The Baseball Buffet for 4/10/2025

Issue #241

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].

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 14th day of the season included a solid slate of 15 games:

• STL 1, PIT 2 - Mitch Keller pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 6 K) and so did Erick Fedde (6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K). Neither team scored any runs until the 12th inning, when naturally they both scored one forcing a 13th inning. The Pirates finally won when Joey Bart hit a single off Chris Roycroft with the bases loaded.

• MIA 5, NYM 0 - Max Meyer (6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and two Marlins relievers two-hit the Mets, while their offense produced nine singles plus a two-run HR by Matt Mervis.

• NYY 4, DET 3 - Max Fried was outstanding (7 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K) and so was Jack Flaherty (5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 9 K). Yankees DH Ben Rice hit his third homer of the year. The Yankees had a 4-0 lead when the Tigers threatened in the bottom of the ninth by scoring 3 runs off Devin Williams, before Mark Leiter Jr. came in for the final out.

• TEX 6, CHC 2 - Tyler Mahle pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K), Corey Seager had two solo HR, and Jonah Heim added a two-run HR.

• SDP 2, ATH 1 - A rare low-scoring game in Sacramento, Randy Vasquez pitched well (5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 K) and Robert Suarez came in to notch his sixth save on the year. The Padres collected 12 hits, but only scored two runs as they were 2-14 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.

• BAL 0, AZ 9 - Brandon Pfaadt pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 K) and the D-Backs out hit the Orioles 14-4. Most of the damage came from their first four hitters as Corbin Carroll went 2-4 with a HR, Geraldo Perdomo went 3-4 with a HR, Pavin Smith went 3-5 with a HR, and Josh Naylor went 3-4 with a HR.

• CIN 6, SFG 8 - The Giants out hit the Reds 12-6, including Jung Hoo Lee hitting a triple and a double and Wilmer Flores hitting his fifth HR of the year. Nonetheless the game was tied 6-6 and went into extras, where the Giants’ Mike Yastrzemski hit a walk-off two-run HR.

• LAD 6, WSH 5 - Both starting pitchers struggled in the first inning leading to an early 4-3 Dodgers lead. The Nats took the lead 5-4 after the third inning, but the Dodgers scored two in the 7th including a HR by Andy Pages. Other homers in this one included Teoscar Hernandez’ fifth of the year, and CJ Abrams hitting his fourth.

• HOU 6, SEA 7 - Hunter Brown pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K) and the Astros led for most of the game. But then Randy Arozarena hit a grand slam in the 8th, and the Mariners added 3 more runs off the usually reliable Bryan Abreu when Julio Rodriguez drove in two with a bases-loaded double, and then scored the winning run on a walk-off walk to Arozarena.

• CHW 2, CLE 3 - Logan Allen pitched well in a short outing (4.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and veteran 1B Carlos Santana hit his second HR of the year.

• TOR 2, BOS 1 - Both teams scored a run in the first, and then the starters settled in with Kevin Gausman in particular pitching really well (8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). The an additional run was finally scored by the Blue Jays in the top of the 11th, when Bo Bichette hit a sacrifice fly to score Ernie Clement.

• LAA 4, TBR 5 - A grand slam by Jose Caballero off Yusei Kikuchi in the first inning gave the Rays an early 4-0 lead. The Angels battled with four solo HR, including two from CF Kyren Paris, plus homers by Tyler Ward and Jorge Soler. But the decisive run came in the seventh from a solo shot by Rays 1B Yandy Diaz.

• MIN 4, KCR 0 - Joe Ryan pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and Matt Wallner and Ty France each hit solo HR.

• PHI 4, ATL 3 - Bryce Harper and Austin Riley traded HR in the seventh inning, but the game winner came in the top of the ninth as Trea Turner hit his first HR of the year off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias (who otherwise struck out three batters that inning).

• MIL 17, COL 2 - Brewers batters had 13 hits and were walked 5 times—and went 8-14 with runners in scoring position to tally up 17 runs in this one. William Contreras, Jackson Chourio, and Christian Yelich each had homers.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted below, today is Corey Kluber’s birthday. He has won two Cy Young Awards, something only 22 players have done. You probably know who has won the most Cy Young Awards… Roger Clemens with seven. But who has won the second most?

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).

➕ Starting Rehab Assignment

• NYM C Francisco Alvarez

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHC SP Justin Steele - 15-day IL (left elbow tendinitis)

• CHW OF Andrew Benintendi - 10-day IL (left adductor strain)

• SEA 2B Ryan Bliss - 10-day IL (left biceps tear)

• KCR 1B Mark Canha - 10-day IL (left abductor strain)

• TEX OF Wyatt Langford - 10-day IL (right oblique strain)

• BAL SP Zach Eflin - 15-day IL (right lat strain)

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 10…

• 1913: Birth of the New York “Yankees”. After playing 12 seasons as the New York Highlanders, the AL team in New York played their first official game as the Yankees. They lose to Walter Johnson and the Senators 2-1. According to baseball-reference.com, “After giving up an unearned run in the 1st inning, Johnson begins a string of shutout innings that will reach a major league record 56 before the St. Louis Browns score in the 4th inning on May 14th.”

