The Baseball Buffet for 9/4/2025

Issue #387

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 161st day of the season featured a full slate of Wednesday games:

• MIA 5, WAS 10 - The Nationals jumped on Eury Pérez early (4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), including HR by Brady House and Nasim Nuñez, his first in the majors. The Marlins came back with four runs in the top of the fifth, including a 2-run HR by Joey Wiemer. But the Nats kept swarming, with Nuñez hitting his second HR of the day, going 3-4 with 4 RBI in all.

• NYM 2, DET 6 - Casey Mize did well over five innings (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), and Detroit scored two in the fifth, followed by Kerry Carpenter hitting a 3-run HR in the seventh. Colt Keith was 2-3 with a walk and 2 runs, and Zach McKinstry was 2-4 with a double.

• TEX 0, AZ 2 - The Rangers outhit the Diamondbacks 5-3, but were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base overall. Zac Gallen pitched well through six (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and four Arizona relievers combined for the shutout. Meanwhile, Jack Leiter did pretty well also (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), but the two runs he allowed is all it took.

• BAL 7, SDP 5 - The Orioles pounded Nestor Cortes (2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) with a HR by Jackson Holliday in the first inning, and then back-to-back-to-back HR in the third inning by Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo, and Alex Jackson. Cade Povich did well until the sixth inning (5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), including giving up a 2-run HR to Manny Machado. Fernando Tatis Jr. added a solo HR in the seventh, but it wouldn’t be enough as Yennier Cano eventually came in and struck out two in the ninth for his 2nd save of the year. Although in a losing effort, Padres’ reliever Mason Miller, acquired at the trade deadline from the Athletics, threw an immaculate inning in the eighth: nine pitches, three strikeouts… and all were sliders.

• CLE 8, BOS 1 - Opener Brennan Bernardino couldn’t get out of the first inning, and Jordan Hicks struggled even more giving up a 2-run HR to Gabriel Arias. Backed by an early 7-0 lead, Joey Cantillo pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). Steven Kwan was 3-5 with a double and 2 runs; Bo Naylor was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs; and C.J. Kayfus was 2-3 with 2 doubles.

• LAD 0, PIT 3 - The Pirates took a second straight game from the Dodgers, this time relying on two 3-inning outings from rookies Braxton Ashcraft (3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) and Mike Burrows (3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). Three Pittsburgh relievers then pitched scoreless innings to combine for the five-hit shutout, with Dennis Santana earning his 13th save. Bryan Reynolds hit his 15th HR, and Andrew McCutchen hit his 13th, with Joey Bart going 3-3 with a double and an RBI.

• SEA 4, TBR 9 - The Rays scored four in the first, and four in the second, getting 10 hits (no HR) off George Kirby (2 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 0 BB, 1 K). The Mariners came back with four runs in the sixth, including a 3-run HR by Julio Rodríguez, but their bats were silenced again after that. Yandy Díaz was 5-5 with a double; Junior Caminero was 2-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; and both Chandler Simpson and Jake Mangum were 3-5 on the day.

• ATL 5, CHC 1 - Cubs rookie Cade Horton didn’t allow any hits through five innings (5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), but came out after having thrown 75 pitches. Ben Brown struck out three in the sixth, but then he and Drew Pomeranz got into trouble in the seventh, allowing four runs to cross. Atlanta starter Bryce Elder pitched seven strong innings (7 IP, 4 H 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), and the Braves got homers by newly acquired infielder Ha-Seong Kim and also Ozzie Albies, his 15th of the year.

• TOR 13, CIN 9 - Toronto beat Cincinnati 12-9 on Tuesday, and they came up with one more run this time for a 13-9 win. The Reds scored five in the second inning off Shane Bieber (6 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), but then Toronto started scoring in the third and didn’t stop, putting up at least one in every remaining inning. The onslaught involved 18 hits in all, with George Springer 2-4 with a HR and 3 runs; Addison Barger 2-4 with a HR and 4 RBI; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2-4 with a HR and a double; Daulton Varsho 3-5 with a HR, 2 runs, and 2 RBI; Alejandro Kirk 2-5 with a HR and a double; and Ty France 3-4 with 2 RBI. Every starter in the Jays’ lineup had two or more hits, except Bo Bichette who entered the game with the highest batting average of the bunch… but inexplicably went 0-5.

