The Baseball Buffet for 9/18/2025

Issue #401

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 175th day of the season featured a full slate of Wednesday games:

• CHC 8, PIT 4 - The Cubs scored four in the top of the first, including back-to-back HR by Ian Happ and Moisés Ballesteros. The Pirates came back with three in the bottom of the frame, all from a 3-run HR by Joey Bart. Pittsburgh scored again in the second to tie the game 4-4, but then four Chicago relievers kept the Bucs off the board the rest of the game, as they were only 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 guys on base overall. The Cubs meanwhile scored four more later, with Nico Hoerner going 2-4 with 3 runs, and Justin Turner going 2-2 with 2 RBI. With this win the Cubs have secured a playoff spot.

• CIN 6, STL 2 - Alec Burleson hit a HR in the first inning, and later added a double, but Brady Singer (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) didn’t seem to have much trouble with many other Cardinals’ hitters. Three Reds’ relievers didn’t allow any runs the rest of the way either, while Spencer Steer went 3-4 with a HR and 5 RBI; Gavin Lux was 3-5 with a run; and Sal Stewart was 1-2 with a double and 2 walks.

• BAL 3, CHW 1 - Michael Tauchman hit a HR in the fourth inning, but Tyler Wells did well over six (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Three Orioles’ relievers threw scoreless innings, with Keegan Akin picking up his 7th save. On offense, Dylan Beavers hit a 2-run HR and Gunnar Henderson was 2-5 with three stolen bases, with Baltimore players stealing a total of seven on the day.

• SFG 5, AZ 1 - This one was a pitchers’ duel between Justin Verlander (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and Brandon Pfaadt (9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). The game was scoreless through nine and then ten innings, and finally in the top of the 11th the Giants rallied for five runs (four earned) off D-Backs’ reliever John Curtiss. Joel Peguero, who had pitched the 10th already, came back out for the 11th and let up a run but got the win.

• ATL 9, WAS 4 - Braves’ rookie starter Hurston Waldrep struck out 8 in 5 innings, but also allowed the first three runs of the game in the fifth inning. The Braves scored nine over the last four innings, including Matt Olson going 3-5 and hitting his 28th HR of the year. Overall Atlanta had 16 hits, with Ronald Acuña Jr. was 3-5 with 2 runs; Drake Baldwin 2-5 with a double and 2 runs; and Marcell Ozuna 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI.

• CLE 4, DET 0 - Gavin Williams was outstanding over five innings (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) and five Cleveland relievers combined for a four-hit shutout. The Tigers gifted the Guardians with eight walks, and so even though Cleveland left 11 guys on base, they managed to win their sixth in a row in their hunt for a wild card spot.

• ATH 4, BOS 5 - Rob Refsnyder hit a HR in the second to give Boston an early 2-1 lead, but then the Athletics scored three in the top of the fifth. The Red Sox scored one in both the bottom of the fifth and the sixth, and that tied the game at 4-4 and eventually led to extra innings. The A’s threatened in the tenth, but Zach Kelly and Chris Murphy kept them from scoring. In the bottom of the frame, with one out and runners on second and third, Nick Sogard hit an infield grounder and Nate Eaton beat the throw home for the win.

• TOR 1, TBR 2 - Both starters did well in this one: Kevin Gausman (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and Ian Seymour (7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). The game was tied through six, but then the Rays took the lead in the bottom of the seventh from an RBI single by Chandler Simpson (3-4 on the day with two doubles) that drove in Carson Williams. Two Tampa relievers kept the Jays off the board with Pete Fairbanks earning his 27th save.

• SDP 7, NYM 4 - The Mets hit three HR off Nick Pivetta (4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), all solo homers by Pete Alonso, Starling Marte, and Juan Soto. The Padres scored a couple of runs early, and then Manny Machado hit a grand slam in the fifth off David Peterson (5 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K). Mason Miller and Robert Suarez kept the Mets off the board at the end, with Suarez collecting his 39th save.

• SEA 5, KCR 7 - Salvador Perez hit a 3-run HR in the bottom of the first, his 29th of the season. Cole Ragans didn’t go very deep (3.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) in his first major league start in over three months, giving up a 2-run HR to Eugenio Suárez. J.P. Crawford hit a go-ahead solo HR in the top of the eighth, but then Kansas City came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame, including a 2-run HR by Adam Frazier. Carlos Estévez let up three hits and a run in the ninth but then locked down his 40th save of the season.

• NYY 10, MIN 5 - Luis Gil let up nine hits in less than five innings (4.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), but then the Yankees’ bullpen came through by keeping the Twins off the board the rest of the game. New York’s batsmen meanwhile tagged Taj Bradley for eight hits in four innings (4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), including 2 HR by Trent Grisham. Aaron Judge went 3-4 with a double and 2 runs; Cody Bellinger was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI; and Paul Goldschmidt was 2-4 with a double and a walk.

