The Baseball Buffet for 9/12/2025

Issue #395

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 169th day of the season featured a partial slate of Thursday games:

• PIT 2, BAL 3 - Both starters did fairly well, with almost identical pitching lines: Johan Oviedo (5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and Cade Povich (5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). The game was tied 2-2 through six innings, when in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and runners on first and second, Orioles’ rookie Dylan Beavers singled to drive in Jackson Holliday for the go-ahead run. Three Orioles’ relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Keegan Akin who picked up his 5th save.

• TBR 1, CHW 5 - Rays’ leadoff hitter Chandler Simpson went 4-4 with a stolen base and scored their only run. Shane Smith did well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and rookies Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel drove in two runs each.

• HOU 0, TOR 6 - Kevin Gausman was outstanding, striking out nine and throwing a 2-hit shutout (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K). The Jays spread out their six runs across four innings, with Davis Schneider hitting a solo HR in the second, Nathan Lukes going 2-4 with a double and 2 runs, and Addison Barger going 1-3 with a double and 2 RBI.

• WAS 0, MIA 5 - Miami’s starter Ryan Weathers did well in his first start in three months (5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), and three Marlins’ relievers combined for the shutout. Eric Wagaman went 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI, and Jakob Marsee was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs.

• DET 3, NYY 9 - The Yankees scored all nine of their runs in the first four innings, including two HR by Aaron Judge, plus a HR by Giancarlo Stanton. Ben Rice was 2-4 with 2 doubles, a walk, and 2 runs; Jazz Chisholm Jr. was 2-4 with a walk, a SB, and 2 RBI; and José Caballero was 2-3 with a walk and 2 SB. Yankees’ rookie starter Cam Schlittler once again pitched a good game (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), and Ryan Yarbrough let up a HR to Dillon Dingler but then locked down the 3-inning save.

• KCR 2 , CLE 3 - Vinnie Pasquantino hit a 2-run HR in the first inning, but then Gavin Williams settled in and did well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). Four Guardians’ relievers pitched three innings of shutout ball, with Cade Smith striking out two in the ninth for his 13th save. Stephen Kolek pitched well for Kansas City (6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER 1 BB, 4 K). But then with Cleveland down 2-1 through seven, rookie C.J. Kayfus hit a 2-run go-ahead HR in the bottom of the eighth and that would be the difference.

• NYM 4, PHI 6 - The Mets scored immediately with four runs in the first inning, but then Jesús Luzardo recovered and struck out 10 over 8 innings (8 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). David Peterson struck out 8 over 5 innings, but also allowed 7 hits and 3 runs, including a HR by Otto Kemp. Down 4-3, the Phillies scored three via two doubles and two singles in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead. Closer Jhoan Duran came in for the ninth, struck out three, and earned his 29th save.

• COL 0, SDP 2 - Randy Vásquez did well, striking out 9 in 6 innings (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). Three Padres’ relievers combined for the 4-hit shutout, including Robert Suarez who gathered his 37th save. Jackson Merrill hit a solo HR, and Luis Arraez was 3-4 with a SB and a RBI.

• LAA 6, SEA 7 - Seattle got on the board first, with four runs in the bottom of the second, but then LA came back with runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings to tie the game up. Bryce Miller struck out 11, but also gave up a HR to Mike Trout, his 21st of the season, and one to Logan Davidson, the first of his career. Neither team scored in the tenth, then both teams scored a run in the tenth, and then the Angels did again in the top of the 11th. Sammy Peralta, who had pitched the bottom of the 11th, came back out for the 12th. Jorge Polanco doubled to drive in Josh Naylor who was on base as the freebie Manfred Man, then Victor Robles singled to advance Polanco to third, and finally 22-year old rookie Harry Ford hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Polanco for the win.

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 Mariners have won six in a row, and are now tied with the Astros for the lead in the AL West. The Rangers are also in the hunt, having won four in a row and are now two games behind.

• The Mets have now lost six in a row, and are only 1.5 games ahead of the Reds and Giants for the final NL wildcard spot.

• Current Wild Card Leaders: In the AL it is NYY/BOS and then HOU and SEA are tied in AL West; in the NL it is CHC/SDP/NYM.

Today’s Trivia Question

The Athletics have not had a successful season overall of course, but one thing they do have in abundance is power hitters: Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler, and Brent Rooker, and only Rooker is even 30 years of age. With 125 years of franchise history (if you include their time in Philadelphia and Kansas City), it will take a while for these guys to crack the team's all-time HR leaderboard. For today's trivia question, how many of the seven players can you name who have hit 200+ HR for the Athletics?

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

• MIA CF Dane Myers

• MIA 3B Connor Norby

• CHC SP Michael Soroka

• LAD C Dalton Rushing

• BAL RP Colin Selby

• PIT OF Jack Suwinski

• TOR OF Anthony Santander

🤕 Placed on the IL

• LAA RP Reid Detmers - 15-day IL (left elbow inflammation)

• COL RP Luis Peralta - 15-day IL (left hip inflammation)

League Leaders

Carlos Estévez is just one away from the first 40-save season of his career:

• 39 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 37 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 34 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 30 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 30 - MIL Trevor Megill

• 29 - BOS Aroldis Chapman

• 29 - PHI Jhoan Duran

• 28 - HOU Josh Hader

• 27 - LAA Kenley Jansen

• 27 - 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 September 12…

• 1930: The last official bounce HR. “The last bounce home run is hit by Robins catcher Al Lopez at Ebbets Field. The American League changed the rule in 1929.”

