The Baseball Buffet for 8/7/2026

TOR 2, CHC 3 - CHC SP David Peterson allowed a lot of traffic but only one over his five innings of work (5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K). TOR SP Dylan Cease was outstanding, striking out 10 over 7 innings (2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB), but then Blue Jays closer Louis Varland allowed a game-tying 2-run HR to Alex Bregman in the bottom of the ninth. Neither team scored in the 10th, and Cubs reliever Trent Thornton put up a zero in the top of the 11th. The Blue Jays brought in Brendon Little, and he gave up a single to Pete Crow-Armstrong, but the automatic runner Carson Kelly was thrown out at home. With Crow-Armstrong having advanced to second on the play, Little gave Seiya Suzuki an intentional walk. Aggressive baserunning then won the game for Chicago as PCA tried to steal third, and the throw from Brandon Valenzuela went into left field allowing Crow-Armstrong to score. Alejandro Kirk was 4-5 with four singles, and Andrés Giménez was 3-4 with a double in the Blue Jays' loss.

WSH 3, PHI 7 - The Phillies roughed up WSH SP Miles Mikolas for 12 hits and 6 runs (5 IP, 1 BB, 1 K), and collected 16 hits overall. They didn't hit any HRs, but seven different players had doubles, including Bryson Stott with two. Meanwhile, PHI SP Cristopher Sánchez allowed 2 runs over 5 innings (6 H, 2 BB, 6 K), with one coming from a HR in the fourth by 25-year-old LF Andrew Pinckney in his major league debut. After the sixth inning three Phillies relievers tossed scoreless innings, including Jhoan Duran who closed it out.

CWS 11, BOS 12 (13) - This was a wild game between the two Sox clubs, with the scoring starting in the top of the third when the White Sox got four (three earned) off BOS SP Ranger Suarez (3 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), including a 2-run HR by Chase Meidroth. In what would later be a pattern in this game, the Red Sox came back in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run HR by Connor Wong. Chicago added one more in the fourth, but then Boston tied it up 5-5 with three off CWS SP Luis Castillo (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The White Sox immediately went up by two in the fifth, but the Red Sox cut that deficit in half with a run in the sixth. Later, with the game still 7-6, Chicago's trade deadline acquisition Huascar Brazobán gave up a double to Wong. Eli White pinch-ran for Wong, and Nick Sogard bunted him over to third. With two outs, Wilyer Abreu singled to drive White home and force extras.

Already an interesting game, it now went to another level. Meidroth hit another HR, a 2-run HR in the top of the 10th, off Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. But the Red Sox came back with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. Then both teams scored a run in the 11th, and both did so again in the 12th. Brayan Bello, the ninth pitcher for Boston, had already pitched the 12th inning but came back out for the 13th and threw a 1-2-3 inning. Erick Fedde, the eighth pitcher for the White Sox, came in for the bottom of the 13th, but gave up a one-out, walk-off single to Caleb Durbin.

MIA 3, ATL 11 - In the third inning, with the score still 0-0, Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a long fly ball to left-center. CF Esteury Ruiz and LF Heriberto Hernández collided near the wall, and the ball appeared to bounce off both of their gloves and get propelled over for a 2-run HR. (See the video and description of this strange home run in the article by Mark Bowman at MLB.) A lengthy rain delay ended the outings for both MIA SP Janson Junk (3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and ATL SP Martín Pérez (3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). The score remained 2-0 until the Braves roughed up the Marlins' bullpen for nine runs late in the game. Acuña hit a second HR; Matt Olson went 2-3 with a HR, 2 walks, and 3 runs; Mauricio Dubón was 4-4 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI; and Michael Harris II was 3-5 with a triple, a double, 3 runs, and 2 RBI.

LAA 4, BAL 1 - Zach Neto hit a 3-run HR in the third inning off BAL SP Brandon Young (4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Orioles catcher Yohel Pozo reduced the deficit with a solo HR in the bottom of the inning off Ryan Johnson (4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 1 K). He struggled with control and walked five batters, but only the one run crossed the plate, with four Angels relievers also keeping the Orioles off the board. Rookie Samy Natera Jr. earned his second save, and Neto, Wade Meckler, Vaughn Grissom, and Jose Siri had two hits apiece.

