The Baseball Buffet for 9/5/2025

Issue #388

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 162nd day of the season featured a short slate of Thursday games:

• PHI 2, MIL 0 - The Phillies won this series two games to one, with Ranger Suárez throwing six solid innings (6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and three relievers combining for the shutout including Jhoan Duran securing his 26th save. Freddy Peralta did well per usual (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), but Philadelphia scored a run in the seventh and ninth innings for the win. Of note, Peralta is currently riding a 29-inning scoreless streak.

• CLE 2, TBR 4 - Ryan Pepiot pitched five no-hit innings (5 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and then three Rays’ relievers continued the shutout. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth and gave up consecutive HR to José Ramírez and Kyle Manzardo, but that wouldn’t be enough as Tampa four runs off Cleveland starter Logan Allen (5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). This was the Rays seventh win in a row.

• LAA 3, KCR 4 - Luis Rengifo hit a 3-run HR in the top of the first, but that was all the scoring the Angels could muster. Noah Cameron settled in after that (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 BB, 5 K), and three Royal’s relievers pitched four scoreless innings, with Carlos Estévez striking out two in the ninth for his 37th save. Kansas City scored runs in four different innings, all via solo HR by Adam Frazier, Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Bobby Witt Jr.

• LAD 3, PIT 5 - Paul Skenes was outstanding against the always challenging Dodgers lineup (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), lowering his MLB-leading ERA to 1.98. LA finally scored three in the top of the ninth, including Mookie Betts hitting his 15th HR of the year, but that wasn’t enough as the scrappy Pirates had scored five earlier off Dodgers’ starter Blake Snell (5 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K).

• CHW 11, MIN 8 - Each team had 15 hits, and 2 HR. The Twins built a 7-4 lead through six innings, but then the White Sox scored five in the seventh, and added two more in the ninth. For Minnesota, Luke Keaschall was 4-5 with two runs; Trevor Larnach and Austin Martin had three hits apiece; and Kody Clemens and Matt Wallner hit the homers. For Chicago, Kyle Teel was 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 4 RBI; Colson Montgomery was 1-2 with a HR, a walk, 3 runs, and 3 RBI; and Chase Meidroth was 4-5 with a double.

• NYY 8, HOU 4 - The Astros outhit the Yankees 10-9, but they were only 1-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 guys on base. Yordan Alvarez was 4-5 with HR and a double early, but Yankees starter Carlos Rodón otherwise did pretty well (6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). Trent Grisham was 2-5 with a 3-run HR, his 30th of the year, and Ryan McMahon went 3-4 with a HR and 3 RBI.

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:

• Only six games yesterday, so not much movement here. The Rays won their 7th in a row, so are now only two games behind Seattle for the final AL wild card spot.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Trent Grisham hit his 30th HR of the year yesterday. As such, he is the 7th Yankees’ CF to have 30+ HR in a season (defined as a season in which the player spent 50% or more of their games in CF). How many of the other six Yankees’ CF who have had 30+ HR seasons can you name (some players of course did it more than once)?

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

• NYM RP Reed Garrett

• NYY RP Brent Headrick

• DET RP Paul Sewald

• HOU RF Pedro León

• CHC SP Jameson Taillon

• LAD 3B Max Muncy

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW RP Bryan Hudson - 15-day IL (lower back strain)

• TEX RP Danny Coulombe - 15-day IL (left shoulder fatigue)

• CLE RP Nic Enright - 15-day IL (right elbow/forearm inflammation)

• KCR SP Seth Lugo - 15-day IL (low back strain)

League Leaders

Wrapping up this four-part series about strikeout and walk ratio leaders so far this year, here are the guys with the lowest walks as a % of plate appearances (must have enough plate appearances to qualify for percentage leaderboards):

• 2.5% - ATL Michael Harris II

• 3.6% - CHW Lenyn Sosa

• 4.0% - HOU Yainer Diaz

• 4.2% - KCR Salvador Perez

• 4.3% - TOR Ernie Clement

• 4.3% - BOS Ceddanne Rafaela

• 4.4% - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 4.6% - SDP Luis Arráez

• 4.7% - TOR Ty France

• 4.9% - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 4.9% - LAD Teoscar Hernández

• 4.9% - LAD Andy Pages

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 5…

• 1908: Nap Rucker throws a no-hitter. “At Brooklyn's Washington Park, Nap Rucker of the Superbas strikes out 14 Doves en route to no-hitting Boston, 6-0.”

