The Baseball Buffet for 9/6/2025

Issue #389

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 163rd day of the season featured a full slate of Friday games:

• WAS 5, CHC 11 - The Cubs jumped on Jake Irvin (3.1 IP, 5 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) for five runs in the bottom of the first. Four Chicago batters hit HR in this one, including Dansby Swanson, Reese McGuire, Nico Hoerner, and Ian Happ, who was 1-2 with 3 walks and four runs on the day. Luis García Jr. hit a HR in the losing effort, and Daylen Lile was 2-4 with 2 triples.

• NYM 5, CIN 4 - The Mets scored three in the top of the first inning, then Mark Vientos hit a solo HR in the third. The score was 5-4 after four innings, and that was all the runs this game would see as both bullpens did well. Edwin Díaz eventually came in for the ninth, struck out two, and locked down his 26th save.

• CHW 7, DET 5 - The White Sox spread out their seven runs across six different innings, getting a solo HR from Andrew Benintendi, his 18th of the year, and a 2-run HR from Colson Montgomery, also his 18th of the year. Dominic Fletcher was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs; Curtis Mead was 2-4 with a double and 2 runs; and Jordan Leasure got the last five outs for his 7th save.

• LAD 1, BAL 2 - Shohei Ohtani did well in a short start (3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and Freddie Freeman hit his 19th HR in the sixth inning to tie the game 1-1. Tanner Scott entered the ninth as the Dodgers seventh pitcher of the game, but gave up a walk-off HR to 21-year old rookie Samuel Basallo, the second homer of his career.

• TOR 7, NYY 1 - The Blue Jays scored four in the first two innings off Yankees’ rookie Cam Schlittler (1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER 2 BB, 2 K), and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo HR in the fifth, his 23rd of the season. He was 4-5 on the day with 3 runs scored, and Bo Bichette was 3-3 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI. Giancarlo Stanton hit a HR for the Yankees only run in the second inning, but Kevin Gausman otherwise did very well (8 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and Braydon Fisher pitched a scoreless ninth.

• PHI 9, MIA 3 - Cristopher Sánchez had another strong outing (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and the Phillies got four HR from Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh, Harrison Bader, and Bryson Stott. Brian Navarreto hit a pinch-hit HR in the losing effort, the first homer of his major league career.

• SEA 1, ATL 4 - This one was a pitchers’ duel as I had suggested it could be, with both Logan Gilbert (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Chris Sale (6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) doing quite well. The Braves scored three in the bottom of the eighth from consecutive hits by Jurickson Profar, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Drake Baldwin. Raisel Iglesias pitched a scoreless ninth for this 24th save.

• CLE 7, TBR 1 - Junior Caminero hit his 41st HR, but Gavin Williams otherwise did well (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K). The Guardians tallied 12 hits overall, and scored five runs to go up early in the second inning. Austin Hedges added a HR later, as Cleveland ended the Rays seven-game winning streak.

• MIN 1, KCR 2 - Pablo López did fairly well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) in his first major league game in a little over three months (June 3rd). But the 2-run HR that Maikel Garcia hit in the third inning is all it took. Michael Wacha pitched well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and five Royals’ relievers kept the Twins off the board the rest of the way, with Carlos Estévez securing his MLB-leading 38th save.

• MIL 5, PIT 2 - Johan Oviedo did well over five innings (5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), but then the Pirates bullpen gave up nine hits in the remaining four innings. Quinn Priester did well against his old team (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and Abner Uribe locked down his 5th save. Brice Turang, William Contreras, and Jake Bauers had two hits each.

• SFG 8, STL 2 - Carson Seymour pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), and the Giants tallied 18 hits on the day. Rafael Devers and Willy Adames got things going with back-to-back HR in the first inning. Jung Hoo Lee was 4-5 with a triple and 2 runs; Patrick Bailey was 3-5; and Dominic Smith was 2-5 with 2 doubles.

• SDP 0, COL 3 - Kyle Freeland was outstanding (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) and Victor Vodnik combined for the shutout, locking down his 7th save. Hunter Goodman led the Rockies offense yesterday by going 3-3 with a HR, a double, a walk, and 2 RBI, while Mickey Moniak was 2-3 with a walk and 2 runs, and Kyle Karros was also 2-3 with a walk.

• HOU 3, TEX 4 - The Rangers took an early 3-1 lead, backed by a 2-run HR by Jake Burger and strong pitching by starter Merrill Kelly (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). Carlos Correa hit a 2-run HR in the eighth to tie the game, and it stayed that way through nine, ten, and even eleven innings. Texas’ reliver Robert Garcia pitched a scoreless top of the 12th, and the Astros brought in Lance McCullers Jr., usually a starter, as their seventh pitcher of the game. With the freebie Manfred Man on second, and another runner on first and no outs, McCullers gave up a walk-off double to Dustin Harris.

