationals outhit the Rays 12-8, but were 0-12 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base overall. CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews each had three hits, but the Rays were more productive with their efforts, including a 2-run HR by Brandon Lowe, and a solo HR by Everson Pereira, the first of his career. Pete Fairbanks struck out two in the ninth to earn his 23rd save.

• ATL 1, PHI 2 - Here also, the Braves outhit the Phillies 12-6, but were only 2-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. Ranger Suárez let up ten of those hits in his five innings (5 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), but spread them out so only the one run crossed. Four Philadelphia relievers then pitched scoreless innings, with Jhoan Duran striking out two in the ninth for his 24th save. Atlanta starter Bryce Elder did well (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) against the formidable Phillies’ lineup, but in the bottom of the 8th Alec Bohm hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Kyle Schwarber for what would be the decisive run.

• MIL 7, TOR 2 - This game was a pitchers’ duel through five innings, with Freddy Peralta doing great (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and Shane Bieber doing fine until the sixth inning (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). That is when the Brewers piled up five runs, including a solo HR by Andruw Monasterio, and then scored another two in the seventh.

• PIT 4, BOS 2 - Boston rookie Roman Anthony hit a HR in the fifth inning, but Paul Skenes was once again solid (6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), lowering his MLB-leading ERA to 2.05 on the year. His opposing pitcher was also newsworthy, as 22-year old Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle made his major league debut and was great until giving up a couple of base runners in the sixth who would score after Tolle left the game (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). Two veterans led the Pirates’ hitting with 37-year old Tommy Pham 1-3 with a double, 2 walks, and 2 RBI, and 38-year old Andrew McCutchen 3-3 with 2 doubles and a walk. Dennis Santana struck out two in the ninth for his 11th save.

• SEA 4, CLE 5 - The Mariners jumped out to a four run lead in the top of the first, including a 2-run HR by Jorge Polanco. Kyle Manzardo hit his 22nd HR in the sixth inning, and Nolan Jones hit a homer in the seventh, but George Kirby otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). The Guardians scored one more in the eighth, and then Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz struggled in the bottom of the ninth letting up a double to Jones, a single to Brayan Rocchio, and finally a sac fly to Steven Kwan.

• MIA 9, NYM 19 - The Mets jumped on Eury Pérez in the first inning (0.2 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K), including HR by Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo. They scored another seven runs in the second, including a 2-run HR by Pete Alonso. This gave their rookie starter Jonah Tong a 12-0 cushion to work with in his MLB debut. He did well, striking out six and not walking anyone over his five innings (5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). Nimmo hit another HR in the sixth inning, and then New York piled on with HR by Mark Vientos and Luis Torrens against non-pitcher Victor Sanoja in the eighth. Torrens then tried his hand at pitching and the Marlins hit back-to-back HR by Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks in the top of the ninth, before this game mercifully ended.

• NYY 10, CHW 2 - Trent Grisham hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, his 28th homer of the year. Anthony Volpe added a 2-run HR in the seventh, while Yankees starter Carlos Rodón had a good game (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K).

• LAA 0, HOU 2 - Cristian Javier pitched no-hit ball through six innings (6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and three Astros’ relievers combined for a 2-hit shutout. Tyler Anderson did well over five innings (5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 1 K), with the two Astros’ runs coming in the seventh and eighth innings.

• DET 5, KCR 3 - The Royals scored their three runs in the bottom of the first off HR by Mike Yastrzemski and Maikel Garcia. But Seth Lugo gave up four in less than four innings of work (3.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K), with Dillon Dingler adding a solo HR in the eighth inning. Riley Greene was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, giving him 101 RBI on the year.

• SDP 4, MIN 7 - Zebby Matthews did fairly well (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) and Royce Lewis hit his 9th HR of the year. Kody Clemens scored three times, and Trevor Larnach was 3-4 with 2 RBI.

