The Baseball Buffet for 9/10/2025

Issue #393

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 167th day of the season featured a full slate of Tuesday games:

• PIT 2, BAL 3 - Kyle Bradish did well for the Orioles in his third start of the year (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and Mike Burrows (4 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and Braxton Ashcraft (3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)) combined for seven solid innings for the Pirates. Jackson Holliday hit a HR to put the Orioles up in the sixth, but then Tommy Pham hit a HR in the ninth which tied the game and ultimately led to extras. Dietrich Enns pitched two scoreless innings, and then the Orioles loaded the bases in the bottom of the 11th and rookie Samuel Basallo hit a bloop single to left that Pham couldn’t quite get to. After review of the fair/foul call, it was determined that Gunnar Henderson scored the winning run.

• KCR 0, CLE 2 - Joey Cantillo pitched eight strong innings (8 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and Cade Smith struck out two in the ninth to secure his 12th save and complete the combined shutout. José Ramírez hit his 28th HR and was 3-4 with a double. Noah Cameron did well (7 IP 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) for the Royals, but the two runs he allowed were all it took.

• WAS 7, MIA 5 - Joey Wiemer hit a HR in the second inning, but Mitchell Parker otherwise pitched a good game (7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Josh Bell continued his hot hitting with a 3-run HR in the first inning, and Daylen Lile was 2-5 with a HR. CJ Abrams and James Wood were each 2-4 with a double.

• NYM 3, PHI 9 - Ranger Suárez had a career-high 12 strikeouts (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K), and the Phillies had three HR, including back-to-back homers from Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader in the second inning. Kyle Schwarber hit a 3-run HR in the seventh, his 50th of the year. Of note, Juan Soto stole his 30th base, giving him the first 30/30 HR/SB season of his career (his previous SB high was only 12).

• DET 12, NYY 2 - Parker Meadows hit a 2-run HR, but Yankees starter Will Warren otherwise did well (6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Aaron Judge hit his 44th HR in the first inning, and Cody Bellinger hit his 28th in fourth. Those were the only two runs that Tigers’ starter Casey Mize allowed (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K), and Chris Paddack kept the Yankees off the board for the final three innings. But then with the game tied 2-2, the Yankees bullpen imploded in the top of the seventh, giving up five hits, five walks, and nine runs. Of note, the HR by Judge was number 359 for his career, which moves him past Yogi Berra for fifth on the all-time Yankees HR leaderboard.

• HOU 3, TOR 4 - Carlos Correa hit a 2-run HR in the top of the first inning, but then Astros starter Luis Garcia left in the bottom of the second inning with an elbow issue (this was only his second start back from Tommy John surgery rehab). George Springer hit his 28th HR of the year in the sixth, and then the Jays scored two more in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game 3-3. Jeff Hoffman kept Houston from scoring in the top of the tenth. Then in the bottom of the frame Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero singled to advance the freebie Manfred Man to third, and then Tyler Heineman reached on a fielder’s choice that drove in the winning run.

• CHC 6, ATL 1 - Chicago rookie Cade Horton was solid (6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) and three Cubs’ relievers kept Atlanta off the board the rest of the way. Spencer Strider struck out 8 over 6 innings, but allowed two runs and then Alexis Díaz allowed four more in the eighth as well. Ian Happ was 2-5 with a double, and Pete Crow-Armstrong was 1-2 with a walk, 2 RBI, and 2 SB.

• TBR 5, CHW 4 - Kyle Teel hit a HR in the bottom of the first, but then the Rays came back with homers by Josh Lowe in the second and Richie Palacios in the fourth. The White Sox tied the game at 4-4 through six, but then Tampa went ahead with a HR by Tristan Gray in the seventh. Three Rays’ relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Pete Fairbanks who locked down his 25th save.

• MIL 4, TEX 5 - Milwaukee went up 3-1 in the top of the fifth, but then the Rangers came right back with four in the bottom of the frame, including a 2-run HR by rookie Michael Helman. That is all it would take, as Jake Bauers hit a solo HR in the ninth but Shawn Armstrong then closed it out for his 8th save.

• MIN 2, LAA 12 - Veteran starter Kyle Hendricks did well through seven innings (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) with the Twins only scoring two in the ninth from a HR by Ryan Fitzgerald. That came after Fitzgerald had tossed a scoreless eighth inning, after the Twins three actual pitchers had given up 15 hits and 12 runs. Yoán Moncada was 2-4 with a HR, a walk, 3 runs, and 3 RBI; Chris Taylor was 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI; Luis Rengifo was 2-5 with 3 RBI’; Oswald Peraza was 3-5; and Mike Trout was 2-4 with a walk and 3 runs.

• CIN 4, SDP 2 - Zack Littell only allowed two hits over six innings (6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and three Reds’ relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Emilio Pagán securing his 27th save. Cincy had three HR from Sal Stewart, Will Benson, and Tyler Stephenson.