• ATH 10, LAA 4 - The Athletics scored two in the top of the first, but then the Angels came right back with four of their own in the bottom of the frame. The A’s continued to do damage against José Soriano (2.1 IP, 6 H, 8 ER, 5 BB, 4 K) in the third, including a 3-run HR by JJ Bleday. LA never scored any more runs after that first inning, as three Athletics’ relievers pitched four scoreless innings, including Michael Kelly who struck out three in the ninth.

• BOS 5, AZ 10 - Boston rookie Payton Tolle struggled in his second major league start (3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K)), giving up homers to Geraldo Perdomo and Ildemaro Vargas. Eduardo Rodriguez did well over six innings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and although Boston got back into the game with four runs in the top of the eighth, Arizona came right back with four in the bottom of the frame. That included a 3-run HR by Corbin Carroll, his 30th of the year.

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 battle in the AL right now is for the last wild card spot, with Seattle leading by just a half-game over Texas, and KC, Tampa, and Cleveland also in the hunt.

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

Today’s Trivia Question

Justin Verlander recently had 10 strikeouts in a game, and did so at 42 years and 192 days old. Can you name the only four other pitchers, since 1901, to have had a 10 K game at that age or older?

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

• CHC RP Ryan Brasier

• SFG RF Jerar Encarnacion

• MIA LF Kyle Stowers

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIL RP Nick Mears - 15-day IL (back tightness)

• MIL SP Nestor Cortes - 15-day IL (left biceps tendinitis)

• MIA 3B Connor Norby - 10-day IL (left quad strain)

• HOU RP Kaleb Ort - 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation)

• DET RP Kyle Finnegan - 15-day IL (right adductor strain)

• BOS RP Jordan Hicks - 15-day IL (right shoulder tendinitis)

• TEX RF Adolis García - 10-day IL (right quad strain)

• MIA CF Derek Hill - 10-day IL (right hamstring strain)

League Leaders

With Paul Skenes’ recent win over the Dodgers, he lowered his ERA below 2.00 on the year:

• 1.98 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 2.18 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 2.34 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 2.50 - MIL Freddy Peralta

• 2.60 - PHI Cristopher Sánchez

• 2.67 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 2.69 - TEX Jacob deGrom

• 2.71 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 2.82 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 2.85 - PHI Nick Pivetta

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 6…

• 1924: Urban Shocker pitches both games of a double-header. “In a major effort, Urban Shocker of the St. Louis Browns pitches two complete games against the Chicago White Sox and wins both with same score, 6-2.”

• 1976: The on-deck circle can be a dangerous place. “Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager is seriously injured when the jagged end of a broken bat strikes him in the throat. Yeager is waiting in the on-deck circle when the end of teammate Bill Russell's bat comes off when he is hitting. The Dodgers beat the Padres‚ 4-1.”

• 1977: Dave Kingman continues his travels. “The Angels acquire slugger Dave Kingman from San Diego for cash considerations. Nine days later, the Yankees will buy Kingman, making him the first player to wear four uniforms in four divisions in the same year. Kingman, who started the season with the Mets, will hit 26 home runs to set the mark for the most by a player with more than two teams.”

• 1982: The Pirates retire Willie Stargell’s uniform number. “Veteran first baseman Willie Stargell, whose uniform number 8 is retired, is saluted by 38,000 fans on his day at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. The 41-year-old slugger delivers a pinch-hit single in the Pirates' 6-1 win over the Mets.”

• 1995: Cal Ripken Jr. breaks Lou Gehrig’s record. “Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive Major League game to surpass Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record that had often been cited as one that would never be broken. When the game becomes official in the middle of the 5th inning, Ripken takes a victory lap around Camden Yards during the 22-minute standing ovation from the sell-out crowd, including President Bill Clinton. In the game, Ripken goes 2 for 4, including a home run, in a 4-2 win over California.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

• Red Faber (1888) is a Hall of Famer who had a 20-year major league career, spanning from 1914-1933, and entirely spent with the Chicago White Sox. He won 20+ games four times, and led the AL with a 2.48 ERA in 1921 and a 2.81 ERA in 1922. Although a member of the White Sox in 1919, he didn’t participate in the Black Sox Scandal (indeed, he was injured and didn’t play in the World Series at all). Overall, Faber had a 254-213 (.544) record, a 3.15 ERA, and a 119 ERA+.

• Derrek Lee (1975) was drafted in the first round (14th overall) in 1993 by the San Diego Padres. He slugged his way through the minors and briefly appeared with the Padres in 1997 before being traded after that season to the Marlins as part of a package for pitcher Kevin Brown. He did well for several years in Miami and then was traded to the Cubs where he played most of the rest of his 15-year career. He hit 20+ in nine seasons, including a high of 46 HR in 2005, which was a career year as he led the NL with a .335 average, 50 doubles, and 199 hits. In addition to his strong hitting, Lee was also a good defensive 1B, winning three NL Gold Glove Awards. Overall, he had 331 HR, 104 SB, a .281/.365/.495 slash line, and a 122 OPS+.

