The Baseball Buffet for 8/8/2025

Issue #360

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 134th day of the season featured a very short slate of Thursday games:

• ATH 6, WAS 0 - Jacob Lopez pitched very well (7.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), and Athletics rookie Colby Thomas hit a 2-run HR in the second inning, the first of his major league career. Tyler Soderstrom hit his 21st HR of the year, and Max Schuemann was 3-4 with 3 doubles.

• CIN 0, PIT 7 - The Reds did something against Paul Skenes last night that no one had done so far: get seven hits off him. What they couldn’t do was convert any of those hits into runs, as Skenes (6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and three Pirates relievers combined for a shutout. Meanwhile the Buccos tallied 10 hits, with Bryan Reynolds and Henry Davis hitting homers, and Andrew McCutchen going 0-1 but walking four times.

• CHW 3, SEA 4 - Both starting pitchers did fairly well: Logan Gilbert (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) and Shane Smith (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). The Mariners got a HR from their leadoff hitter, Randy Arozarena, while the White Sox got dingers from their last two hitters, Brooks Baldwin and Michael A. Taylor. The game was tied 2-2 after nine, and both teams scored a run in the tenth to force one more. Jackson Kowar pitched a scoreless top of the 11th, and then in the bottom of the frame with runners on first and second and one out, Dominic Canzone singled to right to drive in Eugenio Suárez for the walk-off win.

• MIA 6, ATL 8 - The Braves had back-to-back solo HR in the bottom of the first inning by Drake Baldwin and Marcell Ozuna. But the Marlins scored five runs off Carlos Carrasco (5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) in the second inning, including a 2-run HR by Graham Pauley. The Braves scored six runs later in the game, including another HR by Drake Baldwin, a 3-run shot in the sixth. And three Atlanta relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Raisel Iglesias striking out two in the ninth for his 15th save.

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:

• Only four games yesterday, so not much movement especially as few of the teams that did play are in contention. The Mariners won, so moved to within 1.5 games of the Astros.

• Current Wild Card Leaders: BOS/SEA/NYY and CHC/SDP/NYM

Today’s Trivia Question

Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers recently had a 3-HR game, for the second time in his career. Who are the only other three catchers to have two, 3-HR games in their careers?

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 Rehab Assignment

• TOR SP Alek Manoah

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW IF Chase Meidroth - 10-day IL (right thumb contusion)

League Leaders

Robert Suarez remains atop the saves leaderboard, and with a comfortable lead too. But will the acquisition of Mason Miller start splitting up some of the Padres save opportunities?

• 32 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 28 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 28 - HOU Josh Hader

• 26 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 26 - MIL Trevor Megill

• 26 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 24 - CLE Emmanuel Clase

• 24 - CIN Emilio Pagán

• 23 - NYM Edwin Díaz

• 22 - DET Kyle Finnegan

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 8…

• 1877: Possibly the first use of a catcher’s mask in an NL game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “After St. Louis C John Clapp has his cheek smashed by a foul tip‚ replacement Mike Dorgan goes behind the plate wearing a mask. Though used earlier in the International Association‚ this is perhaps the first use of a catcher's mask in an official National League game.”

• 1905: Dave Brain hits three triples… again. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Dave Brain‚ who hit three triples in a game in Pittsburgh for St. Louis on May 29th‚ repeats the performance for Pittsburgh against visiting Boston. The Pirates win in ten innings‚ 5-4‚ with Brain's triples coming in the first nine innings. He is the only major league player to perform the feat twice in one season. The two performances also ties the career major league record: no one else in the 20th century will have two three-triple games in his career.”

• 1982: Doug DeCinces hits three HR… again. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Just five days after hitting three home runs in a 5-4 loss to the Twins, California's Doug DeCinces hits three more home runs in a 9-5 win at Seattle, joining Ted Williams as the only American League players ever to hit three home runs in a game twice in the same season.”