• 1921: Walter Johnson sets new career strikeout record. “Walter Johnson breaks Cy Young's career strikeout mark by fanning seven Yankees to run his total to 2,287.”

• 1969: Billy Williams did all he could. “Billy Williams has all four of Chicago's hits, as the Cubs lose a 9-2 decision to Steve Blass and the Pirates. There's nothing cheap about Billy's hits - two doubles and two homers - as he sets a National League record for most hits in a game with no other hits, tying the major-league record of Kid Elberfeld (August 1, 1903). Blass helps his own cause with his only major league homer, a three-run blast, off Ken Holtzman, and three singles. The win is Pittsburgh's first at Wrigley Field since July 5, 1968, a string of 13 losses. They'll win the next two to sweep the series and drop the Cubs lead to two and a half games.’

• 1971: J.R Richards has 15 K in debut. “Astros pitcher J.R. Richard makes his major league debut, striking out 15 Giants in a 5-3 win.”

• 1975: Expos and Pirates use 15 pinch hitters in a double-header. “Montreal and Pittsburgh use a major-league record 15 pinch hitters in their doubleheader split. The Expos take the opener, 4-3 in ten innings, and Pittsburgh wins the nitecap, 5-2, behind Jim Rooker.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Nap Lajoie (1874) is a Hall of Famer who had a 21-year major league career, spanning from 1896-1916, and spent primarily as a 2B with the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians. Of note, his last name was pronounced Lah-ZHWA or LAJ-way, and his team in Cleveland at times was known as the “Napoleans” or “Naps” in deference to their best player, and from 1905-1909, their player-manager. Lajoie was an outstanding hitter, leading his league in hits four times, doubles five times, and RBI three times. He won five batting titles, including in 1901 when he paced the new American League in several categories including a .426 average, 145 runs, 232 hits, 48 doubles, 14 HR, and 125 RBI. Overall, Lajoie had 3,243 hits, 1,504 runs, 1,599 RBI, 657 doubles, 380 SB, a .338/.380/.466 slash line, and a 150 OPS+.

• Bill Mazeroski (1936) is a Hall of Famer who had a 17-year major league career, spanning from 1956-1972, and spent entirely with the Pirates. Considered one of the greatest defensive 2B of all-time, Mazeroski won 8 NL Gold Glove Awards, is fifth all-time in assists as a 2B, and first in double-plays as a 2B. An All-Star in seven seasons, he had a little pop hitting 10+ HR in six seasons. Mazeroski famously hit the winning HR in the bottom of the ninth of game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Overall, he had 138 HR, 853 RBI, and a .260 average.

• Max Bishop (1899) had a 12-year major league career spanning from 1924-1935, mostly with the Philadelphia Athletics. Another good 2B born on this date, Bishop didn’t have much power or speed on the bases. But he had a good eye at the plate and was walked 100+ times in eight consecutive seasons, including leading the AL with 128 walks in 1929. As a result he scored 100+ runs four times, and frequently had an OBP well above .400. Overall, Bishop had 966 runs, a .271/.423/.366 slash line, and a 103 OPS+.

• Al Orth (1872) had a 15-year major league pitching career that like Lajoie spanned the turning of the century (1895-1909). He mostly played with the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Highlanders, with two 20+ win seasons, including in 1906 when he led the AL in wins with a 27-17 record. He was also a capable batsman as a pitcher, with a .273 average in 1,698 AB. Overall, Orth had a 204-189 record and a career 3.37 ERA.

• Lefty Leifield (1883) had a 12-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1905-1920, with a four year gap from 1914-1917 when he was in the minors. His first eight seasons were with the Pirates, for whom he won 15+ games in six consecutive seasons. Overall, Leifield had a 124-97 (.561) record, 2.47 ERA, and a 115 ERA+.