• LAA 2, MIL 9 - The Brewers scored five in the bottom of the second, including a 3-run HR by Sal Frelick. Brandon Woodruff struck out 9 in 5 innings (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K), and Blake Perkins went 2-4 with a triple and 5 RBI. Taylor Ward had a good game for the Halos, going 3-4 with 2 solo HR, but that was all the scoring they could muster.

• TEX 2, HOU 5 - Jacob deGrom (5 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) let up homers to Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña, while Cristian Javier did fairly well over six innings (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Three Astros’ relievers kept the Rangers from scoring, with Bryan King securing his 2nd save.

• MIA 8, COL 4 - This one was knotted in a 3-3 tie after five innings, but then the Marlins kept scoring and got runs in each of the remaining frames. Rookie Augustín Ramírez hit a 2-run HR in the eighth, his 21st of the season. Mickey Moniak hit his 23rd HR of the year in the bottom of the ninth, but it wouldn’t be enough.

• PHI 0, LAD 5 - Jesús Luzardo gave up four runs over his seven innings (7 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), including Freddie Freeman’s 21st HR and Shohei Ohtani’s 51st. Blake Snell was outstanding, striking out 12 in 7 innings (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K). Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott each threw an inning and combined for the 3-hit shutout.

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 and Mariners flipped in the AL West, with the Mariners winning streak ending, and Houston winning against the Rangers (who are now five games out, and 4.5 games behind in the Wild Card hunt).

• Cleveland won its sixth in a row, and so the Guardians are now just 2.5 games behind both the Red Sox and Mariners for a wild card spot.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

How well have you been paying attention this year to big pitcher strikeout games? On 9/14 George Kirby had 14 strikeouts. Can you name the three pitchers who had 14+ K in a game prior to that this season?

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 a Rehab Assignment

• BAL C Adley Rutschman

• LAA 1B Nolan Schanuel

• TEX CF Sam Haggerty

🤕 Placed on the IL

• STL 1B Willson Contreras - 10-day IL (right shoulder strain)

• MIL SP Jose Quintana - 15-day IL (left calf strain)

League Leaders

The leader in runs scored has been well determined for a while now it seems, with Shohei Ohtani up by 22 in the NL and Aaron Judge up by 23 in the AL:

• 137 - LAD Shohei Ohtani*

• 127 - NYY Aaron Judge*

• 115 - NYM Juan Soto

• 106 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 105 - NYM Francisco Lindor

• 104 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 104 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• 103 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 100 - SEA Julio Rodríguez

• 100 - TOR George Springer

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 18…

• 1922: George Sisler’s 41-game hitting streak ends. “George Sisler's 41-game hitting streak is stopped by New York's Joe Bush, the same pitcher he had started the streak against on July 27th.”

• 1968: Ray Washburn throws a no-hitter. “Sixteen hours after Gaylord Perry's feat, Ray Washburn of the Cards makes major league history by hurling a second consecutive no-hitter in one park. Run-scoring hits by Mike Shannon and Curt Flood at Candlestick Park down the Giants, 2-0.”

• 1984: Tim Raines is the first to steal 70+ bases in four consecutive seasons. “Tim Raines becomes the first player in major league history with four consecutive seasons of 70 or more stolen bases by swiping four in Montreal's 7-4 win over St. Louis.”

• 1984: The Tigers clinch the AL East, the fourth team to stay in first place all year. “The Tigers clinch the American League East championship with a 3 - 0 win over the Brewers as starter Randy O'Neal records his first major league win. Detroit becomes the fourth team this century to be in first place every day of the season, joining the 1923 Giants, the 1927 Yankees, and the 1955 Dodgers.”

• 1986: Reggie Jackson hits three HR at over 40 years old. “For the second time in his career, Reggie Jackson belts three homers in a game in an 18-3 Angels laugher over Kansas City. At the age of 40 years, four months, Reggie joins Stan Musial and Babe Ruth as the only players to accomplish the feat after turning 40. Reggie scores four times and has seven RBIs.”

• 1987: Darrell Evans hits 30 HR at over 40 years old. “In Detroit's 7-6 win over the Brewers, Darrell Evans belts his 30th homer of the year. He is the first 40-year-old to hit 30 homers in a season.”

• 1996 Roger Clemens strikes out 20 batters… again. “Boston's Roger Clemens fans 20 Detroit Tigers, without walking a single batter, to tie his record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game. The Rocket holds the Tigers to four hits en route to a 4-0 shutout.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Ryne Sandberg (1959)

• Hall of Famer

• Drafted by the Phillies in the 20th round in 1978, but after a brief stint in Philadelphia in 1981, was traded to the Cubs along with veteran Larry Bowa for Iván de Jesús

• Played 15 years with with the Cubs, and was an All-Star ten consecutive seasons, from 1984-1993

• 9-time Gold Glove Award winner at 2B

• Won the NL MVP Award in 1984 after leading the NL with 114 runs and 19 triples, to go with 19 HR, 84 RBI, 32 SB, and a .314 average

• Scored 100+ runs seven times and had 100 RBI twice

• Hit 25+ HR five times, including an NL-leading 40 in 1990.

