The Baseball Buffet for 4/14/2025

Issue #244

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 18th day of the season included a full slate (15) of games scheduled:

• PIT 0, CIN 4 - Hunter Greene pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and combined with two Reds relievers on a two-hit shutout of the weak Buccos offense.

• SFG 5, NYY 4 - Jazz Chisholm hit his fifth HR of the year, but the Giants came out on top driven primarily due to Jung Hoo Lee who hit two HR off Carlos Rodon. Ryan Walker notched his fourth save of the year.

• KCR 4, CLE 2 - Salvador Perez hit a two-run HR, Cole Ragans was outstanding (7.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), and Carlos Estévez recorded his fifth save.

• ATL 3, TBR 8 - Recently called up Joe Boyle pitched five no-hit innings with seven strikeouts. Yandy Diaz hit his second HR of the year, and Junior Caminero hit his third.

• WAS 4, MIA 11 - Plenty of hits (24) and walks (15) in this one. Matt Mervis hit his fifth HR of the year, and has now hit a homer in each of his last three games.

• LAA 3, HOU 7 - The Angels outhit the Astros 9-6, and they had HR from Taylor Ward, Nolan Schanuel, and Jorge Soler. But they were all solo homers, whereas the one Astros HR was a 3-run shot by Isaac Parades. Hayden Wesneski pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) and Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, and Josh Hader didn’t allow any runs in the final three innings.

• DET 1, MIN 5 - Spencer Torkelson hit his fifth HR of the year, but Simeon Woods Richardson otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and Byron Buxton and Edouard Julien each hat a HR for the Twins.

• BOS 3, CHW 1 - Trevor Story went 3-4 with a HR and a double, but the big story was Garrett Crochet (7.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K) taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. It was broken up by Chase Meidroth, one of the four players traded by the Red Sox to the White Sox this offseason to acquire Crochet.

• PHI 0, STL 7 - Willson Contreras hit his first HR of the year, and Jordan Walker had his second homer. Matthew Liberatore was outstanding (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and combined with three St. Louis relievers on the three-hit shutout.

• TOR 7, BAL 6 - This one went back and forth, and eventually required extra innings and 13 total pitchers to settle it. Homers were hit by Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill, and Alejandro Kirk.

• COL 0, SDP 6 - The Padres jumped on top earlier by scoring four in the bottom of the first. They scored two more runs later, but that didn’t really matter as Michael King threw a two-hit shutout (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K).

• NYM 8, ATH 0 - Kodai Senga pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and so did Luis Severino (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K). But the Athletics bullpen let up five extra-base hits and walked four allowing the Mets to score runs each inning from the sixth onward. Rookie SS Jacob Wilson’s 15-game hitting streak came to an end.

• MIL 2, AZ 5 - William Contreras hit a 2-run HR, but Zac Gallen otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 K) and three D-Backs relievers struck out six batters in the final three innings. Corbin Carroll, who has five HR on the season, finally got his first SB of the year (he stole 35 in 2024 and 54 in 2023).

• TEX 1, SEA 3 - Logan Gilbert pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Cal Raleigh hit a 2-run HR, his third homer in as many days.

• CHC 4, LAD 2 - Tyler Glasnow rebounded after a bad start against the Phillies, and generally pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), letting up HR to Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch. But the Cubs used a mix of seven pitchers to keep the powerful Dodgers lineup in check.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Jung Hoo Lee, OF for the Giants, hit two homers yesterday, giving him three on the season. The 26-year old is off to a good start (.352/.426/.704) having missed most of 2024 due to injury. He is tied with the Cubs’ Kyle Tucker for the major league lead in doubles with 8—but the Cubs have played 18 games while the Giants have only played 15. That means Lee is currently on a pace for 86 doubles. Obviously that won’t happen, but if he stays healthy it would seem a 50+ double season is possible. Today’s trivia questions are: Who has the all-time single-season record for doubles? And who has hit the most doubles in a single season since 1961 (the expansion era)?

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

• SEA RP Matt Brash

🤕 Placed on the IL

• BOS SP Richard Fitts - 15-day IL (right pectoral strain)

• COL OF Tyler Freeman - 10-day IL (left oblique 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 14…

• 1910: Taft is the first president to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. According to baseball-reference.com, “William Howard Taft becomes the first U.S. President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. Attending the game in Washington, D.C., President Taft tosses the first ball to future Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, who pitches the first of his 14 Opening Day Washington games, striking out nine, en route to a 3-0 one-hit shutout against Eddie Plank and the Philadelphia Athletics.”

• 1917: Eddie Cicotte throws a no-hitter. Chicago White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte throws a no-hitter, and Chicago beats the St. Louis Browns 11-0.

• 1955: Elston Howard debuts and makes history. According to baseball-reference.com, “Elston Howard becomes the first black player in New York Yankees history. The 26-year-old catcher/outfielder makes his debut against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park as he hits a single with one RBI in the Yankees' 8 - 4 loss.”