• Jeff Brantley (1963) had a 14-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1988-2001, and mostly as a reliever for the Giants and Reds. He was an All-Star for the Giants in 1990 when he posted a 1.56 ERA with 19 saves. He had 28 saves for the Reds in 1995, and then led the NL with 44 saves in 1996. Overall, Brantley had 172 saves, a 3.39 ERA, and a 115 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on September 5 include BOS Jarren Duran, CLE Steven Kwan, SFG Randy Rodríguez, and CIN Blake Dunn.

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:

• NYM vs. CIN features two pitchers having pretty good seasons in David Peterson (3.61 ERA, 136 K in 152 IP) and Andrew Abbott (2.65 ERA, 125 K in 139 IP).

• TOR vs. NYY is game one of an important AL East series, with Kevin Gausman (3.75 ERA, 157 K in 160.2 IP) up against rookie Cam Schlittler (2.61 ERA, 54 K in 48.1 IP).

• SEA vs. ATL is an interesting pitching matchup with Logan Gilbert (3.73 ERA, 144 K in 103.2 IP) facing Chris Sale (2.45 ERA, 123 K in 95.1 IP).

Also on the bump today are LAD Tyler Glasnow, PHI Cristopher Sánchez, CLE Gavin Williams, TEX Merrill Kelly, and BOS Payton Tolle making his second major league start.

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:

• NYY Aaron Judge, 16-45 (.356) with 6 HR and 3 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY Giancarlo Stanton, 8-27, with 3 HR and a double vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY Amed Rosario, 4-14 with 2 HR vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• TEX Adolis García, 7-21 with 3 HR and a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• BOS Alex Bregman, 8-27 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodríguez

• ATH Lawrence Butler, 5-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. LAA José Soriano

• ATH Shea Langeliers, 5-10 with 2 HR and a double vs. LAA José Soriano

• TEX Jake Burger, small sample but is 5-7 with 2 HR vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• COL Orlando Arcia, 7-11 with 2 HR and a double vs. SDP Nick Pivetta (if pitching, TBD)

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:

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 10-19 with a HR and a double vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY José Caballero, small sample but is 5-7 with 2 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• ATH Brent Rooker, 6-12 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. LAA José Soriano

• BOS Trevor Story, 5-10 with 2 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 5-9 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. LAD Tyler Glasnow

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 10 - NYM Brandon Nimmo

• 8 - CHC Ian Happ

• 8 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 7 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 7 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 7 - BAL Jackson Holliday

• 7 - MIN Byron Buxton

• 7 - CIN Matt McLain

• 7 - PIT Nick Gonzalez

• 7 - CHW Curtis Mead

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 Anthony Volpe, 3-24 with 10 K though the three hits have been a HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 2-22 with 9 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY Jazz Chisholm Jr., 0-10 with 3 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• CHW Lenyn Sosa, 0-10 with 3 K vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• SEA Eugenio Suárez, 0-12 with 9 K vs. ATL Chris Sales…yikes!

• TEX Josh Jung, 1-11 with 6 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• TEX Josh Smith, 2-15 with 6 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• TEX Jonah Heim, 2-16 with 3 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• TEX Wyatt Langford, 1-12 with 2 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown (if pitching, TBD)

• ATL Jurickson Profar, 0-9 with 4 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• ATL Ha-Seong Kim, 0-10 with 4 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• KCR Kyle Isbel, 1-16 with 3 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan (if pitching, TBD)

• KCR Vinnie Pasquantino, 2-16 with 4 K though one hit was a HR vs. MIN Joe Ryan (if pitching, TBD)

• KCR Adam Frazier, 1-13 though only 1 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan (if pitching, TBD)

• MIL Christian Yelich, 1-9 with 3 K vs. PIT Johan Oviedo

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

The Yankees’ CF who have had 30+ HR in a season are:

• 9 seasons - Mickey Mantle

• 7 - Joe DiMaggio

• 2 - Aaron Judge

• 2 - Curtis Granderson

• 1 - Bobby Murcer

• 1 - Bernie Williams

• 1 - Trent Grisham

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.

• These 5 teams could spoil someone’s September, by Theo DeRosa at MLB, 9/4/2025

• Stats of the Week: Witt joins elite company, vintage Verlander and more!, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 9/4/2025

• Tomorrow's MLBers won’t be career one-position players, by Mark Kolier at Almost Cooperstown, 9/5/2025

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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