• STL 3, SEA 5 - Randy Arozarena hit a 3-run HR in the third, and Josh Naylor added a solo HR in the fourth. George Kirby struggled a bit (4 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), but the Mariners’ bullpen was great, with five relievers each throwing a scoreless inning, including Andrés Muñoz locking down his 34th save.

• AZ 3, SFG 5 - Willy Adames hit a 3-run HR in the first inning, and then Patrick Bailey added a solo HR in the fifth. Giants’ starter Robbie Ray did well enough (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and the relievers that succeeded him kept the D-Backs in check, with Ryan Walker notching his 15th save.

• BOS 6, ATH 0 - The Athletics out-hit the Red Sox 10-9, but they were only 1-10 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 guys on base overall. Boston’s rookie starter Connelly Early was outstanding in his big league debut, striking out 11 in 5 innings (5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K). Four Red Sox relievers pitched scoreless innings the rest of the way, while Romy Gonzalez was 2-2 with HR and 2 RBI, and Rob Refsnyder was 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. Of note, Early’s 11 K tied the franchise record for a rookie debut (Don Aase in 1977).

• COL 2, LAD 7 - Emmet Sheehan put up yet another strong Dodgers pitching performance (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), while some of LA’s star hitters managed four HR, with Teoscar Hernández hitting two, and Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman having one apiece.

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 Astros lost, while Mariners and Rangers both won, so only 2.5 games separates the three teams in the AL West.

• The Dodgers won and the Padres lost, so the gap in the NL West grew to a still close two games in the NL 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

As I did yesterday with Ketel Marte and the Diamondbacks, today I’ll focus in on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays. He has a bit farther to climb on their various leaderboards, as they’ve been around a bit longer as a franchise, and because he is only 26 and in his seventh season. But with the huge long-term contract he signed earlier this year, barring injury I assume he’ll be climbing their charts at eventually end up on top of several of them. Focusing just on the Blue Jays HR leaderboard for now, he has 183 and ranks seventh. How many of the top six in HR for the Blue Jays can you name? (Bonus points for getting them close to or precisely in the correct 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

• STL 2B Brendan Donovan

• KCR RP Steven Cruz

• BAL RF Tyler O’Neill

🤕 Placed on the IL

• TOR SS Bo Bichette - 10-day IL (left knee sprain)

• CHC RF Kyle Tucker - 10-day IL (left calf strain)

• KCR SP Michael Wacha - 7 - day IL (concussion)

• BOS SP Dustin May - 15-day IL (right elbow neuritis)

• COL 3B Warming Bernabel - 7-day IL (concussion)

League Leaders

I covered runs yesterday, noting there were three guys with 100+ but with several more getting close. For RBI, we have seven that have 100+, but another dozen that have 90 or more (* leads league):

• 123 - PHI Kyle Schwarber*

• 113 - SEA Cal Raleigh*

• 113 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 109 - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 104 - DET Riley Greene

• 103 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 100 - SFG Rafael Devers

• 99 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 98 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 96 - LAA Taylor Ward

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 September 10…

• 1919: Ray Caldwell jolts his former team with a no-hitter. “The Indians’ Ray Caldwell, struck by lightning two weeks earlier, no-hits his former teammates the Yankees, 3-0, at the Polo Grounds.”

• 1960: Mickey Mantle hits a HR into a lumber yard across the street. “In Detroit, Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot for three runs in the 6th inning, the ball clearing the right field roof and landing in the Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. New York pins a 5-1 loss on Paul Foytack that moves them a half game in first place ahead of Baltimore, losers today. In June, 1985, Mantle's blow will retroactively be measured at 643 feet, and will be listed in The Guinness Book of World Records at that distance.”

• 1980: Rookie Bill Gullickson sets record with 18 strikeouts. “Montreal freshman Bill Gullickson strikes out 18, the most ever by a rookie, as the Expos beat the Cubs, 4-2. His total will be topped by Kerry Wood in 1998.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Randy Johnson (1963)

• Hall of Famer

• 22-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1988-2009, including 10 years with the Mariners, 8 with the Diamondbacks, and the rest with four other clubs

• 5-time Cy Young Award winner, and came in second in the voting three times

• 10-time All-Star

• World Series MVP in 2001 after posting a 1.04 ERA with 19 K in 17.1 IP

• Led league in ERA four times, and led league in strikeouts nine times, including consecutive seasons from 1999-2002 with 364, 347, 372, and 334 strikeouts

• Second all-time in strikeouts with 4,875

• 303-166 (.646) record, 3.29 ERA, 135 ERA+

Joey Votto (1983)

• 17-year major league career, spanning from 2007-2023, all as a 1B for the Reds

• 6-time All-Star, and Gold Glove Award winner in 2011

• NL MVP in 2010 after batting .325 with 37 HR, 113 RBI, and 16 SB

• 100+ runs five times, 100+ RBI three times, 20+ HR nine times

• Led the NL in walks five times, and in OBP seven times

• 356 HR, 1,144 RBI, .294/.409/.511 slash line, and 144 OPS+

Paul Goldschmidt (1987)

• 15-year major league career, spanning from 2011-2025, as a 1B with the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and now in 2025 the Yankees