• CHC 11, COL 7 - The Cubs had 15 hits and the Rockies had 14. Colorado had six doubles and two HR (Yanquiel Fernández and Kyle Farmer), but also squandered a lot of opportunities by going only 2-18 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 guys on base. Meanwhile the Cubs had four HR, including two by Dansby Swanson who was 3-5 with a triple and 6 RBI on the day. Ian Happ was 3-5 with a HR and 2 doubles, and Michael Busch was 2-5 with a HR.

• TEX 5, ATH 2 - Jack Leiter pitched fairly well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and two Texas relievers pitched three scoreless innings, including Shawn Armstrong earning his fifth save. Jonah Heim and Michael Helman hit homers, Josh Jung was 3-4, and Kyle Higashioka was 2-4 with a double.

• AZ 3, LAD 0 - Zac Gallen was outstanding (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) and three Arizona relievers pitched scoreless innings , including Jake Woodford earning his 2nd save. Blake Snell struck out 8 in 5.1 innings, but gave up a three runs including a 2-run HR by Blaze Alexander in the fourth.

• BAL 8, SFG 15 - The Giants scored runs in every inning except the sixth, including building an early lead off Dean Kremer (3 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K). They tallied 18 hits overall, with Luis Matos 4-5 with a HR, 3 runs, and 3 RBI; Dom Smith 2-3 with a HR, a walk, and 4 RBI; and Willy Adames 4-6 with 3 runs.

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 Yankees are surging, with a six-game winning streak and gaining two games on the Blue Jays over their last ten.

• The Astros now have a 3-game cushion in the AL West.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

In a recent On This Day In History segment I noted that George Brett was the third player to collect 3,000 hits, 300 HR, and 200 SB. The first two as noted were Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Can you name the two other players who have joined this 3000/300/200 club since Brett?

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

• STL CF Victor Scott II

• TEX RP Chris Martin

• NYY LF Austin Slater

🤕 Placed on the IL

• STL C Yohel Pozo - 7-day IL (concussion)

• WAS C Drew Millas - 10-day IL (left second finger fracture and dislocation)

• AZ 1B Pavin Smith - 10-day IL (left quad strain)

• TEX SS Corey Seager - 10-day IL (appendectomy)

• STL 1B Alec Burleson - 10-day IL (right wrist inflammation)

• SDP SS Xander Bogaerts - 10-day IL (left foot non-displaced fracture)

• PIT RF Jack Suwinski - 10-day IL (right groin strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• KCR SP Michael Wacha

👋🏻 Released

• PIT SP Andrew Heaney

• BOS SP Walker Buehler

• BAL RP Matt Bowman

League Leaders

The two tied at the top of the Saves leaderboard have remained that way for a few days now. Who will be the first to reach 40?

• 35 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 35 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 31 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 30 - MIL Trevor Megill

• 29 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 28 - HOU Josh Hader

• 26 - BOS Aroldis Chapman

• 25 - CIN Emilio Pagán

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 30…

• 1905: Ty Cobb makes his major league debut. “Making his major league debut, Ty Cobb doubles off Highlander Jack Chesbro in a 5-3 Tiger victory at Detroit's Bennett Park.”

• 1941: Lon Warneke throws a no-hitter. “The Cardinals' Lon Warneke no-hits the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0, with only three balls hit to the outfield. It is Warneke's 15th victory of the season and, with the Dodgers' doubleheader loss to the Giants, puts St. Louis in first place by two percentage points.”

• 1986: Two 40+ year-olds pitch a double-header. “Yankee hurlers Tommy John (43) and Joe Niekro (41) become the first 40+ pitchers since 1933 to start both ends of a doubleheader. John loses, 1-0, and Niekro pitches five innings for a 3-0 victory over the Mariners.”

• 1988: Kent Tekulve becomes second to pitch in 1,000 games. “Kent Tekulve becomes the second pitcher in major league history after Hoyt Wilhelm to appear in 1,000 games by pitching two innings in Philadelphia's 7-5 win over San Francisco.”