• 1947: Ralph Kiner was a HR-hitting machine. “Pirates' outfielder Ralph Kiner hits a record eight home runs in four games. Tony Lazzeri had hit seven round-trippers in four games in 1936.”

• 1962: Tom Cheney strikes out 21 in 16 innings. “Washington's Tom Cheney sets a major league mark with 21 strikeouts in a 16-inning game at Baltimore. Bud Zipfel's 16th-inning home run off Dick Hall gives the Senators a 2-1 win.”

• 1984: Dwight Gooden breaks the rookie season record for strikeouts. “Dwight Gooden strikes out 16 batters in a 2 - 0 victory over the Pirates to break Herb Score's major league rookie strikeout record of 245. Doctor K's whiff of Marvell Wynne raised his season total to 246 to set the new mark.”

• 1993: Paul Molitor becomes the oldest to get 100 RBI for the first time. “Paul Molitor drives in his 100th run of the year in the Blue Jays' 4 1 win over California. He thus becomes at age 37 the oldest player in major league history to post his first 100-RBI season.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Freddie Freeman (1989)

• 16-year major league career so far, mostly with the Braves and the last four seasons with the Dodgers

• Already a nine-time All-Star, also took home a Gold Glove Award in 2018

• NL MVP in the shortened 2020 season when he batted .341 and led the NL in runs and doubles. Has had four other top-five MVP finishes.

• Has paced the NL in runs three times, hits twice, and doubles four times

• So far has 362 HR, 1368 Runs, 1,310 RBI, a .300/.386/.511 slash line, and a 142 OPS+

Mickey Lolich (1940)

• 16-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1963-1979, mostly with the Tigers

• Three-time All-Star, including in 1971 when he led the AL with 308 strikeouts, 29 complete games, and in wins with a 25-14 record

• Posted a 22-14 record and career-best 2.50 ERA in 1972

• Overall had a 217-191 (.532) record, 2,832 K, 3.44 ERA, 104 ERA+

Charlie Keller (1916)

• 13-year major league career spanning from 1939-1952, missing 1944 for military service

• Played mostly for the Yankees as a LF/RF

• Five-time All-Star, had three seasons with 100+ runs and three with 100+ RBI

• Hit 20+ HR four times, with a high of 33 in 1941

• Had a good eye, posting 100+ BB five times, and led the AL twice with 106 in both 1940 and 1943

• Overall had 189 HR, a .286/.410/.518 slash line, and a 152 OPS+

Spud Chandler (1907)

• 11-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1937-1947, entirely with the Yankees

• After many years in the minors, finally made it to the majors in his age-29 season

• Four-time All-Star, he was AL MVP in 1943 after leading the league with a 1.64 ERA and in wins with a 20-4 record

• Overall had a 109-43 (.717) record, 2.84 ERA, and 132 ERA+

Luis Castillo (1975)

• 15-year major league career, spanning from 1996-2010, mostly with the Marlins and Mets

• Three-time All-Star, was good defensively at 2B, earning three Gold Glove Awards

• Speedy baserunner, posted four seasons with 30+ SB, and led the NL with 62 in 2000 and 48 in 2002

• Overall had 1,001 runs, 370 SB, .290 average, and .368 OBP

In addition to Freddie Freeman, currently active players who were born on September 12 include BAL Kyle Bradish, LAA José Ureña, and WAS Konnor Pilkington.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a full slate of Friday games (15), so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• TEX vs. NYM features an interesting pitching matchup between veteran Jacob deGrom (2.78 ERA, 169 K in 155.2 IP) taking the mound at his old home park, versus 22-year old rookie Jonah Tong making his third major league start.

• LAD vs. SFG is also a good pitching matchup with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.72 ERA, 177 K in 155.1 IP) vs. veteran Justin Verlander (4.09 ERA, 120 K in 127.2 IP).

Also on the hill today are CHC Matthew Boyd, BAL Trevor Rogers, DET Tarik Skubal, ATL Hurston Waldrep, MIN Pablo López, MIL Quinn Priester, 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:

• LAA Luis Rengifo, 5-22 with 3 HR vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• LAA Jo Adell, small sample but is 2-7 with 2 HR vs. Luis Castillo

• SEA Eugenio Suárez, 5-12 with 3 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 6-25 with 3 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 4-11 with 2 HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 5-23 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 8-22 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. KCR Michael Lorenzen

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:

• NYY Amed Rosario, 7-17 with a triple vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• WAS Josh Bell, 6-12 with a HR and a double vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• MIL Brice Turang, 4-10 with a double vs. STL Andre Pallante

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 12 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 11 - WAS Daylen Lile

• 9 - SEA Jorge Polanco

• 8 - CIN Austin Hays

• 7 - LAD Mookie Betts

• 7 - SFG Matt Chapman

• 7 - CHW Chase Meidroth

• 7 - TBR Jake Mangum

Active HR streaks

• 2 - LAD Mookie Betts

• 2 - LAD Teoscar Hernández

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:

• WAS Paul DeJong, 1-12 with 7 K though the hit was a HR vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• LAD Mookie Betts, 3-30 though only 3 K vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• DET Gleyber Torres, 1-10 though only 1 K vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The seven players who have hit 200+ HR for the Athletics are:

• 363 - Mark McGwire

• 302 - Jimmie Foxx

• 269 - Reggie Jackson

• 254 - José Canseco

• 252 - Bob Johnson

• 230 - Eric Chavez

• 209 - Al Simmons

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.

• A World Series ring would seal these (potential) HOF legacies, by Will Leitch at MLB, 9/11/2025

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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