The Baseball Buffet for 9/15/2025

Issue #398

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 172nd day of the season featured a full slate of Sunday games😀 

• PIT 3, WAS 4 - The Pirates scored three in the top of the first, powered in part by a 2-RBI triple by Nick Gonzalez. The Nationals came right back with three runs in the bottom of the second, and then finally broke the tie with a run in the bottom of the eighth when Daylen Lile hit a double that drove in James Wood. Washington then brought in Clayton Better for the ninth, and he struck out three to earn his first save on the season.

• KCR 10, PHI 3 - Noah Cameron allowed HR to both Kyle Schwarber (his 52nd of the year) and J.T. Realmuto in the first inning, but then settled in and did well through seven innings (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Aaron Nola started out well for several innings, but then let up homers to Jac Caglianone and Salvador Perez, ultimately giving up six runs over his six innings of work (6 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The Royals tallied 12 hits overall, with Bobby Witt Jr. going 2-5 with a HR, a triple, and 2 runs, and Vinnie Pasquantino going 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 runs.

• HOU 3, ATL 8 - This one was tied 2-2 through four innings, but then the Braves scored three more as Framber Valdez couldn’t get any outs in the fifth (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K). Atlanta continued scoring in the sixth and seventh, and Raisel Iglesias struck out two in the ninth to close out the game.

• BAL 2, TOR 11 - Coby Mayo hit a HR, but Shane Bieber otherwise did well over six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Colton Cowser hit his 14th HR of the year in the seventh, but Toronto had already scored five and added six more in the bottom of seventh. The Jays tallied 14 hits overall, with George Springer 3-5 with a HR and 2 doubles; Alejandro Kirk was 3-4; Daulton Varsho was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs; and Ernie Clement was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI.

• TEX 2, NYM 5 - The Mets finally broke their 8-game losing streak, and in so doing ended the Rangers’ 6-game winning streak. New York’s rookie Nolan McLean was outstanding again (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), while Texas’ Jacob Latz did fairly well in a short start (4.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K). Brandon Nimmo hit his 23rd HR in the sixth inning, which put the Mets up 2-0. But the Rangers quickly tied the game in the seventh, and it stayed knotted through nine. Ryne Stanek pitched a scoreless top of the tenth, and then Pete Alonso hit his 34th HR of the season, a walk-off 3-run HR in the bottom of the tenth.

• CHW 2, CLE 3 - Slade Cecconi didn’t do as well as his recent near no-hitter, but he didn’t do poorly in this one (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), giving up a HR to Chase Meidroth in the fifth inning. The game was tied 2-2 when Guardians’ catcher Bo Naylor hit a solo HR in the bottom of the seventh. Cleveland’s bullpen kept the White Sox from scoring, including Cade Smith striking out two in the ninth for his 15th save.

• DET 2, MIA 0 - Keider Montero tossed five strong innings (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and three Detroit relievers combined for the shutout, including Will Vest who notched his 21st save. The only runs came in the second inning with two outs when Colt Keith reached on a fielding error by 1B Eric Wagaman. Additional errors on the same play by Maximo Acosta and Troy Johnston not only allowed Spencer Torkelson to score, but let Keith advance all the way to third. Dillon Dingler then singled to drive in Keith, and those two unearned runs for Adam Mazur (6 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) was all it took in this one.

• AZ 6, MIN 4 - Minnesota starter Bailey Ober struck out 9 in 6 innings (6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 9 K), but also let up 4 runs including a 3-run HR to James McCann. Nabil Crismatt did well over five innings (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), and while the Twins got solo homers from Matt Wallner and Mickey Gasper, D-Backs’ relievers Ryan Thompson and Kyle Backhus closed out the game in the ninth.

• STL 3, MIL 2 - The Cardinals scored three runs in the second inning, and then St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) gave up solo HR to Caleb Durbin and Danny Jansen in the fourth and fifth. But that was all the scoring there would be as both bullpens did well, with Riley O’Brien striking out two in the ninth for his 4th save.

• TBR 3, CHC 4 - Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero hit back-to-back games to lead off the game, but then Shota Imanaga recovered and struck out 9 over 5 innings of work (5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). Adrian Houser pitched well (6 IP, 7 H 2, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), finally giving up a HR to Ian Happ in the sixth. But then down 3-2, the Cubs came back in the bottom of the seventh with Nico Hoerner hitting a 2-run double. Andrew Kittredge then shut the door in the ninth by striking out three for his 5th save.

• CIN 4, ATH 7 - The Reds scored early, with a solo HR by Noelvi Marte in the first, and a 2-run HR by Will Benson in the second. But the Athletics finally got to Nick Lodolo in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings (5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), including homers by Jacob Wilson, Colby Thomas, and Nick Kurtz, his 32nd of the year. Brent Rooker hit a 2-run HR in the seventh, his 29th of the season, and Michael Kelly pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the year.

