The Baseball Buffet for 9/14/2025

Issue #397

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 171st day of the season featured a full slate of Saturday games😀 

• TBR 5, CHC 4 - The Cubs scored first and it was a fun situation. 21-year old rookie Moisés Ballesteros, hitting as the DH in this one, slugged his first major league HR in the second inning. Out in the left field seats the ball bounced off the hand of… long-time Cubs star Anthony Rizzo, who just recently announced is retirement from the game. Ian Happ was quoted as saying “He said that’s why he’s retired. He can’t catch them anymore." Michael Busch added a solo HR in the seventh, his 27th of the year. The Cubs had a 4-3 lead at that point, but then Junior Caminero hit his 43rd HR in the eighth, and Nick Fortes hit a go-ahead HR in the ninth. Tampa’s closer Pete Fairbanks then struck out two in the bottom of the frame, securing his 26th save.

• BAL 4, TOR 5 - Both starting pitchers did fairly well in this one: Tomoyuki Sugano (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and Max Scherzer (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Toronto’s Addison Barger hit his 20th HR in the fifth, and Baltimore’s Coby May hit one in the top of the ninth to give the Orioles a 4-2 lead. But then in the bottom of the ninth, the Jays scored two and loaded the bases on a series of singles. With still only one out, Alejandro Kirk hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to drive in Joey Loperfido for the win.

• PIT 5, WAS 1 - Two rookie starters did well in this one: Pittsburgh’s 23-year old Bubba Chandler (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Washington’s 26-year Andrew Alvarez (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Down 1-0, the Buccos broke out with four runs in the top of the eighth, and then Jared Triolo added a solo HR in the ninth.

• TEX 3, NYM 2 - Juan Soto hit his 40th HR, but the struggling Mets couldn’t get much else going as they were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 guys on base overall. Their rookie starter Brandon Sproat did well in his second start (6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), but then Tyler Rogers and Edwin Díaz struggled in the final two innings, giving up three runs including doubles by Wyatt Langford and Rowdy Tellez, and then a Langford single in the ninth which drove in Dustin Harris for the decisive score.

• DET 4, MIA 6 - Miami scored first but then the Rangers came back, including a 2-run HR by Kerry Carpenter, and led 3-2 after five. The Marlins tied it in the bottom of the sixth from a solo HR by 1B Troy Johnston, and it stayed that way forcing extras. Neither team scored in the 10th, and the Tigers plated one in the top of the 11th. Rafael Montero came in for Detroit to pitch the bottom of the 11th, but the Marlins scored one and followed that with Johnston hitting his second HR of the day, a walk-off 2-run dinger.

• NYY 5, BOS 3 - The Yankees scored two in the first inning, and built up a 3-0 lead through four. Then Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his 29th HR of the year in the fifth, and Alex Bregman countered with his 17th HR in the bottom of the frame. Jarren Duran added a HR in the eighth to make the score 4-3, still in favor of New York. The Yankees tacked on one more in the ninth off Aroldis Chapman, and then David Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth for his 24th save.

• KCR 6, PHI 8 - The Royals scored three in the top of the first, including 2-run HR by Salvador Perez. He then hit another, the 300th of this career and his 1000th RBI, in the top of the third. Down 4-3, the Phillies scored three in the bottom of the fifth, including a solo HR by Kyle Schwarber, his 51st on the year. Brandon Marsh was 2-4 with a HR and a double, and Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth for his 30th save.

• CHW 1, CLE 3 - Cleveland scored their three runs from a 2-run HR by C.J. Kayfus in the second inning, and a solo HR by pinch hitter Jhonkensy Noel in the eighth. Rookie starter Parker Messick did well in his fifth game of the year (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), and three Guardians’ relievers threw scoreless innings, including Cade Smith striking out two in the ninth for his 14th save.

• AZ 5, MIN 2 - Alek Thomas hit a 2-run HR in the fourth to give Arizona the early lead. Ryne Nelson did well over six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), but then a string of hits produced two runs for the Twins and eventually led to extras. Minnesota brought in Cole Sands for the tenth, but he allowed three runs including a 2-run double by Blaze Alexander.

• HOU 6, ATL 2 - Houston tagged Bryce Elder for 10 hits and 6 runs (4.1 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 7 K), including a 2-run HR by Christian Walker. Matt Olson had a solo HR, but Hunter Brown otherwise did well (6.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and two Astros’ relievers kept the Braves off the board the rest of the game.