• 1997: Randy Johnson strikes out 19 in a game… again. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Randy Johnson becomes the first pitcher to strike out 19 batters in a game twice in one season when he fans 19 Chicago White Sox in a 5-0 victory.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Anthony Rizzo (1989) was drafted by the Red Sox, and then while still in the minors traded to the Padres in a package for slugger Adrián González. After one season in San Diego he was traded to the Cubs, where he’d become a key star for 10 years, including their 2016 World Series Championship team. Later traded to the Yankees at the deadline in 2021, Rizzo has thus far had nine seasons with 20+ HR and four with 100+ RBI. A three-time All-Star, he’s also been a good fielder at 1B, taking home four Gold Glove Awards. He has been a free agent thus far in 2025, so it will be interesting to see if any teams pick him up at this point in his career, which thus far has provided 303 HR, a .261/.361/.467 slash line, and a 123 OPS+.

• Frank Howard (1936) was a slugging LF, RF, and 1B who played 16 years in the majors, mostly with the Dodgers and Senators. He led the AL in HR twice, with 44 in 1968 and 44 in 1970, and had a career-high 48 HR the year between in 1969. He had ten 20+ HR seasons in all, with four seasons of 100+ RBI. A four-time All-Star, he also took home NL Rookie of the Year honors in 1960 when he hit 23 HR with 77 RBI and a .268 average. Overall, Howard had 382 HR, 1,119 RBI, a .273/.352/.499 slash line, and a 142 OPS+.

• José Cruz (1947) played a mix of all three OF positions over his 19-year major league career. He started for five years in St. Louis before spending most of his career with the Astros. He had modest power, hitting 10+ HR nine times. A 2-time All-Star, he was good on the bases, stealing 20+ bases in eight seasons, with a high of 44 SB in 1977. Overall, Cruz had 165 HR, 317 SB, a .284/.354/.420 slash line, and a 120 OPS+.

• Cupid Childs (1867) was a good-hitting 19th century 2B, who had a 13-year major league career that spanned from 1888-1901, mostly with the Cleveland Spiders of the NL. Adept at scoring runs, he had 100+ runs in seven seasons, including leading the NL with 136 in 1892, and then scoring 145 and 143 in the next two seasons. He had seven seasons with 20+ SB, including a high of 56 in his first full season in 1890. Overall, Childs had 1,214 runs, 269 SB, a .306/.416/.389 slash line, and a 120 OPS+.

• Cecil Travis (1913) was a SS and 3B for the Washington Senators, with a 12-year career that spanned from 1933-1947, missing three years for military service. He was a high-average hitter, leading the AL with 218 hits in 1941, to go with a career high .359 average that year. A three-time All-Star, Travis had a career .314/.370/.416 slash line and a 108 OPS+.

• Johnny Temple (1927) had a 13-year major league career as a 2B, mostly with the Reds, but playing some with three other clubs. An All-Star in four seasons, Temple had modest speed on the bases, with 15+ SB in four seasons. He could hit fairly well, and had a good eye leading to a career .284 average and .363 OBP.

A currently active player who was born on August 8 is TBR Yandy Díaz.

Today’s Matchups

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

• HOU vs. NYY is an interesting series with the Yankees needing to get on a roll, and the Astros fending off the Mariners and Rangers. Hunter Brown (2.47 ERA, 155 K in 131 IP) will face off against rookie Cam Schlittler (4.58 ERA, 21 K in 19.2 IP in four games).

• PHI vs. TEX is also an interesting series, an interleague one in this case. The Phillies are leading the NL East, and the Rangers are trying to catch the Mariners and Astros. Throwing in game one will be Cristopher Sánchez (2.40 ERA, 145 K In 138.2 IP) and Merrill Kelly (3.22 ERA, 127 K in 134.1 IP).

• NYM vs. MIL is yet another good series, with the Mets trying to catch the Phillies, and the Brewers hot lately with the best record in baseball. Two pitchers having good seasons in limited action will faceoff for game one: Kodai Senga (2.31 ERA, 86 K in 89.2 IP) and Brandon Woodruff (2.22 ERA, 37 K in 28.1 IP).

