The Baseball Buffet for 4/13/2025

Issue #243

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 17th day of the season included a full slate (15) of games scheduled:

• DET 4, MIN 0 - Rookie Jackson Jobe pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K) and Spencer Torkelson had a 2-run HR, his fourth homer of the year.

• PHI 4, STL 1 - Nick Castellanos went 3-4 with two doubles, Cristopher Sanchez pitched well (6.1 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 K) and induced five double-plays, and then three Phillies relievers shutout the Cardinals the rest of the way.

• SFG 4, NYY 8 - Wilmer Flores hit his sixth HR of the year, but otherwise Will Warren pitched pretty well (5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 6 K) and Luke Weaver, Mark Leiter Jr., and Devin Williams shut down the last three innings. Ben Rice continues to hit well, going 2-4 with his fourth HR.

• NYM 1, ATH 3 - J.T. Ginn pitched well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K) in his first major league start of the year, and Mason Miller notched his fourth save (and is now 5 IP, 0 ER, 9 K). 23-year old SS Jacob Wilson hit leadoff and went 1-4, extending his MLB-leading hitting streak to 15 games.

• TOR 4, BAL 5 - The Blue Jays scored a run in each of the first three innings, including Anthony Santander finally hitting his first HR of the year (and against his old teammates). But the Orioles scored five runs across the fifth and six innings, including HR from Heston Kjerstad and Adley Rutschman.

• BOS 2, CHW 3 - Richard Fitts pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 K) but the White Sox scored three runs against Boston relievers, including Luis Robert Jr. finally hitting his first HR of the year (and stealing his sixth base).

• WAS 6, MIA 7 - Sandy Alcantara didn’t do as well as usual today (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K), but the Marlins offense came through by outhitting the Nationals 11-7, with four doubles and Matt Mervis hitting his fourth HR of the year.

• ATL 5, TBR 4 - AJ Smith-Shawver pitched well (5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 7 K) and so did Drew Rasmussen (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). And the final score added up to a rather normal 9 runs. And yet, this game had a lot of offense with 27 hits and 9 walks. There were several HR, including two from Sean Murphy, and one each from Ozzie Albies, Michael Harris II, Junior Caminero, and Jonathan Arranda.

• KCR 3, CLE 6 - Other than a HR by Vinnie Pasquantino, Luis L. Ortiz was dominant (5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K). The Cleveland bullpen then came in and did well, except once again for Emmanuel Clase (1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 K) who continues to struggle. It didn’t matter as the Guardians had built up a lead, but Clase’s performance so far in 2025 is concerning—especially they say his velocity and other metrics seem normal, and he has said he feels good and is not injured.

• PIT 2, CIN 5 - It was the battle of lefties named Andrew. And in his first start of the year, Andrew Abbott did better (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K) than Andrew Heaney (6 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 6 K). The big ouch for Heaney was a grand slam off the bat of Elly De La Cruz in the third inning.

• LAA 4, HOU 1 - Tyler Anderson pitched well (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K), Kenley Jansen got his fourth save, and Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward each hit a HR.

• MIL 4, AZ 5 - Chad Patrick pitched well (4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 3 K) and Jackson Chourio continued his hitting streak (14 games) by going 2-4 with his fifth HR of the year. But Joel Payamps and Trevor Megill walked four batters, gave up three hits, and allowed all five Arizona runs in the bottom of the ninth.

• COL 0, SDP 2 - Kyle Hart was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and Robert Suarez notched his MLB-leading seventh save. Colorado rookie Chase Dollander did pretty well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 7 K), except for the solo homers allowed to Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jason Heyward.

• CHC 16, LAD 0 - Roki Sasaki pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 K), but the Dodgers bullpen did not (two actual relievers, plus infielder Miguel Rojas who pitched the last two innings and gave up 7 hits and 5 ER). The Cubs had 21 hits, including two HR from Carson Kelly, plus homers from Michael Busch and Miguel Amaya. Their starter Ben Brown pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and together with three relievers shutout a usually formidable Dodgers lineup.

• TEX 2, SEA 9 - Bryan Woo pitched well (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Cal Raleigh hit his fourth HR of the year.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted, two young players have solid hitting streaks going at present: 23-year old Jacob Wilson of the Athletics at 15 games and 21-year old Jackson Chourio of the Brewers at 14 games. I wondered… how many streaks have been longer than 14 games by a player 21 years old or younger? The answer was more than I expected—77 streaks! Some players did it more than once, with the great Ty Cobb having four such streaks in his earliest seasons. The two most recent were both in 2023: Noelvi Marté (16-game streak) and Ezequiel Tovar (15-game streak). Today’s trivia question: what three players had the longest hitting streaks—at 23 games—started at age 21 or younger? (Hints: they played for the Giants, Phillies, and Twins, respectively.)

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

• MIA 3B Connor Norby

• HOU SP Lance McCullers Jr.

• MIL SP Brandon Woodruff

🤕 Placed on the IL

• WAS SS CJ Abrams - 10-day IL (right hip flexor strain)

• CHW OF Austin Slater - 10-day IL (right knee meniscus tear)

• NYY SP Marcus Stroman - 15-day IL (left knee inflammation)

• STL SS Masyn Winn - 10-day IL (lower back spasms)

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 13…

• 1926: A long-opening day pitchers’ duel. According to baseball-reference.com, “In one of the greatest Opening Day pitchers' duels ever, Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators defeats Eddie Rommel and the Philadelphia Athletics, 1-0, in a 15-inning battle. The game will set the record for longest opening day contest until 2012, when the Blue Jays and Indians play 16 innings on April 5th.”

