The Baseball Buffet for 9/19/2025

Issue #402

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 176th day of the season featured a partial slate of Thursday games:

• CLE 3, DET 1 - The Tigers scored first with a run in the bottom of the second, and then Cleveland’s Jhonkensy Noel hit a HR to tie the game in the fourth. Tarik Skubal otherwise did well (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), but then José Ramírez hit a 2-run HR in the 7th, his 29th of the year. Three Cleveland relievers pitched scoreless innings, with Hunter Gaddis earning his 3rd save.

• SDP 1, NYM 6 - Mets’ 22-year old rookie Jonah Tong did well in five innings of work (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and four New York relievers pitched scoreless innings the rest of the way. Pete Alonso hit a solo HR in the first inning, and then Brandon Nimmo connected for a 3-run HR in the third. Juan Soto went 2-4 with a double and his 33rd SB of the season.

• TOR 0, TBR 4 - Shane Baz pitched five solid innings (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) and four Tampa relievers pitched scoreless innings to combine for a 4-hit shutout. The Rays scored three in the second inning, and then rookie Carson Williams added a solo HR in the sixth.

• ATH 5, BOS 3 - The A’s scored three in the top of the first, including Brent Rooker hitting a 2-run HR, his 30th of the season. David Hamilton hit a HR in the bottom of the second, but J.T. Ginn otherwise did pretty well over six innings (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). Trevor Story went 2-4 with a HR off Hogan Harris in the eighth inning, but it wouldn’t be enough as Harris came back in the ninth and locked down his 4th save.

• SEA 2, KCR 0 - Luis Castillo was great through six innings (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), and three Mariners’ relievers combined for a five-hit shutout, with Andrés Muñoz striking out three in the ninth for his 36th save. Royals’ starter Stephen Kolek pitched a good game (7.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), but the two runs he allowed (one earned) is all it took.

• MIA 9, COL 7 - Blaine Crim hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the second, but then Liam Hicks and Otto Lopez hit back-to-back HR in the top of the third. Yanquiel Fernández then hit a HR in bottom of the seventh, but the Rockies were still down 6-3 as Sandy Alcantara had done pretty well overall in this one (6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). Pinch hitter Heriberto Hernández hit a 2-run HR in the ninth to give the Marlins a 9-3 lead. Valente Bellozo really struggled in the bottom of the ninth, giving up homers to Mickey Moniak and to Crim, his second of the contest. The Rockies scored four, but it wasn’t enough as Calvin Faucher came in and got the final out for his 14th save.

• CHC 0, CIN 1 - Hunter Greene had a no-hitter going into the seventh, but Seiya Suzuki finally broke it up with a double. Greene finished the one-hit shutout, striking out nine (9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K). Colin Rea also had a good game, striking out 11 in 7 innings (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 11 K), but the one run he allowed was all it would take.

• NYY 7, BAL 0 - Max Fried was outstanding (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K), and Paul Blackburn pitched two scoreless innings to combine for the 3-hit shutout. Paul Goldschmidt was 2-5 with 2 runs; Giancarlo Stanton was 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI; and Amed Rosario was 1-2 with a double and 2 RBI.

• LAA 2, MIL 5 - Luis Rengifo hit a 2-run HR in the fifth inning, but Quinn Priester otherwise did very well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K). Three Milwaukee relievers kept the Angels off the board the rest of the way, with Jared Koenig notching his 2nd save. This one was 2-2 until the Brewers collected a series of hits and scored three in the bottom of the seventh to pull away.

• SFG 1, LAD 2 - Yoshinobu Yamamoto was a bit wild, walking six but only allowing one hit in 5.1 innings (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 BB, 7 K). Logan Webb pitched a good game as well (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). Shohei Ohtani went 2-4 with 2 doubles and a run scored.

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 won and the Astros were idle, so the two teams are now tied atop the AL West.