• 1995: Whitaker and Trammell set record together. “Tiger teammates Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell tie an American League record by playing in their 1,914th game together, a 10-7 loss to the White Sox. The record was set by Kansas City's George Brett and Frank White.”

• 2015: Jake Arrieta throws a no-hitter. “The Dodgers fall victim to a no-hitter for the second time in ten days as Jake Arrieta of the Cubs pulls the trick with a 2-0 shutout in which he strikes out 12. It is his major league-leading 17th win of the year and he is helped by the official scorer charging SS Starlin Castro with an error on a close play on Kiké Hernandez's ground ball in the 3rd. Having also been handcuffed by Mike Fiers of the Astros on August 21st, it is the first time in their long history that the Dodgers have been victims of two no-hitters in one season.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Ted Williams (1918) is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest hitters of all-time. He had a 19-year major career, spanning from 1939-1960, but missing three years as a pilot in military service from 1943-1945, and then missing most of 1952-1953 for the same reason. As a 20-year old in 1939 he had one of the greatest rookie seasons ever, hitting .327 with 31 HR, 44 doubles, 131 runs, and an AL-leading 145 RBI. Two years later he batted .406, the last player to top .400 for a full season. An All-Star in 17 seasons, Williams led the AL in runs six times including a career high 150 in 1949. He won the AL MVP twice, in 1946 and 1949, but could have won it several more times—such as either of his two AL Triple Crown Seasons in 1942 or 1947, for instance. He led the AL in HR and RBI four times each, and won six AL batting titles, including in his age-38 and age-39 seasons. Famous for having a great eye at the plate, he led the AL in walks eight times and OBP and amazing 12 times. In fact, he is the all-time leader in OBP with a career slash line of .344/.482/.634, to go along with 521 HR, 1,839 RBI, and a 191 OPS+. Williams played his entire career with the Red Sox, and then was a manager of the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers from 1969-1972.

• Kiki Cuyler (1898) is a Hall of Famer who had an 18-year career as an OF from 1921-1938, mostly spent with the Pirates and Cubs. Born Hazen Shirley Cuyler, there are a couple of stories behind the nickname Kiki—but given his given name, it probably didn’t take much for a nickname to stick. It took a few years for him to stick in the majors, but in 1924 he hit .354 with 32 SB in 1924, and then batted .357 with 220 hits, 18 HR, 41 SB, and an NL leading 26 triples and 144 runs in 1925. He went on to lead the NL in stolen bases four times, and scored 100+ runs five times. Overall, Cuyler had 157 triples, 128 HR, 328 SB, 1,305 runs, a .321/.386/.474 slash line, and a 125 OPS+.

• Cliff Lee (1978) had a 13-year major league pitching career, mostly spent with the Indians and Phillies. He posted 14+ wins seven times, including in 2008 when he won the AL Cy Young Award after going 22-3 with a league-best 2.54 ERA. That was one of four All-Star campaigns for Lee, who overall had a 143-91 (.611) record, 3.52 ERA, and a 118 ERA+.

• Adam Wainwright (1981) was a late first-round draft pick by the Braves in 2000, but was dealt while still in the minors in a multi-player trade to the Cardinals after the 2003 season. He came up briefly in 2005 and then was a reliever for St. Louis in 2006. He became a fixture in the rotation the next year, and went on to win 14+ games in eight seasons, including leading the NL with 19 wins in both 2009 and 2013, and winning 20 games in 2010 and 2014. A three-time All-Star, Wainwright was an above-average hitter for a pitcher, batting .192 with 10 HR and 39 doubles in 744 AB. Overall, he had a 200-128 (.610) record, 3.53 ERA, and a 114 ERA+.