• LAD 10, SFG 2 - Tyler Glasnow walked four batters, but otherwise did well (6.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), while the Dodgers got five runs off Giants’ starter Robbie Ray (4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K). LA kept on hitting and tallied 18 hits overall, though all were singles except for doubles by Freddie Freeman (3-6) and Mookie Betts (3-4 with a walk). Kiké Hernández went 4-6 with 2 runs; Tommy Edman was 2-5 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; and Michael Conforto was 3-4 with 3 RBI.

• COL 6, SDP 9 - Colorado’s Mickey Moniak had a big day, going 4-4 with 2 HR and 5 RBI. But the Padres scored seven runs early off Germán Márquez (2.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K), including a 3-run HR by Jackson Merrill. Fernando Tatis Jr. was 3-4 with a walk and 3 runs, while Jake Cronenworth, José Iglesias, and Freddy Fermin collected two hits apiece. Both Mason Miller and Robert Suarez struck out three batters to close out the game, with Suarez earning his 38th save.

• LAA 2, SEA 11 - George Kirby was dominating, striking out 14 over 6.1 innings (6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 14 K), though he did give up solo homers to Christian Moore and Oswald Peraza. The Mariners' batsmen tallied 16 hits overall, including 10 off Angels’ starter Kyle Hendricks (3.1 IP, 10 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Cal Raleigh was 2-4 with a walk and his MLB-leading 54th HR. Julio Rodríguez went 2-3 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 2 RBI; Jorge Polanco was 3-5 with 3 doubles and 2 runs; and Dominic Canzone was 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI.

• NYY 4, BOS 6 - The Red Sox jumped on Will Warren for six runs in the bottom of the first, and even though he did well after that (5 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), the damage was done. Garrett Crochet struck out 12 in 6 innings (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 12 K), extending his MLB lead in that category. He did allow a 2-run HR to Amed Rosario, and a solo HR to Aaron Judge, his 48th of the season. And José Caballero added a solo HR in the seventh, but then Garrett Whitlock struck out three in the eighth, and Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth for his 30th save.

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:

• It has been quite a while since we’ve seen a change atop any of the six divisions, but with the Mariners’ win and the Astros’ loss yesterday, the tie in the AL West is broken and Seattle is now in the lead (and riding a 9-game winning streak).

• Current Wild Card Leaders: In the AL it is NYY/BOS/HOU; in the NL it is CHC/SDP/NYM.

Today’s Trivia Question

Juan Soto recently joined the 40+ HR / 30+ SB club. There have been 16 such seasons in major league history, with three players having accomplished the feat twice. Can you name them?
 

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 RP Freddy Tarnok

🤕 Placed on the IL

• ATL RF Jake Fraley - 10-day IL (strained right oblique muscle)

• BAL RP Shawn Dubin - 15-day IL (right elbow discomfort)

• WAS RP Cole Henry - 15-day IL (back strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• PIT RP Yohan Ramírez

League Leaders

We are in the final stretch, so it seems the batting titles will go to Aaron Judge and Trea Turner. Jacob Wilson could make a run in the AL, and if Turner comes back from the IL and does poorly in a few tune up games before the postseason, I suppose he could lose out to someone else.

• .326 - NYY Aaron Judge*

• .318 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .311 - TOR Bo Bichette

• .305 - PHI Trea Turner*

• .304 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• .303 - TOR George Springer

• .299 - CHC Nico Hoerner

• .297 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• .296 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• .295 - MIL Sal Frelick

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 15…

• 1901: The White Stockings have five triples in a single inning. “In the second of two games with Milwaukee, the White Stockings hit a major-league record five triples in the 8th inning. Their total of six in the game is an American League record not duplicated until September 17, 1920. Chicago wins, 9-4, after taking the opener, 5-4, and hitting four triples.”

• 1938: The Waner brothers hit back-to-back HR. “Brothers Lloyd and Paul Waner of the Pirates hit consecutive homers off Cliff Melton in the 5th inning at the Polo Grounds. Pirates P Jim Tobin puts Mel Ott in the record book, hitting him with a pitch three times. Tobin wins 7-2. The Waners' feat marks the first time in major league history that brothers have gone deep back-to-back; the next time will come on April 23, 2013, courtesy of B.J. and Justin Upton of the Atlanta Braves.”

• 1946: Josh Gibson hits his final HR. “In the first game at Griffith Stadium, Josh Gibson hits a home run into temporary bleachers that shorten the left-field fence, helping the Homestead Grays beat the New York Cubans, 8-3, to sweep a season-ending Negro League doubleheader. It is Gibson's last career homer. After a few more games, the Grays will close out their season, and Gibson will die from a reported stroke four months later.”