• Cleveland won its seventh in a row, and coupled with a Red Sox loss they are now only 1.5 games behind in the wild card race.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

Cal Raleigh’s incredible season has included 10 multi-HR games. He is one of nine players who has had 10 multi-HR games in a season. Can you name any of the three players who hold the record by having 11 multi-HR games in a 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

• KCR SP/RP Bailey Falter

• MIN C Christian Vazquez

• MIA CF Derek Hill

• DET RP Kyle Finnegan

🤕 Placed on the IL

• KCR CF Kyle Isbel - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• KCR SP Ryan Bergert - 15-day IL (right elbow strain)

• NYM RP Reed Garrett - 15-day IL (right elbow sprain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• NYM SP Sean Manaea

League Leaders

We are now up to a dozen guys with 100+ RBI this year:

• 128 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 121 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 118 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 111 - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 108 - TBR Junior Caminero

• 108 - DET Riley Greene

• 104 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 104 - SFG Rafael Devers

• 104 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 100 - NYM Juan Soto

• 100 - LAA Taylor Ward

• 100 - MIL Christian Yelich

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 19…

• 1929: Joe Sewell sets record for not striking out. “Joe Sewell sets a major league record by playing in his 115th consecutive game without striking out. The Indians third baseman will be fanned only four times in 578 at-bats this season.”

• 1955: Ernie Banks hits his fifth grand slam of the year. “Cubs infielder Ernie Banks hits his fifth grand slam of the season to establish a new major league mark, but Rip Repulski's 12th-inning homer off Jim Davis proves to be the difference as the Cardinals beat Chicago, 6-5.”

• 1972: White Sox and A’s set record for the most players used. “In a 15-inning contest with Chicago, the A's set an extra-inning record by using 30 players, including six second basemen and ten pinch-hitters. Together the two clubs use 51 players, another record. Oakland still loses, 8-7.”

• 1982: Orlando Mercado hits a grand slam for his first major league hit. “Mariners rookie Orlando Mercado becomes the third player to hit a grand slam for his first major league hit. Bill Duggleby (1898 - first at-bat) and Bobby Bonds (1968 - third at-bat) were the other two players to accomplish the feat.”

• 1983: Joe Morgan has a big game on his 40th birthday. “Phillies 2B Joe Morgan celebrates his 40th birthday by going 4 for 5 with two home runs in a 7-6 win over the Cubs. He will go 4 for 5 again tomorrow in an 8-5 win over the Cubs. He's the second player to celebrate his 40th birthday with a dinger: Bob Thurman was the first, in 1957.”

• 1986: Joe Cowley throws a no-hitter. “White Sox pitcher Joe Cowley, who had been demoted to the minors earlier in the season, pitches an ugly no-hitter against the Angels. Cowley walks seven batters and allows a sacrifice fly as Chicago wins, 7-1. For Cowley, this win is his high note, as he won't record another big league victory, going 0-4 with the Phils in 1987.”

• 1997: Matt Williams was very sneaky. “Matt Williams must have an honest face, because he pulls the hidden ball trick for the third time, nabbing rookie Jed Hansen, in the Indians' 6-2 win over the Royals in the second game of a doubleheader. Williams uses the same ploy in all three instances. He asks the runner if he would step away from the bag so that he can brush off the dirt. The runners comply, and Williams slaps the tag on. The Royals win the opener, 10-3.”

• 1998: A-Rod joins the 40/40 club. “Mariners SS Alex Rodriguez hits his 40th home run of the season, off Jack McDowell of the Angels, to become the third player in history to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season. Jose Canseco and Barry Bonds are the others. The Mariners lose the game, however, 5-3.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Joe Morgan (1943)

• Hall of Famer

• 22-year major league career, spanning from 1963-1984, mostly with the Astros and Reds

• Considered one of the greatest 2B of all time

• Ten-time All-Star, and winner of five Gold Glove Awards

• NL MVP in 1975 with 17 HR, 94 RBI, 67 SB, 132 BB, .327 average, and .466 OBP; also NL MVP the next season with 27 HR, 111 RBI, 60 SB, 114 BB, .320 average, .444 OBP

• 40+ SB in nine consecutive seasons

• Overall had 268 HR, 689 SB, 1,650 runs, 2,517 hits, .271/.392/.427 slash line, 132 OPS+

Duke Snider (1926)

• Hall of Famer

• 18-year major league career, spanning from 1947-1964, mostly as a CF with the Dodgers

• Eight-time All-Star

• Hit 20+ HR ten times, and 40+ HR in five consecutive seasons

• Led the NL in runs with 132 in 1953, 120 in 1954, and 126 in 1955; also led NL with 136 RBI in 1955

• Hit 11 HR in 36 World Series games, include 4 in 1952 and 4 in 1955

• Overall had 407 HR, 1,259 runs, 1,333 RBI, .295/.380/.540 slash line, 140 OPS+

Randy Myers (1962)