• Tug McGraw (1944) had a 19-year major league career as a relief pitcher spanning from 1965-1984, and spent entirely with the Mets and Phillies. Early in his career McGraw was an important member of the 1969 “Miracle Mets”, going 9-3 with 12 saves, and a 2.24 ERA in 100.1 IP that year. A two-time All-Star, McGraw had three seasons with 20+ saves, and an impressive 1.70 ERA in both 1971 and 1972, and then later a 1.46 ERA in 1980, the year the Phillies won the World Series with McGraw posting a 1.17 ERA in four appearances in the championship. Overall, McGraw had 180 saves, a 3.14 ERA, and a 117 ERA+. Of note, one of Tug McGraw’s children is country music singer Tim McGraw.

• Bing Miller (1894) had a 16-year major league career as an OF, spanning from 1921-1936, and mostly spent with the Philadelphia Athletics. A high-average hitter, Miller only hit 10+ HR three times, including his high of 21 in his second full season in 1922. Overall, he had 116 HR, 127 SB, a .311/.359/.461 slash line, and a 108 OPS+.

Currently active players who were born on August 30 include NYY José Caballero, BOS Hunter Dobbins, PHI Daniel Robert, and SFG Hayden Birdsong.

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:

• MIL vs. TOR is game two of this important inter-league matchup, with Quinn Priester (3.44 ERA, 104 K in 128.1 IP) up against Kevin Gausman (3.87 ERA, 149 K in 153.2 IP).

Also on the hill today are NYM David Peterson, PHI Christopher Sánchez, CIN Andrew Abbott, SDP Nick Pivetta, NYY Cam Schlitter, SEA Logan Gilbert, BAL Trevor Rogers, LAD Tyler Glasnow, and TEX Merrill Kelly.

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, only 3-14 but with 3 HR vs. MIA Edward Cabrera

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, 10-23 with 3 HR, a triple, 3 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 7-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 4-11 with 2 HR and a triple vs. ATL Chris Sale (if pitching, TBD)

• ATL Matt Olson, 5-15 with a 2 HR and a double vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

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, 7-13 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• TEX Wyatt Langford, small sample but is 5-7 vs. ATH J.T. Ginn

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, 5-13 with a double vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• ATL Ozzie Albies, 4-9 with a double vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 17 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 13 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 12 - MIL Brice Turang

• 12 - PHI Bryce Harper

• 9 - MIL Andruw Monasterio

• 9 - BAL Jeremiah Jackson

• 7 - TEX Joc Pederson

• 7 - SEA Josh Naylor

Active HR streaks

• 3 - NYY Trent Grisham

• 2 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 2 - CHC Michael Busch

• 2 - COL Yanquiel Fernández

• 2 - CLE Nolan Jones

• 2 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 2 - CIN Noelvi Marté

• 2 - CHC Dansby Swanson

• 2 - KCR Mike Yastrzemski

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:

• ATL Michael Harris II, 2-12 with 8 K vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• PHI Edmundo Sosa, 1-9 with 5 K vs. ATL Chris Sale (if pitching, TBD)

• STL Jordan Walker, 0-9 with 4 K vs. CIN Andrew Abbott

• STL Masyn Winn, 2-14 but only 1 K vs. CIN Andrew Abbott

• AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr., 1-12 with 3 K vs. LAD Tyler Glasnow

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 2-14 with 2 K vs. MIA Edward Cabrera

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The five members of the 3,000 hits, 300 HR, 200 SB club are:

• Willie Mays

• Hank Aaron

• George Brett

• Dave Winfield

• Álex Rodríguez

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.

• History alert! 9 stat chases to watch down the stretch, by Jason Foster at MLB, 8/29/2025

• Here's why Raleigh should be AL MVP over Judge ... as of now, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 8/28/2025

• Each club's best hitting performance ever, by MLB writers, 8/28/2025

• The best player at (almost) every age, from 20 to 45, by Will Leitch at MLB, 8/29/2025

• The Best Yankees Who Never Won A World Championship, by Paul Semendinger at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 8/30/2025

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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