• Stole 25+ SB seven times, with a high of 54 in 1985

• Overall, had 282 HR, 344 SB, 1,318 runs, a .285/.344/.452 slash line, and a 114 OPS+

George Uhle (1898)

• 17-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1919-1936, mostly with the Indians and Tigers

• Three 20+ win seasons, including leading the AL in wins with a 26-16 record in 1923 and a 27-11 record in 1926

• Was a capable batsman for a pitcher, with a .289 career average and 9 HR, 21 triples, and 60 doubles in 1,360 AB (because of this, he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter)

• Overall, Uhle had a 200-166 (.546) record, 3.99 ERA, and 106 ERA+

Heinie Groh (1889)

• 16-year major league career, spanning from 1912-1927, primarily as a 3B for the Reds and Giants

• Led the NL with 182 hits and 39 doubles in 1917, and then led the league with 86 runs and 28 doubles in 1918

• Very little power, with only 26 HR in 7,040 career plate appearances

• Had four seasons with 20+ SB

• Overall, had 180 SB, a .292/.373/.384 slash line, and a 118 OPS+

Harvey Haddix (1925)

• 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1952-1965, mostly with the Cardinals and Pirates

• Three-time All-Star early in his career, including when he was 20-9 with a 3.06 ERA in 1953, his first full season in the majors

• Won three consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards from 1958-1960

• Famously pitched 12 perfect innings for the Pirates on May 26, 1959, but the Pirates lost the game to the Braves in the 13th inning

• Overall, had a 136-113 (.546) record, 3.63 ERA, and 108 ERA+

Sam Bankhead (1910)

• 15-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1932-1948, playing for six different clubs.

• Also played two full seasons in the Mexican League from 1940-41

• All-Star in eight seasons

• According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, was a capable hitter with some speed on the bases, but very little HR power

• Overall, had a .285/.355/.374 slash line

Currently active players who were born on September 18 include BOS Ceddanne Rafaela, STL Andre Pallante, HOU Jon Singleton, and CHC Spencer Turnbull.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a partial slate of Thursday games (10), as some teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• CLE vs. DET has the hot Guardians trying to earn a wild card spot facing a tough matchup with Tarik Skubal (2.26 ERA, 224 K in 183.1 IP) throwing for the Tigers. Cleveland will counter with Tanner Bibee (4.44 ERA, 149 K in 170.1 IP).

• SFG vs. LAD has a nice pitching matchup in Logan Webb (3.34 ERA, 206 K in 188.2 IP) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.66 ERA, 187 K in 162.1 IP). Note below though for the many Dodgers’ hitters who have a good history against Webb.

Also on the bump today are SEA Luis Castillo, CIN Hunter Greene, MIL Quinn Priester, and NYY Max Fried.

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:

• TBR Brandon Lowe, 10-17 with 4 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Chris Bassitt… only one walk, so maybe just intentionally walk him?

• LAD Max Muncy, 9-32 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 7-19 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• LAD Mookie Betts, 16-42 (.381) with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• CHC Seiya Suzuki, 7-15 with 2 HR, a triple, and 2 doubles vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• ATH JJ Bleday, small sample but is 2-7 with 2 HR vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• NYY Aaron Judge, small sample but is 2-2 with 2 HR vs. BAL Cade Povich

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:

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 17-46 (.370) with a HR and 3 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, 7-19 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• CLE Steven Kwan, 5-13 vs. DET Tarik Skubal

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 5-13 with a HR vs. TBR Shane Baz

• ATH Shea Langeliers, small sample but is 4-7 with a HR and a double vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• CIN Tyler Stephenson, small sample but is 4-6 vs. CHC Javier Assad (if pitching, TBD)

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:

• CHC Ian Happ, 2-15 with 8 K though the two hits were a HR and a double vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• CHC Dansby Swanson, 0-11 with 6 K vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 1-13 with 2 K vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• MIL Andrew Vaughn, 1-12 though only 1 K vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• TOR George Springer, 1-10 with 3 K vs. TBR Shane Baz

• CIN TJ Friedl, 1-11 with 4 K vs. CHC Javier Assad (if pitching, TBD)

• TBR Yandy Díaz, 2-14 with 4 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• BAL Dylan Carlson, 1-10 with 5 K vs. NYY Max Fried

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Here are the 14+ strikeout games so far this year:

• SEA George Kirby - September 14 vs. LAA

• ATL Grant Holmes - June 15th, vs. COL

• SEA George Kirby - June 8th, vs. LAA

• MIA Max Meyer - April 21 vs. CIN

Both of Kirby's 14 K games were against the Angels.

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.

• In a season full of new stars, these 11 shone brightest, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 9/17/2025

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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