• Thomas “Oyster” Burns (1864) was a 19th-Century star who played 11 years in the majors, spanning from 1884-1895, in both the American Association (Baltimore) and the National League (mostly Brooklyn). He led his league in triples with 19 in 1887, and then later led his league with 13 HR and 128 RBI in 1890. He scored 100+ runs four times, and could steal bases too, with 20+ SB in seven seasons, and a high of 58 SB in 1887. Nicknamed “Oyster” because he sold shellfish during the offseason, Burns overall had 129 triples, 263 SB, a .300/.368/.445 slash line, and a 135 OPS+.

• Vince DiMaggio (1912) had a 10-year major league career, spanning from 1937-1946, spending five years with the Pirates, and his other seasons spread across four other clubs. He was a capable hitter, with five seasons of 15+ HR, including 21 HR with 100 RBI in 1941. He struck out a lot for his era, leading the NL in strikeouts six times. Overall, he had 125 HR, a .249/.324/.413 slash line, and a 108 OPS+. A two-time All-Star, he was the older brother of both Dom DiMaggio and Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio.

Currently active players who were born on September 6 include BOS Dustin May, BOS Romy González, BOS Jordan Hicks, ATH Michael Kelly, BAL Shawn Dubin, and DET Brant Hurter.

Today’s Matchups

Today we have a full slate of Saturday games (15), so there are lots of possibilities. Some games and pitchers that jump out to me are:

• TOR vs. NYY is game two of this important AL East series, with the Blue Jays having taken game one yesterday. Today we have Chris Bassitt (4.10 ERA, 154 K in 156 IP) up against Luis Gil (3.68 ERA, 29 K in 29.1 IP).

• LAD vs. BAL is an interesting pitching matchup, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.82 ERA, 167 K in 146.2 IP) going for the Dodgers, and the Orioles countering with Trevor Rogers (1.39 ERA, 81 K in 90.1 IP) who has been outstanding this year.

• HOU vs. TEX is an important AL West game and features a good pitching matchup in Hunter Brown (2.34 ERA, 182 K in 161.2 IP) and Jacob deGrom (2.69 ERA, 161 K in 150.1 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are MIL Brandon Woodruff, CHC Matthew Boyd, PHI Jesús Luzardo, DET Tarik Skubal, SFG Justin Verlander, MIN Joe Ryan, BOS Lucas Giolito, ATL Hurston Waldrep, and NYM rookie Jonah Tong 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 Trent Grisham, 4-17 with 2 HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• NYY Aaron Judge, 6-21 with 2 HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• MIL William Contreras, 6-21 with 2 HR vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• HOU Victor Caratini, 6-20 with 2 HR and a double vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• TEX Adolis García, 7-21 with 3 HR and a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown

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

• PHI Max Kepler, small sample but is 2-3 with 2 HR vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• STL Nolan Gorman, small sample but is 2-2 with 2 HR vs. SFG Justin Verlander

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 Trea Turner, 15-40 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• PHI Alec Bohm, 11-30 with a triples and 2 doubles vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• MIL Christian Yelich, 8-21 vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• MIL Joey Ortiz, 6-10 with a triple and a double vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• NYY Jasson Domínguez, 6-9 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 4-9 with a HR and a double vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• BOS Nathaniel Lowe, 6-10 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

• PIT Tommy Pham, 5-12 with a HR and a double vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• SFG Matt Chapman, 4-8 with 2 doubles vs. STL Andre Pallante

Who is streaking?

Active hit streaks

• 11 - NYM Brandon Nimmo

• 9 - CHC Ian Happ

• 8 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 8 - BOS Romy Gonzalez

• 8 - CIN Matt McLain

• 8 - PIT Nick Gonzalez

• 8 - CHW Curtis Mead

• 7 - MIN Trevor Larnach

• 7 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 7 - NYM Juan Soto - he is batting .500 (12-24) with 5 HR during this streak

• 7 - PHI Bryson Stott

Active HR streaks

• 2 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 2 - CHW Colson Montgomery

• 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:

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 2-19 with 11 K vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 1-14 with 6 K though the one hit was a HR vs. MIL Brandon Woodruff

• HOU Christian Walker, 0-13 with 7 K vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• TEX Josh Jung, 1-11 with 6 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Josh Smith, 2-15 with 6 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Jonah Heim, 2-16 with 3 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• TEX Wyatt Langford, 1-12 with 2 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• KCR Kyle Isbel, 1-16 with 3 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan

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

• KCR Adam Frazier, 1-13 though only 1 K vs. MIN Joe Ryan

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
 

Today’s Trivia Answer

Justin Verlander, at 42 years and 192 days, recently joined Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan, and Gaylord Perry in having a 10-strikeout game at that age or older.

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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