• 1947: Jackie Robinson signs with the Dodgers. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In one of the most significant moments in baseball history, Jackie Robinson becomes the first black player of the 20th century to sign a major league contract. Robinson agrees a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Dodgers, whose general manager, Branch Rickey, personally recruited Robinson from the Negro Leagues.”

• 1979: J.R. Richard is a bit wild. Astros starter J.R. Richard sets a major-league record with six wild pitches, but he also struck out 13 Dodgers and is a 2-1 winner.

• 1989: Ken Griffey Jr. hits his first major league HR… on his dad’s birthday. According to baseball-reference.com, “Ken Griffey, Jr. hits his first major league home run at the Kingdome in Seattle's 6-5 win over the White Sox. Griffey's father, Ken Sr., is an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, making the two the first father-son duo to play in the major leagues at the same time. Ken Sr. will join his son on the Mariners before the end of the season.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Corey Kluber (1986) won the AL Cy Young Award twice with Cleveland, in 2014 and 2017. He led the league in wins with 18 both years, and in 2017 also paced the AL with a 2.25 ERA. A 3-time All-Star, he had five consecutive seasons with 200+ strikeouts from 2014-2018. Injuries have taken a toll since then, but for his career he’s posted a solid 3.44 ERA and 122 ERA+.

• Frank Lary (1930) pitched 12 years in the majors from 1954-1965, mostly for the Tigers. He won 15+ games five times, including 21 in 1956 and 23 in 1961. A two-time All-star, he was also a workhorse early in his career, leading the AL in IP three times and complete games three times.

• Ross Youngs (1897) is a Hall of Famer who died at the age of 30 from illness while he was still a player. In ten seasons (1917-26) he scored 100+ runs three times, and had double-digit triples five times. Overall he had an impressive .322/.399/.441 slash line and 130 OPS+.

• Ken Griffey Sr. (1950) was a part of the Big Red Machine of the 1970s and hit over .300 for the 1975 and 1976 World Series champion teams. He had moderate power and speed, with a high of 21 HR in 1986 and a high of 34 SB in 1976. A 3-time All-Star, late in his career he played alongside his son Ken Griffey Jr. for the Mariners, and then after 19 seasons retired with a .296/.359/.431 slash line and 118 OPS+.

• Bob Watson (1946) played 19 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Astros but also spent some times with the Red Sox, Yankees, and Braves late in his career. A 2-time All-Star, he had 100+ RBI twice and overall had a .295/.364/.447 slash line and 129 OPS+. After retiring as a player, Watson was a coach for the Oakland Athletics for four years, before he joined the Astros’ front office. In 1993, he became the second African-American general manager in major league baseball history, first with the Astros and then serving in the same role for the Yankees from 1995-1998.

• Andre Ethier (1982) played 12 seasons (2006-2017), all with the Dodgers. A 2-time All-Star, he hit 20+ HR four times with a high of 31 with 106 RBI in 2009. He was a good fielder, taking home an NL Gold Glove Award in 2011. Overall he posted a career .285/.359/.463 slash line and 122 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

Lots of teams travelling, so we have a short slate (6). Some games that jump out to me are:

• PHI vs. ATL has the best SP duo of the day with Jesús Luzardo facing Spencer Schwellenbach.

• TOR vs. BOS also features a nice pitching matchup in Chris Bassitt vs. Walker Buehler.

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:

• BOS Rafael Devers, 7-14 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• KCR Salvador Perez, 7-19 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 9-19 with a HR and 2 triples vs. MIN Bailey Ober

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. Early in the season there aren’t any active streaks to report on yet, so in addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• BOS Alex Bregman, 10-26 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. TOR Chris Bassitt.

• MIN Ty France, 10-20 with 5 doubles vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• MIN Christian Vazquez, 7-13 vs. KCR Michael Wacha

Who is streaking?

These are players on active hit streaks and who for this reason might also be interesting picks to get a hit today:

• 13 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• 12 - MIL Brice Turang

• 11 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 8 - NYM Francisco Lindor

• 7 - DET Zach McKinstry

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:

• ATL Michael Harris II, small sample but is 1-8 with 5 K vs. Jesús Luzardo

• ATL Matt Olson, 3-18 with 6 K (though one HR) vs. Jesús Luzardo

• MIN Carlos Correa, 1-13 with 5 K (the one hit was a HR) vs. KCR Michael Wacha

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

As noted, Roger Clemens won 7 Cy Young Awards. But who has won the second most? That would be Randy Johnson, first in 1995 with the Mariners, and then each year from 1999-2002 while with the Diamondbacks.

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