ATH 5, CIN 6 - Elly De La Cruz led off the bottom of the first with his 19th HR of the year, and then Reds scored four more later off ATH SP Mason Barnett (4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), including longballs by Sal Stewart and Tyler Stephenson. JJ Bleday added a solo HR in the seventh, while CIN SP Andrew Abbott contained the Athletics to only 3 runs in his 6.2 innings of work (7 H, 2 BB, 4 K). Catcher Brian Serven hit a 2-run HR in the top of the ninth to bring the A's within a run, but then Brock Burke recovered and closed it out.

NYM 13, CLE 6 - NYM SP Nolan McLean had 8 K over 5 innings, but also gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 5 runs, including a 3-run HR by Nathaniel Lowe in the fifth. While not a great result, he still got the win as the Mets roughed up CLE SP Foster Griffin in his first start for the Guardians (4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and then continued to score against Cleveland's bullpen. Marcus Semien was 3-4 with a walk, a HR, and a double; Carson Benge went 3-6 with a triple and 2 runs; Luis Robert Jr. was 3-6 with 2 runs; Francisco Lindor was 2-5 with a 3-run HR; and Luis Torrens went 2-4 with a walk, a HR, and 3 RBI.

PIT 2, MIL 5 - Jackson Chourio hit a solo HR in the first inning, and Gary Sánchez did the same in the fifth off PIT SP Braxton Ashcraft (5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Meanwhile, MIL SP Dustin May was effective in his first start for the Brewers (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), allowing two runs in the fourth including a solo HR by Brandon Lowe, his 24th HR of the year. Three Brewers relievers tossed scoreless innings, including Chad Patrick who closed it out to earn his 5th save.

DET 11, SEA 0 - SEA SP Bryce Miller (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) gave up 4 runs in the first two innings, and that would have been enough as DET SP Framber Valdez was very effective (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and two Tigers relievers combine with him for a shutout. Detroit piled on another seven runs, though the final three in the ninth came off position player Victor Robles who took a turn on the mound. Dillon Dingler went 3-6 with a HR, 2 runs, and 3 RBI; Kevin McGonigle was 2-3 with a HR, a walk, 3 runs, and 2 RBI; and Colt Keith went 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI.

MIN 4, KCR 3 - The Royals scored first with two runs in the bottom of the third off MIN SP Bailey Ober (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K). But then Royce Lewis cut the deficit in half by hitting a solo HR in the fifth off KCR SP Michael Wacha (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K). The Royals went up 3-1 in the sixth, but then the Twins tagged Aaron Bummer for three runs in the eighth to take a one-run lead. Three Twins relievers pitched scoreless frames, with Yoendrys Gómez striking out two in the ninth to earn his 15th save. Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-4 with a double and 2 runs in the Royals' loss.

SDP 5, ARI 1 - The Padres scored three runs early against ARI SP Kohl Drake (3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K), and then added two more later as Ty France went 2-4 with 2 doubles; Luis Rengifo was 3-5, and Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts had two hits apiece. Meanwhile, SDP SP Walker Buehler did well enough in a short start (4 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and four San Diego relievers pitched five scoreless innings, including Mason Miller who struck out two in the ninth to close it out. Gabriel Moreno was 3-4 with a double in the D-backs' loss.

The Reds claimed RP Chase Solesky off waivers from the Rays

The Reds claimed RP Ron Marinaccio off waivers from the Pirates

The Royals claimed RP Luke Little off waivers from the Cubs

The Nationals claimed RP Wyatt Mills off waivers from the Dodgers

The Cardinals claimed RF Everson Pereira off waivers from the White Sox

170 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

160 - LAA Zach Neto

153 - WSH James Wood

148 - CHC Ian Happ

147 - COL Hunter Goodman

147 - CWS Colson Montgomery

144 - TOR Kazuma Okamoto

142 - ATL Austin Riley

141 - ATH Nick Kurtz

141 - DET Spencer Torkelson

15 - LAD Freddie Freeman

11 - MIN Royce Lewis

9 - MIL Jake Bauers

9 - HOU Christian Walker

9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

8 - BOS Andruw Monasterio

7 - DET Dillon Dingler

7 - STL Alec Burleson

7 - STL Blaze Jordan

7 - COL Willi Castro

1907: Walter Johnson earns his first win. "Senator hurler Walter Johnson wins his first major league game beating the Naps, 7 - 2. The "Big Train" will tally 416 victories during his 21-year career.'