• STL 8, MIL 9 - Iván Herrara hit a HR in the first inning, and Milwaukee rookie Jacob Misiorowski (5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) allowed another HR to Brandon Donovan in the third. Sonny Gray struck out 8 in 5 innings (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), but then the Cardinals’ bullpen struggled late, allowing two runs in the eighth, and then three in the ninth to force extras with a 7-7 tie. St. Louis scored one in the top of the tenth, but then in the bottom of the frame Caleb Durbin doubled to drive in Blake Perkins who was the freebie Manfred Man, and Andruw Monasterio hit a walk-off single to drive in Durbin for the victory. With this win, the Brewers are the first team to clinch at playoff spot.

• COL 3, SDP 11 - The Rockies plated one in the top of the first, but then Dylan Cease settled in and did well over six innings (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The Padres’ batsmen meanwhile scored nine in the first four innings, and ultimately added two more late. This included four HR from Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Bryce Johnson.

• LAD 13, SFG 7 - Clayton Kershaw gave up four runs in the first inning (3 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), while San Francisco’s starter Logan Webb also struggled in this one (4 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), including allowing a solo HR to Shohei Ohtani, his 49th of the year. Ohtani was 3-5 with 3 runs on the day; Freddie Freeman was 3-6 with a double and 2 RBI; and Teoscar Hernández was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI.

• LAA 3, SEA 5 - Jo Adell hit his 36th HR of the year in the second inning, but Bryan Woo was otherwise very impressive, striking out 13 in 6 innings (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 13 K). Matt Brash allowed a HR to Taylor Ward in the ninth, but then closed out the game for his 4th save. J.P. Crawford was 2-3 with a HR and a double, while Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor had 2 RBI apiece.

• CIN 5, ATH 11 - Neither starter did very well in this one: Hunter Greene (2.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K) and Luis Severino (5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Each allowed two HR, with Will Benson and Tyler Stephenson hitting homers for the Reds, and Brent Rooker and Carlos Cortes doing so for the Athletics. Tied 5-5 through six innings, the A’s continued hitting and scored six more runs late, including Nick Kurtz hitting a grand slam in the eighth.

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 AL West continues to be interesting. The Mariners have now won eight in a row, but Houston also won so they remained tied atop the AL West. Texas has now won six in a row too, so the Rangers remain just two games back (and they are now just two games behind the Red Sox for the third Wild Card spot also.)

• The Mets have now lost eight (!) in a row, but the Reds and Giants also lost yesterday so failed to gain ground in the race for the final NL Wild Card 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

As noted above, yesterday Salvador Perez had a 2-HR game, which gave him both 300 HR for his career with the Royals, and also 1,000 RBI too. Which two other players have had 1,000+ RBI for the Royals?

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

• WAS SP Josiah Gray

• CIN RP Rhett Lowder

🤕 Placed on the IL

• STL SS Masyn Winn - 10-day IL (torn meniscus in right knee)

• SFG 1B Dominic Smith - 10 day IL (right hamstring strain)

• LAD C Will Smith - 10-day IL (right hand contusion)

• COL SP Chase Dollander - 15-day IL (left patella tendon strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• MIA RP Tyler Phillips

League Leaders

Garrett Crochet is atop the MLB pitchers’ strikeouts leaderboard, and will look to extend his lead as he is pitching against the Yankees today (* leads league):

• 228 - BOS Garrett Crochet*

• 224 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 206 - SFG Logan Webb*

• 203 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 201 - SDP Dylan Cease

• 200 - PHI Jesús Luzardo

• 195 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 192 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 192 - PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• 191 - SEA Bryan Woo

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 14…

• 1951: Rookie Bob Nieman hits two HR in his first two at-bats. “Browns rookie Bob Nieman hits two home runs in his first two major league at bats, a record unequaled. They come against Mickey McDermott of the Red Sox, but Boston still wins, 9-6. Boston has homers by Dom DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Walt Dropo.”

• 1968: Denny McLain wins his 30th game. “The Tigers rally in 9th to beat the A's, 5-4, making Denny McLain the first thirty-game winner since Dizzy Dean reached the milestone in 1934.”

• 1974: The Nettles brothers both hit a HR. “Graig Nettles homers for the Yankees in the 1st inning, and brother Jim Nettles homers for the Tigers in the 2nd. This is the second time that the two brothers have homered in the same game for different teams, having done it on June 11, 1972, when Graig was with Cleveland and Jim with Minnesota. Graig's team wins, 10-7.”

• 1975: A young Robin Yount breaks a Mel Ott record. “The Red Sox top the Brewers, 8-6, as Robin Yount breaks Mel Ott's 47-year-old record by playing in his 242nd game as a teenager.”