• 7-time All-Star, with four Gold Glove Awards

• NL MVP in 2022 after batting .317 with 35 HR and 115 RBI

• Came in second in the MVP voting twice, including in 2013 when he led the NL with 36 HR and 125 RBI

• 100+ Runs six times, 100+ RBI four times, 20+ HR 11 times

• 372 HR, 1,230 RBI, 174 SB, .288/.379/.506 slash line, and a 137 OPS+

Roger Maris (1934)

• 12-year major league career, spanning from 1957-1968, spending 7 years with the Yankees, and the rest with the Indians, Athletics, and Cardinals

• Was AL MVP in 1960 after hitting 39 HR and leading the league with 112 RBI

• Was MVP again in 1961 when he set a new single-season HR record with 61 HR, while also leading the league with 132 runs and 141 RBI

• All-Star in four seasons and won one Gold Glove Award as a RF

• 275 HR, .260/.345/.476 slash line, 127 OPS+

Ted Kluszewski (1924)

• 15-year major league career, spanning from 1947-1961, mostly as a 1B with the Reds

• 4-time All-Star, came in second in the NL MVP voting in 1954 after leading the league with 49 HR and 141 RBI

• In peak four year period from 1953-56 he had 171 HR, 464 RBI, and a .315/.383/.585 slash line

• 100+ Runs two times, 100+ RBI five times

• Nicknamed Big Klu, he was famous for wearing cutoff sleeves on his jerseys at times

• .279 HR, 1,028 RBI, .298/.353/.498, 123 OPS+

George Kelly (1895)

• Hall of Famer

• 16-year major league career, spanning from 1915-1932, mostly as a 1B for the Giants and Reds

• Five seasons with 15+ HR, including leading the NL with 23 in 1921

• Four seasons with 100+ RBI, including leading the NL with 136 in 1924.

• 148 HR, 1,020 RBI, .297/.342/.452 slash line, 109 OPS+

• Tall at 6'4", he had nicknames "Long George" and "High Pockets"

In addition to Paul Goldschmidt, other currently active players who were born on September 10 include MIA Agustín Ramírez, MIL Blake Perkins, MIN Pierson Ohl, and SFG Landen Roupp.

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:

• MIL vs. TEX is the final game in this important inter-league series, and features Freddy Peralta (2.50 ERA, 176 K in 158.2 IP) vs. TEX Merrill Kelly (3.16 ERA, 156 K in 171 IP).

• NYM vs. PHI is another in this NL East series, and will have Clay Holmes (3.61 ERA, 117 K in 147 IP) up against Cristopher Sánchez (2.60 ERA, 186 K in 176.1 IP).

• CIN vs. SDP features two pitchers having good seasons in Andrew Abbott (2.88 ERA, 130 K in 143.2 IP) and Nick Pivetta (2.85 ERA, 172 K in 164.1 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are PIT Paul Skenes, NYY Carlos Rodón, ATL Chris Sale, LAD Blake Snell, and SEA Logan Gilbert.

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:

• KCR Salvador Perez, only 2-9 but with 2 HR vs. CLE Logan Allen

• ATL Jake Fraley, 6-13 with 2 HR vs. CHC Colin Rea

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 6-8 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• HOU Yordan Alvarez, only 3-16 (.188) but with 2 HR vs. TOR José Berríos

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:

• SFG Matt Chapman, 7-18 with a HR and 4 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 7-12 with 2 doubles vs. CLE Logan Allen

• NYM Mark Vientos, 5-13 with a HR and 4 doubles vs. PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• KCR Maikel Garcia, 5-12 with a HR and a double vs. CLE Logan Allen

• ATL Matt Olson, 4-8 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. CHC Colin Rea

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 12 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 9 - WAS Daylen Lile

• 8 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - is 18-34 (.529) during this streak

• 7 - PHI Trea Turner

• 7 - SEA Jorge Polanco

• 7 - CIN Austin Hays

Active HR streaks

• 3 - WAS Josh Bell

• 2 - SFG Patrick Bailey

• 2 - TEX Michael Helman

• 2 - LAA Jo Adell

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:

• CIN Austin Hays, 0-18 with 6 K vs. SDP Nick Pivetta… maybe ask for the day off?

• MIL Christian Yelich, 2-20 with 10 K vs. TEX Merrill Kelly

• DET Javier Báez, 3-18 with 8 K vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• SFG Willy Adames, 0-11 with 5 K vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• HOU Jeremy Peña, 0-11 with 3 K vs. TOR José Berríos

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Here are the top HR hitters in Blue Jays history:

• 336 - Carlos Delgado

• 288 - José Bautista

• 239 - Edwin Encarnación

• 223 - Vernon Wells

• 203 - Joe Carter

• 202 - George Bell

• 183 - Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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.

• Evaluating World Series favorites ... in a wide-open field, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 9/9/2025

• Hall of Famer Rich “Goose” Gossage was a monster pitcher, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 9/10/2025

• Hank Bauer vs. Paul O'Neill for Monument Park at Yankee Stadium, by Paul Semendinger at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 9/10/2025

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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