The Baseball Buffet for 4/2/2025

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Issue #232

What follows is a new feature for 2025 at Now Taking the Field. 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! Let me know what you think of each issue… leave a comment on the post or send me an email at [email protected].

⚾ The season has begun! ⚾

The sixth day of the season included a a nearly full slate of 13 games:

• TEX 1, CIN 0 - Wyatt Langford hit a solo HR in the first inning, but then it was all pitching the rest of the way. Nathan Eovaldi pitched the first complete game of the season (9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8 K), and the Reds used four pitchers in a 4-hit losing effort.

• NYM 2, MIA 4 - Brandon Nimmo homered and Kodai Senga had 8 K in 5 IP, but the Marlins brought their record to a surprising 4-2 with Kyle Stowers hitting his first HR of the year and ace Sandy Alcantara doing well (5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 K).

• WAS 3, TOR 5 - The Jays smacked 12 hits (all singles) and José Berríos pitched well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 8 K) giving Toronto a 4-2 record to start the year.

• PIT 0, TBR 7 - Pirates 23-year old prospect Thomas Harrington struggled in his debut (4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), while 25-year old Shane Baz was outstanding (6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). Brandon Lowe went 3-4 and had his second HR of the year.

• AZ 7, NYY 5 - Corbin Carroll had his first HR of the year, but it was Eugenio Suarez and his grand slam (5th HR of the year) in the top of the 8th that led the D-Backs to victory. Corbin Burnes had 8 K in 4.1 IP in his AZ debut, while the Yankees continued to belt homers in the losing effort (Jasson Dominguez, Anthony Volpe, Ben Rice).

• KCR 0, MIL 5 - Brewers win the first game of the year backed by HR from Christian Yelich and catcher Eric Haase and a 5-pitcher combined shut out.

• MIN 8, CHW 3 - The White Sox were leading 3-0 through five, , but then the Twins scored five in the 6th and three more in the 9th. Harrison Bader had a HR for the Twins, and Nick Maton had one for the White Sox.

• LAA 9, STL 7 - Veteran SP Kyle Hendricks pitched well in his Angels debut (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 K) but the game was 3-3 and went into extras, where both teams scored 3 in the 10th, and then the Angels tacked on another 3 in the 11th.

• SFG 3, HOU 1 - Minimal offense in this one, and even though the Astros outhit the Giants 7-4, Logan Webb pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and Tyler Rogers and Ryan Walker locked down the win in relief.

• CLE 0, SDP 7 - Michael King was outstanding (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 11 K) and then four relievers kept the Guardians hitless the rest of the way. The Padres spread their seven runs across five innings, with Jackson Merrill hitting his first HR of the year.

• DET 4, SEA 1 - Riley Greene went 2-4 with a HR and a double, and Casey Mize (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K) and three relievers combined to one-hit the Mariners. Logan Gilbert struck out 10 in 5 IP, but letting up 3 ER was enough to get the loss.

• CHC 7, ATH 4 - Four HR were hit early in Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, two by the Cubs (Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki) and two by the A’s (Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers). But the Cubs came out on top as Justin Steele and their relievers locked things down after the 3rd inning.

• ATL 1, LAD 3 - Chris Sale was doing well until the 6th inning when Mookie Betts hit his third HR of the year. Dustin May was outstanding (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6K), answering questions about their fifth rotation spot until Shohei Ohtani returns as a pitcher.

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).

👋🏻 Retirement

• 13-year veteran SP Lance Lynn announced his retirement. He pitched last year with the Cardinals, one of six teams he played with during his career. A two-time All-Star, he has a 143-99 record, 3.74 ERA, and 111 ERA+.

🖊️ Free Agent Signing

• NYY RP Adam Ottavino

➕ Starting Rehab Assignment

• LAA SS Zach Neto

• MIA SP Edward Cabrera

• CIN SP Andrew Abbott

• MIL RP Nick Mears

• ATL C Sean Murphy

• BOS SP Brayan Bello

• CHW OF Mike Tauchman

⬇️ Sent Down

• PIT RP David Bednar - optioned to AAA

• SEA SP Emerson Hancock - optioned to AAA

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• NYY RP Devin Williams

• SEA 2B Jorge Polanco

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history (for a longer list, see the feature at the Baseball Almanac or the Bullpen feature at Baseball-Reference.com):

📅 On April 2…

• 1972: Hall of Famer Gil Hodges dies from a heart attack two days shy of his 48th birthday. An 8-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove Winner, 1B Gil Hodges played all but his final two seasons for the Dodgers. He posted 100+ RBI in seven consecutive seasons, and hit 25+ HR nine times. He retired with 370 HR, a .273/.359/.487 slash line, and a 120 OPS+. After he was done playing he became manager of the Washington Senators from 1963-67 before taking the helm of the NY Mets. In 1969 he managed the World Series champion “Miracle Mets,” one of the great stories in baseball history. It took a long time, but he was finally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

• 1997: One player paid more than an entire team. According to baseball-reference.com, “For the first time in Major League Baseball history, the salary of one player is more than the payroll of an entire team. The Chicago White Sox will pay Albert Belle $10 million for the season which is $928,333 more than the entire Pittsburgh Pirates payroll.”