• PHI 3, MIL 6 - The Phillies outhit the Brewers 9-6, but were 1-8 with runners in scoring position and left 8 guys on base overall. Milwaukee scored five in the bottom of the first, including a 3-run HR by Isaac Collins, as Aaron Nola continues to struggle this year (5 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Brice Turang was 2-3 with a triple, a double, and a walk, and Jared Koenig pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the year.

• ATH 1, STL 5 - The Athletics outhit the Cardinals 9-7, but were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners. Their lone run came from a solo HR by Nick Kurtz in the eighth, his 28th of the year. For St. Louis, Willson Contreras went 3-4 with a double and 4 RBI, and Nolan Gorman was 3-3 with his 14th HR of the year. Matthew Liberatore was solid (5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and JoJo Romero closed things down with a five-out save, his 7th of the year.

• LAA 4, KCR 3 - The Royals scored first with two runs off 21-year old Caden Dana in the bottom of the third. Having recently been called back up, Dana otherwise pitched pretty well (5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Royals’ starter Ryan Bergert also did well through five innings (5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but then Jo Adell hit a 3-run HR in the sixth. Reid Detmers struck out two in the ninth for his 3rd save of the year. It is worth noting that the 26-year old Adell, while only batting .242 with 128 strikeouts, now has 33 HR and 90 RBI and seems to be at least somewhat making good on the prospect hype from a few years ago.

• CHW 4, MIN 3 - The Twins outhit the White Sox 11-6, but were 2-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 guys on base overall. Zebby Matthews did well through six innings (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), Ryan Jeffers went 3-5, and Byron Buxton was 2-5 with a triple and a double. Minnesota was up 3-1 through eight, but then Kody Funderburk and Justin Topa allowed three hits and three runs in the top of the ninth, while White Sox reliever Jordan Leasure pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his 6th save.

• NYY 7, HOU 8 - The Yankees had a 3-0 lead through four innings, thanks to a solo HR by Giancarlo Stanton and a 2-run HR by Austin Wells. But the Astros countered including a HR by Jeremy Peña and the game was tied 4-4 through seven. Devin Williams struggled mightily in the eighth (0.2 IP, 1 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), and while Cody Bellinger hit a 3-run HR in the top of the ninth, it wasn’t quite enough.

• SFG 10, COL 8 - The Giants established a 4-0 lead through three innings, including a solo HR by Matt Chapman. The Rockies finally got on the board in the fourth, and then drove Robbie Ray out of the game in the fifth (4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). San Francisco came right back with four in the sixth, including Chapman hitting a 3-run HR this time. Drew Gilbert his a solo homer in the seventh, and while Colorado came back with three more runs in the bottom of the ninth, it wouldn’t be enough.

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:

• All three AL division leaders won, and those chasing them lost, giving a bit more cushion in each case.

• The exception I guess is the Rays, who won their 6th in a row and have entered the ring along with the Guardians, Royals, and Rangers who are pushing the Mariners for the last AL Wild Card spot.

• Similarly, the Giants have won four in a row, and 10 of their last 11… giving them a longshot chance to catch the Mets for the last NL Wild Card.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

The Rays’ young star Junior Caminero turned 22 less than two months ago. He just hit his 40th HR, becoming the second player in franchise history to do so (Carlos Peña had 46 in 2007). Who are the only three players to reach 40 HR in a season at a younger age than Caminero just did?