• 1950: Johnny Mize hits three HR for a record sixth time. “For a major league-record sixth time, Johnny Mize hits three home runs in one game, but the Yankees lose, 9 - 7, at Detroit. Mize matches Babe Ruth's mark of doing it in both leagues, but the Babe only had two three-homer games. With the victory, the Tigers recapture first place from New York.”

• 1960: Willie Mays hits three triples. “Giants superstar Willie Mays ties a major league mark by hitting three triples in an 8-6 victory over the Phillies.”

• 1969: Steve Carlton strikes out 19… but loses. “Steve Carlton of the Cardinals fans a major league-record 19 batters and still loses. Ron Swoboda hits a pair of two-run home runs, and New York beats St. Louis, 4-3.”

• 1998: Ken Griffey Jr. becomes fourth-youngest to reach 1,000 RBI. “Ken Griffey, Jr. hits homer #52 and drives in the 1,000th run of his career in the Mariners' 12-7 win over the Twins. He becomes the fourth-youngest player in history to reach the RBI milestone, after Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig. Junior hit his 52nd on this date last year.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Gaylord Perry (1938)

• Hall of Famer

• 22-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1962-1983

• Spent 10 years with the Giants, and the rest of his time spread across the Indians, Rangers, and five other clubs

• Won 20+ games five times, including leading the NL with a 23-13 record in 1970, leading the AL with a 24-16 record in 1972, and then leading the NL again with a 21-6 record in 1978

• Won the AL Cy Young Award in 1972, and NL Cy Young Award in 1978, becoming the first to win in both leagues

• Five-time All-Star

• Posted 200+ K in eight seasons, and his 3,534 career strikeouts currently rank 8th all-time

• Overall had a 314-265 (.542) record, 3.11 ERA, and 117 ERA+

Rap Dixon (1902)

• 12-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1924-1937

• Primarily an outfielder, and according to the data available at baseball-reference.com, Dixon had his best season in 1928 when he led his league in hits, HR, triples, RBI, SB, and walks, while providing a .398/.478/.701 slash line over 60 games

• Overall, for his career he had a .336/.415/.554 slash line and 150 OPS+ in 1,770 plate appearances

Frank Linzy (1940)

• 11-year major league career as a relief pitcher, spanning from 1963-1974, primarily with the Giants

• Posted 20 saves and a 1.43 ERA in his first full season in 1965, then had 17 saves and a 1.51 ERA in 1967

• Overall had 110 saves, a 2.85 ERA, and a 124 ERA+

Currently active players who were born on September 15 include SFG Tyler Fitzgerald, TBR Forrest Whitley, ATL Wander Suero, BOS Justin Slaten, and ATL Daysbel Hernández.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a partial slate of Monday games (9), as some teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• TOR vs. TBR features the major league debut of 22-year old Trey Yesavage, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Toronto Blue Jays’ number one prospect (and 25th overall). He was Toronto’s number one pick (20th overall) in last year’s draft. This year he has climbed up through four levels of the minors, and overall has posted a 3.12 ERA over 98 innings, giving up only 54 hits while striking out 160. (As of the time of this writing, the starter for Tampa hasn’t been announced.)

• TEX vs. HOU is the start of an important 3-game AL West series, with Jack Leiter (3.81 ERA, 130 K in 132.1 IP) taking on Jason Alexander (4.19 ERA, 55 K in 66.2 IP).

• PHI vs. LAD is a battle between two playoff-bound NL clubs, and features Ranger Suárez (2.77 ERA, 140 K in 143 IP) vs. Emmet Sheehan (3.32 ERA, 69 K in 59.2 IP) who has been outstanding in two of his last three starts.

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:

• SFG Patrick Bailey, 4-11 with 2 HR and a double vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• LAD Mookie Betts, 4-9 with 2 HR and a double vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• WAS Luis García Jr., 6-15 with 2 HR and a double vs. ATL Spencer Strider

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:

• CIN Miguel Andujar, small sample but is 5-6 with a triple vs. STL Matthew Liberatore

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 5-13 with 2 doubles vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

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:

• MIN Ryan Jeffers, 2-12 with 6 K though one hit was a HR vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• PIT Oneil Cruz, 0-13 with 5 K vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• SFG Matt Chapman, 1-13 with 3 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• SFG Heliot Ramos, 1-10 with 2 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The three players who have each twice had 40+ HR / 30+ SB seasons are:

• Barry Bonds (1996, 1997)

• Jeff Bagwell (1997, 1999)

• Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019, 2023)

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.

• 5 Baseball Cards that Couldn't Exist (Now), at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 9/14/2025

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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