• 1998: Ellis Burks homered everywhere. According to baseball-reference.com, “By hitting a home run in Colorado's 6-4 victory over Arizona at Bank One Ballpark, Ellis Burks sets a major league record by having homered in 33 different stadiums.”

• 2003: Todd Zeile homered for the most teams. According to baseball-reference.com, “Todd Zeile hits a home run in his first at-bat for the New York Yankees, becoming the only major leaguer to hit a home run for ten different teams. In addition to homering with the Yankees, Zeile had also gone deep for the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins, Rangers, Mets, and Rockies. He will add the Montreal Expos to the list before the end of the year.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Don Sutton (1945) is a Hall of Famer with a career 3.26 ERA but that translated to only a 108 ERA+. A 4-time All-Star, he had a 324-256 W-L record, and won 15+ games in 12 seasons—but never won 20 or more.

• Luke Appling (1907) is a Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the White Sox. He was a high average hitter with almost no power, batting .310 with a .399 OBP but only 45 HR in 10,254 plate appearances. A seven-time All-Star, he got at least some MVP consideration in 11 seasons.

• Hughie Jennings (1869) is a Hall of Famer from the 1800s. His prime seasons came in 1894-1898, a span where he slashed .361/.449/.474, including a .401 average in 1896. He stole 248 bases and scored between 125-159 runs in each of those five seasons. He was a manager of the Tigers from 1907-1920, leading them to the AL pennant from 1907-1909, plus an impressive 100-54 second-place finish in 1915.

• Reggie Smith (1945) played in 17 seasons, mostly with the Red Sox and Dodgers, hitting 20+ HR eight times, and retiring with a .287/.366/.489 slash line and impressive 137 OPS+. A seven-time All-Star, he took home a Gold Glove Award in CF in 1968.

• Austin Riley (1997) has been a core member of the current run of strong Atlanta Braves teams, has hit 30+ HR three times, and so far has been an All-Star twice.

• Dick Radatz (1937) was a flame-throwing relief pitcher in the 1960s, with his best seasons being his first three when he posted ERAs of 2.24, 1.97, and 2.29, racked up 76 saves, and was a strikeout machine with 487 K in 414 IP.

• Billy Pierce (1927) had a career 3.27 ERA and 119 ERA+. A 7-time All-Star, He led the AL with a 1.97 ERA in 1955, and posted 15+ wins in eight seasons, including 20 wins in both 1956 and 1957.

• Bobby Ávila (1924) was a three-time All-Star who played most of his career for the Indians, scored 100+ runs twice, and retired with a .281/.359/.388 slash line.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of games (15), including many aces making their second starts of the year, such as Tarik Skubal, Cole Ragans, Garret Crochet, Dylan Cease, Zack Wheeler, Blake Snell, and more. A few games that jump out to me are:

• TEX vs. CIN features 24-year old Jack Leiter making his second start of the year (did well the first time) vs. the Reds’ ace flamethrower Hunter Greene.

• PIT vs. TBR has must-watch Paul Skenes going up against Ryan Pepiot who had 8 K in 6 IP in his first start.

• WAS vs. TOR raises the question of what will MacKenzie Gore do after he had 13 K in 6 IP (only 1 H allowed) in his first game?

• ATL vs. LAD features a surprisingly winless team against a not-surprisingly no-loss team. A matchup of ATL Bryce Elder vs. LAD Blake Snell wouldn’t appear likely to end those streaks.

HR Watch

Predicting who might hit a HR on any given day is a challenge—especially early the season. But here are a few to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 4-14 with 3 HR vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• BOS Rafael Devers, 6-16 with 2 HR and 3 doubles vs. BAL Eflin -- is this the game he gets going finally?

• BOS Wilyer Abreu, 5-10 with a HR and a double vs. BAL Eflin -- and is off to a good start this year

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:

• CLE Carlos Santana, 2-21 with 8 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 1-20 (triple) with 7 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• NYY Jazz Chisholm Jr., 0-12 with 5 K vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 1-12 (double) with 6 K vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• LAA Yoan Moncada, 0-9 with 5 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• LAA Jorge Soler, 1-13 with 5 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

Once we get a few weeks into the season I’ll starting sharing out some starting pitchers to consider for strikeout totals (over/under bets), some teams that might explode offensively that day, and even some fun with NRFI (no-runs in the first inning bets). But these kinds of things are hard to judge early in the season until we see how teams and players are starting out the year.

⚾ Enjoy Day Seven! ⚾

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