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

• CIN C Tyler Stephenson

• LAD RP Alex Vesia

• BAL RP Scott Blewett

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIL RP Shelby Miller - 60-day IL (right elbow UCL sprain)

• BOS RF Roman Anthony - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• PHI RP Daniel Rbert - 15-day IL (right forearm strain)

• HOU SP Spencer Arrighetti - 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation)

League Leaders

Continuing my check-in strikeout and walk ratio leaders so far this year, here are the guys with the highest strikeouts as a % of plate appearances (must have enough plate appearances to qualify for percentage leaderboards):

• 31.6% - NYY Ryan McMahon

• 31.5% - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 31.2% - WAS James Wood

• 31.1% - LAA Mike Trout

• 30.6% - DET Riley Greene

• 29.1% - COL Jordan Beck

• 28.6% - ATL Austin Riley

• 28.5% - ATH Lawrence Butler

• 28.3% - SEA Eugenio Suárez

• 27.9% - BOS Trevor Story

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 4…

• 1916: Christy Mathewson and Mordecai Brown have their final matchup. “Reds player-manager Christy Mathewson, pitching his only game not in a Giant uniform, beats his long-time nemesis Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown and the Cubs, 10-8, in the second game of a twinbill, in what is the final career game for both pitching greats. Matty takes a 10-5 lead into the 9th, but wanting to match Brown's complete game feat, hangs on to record the final three outs in spite of three runs scoring in the bottom of the 9th. In the 25 contests in which the two legends have faced one another, Matty, by winning the last decision, takes a 13-12 advantage over his rival.”

• 1923: Sam Jones throws a no-hitter… with no strikeouts. “Yankee Sam Jones no-hits the Athletics, 2-0, beating Bob Hasty. Babe Ruth makes the only strikeout of the game as he slips a point behind Detroit's Harry Heilmann in the batting race. Not till Ken Holtzman's no-hitter in 1969 will another pitcher record a no-hitter with no strikeouts.”

• 1945: A 22-year gap between major league pitching performances. “Long-time Yankee batting practice pitcher Paul Schreiber, who last pitched in the majors in 1923 and the minors in 1931, relieves for the Yankees against Detroit in a Tiger rout. Schreiber gives up no hits in 3 1/3 innings, but the Tigers' Dizzy Trout wins, 10-0.”

• 1993: Jim Abbott throws a no-hitter. “Yankees P Jim Abbott tosses a no-hitter against the Indians, defeating them by a score of 4-0.”

• 1995: Robin Ventura hits two grand slams. “Robin Ventura becomes the eighth player to hit two grand slams in one game, helping the White Sox to beat the Rangers, 14-3.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Mike Piazza (1968) is a Hall of Famer who had a 16-year major league career, spanning from 1992-2007, mostly with the Dodgers and Mets. One of the greatest hitting catchers of all time, Piazza was NL Rookie of the Year in 1993 after hitting 35 HR with 112 RBI and a .318 average. He hit 30+ HR in nine seasons, and had 100+ RBI six times. He was also a high-average hitter, batting over .300 in nine consecutive seasons with a high of .362 in 1997. A 12-time All-Star, he proved you never know where top talent will surface from, as he rather infamously was drafted in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft. Overall, Piazza had 427 HR, 1,335 RBI, a .308/.377/.545 slash line, and a 143 OPS+.

• Frank White (1950) had an 18-year major league career as a 2B, spanning from 1973-1990, and entirely with the Kansas City Royals. He had some speed in early his career, with 20+ SB in three seasons (and 19 SB in another). He developed more power later, with 15+ HR each year from 1984-1987. A five-time All-Star, White was outstanding defensively, earning eight AL Gold Glove Awards. Overall, he had 2,006 hits, 160 HR, 178 RBI, and a .255 average.

• Ken Harrelson (1941) had a 9-year major league playing career, spanning from 1963-1971, splitting his time between OF and 1B. He played for the Kansas City Athletics the most, but also spent time with Cleveland, Boston, and Washington. He hit 20+ HR three times, including a high of 35 in 1968 when he led the AL with 108 RBI and came in third in the AL MVP voting during the “Year of the Pitcher.” Nicknamed “The Hawk” due to his distinctive profile, Harrelson overall had 131 HR, a .239/.325/.414 slash line, and a 110 OPS+. Harrelson has been cited, along with Rusty Staub, as being an early user of batting gloves in the 1960s, something that became very common by the late 1970s. After his playing days Harrelson had a 30+ year career as a baseball broadcaster, mostly for the Chicago White Sox. He became known for several catch phrases, such as “You can put it on the board! Yes!” and “He gone!”, amongst many others.