1907: Ed Killian finally gives up his second career HR. "The A's Socks Seybold socks a homer off Ed Killian to beat the Tigers. Killian had not given up a homer since September 19, 1903 - 1001 innings. He lost that game as well, and will tee up just nine homers in his eight-year career."

1922: Ten Pirates hitters get two or more hits each. "A record ten Pirates collect two or more hits as the Pirates tally 22 hits to pound the seventh-place Phillies, 17 - 10. The Phils knock out the Bucs ace Wilbur Cooper, scoring six runs in 2 2/3 innings, but the Pirates score eight in the 4th to take the lead. Three Pirate pitchers are 5 for 5 at the plate, including Whitey Glazner's home run, and the only Buc batter to not contribute two safeties is cleanup hitter Clyde Barnhart."

1930: A pitching duel with 44 strikeouts. "Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams duel in one of the most famous Negro League games ever. Brewer fans 19 and allows four hits, while Williams whiffs 25 and gives up one hit in a 12-inning, 1 - 0 victory."

1943: Consistent futility. "The Giants leave eighteen runners on base, exactly two each inning, in a 9 - 6 loss to the Phillies."

2018: Two cycles for one team. "The Indianapolis Indians have two players hit for the cycle in a 12 - 5 win over Lehigh Valley in the International League. In the 8th inning, Kevin Newman completes a 5-for-5 day with a homer. Three batters later, Jacob Stallings hits his first triple in three years to complete his own cycle."

First-round draft pick (25th overall) in 2009 by the Angels, and has played mostly CF for them for his entire career so far

He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2012 after batting .326 with 30 HR and leading the AL with 129 runs and 49 SB.

He has had 25+ HR ten times, and had 20+ SB five times early in his career

He has had 100+ runs seven times, including leading the league in runs four times

12-time All-Star, from 2012-2019 he was considered the best player in baseball, taking home three AL MVP Awards, and coming in second in the voting another four times.

He has been hampered by injuries often over the past seven seasons, but so far in his career he has 422 HR, 1,260 runs, 1,058 RBI, 222 SB, .291/.405/.563 slash line, and a 168 OPS+

16-year major league career, spanning from from 1996-2011, and spending time with the Cardinals, Marlins, and five other clubs

Five-time All-Star, he was also a good defender at SS, earning Gold Glove Awards in 2002 and 2003

Had 20+ SB six times, including a high of 41 in 1998

He had modest but consistent power, hitting between 10-16 HR in nine seasons.

Overall had 140 HR, 294 SB, 1,200 runs, and a .286/.343/.398 slash line

Rentería is also a post-season hero, as he gave the Marlins their first World Series title with a walk-off single in the 11th inning of game 7 in 1997. Later, in 2010 with the Giants, he was World Series MVP after going 7-17 with 2 HR, 6 runs, and 6 RBI, including the series-winning HR in game five.

Hall of Famer

11-year major league playing career, spanning from 1907-1920, spending six years with the Pirates at the beginning and end of his career, with the rest spread between five other clubs

He mostly played 3B, but got into some action at the other three infield positions as well.

He was a light hitter, with a career slash line of .251/.301/313

He is in the Baseball Hall of Famer because of his success as a manager. He was a major league manager for 25 years, spanning from 1915-1946, with the majority of that time spent with the Pirates, Braves, and Reds. He won four pennants and two World Series Championships, one with the Pirates in 1925 and the other with the Reds in 1940--becoming the first manager to win the World Series with two different teams.

14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1953-1967, spending five years with the Yankees and the rest with six other clubs

He only won 10 or more games twice, and became more of a reliever during the second half of his career.