• 1967: Billy Rohr makes a strong debut, spoiled by Elston Howard. According to baseball-reference.com, “Boston Red Sox rookie pitcher Billy Rohr makes a memorable debut by no-hitting the New York Yankees for eight and two-thirds innings. Elston Howard spoils Rohr's masterpiece with a two-out single in the 9th, but the Red Sox still win, 3-0. Despite his impressive debut, Rohr will win only two more games in his major league career.”

• 1969: The Expos host their first game. The expansion Montreal Expos host their first game in Canada, making it the first regular season major league game played outside of the US. The Expos win their debut at Jarry Park, beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7.

• 2021: Carlos Rodón throws a no-hitter. Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodón throws a no-hitter, and Chicago beats the Cleveland Indians, 8-0.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Greg Maddux (1966) is a Hall of Famer and four-time consecutive NL Cy Young Award winner. An 8-time All-Star, Maddux took home 18 Gold Glove Awards in his 23-year career. He only struck out 200+ batters once, but what made Maddux so effective was his pinpoint control and savvy use of his pitches. He led the NL in ERA three times, including 1.56 in 1994 and 1.63 in 1995. During his seven-year peak from 1992-1998, Maddux posted a 127-53 (.706) record, 2.15 ERA, 0.968 WHIP, and 190 ERA+. Overall for his career he was 355-227 (.610) with a 3.16 ERA and 132 ERA+.

• Pete Rose (1941) was an All-Star in 17 of his 24 seasons. He is baseball’s all-time hits leader with 4,256, including an impressive 746 doubles (second only to Tris Speaker’s 792). He scored 2,165 runs and had 198 SB. He led the NL in Runs four times, hits seven times, doubles five times, and won three batting titles. He was versatile in the field, spending significant time at five positions (2B, RF, LF, 3B, and 1B). He was NL Rookie of the Year in 1963 and NL MVP in 1973. But he also infamously and controversially is not in the Hall of Fame due to his lifetime ban from baseball for betting on games while a manager for the Reds.

• David Justice (1966) played the first half of his career with the Braves, and was a teammate of Maddux for several years (born on the same day, in the same year!). Justice was NL Rookie of the Year in 1990, and hit 20+ nine times, with highs of 40 in 1993 and 41 in 2000. A 3-time All-Star, he retired with 305 HR, a .279/.378/.500 slash line, and a 129 OPS+.

• Don Mueller (1927) was a high-average hitting right fielder who played most of his career with the New York Giants. He batted .333 in 1953 and then was an All-Star the next two seasons, hitting a career-high .342 in 1954 and leading the NL with 212 hits.

Today’s Matchups

Some teams are travelling, so we have a partial slate (10) of games today. Some games that jump out to me are:

• WAS vs. PIT is mainly interesting because Paul Skenes is pitching, after having a less-than-Skenes-like start against the Cardinals last time out (7 K in 6 IP, but allowed 5 ER).

• HOU vs. STL features two solid starters in Framber Valdez vs. Sonny Gray.

Other notable SP going today include TBR Shane Baz, DET Tarik Skubal, MIN Joe Ryan, SDP Dylan Cease, and LAD Dustin May.

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:

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 7-11 with 2 HR vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• LAD Mookie Betts, 9-20 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• LAD Kike Hernández, small sample but is 5-9 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• BOS Triston Casas, small sample but is 2-5 with 2 HR vs. TBR Shane Baz

• BOS Alex Bregman, small sample but is 5-7 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. TBR Shane Baz

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:

• SDP Jose Iglesias, 6-11 with a HR and 2 doubles and 0 strikeouts vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• CHC Kyle Tucker, 5-11 with 2 doubles vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• LAD Michael Conforto, 4-10 with a HR and a double vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

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:

• 9 - STIL Brendan Donovan

• 8 - BAL Adley Rutschman

• 7 - COL Brenton Doyle

• 7 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 7 - WAS Keibert Ruiz

• 7 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 7 - MIL William Contreras

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 Ian Happ, 1-18 with 9 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• NYY Jazz Chisholm Jr, 1-13 with 5 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• NYY Aaron Judge, 0-11 with 3 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• TBR Brandon Lowe, 1-10 with 3 K vs. BOS Tanner Houck

• LAD Will Smith, 2-16 with 3 K vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 2-15 with 2 K vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Jung Hoo Lee and Kyle Tucker are tied for the major league lead with 8 doubles—though Lee has hit them in three less team games (15), so he is currently on pace for 86 doubles (won’t happen of course). The all-time single-season record for doubles is 67 by Earl Webb in 1931, and notably he never had more than 30 in any other season. During the expansion era (1961-) the most doubles in a season has been 59, hit by Todd Helton in 2000 and matched by Freddie Freeman in 2023.

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