• TOR vs. LAD is the most fun game of the day, for two reasons. This is game one of an interleague series between the AL-East leading Blue Jays and the NL-West leading Dodgers. But the starting pitching is a treat, with future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer (4.39 ERA, 44 K in 41 IP) and Clayton Kershaw (3.29 ERA, 42 K in 65.2 IP).

Other pitchers on the mound today include CIN Chase Burns, DET Tarik Skubal, KCR Seth Lugo, MIN Joe Ryan, CHC Matthew Boyd, SDP Nick Pivetta, TBR Drew Rasmussen, and SEA Luis Castillo.

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:

• SDP Fernando Tatis Jr., 10-32 with 5 HR vs. BOS Walker Buehler

• LAD Michael Conforto, 12-39 with 4 HR and a double vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• AZ Ketel Marte, 10-26 with 3 HR and 3 doubles vs. COL Austin Gomber

• AZ Corbin Carroll, 6-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Austin Gomber

• TOR Bo Bichette, small sample but is 2-3 with 2 HR vs. LAD Clayton Kershaw

• MIN Christian Vazquez, 3-10 with 2 HR and a double vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 4-15 with 2 HR and a double vs. TEX Merrill Kelly

• COL Mickey Moniak, 4-9 with 2 HR vs. AZ Zac Gallen

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:

• PHI Trea Turner, 12-30 (.400) with a HR and 3 doubles vs. TEX Merrill Kelly

• CIN Spencer Steer, 7-19 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• SFG Willy Adames, 6-13 with 2 doubles vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• COL Ezequiel Tovar, 6-10 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. AZ Zac Gallen

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 12 - MIL Andrew Vaughn - .435, 5 HR, 16 RBI

• 11 - SFG Dominic Smith

• 9 - CIN TJ Friedl

• 9 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 9 - MIN Ryan Jeffers

• 8 - BOS Trevor Story - .483, 3 HR, 12 RBI

• 8 - MIN Luke Keaschall

• 8 - ATH Shea Langeliers - .457, 5 HR, 7 RBI

• 8 - ATH Tyler Soderstrom

• 7 - TOR Bo Bichette - .424, 3 HR, 13 RBI

• 7 - SFG Heliot Ramos

Active HR Streaks

• 2 - MIA Graham Pauley

• 2 - ATH Tyler Soderstrom

• 2 - CHW Michael A. Taylor

• 2 - SDP Xander Bogaerts

• 2 - SFG Jerar Encarnacion

• 2 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 2 - MIN Trevor Larnach

• 2 - TOR Daulton Varsho

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:

• CLE Carlos Santana, 1-15 with 3 K vs. CHW Aaron Civale

• KCR Kyle Isbel, 1-14 with 3 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan

• CIN TJ Friedl, 2-21 with 3 K vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• AZ Geraldo Perdomo, 2-15 though only 1 K vs. COL Austin Gomber

• KCR Adam Frazier, 1-11 though 0 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan

• NYM Juan Soto, 1-11 with 4 K vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 1-11 with 4 K vs. TEX Merrill Kelly

• PHI Bryson Stott, 1-11 though only 1 K vs. TEX Merrill Kelly

• STL Willson Contreras, 1-11 with 4 K vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• AZ Alek Thomas, 1-11 with 2 K vs. COL Austin Gomber

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 1-10 though only 1 K vs. BOS Walker Buehler

• COL Orlando Arcia, 1-10 with 2 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

By having a second, 3-HR game as a catcher, Shea Langeliers joined a small club that has only three other members:

• Travis d’Arnaud

• Gary Carter

• Johnny Bench

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.

• 7 players who could take advantage of Trade Deadline deals, by Brent Maguire at MLB, 8/7/2025

• Ranking each division race with stretch run on deck, by Will Leitch at MLB, 8/7/2025

• Stats of the Week: From 20-20 history to some serious heat, by Sarah Langes at MLB, 8/7/2025

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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