• 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1985-1998, mostly as a reliever for the Mets, Reds, and Cubs

• Four-time All-Star

• Had ten seasons with 20+ saves; led the NL three times with 53 SV in 1993, 38 SV in 1995, and 45 SV in 1997

• Was NLCS MVP in 1990 after posting three saves as the Reds topped the Pirates four games to two

• Overall had 347 saves, 884 K in 884.2 IP, 3.19 ERA, and 123 ERA+

George Springer (1989)

• First-round (11th overall) draft pick by the Astros in 2011

• So far has a 12-year major league career, spanning from 2014-2025, as a CF/RF with Houston and Toronto

• Four-time All-Star

• Has three 100+ run seasons, nine 20+ HR seasons

• Was World Series MVP in 2017 after going 11-29 with 5 HR and 3 doubles

• So far has 290 HR, 118 SB, .266/.352/.476 slash line, 127 OPS+

Jim Abbott (1967)

• First-round (8th overall) draft pick by the Angels in 1988

• 10-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1989-1999

• Came in third in the AL Cy Young Award vote in 1991 after going 18-11 with a 2.89 ERA

• Threw a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1993

• Also famous for being very successful despite being born without a right hand

• Overall had an 87-108 record, 4.25 ERA, and 99 ERA+

In addition to George Springer, other currently active players who were born on September 19 include SEA Luke Raley, MIL DL Hall, LAA Sam Aldegheri, and PHI Seth Johnson.

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:

• BOS vs. TBR features two good pitchers in Garrett Crochet (2.63 ERA, 240 K in 191.1 IP) and Drew Rasmussen (2.74 ERA, 122 K in 144.2 IP).

• SEA vs. HOU is the start of big AL West series as these two teams are tied atop the AL West. Game one features two good pitchers in Bryan Woo (3.02 ERA, 191 K in 181.2 IP) and Hunter Brown (2.27 ERA, 192 K in 174.1 IP).

• MIL vs. STL is an interesting pitching matchup between rookie Jacob Misiorowski (4.35 ERA, 81 K in 60 IP) and veteran Sonny Gray (4.43 ERA, 187 K in 168.2 IP).

• SFG vs. LAD is a matchup of veterans, with Robbie Ray (3.50 ERA, 181 K in 177.2 IP) taking on Clayton Kershaw (3.53 ERA, 71 K in 102 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are CHC Shota Imanaga, BAL Trevor Rogers, TOR Max Scherzer, SDP Dylan Cease, and MIN Pablo López.

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, 14-57 with 5 HR, a triple, and 4 doubles vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, 5-13 with 2 HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• LAD Miguel Rojas, 6-18 with 2 HR and a double vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• KCR Salvador Perez, 12-34 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Max Scherzer

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:

• CLE José Ramírez, 9-22 with a triple and a double vs. MIN Pablo López

• CLE Steven Kwan, 7-17 with a double vs. MIN Pablo López

• CHC Ian Happ, 7-20 with a HR and 4 doubles vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

• CHC Nico Hoerner, 6-16 with a double vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

• CHC Seiya Suzuki, 5-14 with 3 doubles (and 8 walks) vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

• MIL Brice Turang, 6-15 with a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 5-10 with a HR and a double vs. ATH Luis Severino

• HOU Christian Walker, small sample but is 4-8 with a HR and a double vs. SEA Bryan Woo

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:

• SEA Luke Raley, 0-11 with 7 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 1-13 with 5 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• CHW Michael A. Taylor, 1-18 with 7 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• CHC Dansby Swanson, 2-14 with 7 K though the two hits were a HR and a double vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

• KCR Randal Grichuk, 2-16 with 7 K vs. TOR Max Scherzer

• MIL Sal Frelick, 2-14 with 4 K with STL Sonny Gray

• PIT Jack Suwinski, 1-11 with 2 K though the hit was a HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Cal Raleigh has had 10 multi-HR games this year, and so is one shy of the record of 11 which has been accomplished by these three players:

• Hank Greenberg (1938, Tigers)

• Sammy Sosa (1998, Cubs)

• Aaron Judge (2022, Yankees)

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.

• All-time legend Kershaw will retire after this season, by Sonja Chen at MLB, 9/18/2025

• ERA Remembers Kershaw, by Joe Posnanski at JoeBlogs, 9/18/2025

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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