He was known as a good hitting pitcher, as he batted .242 with 14 HR and 25 doubles in 596 career at-bats.

His best season of course came in 1956 while with the Yankees, when he was 11-5 with a 3.26 ERA in 20 starts and 18 relief appearances. That postseason he famously pitched the sixth perfect game in MLB history, doing so in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

Fourth-round draft pick in 1994 by the Indians

11-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1996-2006, mostly as a reliever with the Reds

Two-time All-Star

He had 25+ saves five times, with a career high of 41 saves in 2004

Overall had 182 saves, a 4.05 ERA, and a 109 ERA+

11-year major league career, spanning from 1977-1988, spending his first five seasons with the Tigers, and the rest spread across four other clubs

Mostly a LF, he had 15-26 HR in six seasons, including his best year in 1979 when he was an All-Star and finished the year with a .318 average, 26 HR, and 105 RBI

Overall had 130 HR, a .278/.367/.431 slash line, and a 119 OPS+

TOR José Soriano vs. PHI Zack Wheeler - Soriano is making his debut since being traded from the Angels to the Blue Jays, and he'll be challenged both by the Phillies tough lineup and the matchup with Wheeler (10-2, 2.49 ERA)

ATL Tyler Mahle vs. NYY Max Fried - game one of a big series between the Braves and Yankees features Mahle's first start for Atlanta since being traded from the Giants. Like Soriano, he too faces a double challenge in both the Yankees' hitters and going up against Max Fried (4-3, 3.12 ERA).

TBR Drew Rasmussen vs. SEA Logan Gilbert - two generally solid pitchers facing off in this contest.

NYY Ryan McMahon, 5-18, 2 HR, triple, double vs. ATL Tyler Mahle

NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 11-29, 3 HR, 2 doubles vs. ATL Tyler Mahle

BAL Gunnar Henderson, 5-10, double vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

HOU Jose Altuve, 11-20, 2 HR, triple, 3 doubles vs. SDP Robbie Ray

LAD Freddie Freeman, 10-30, 2 HR, 5 doubles vs. ARI Merrill Kelly

LAD Mookie Betts, 9-35, 4 HR, double vs. ARI Merrill Kelly

LAD Max Muncy, 16-36, HR, 4 doubles vs. ARI Merrill Kelly

SEA Julio Rodríguez, 3-10, HR, triple vs. TBR Drew Rasmussen

TOR Josh Smith, 1-10, 4 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

ATL Lane Thomas, 1-19, 3 K vs. NYY Max Fried

HOU Christian Vazquez, 1-12, 3 K vs. SDP Robbie Ray

LAD Kike Hernández, 1-10, 2 K vs. ARI Merrill Kelly

NYY Max Fried, 55 AB, 1 HR, 9 K, 3 BB, .164/.207/.224 vs. ATL hitters

CLE Parker Messick, 48 AB, 1 HR, 13 K, 4 BB, .187/.250/.308 vs. CWS hitters

SDP Robbie Ray, 53 AB, 4 HR, 8 K, 6 BB, .302/.385/.638 vs. HOU hitters

ARI Merrill Kelly, 165 AB, 10 HR, 30 K, 20 BB, .297/.371/.551 vs. LAD hitters

2,632 - Cal Ripken (1982-1998)

2,130 - Lou Gehrig (1925-1939)

1,307 - Everett Scott (1916-1925)

1,207 - Steve Garvey (1975-1983)

1,152 - Miguel Tejada (2000-2007)

1,117 - Billy Williams (1963-1970)

1,103 - Joe Sewell (1922-1930)

A look at the post-Deadline postseason picture, by Manny Randhawa at MLB, 8/6/2026

Stats of the Week: An MVP-filled 1st inning, brotherly love and a historic debut, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 8/6/2026

Five things you need to know about the 2026 MLB at Field of Dreams Game, by Jared Greenspan and Matthew Leach at MLB, 8/6/2026

Harry Heilmann Went Through the Front Door. Chuck Klein Used the Side Door, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 8/7/2026

Bruce Bochy: Hall of Fame’s Third Under .500 Manager?, by Dan Schlossberg at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 8/7/2026