• 1963: Pete Rose struggled at first. According to baseball-reference.com, “After eleven hitless at bats, Cincinnati second baseman Pete Rose records his first major league hit, a triple off Pittsburgh's Bob Friend.”

• 1978: Reggie Candy Bar Day in New York. According to baseball-reference.com, “The Yankees defeat the White Sox 4-2 in their home opener on Reggie Candy Bar Day. Jackson slugs a three-run home run in the first inning, and the field is showered with candy bars, which were given out free to the fans at the game.”

• 1998: Ken Griffey Jr. becomes second youngest to reach 300 HR. Ken Griffey, Jr. hits his 300th career home run at 28 years, 143 days old, the second youngest to do so as fellow Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx was 27 years, 328 days when he reached 300 HR.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Lorenzo Cain (1986) played from 2010 to 2022, entirely with the Brewers and Royals. He was drafted by the Brewers, and played one season for them before being a part of a trade with three other players for Yuniesky Betancourt and Zack Greinke. With the Royals he established himself as an elite defender in CF, had two seasons with 15+ HR, and had three with 25+ SB. After the 2017 season he signed as a free agent back with the Brewers and he finally took home a Gold Glove Award with them in 2019. A two-time All-Star, he retired with a .283/.343/.407 slash line.

• Herman Long (1866) played 16 years in the majors in the late 1800s, mostly with the National League’s Boston club. A .277 career hitter, he was a good baserunner with seven seasons of 35 or more SB, including a high of 89 in his rookie season. He scored 100+ runs in seven seasons, including a league-leading 149 in 1893.

• Hunter Pence (1983) was a four-time All-Star who spent most of his 14-year career (2007-2020) with the Giants and Astros. He hit 20+ in seven seasons, and retired with a .279/.334/.461 slash line and 114 OPS+.

• Claude Hendrix (1889) pitched ten years in the majors from 1911-1920. He went 24-9 with a 2.59 ERA for the Pirates in 1912, then jumped to the Federal League and went 29-10 with a league-leading 1.69 ERA in 1914. He won 20 games one more time in 1918 with the Chicago Cubs, and retired with a 2.65 ERA which translates to a 113 ERA+.

• Dewey Creacy (1900) was a third basement in the negro leagues in the 1920s and 1930s. According to the numbers available at baseball-reference.com, his best season came in 1926 when in 92 games he had 23 HR, 107 RBI, and a .340/.389/.632 slash line and 159 OPS+. Over 15 major league seasons he slashed .291/.357/.440 which equates to a 112 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

Another full slate (15) of games, so there are lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• SFG vs. NYY features a nice matchup in Logan Webb against Carlos Rodon (who pitched for the Giants for one year in 2022).

• MIL vs. AZ has two frontline starters facing off in Freddy Peralta and Zac Gallen.

There are many other top notch SP going today as well, such as KCR Cole Ragans, CIN Hunter Greene, BOS Garrett Crochet, PHI Zack Wheeler, SEA Logan Gilbert, and LAD Tyler Glasnow.

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:

• BAL Adley Rutschman, 15-25 with 4 HR and 2 doubles, with only 1 K vs. TOR José Berríos — this is really quite impressive!

• PIT Oneil Cruz, 4-12 with 2 HR and a double vs. CIN Hunter Greene

• NYY Aaron Judge, small sample but is 2-5 with 2 HR vs. SFG Logan Webb

• MIL Garrett Mitchell, small sample but is 3-8 with 2 HR vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr., small sample but is 4-5 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. BAL Cade Povich

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, small sample but is 2-6 with 2 HR vs. CHC Colin Rea

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:

• TBR Yandy Diaz, 8-20 with 2 doubles, a triple, and only 2 K vs. ATL Chris Sale

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, small sample but is 4-7 with a HR and a double vs. ATH Luis Severino

• SEA Jorge Polanco, small sample but is 4-8 with a triple vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

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:

• 15 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• 14 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 8 - STIL Brendan Donovan

• 7 - COL Brenton Doyle

• 7 - BAL Adley Rutschman

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:

• CHC Justin Turner, 0-14 with 10 K vs. LAD Tyler Glasnow

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 4-27 with 9 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, 2-20 with 8 K vs. MIL Freddy Peralta

• TEX Marcus Semien, 3-32 with a HR and 6 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• TEX Leody Taveras, 2-15 with 5 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• TEX Josh Jung, 0-10 though only 1 K vs. SEA Logan Gilbert

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 3-20 with 6 K vs. BAL José Berríos

• STL Brendan Donovan, 1-12 with 2 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

As noted, 23-year old Jacob Wilson of the Athletics has a 15-game hitting streak, and the even younger 21-year old Jackson Chourio of the Brewers has a 14-game streak. There have been 77 streaks greater than 14 games by players aged 21 or younger (at least at the start of their streaks). The longest such streak is 23 games, by the following three players:

• Ross Youngs of the Giants in 1918

• Richie Ashburn of the Phillies in 1948

• Kent Hrbek of the Twins in 1982

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