• 1986: Bob Brenly makes four errors but hits two HR. “Giant third baseman Bob Brenly, usually a catcher, ties a major league record by making four errors in one inning, but makes amends by hitting two home runs, including the game-winner, as San Francisco beats the Braves, 7-6.”

• 1990: Father and son both hit homers. “The Mariners' Ken Griffey, Sr. and his son, Ken Griffey, Jr., become the first father and son to hit homers in the same major league game. The back-to-back blasts are given up by Angels hurler Kirk McCaskill.”

• 2008: Carlos Zambrano throws a no-hitter. “Carlos Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs pitches a no-hitter against the Houston Astros, winning 5-0 at Milwaukee's Miller Park. The game was shifted from Houston to Milwaukee due to Hurricane Ike. It is the first no-hitter pitched at a neutral site in modern major league history, although the crowd is composed almost exclusively of Cubs fans who have made the short trip from Chicago.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Kid Nichols (1869)

• Hall of Famer

• 15-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1890-1906, mostly with the National League's Boston franchise (who later became the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves)

• One of the stars of 1890s, Nichols posted 25+ wins in nine consecutive seasons, including leading the league with 30 in 1896, and 31 in both 1897 and 1898

• Completed 532 of his 562 career starts

• Overall had a 362-208 (.635) record, 2.96 ERA, 139 ERA+

Tim Wallach (1957)

• Drafted in the first round (10th overall) in 1979 by the Montreal Expos

• 17-year major league career as a 3B, spanning from 1980-1996, spent mostly with the Expos and Dodgers

• Five-time All-Star and won three Gold Glove Awards

• Hit 20+ HR five times, and led the NL with 42 doubles in both 1987 and 1989

• Overall had 260 HR, 1,125 RBI, a .257/.316/.416 slash line, and a 102 OPS+

Currently active players who were born on September 14 include STL John King and PIT Bubba Chandler.

Today’s Matchups

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

• NYY vs. BOS is the final game of this always interesting rivalry, with Will Warren (4.22 ERA, 158 K in 147 IP) up for the Yankees, and Boston countering with their ace Garrett Crochet (2.57 ERA, 228 K in 185.1 IP).

• LAD vs. SFG again has a solid pitching matchup with Tyler Glasnow (3.21 ERA, 92 K in 75.2 IP) up against Robbie Ray (3.32 ERA, 176 K in 173.2 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are KCR Noah Cameron, HOU Framber Valdez, TOR Shane Bieber, NYM Nolan McLean, CHC Shota Imanaga, and SEA George Kirby.

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:

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 14-56 with 5 HR, a triple, and 4 doubles vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• LAA Taylor Ward, 7-27 with 3 HR and a double vs. SEA George Kirby

• SFG Wilmer Flores, small sample but is 2-5 with 2 HR vs. LAD Tyler Glasnow

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, 3-10 with 2 HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• SDP Jake Cronenworth, 6-21 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. COL Germán Márquez

• LAD Miguel Rojas, 6-17 with 2 HR and a double vs. SFG Robbie Ray

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:

• SDP Manny Machado, 13-35 (.371) with a HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Germán Márquez

• MIL William Contreras, 7-16 with a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 5-11 with a HR vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

• CHC Willi Castro, small sample but is 5-7 vs. TBR Adrian Houser

• NYY Amed Rosario, small sample but is 5-6 with a double vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

• KCR Jonathan India, small sample but is 5-7 with HR and a double vs. PHI Aaron Nola

• ATL Ozzie Albies, small sample but is 4-7 with a HR vs. HOU Framber Valdez

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 Eli White, 0-14 with 9 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 1-13 with 5 K vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

• NYY Aaron Judge, 2-12 with 9 K though one hit was a HR vs. BOS Garrett Crochet

• STL Willson Contreras, 1-18 with 7 K vs. MIL Jose Quintana

• COL Orlando Arcia, 1-14 with 7 K vs. SDP Yu Darvish

• CHC Nico Hoerner, 1-13 with 3 K vs. TBR Adrian Houser

• MIL Brice Turang, 2-15 though 0 K and the two hits were a HR and a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The three players with 1,000+ RBI for the Kansas City Royals are:

• 1,596 - George Brett

• 1,012 - Hal McRae

• 1,000 - Salvador Perez

Amos Otis came close with 992 RBI.

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.

• How Blue Jays found 'unicorn' in Kirk while scouting another catcher in Mexico, by Keegan Matheson at MLB, 9/12/2025

• No, this isn't 'Field of Dreams.' It's baseball in Egypt, by Michael Clair at MLB, 9/9/2025

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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