• Doyle Alexander (1950) had a 19-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1971-1989, and spread across eight different clubs. He won 17 games three times, and won 14 games another three times. As a journeyman pitcher, Alexander was traded many times, but the most famous move came in August 1987 when he was dealt by the Braves to the Tigers for young prospect John Smoltz. Alexander was outstanding for Detroit the rest of that season, going 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA, even if Atlanta came out ahead in the long term since Smoltz went on to be a Hall of Famer. Overall, Alexander had a 194-174 (.527) record, 3.76 ERA, and a 103 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on September 4 include TOR Andrés Giménez, DET Kyle Finnegan, and MIL Garrett Mitchell.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a short slate of Thursday games (6), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• LAD vs. PIT is an interesting pitching matchup between two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (2.41 ERA, 38 K in 37.1 IP) and the frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award this year, Paul Skenes (2.05 ERA, 187 K in 167 IP).

• PHI vs. MIL is the final game of this important series between division leaders, with Ranger Suárez (3.02 ERA, 124 K in 131 IP) up against Freddy Peralta (2.58 ERA, 168 K in 153.2 IP).

• NYY vs. HOU is the final game of this series as well, with Carlos Rodón (3.18 ERA, 177 K in 164.1 IP) versus Cristian Javier making his fifth start of the year (3.38 ERA, 16 K in 16 IP).

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:

• MIL William Contreras, 9-22 with 3 HR and a double vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 3-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• PHI Bryce Harper, 3-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIL Freddy Peralta (oddly… he’s had those three extra-base hits, but then also 10 strikeouts!)

• KCR Adam Frazier, 13-34 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. LAA Kyle Hendricks

• CHW Colson Montgomery, small sample but is 2-4 with 2 HR vs. MIN Taj Bradley

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:

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 7-19 with HR and 4 doubles vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• LAD Andy Pages, small sample but is 4-4 with a HR and a 2 doubles vs. PIT Paul Skenes

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, small sample but is 4-8 with a HR and a double vs. PIT Paul Skenes

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 11 - MIL Andruw Monasterio

• 10 - NYM Brandon Nimmo

• 8 - CHC Ian Happ

• 7 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 7 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 7 - BAL Jackson Holliday

• 7 - MIN Byron Buxton

• 7 - CIN Matt McLain

• 7 - TBR Brandon Lowe

Active HR streaks

• 3 - LAA Jo Adell

• 3 - TOR Daulton Varsho

• 2 - ATL Ozzie Albies

• 2 - SFG Drew Gilbert

• 2 - SEA Julio Rodríguez

• 2 - TOR George Springer

• 2 - PHI Weston Wilson

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:

• NYY Aaron Judge, 0-15 with 8 K vs. HOU Cristian Javier… yikes!

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 0-12 with 3 K vs. LAD Blake Snell

• PHI Trea Turner, 1-13 with 3 K though the hit was a HR vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• KCR Mike Yastrzemski, 2-16 with 4 K though with a HR and a double vs. LAA Kyle Hendricks

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The only three players who reached 40 HR in a season at a younger age than Junior Caminero are Mel Ott in 1929, Eddie Matthews in 1953, and Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2019. That is pretty good company Caminero is in!

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.

• 1 player from each team with lots to prove down the stretch, by MLB writers, 9/3/2025

• Predicting each club's top prospect in 2027, by Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo at MLB, 9/3/2025

• What Happened to Pitching?, by Bill Pruden at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 9/4/2025

• Welcome to Meatball Watch 2025, by Ben Clemens at FanGraphs, 9/3/2025

• Can One Game or Hot Stretch Swing a Rookie of the Year Race?, by Kiri Oler at FanGraphs, 9/2/2025

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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