The Baseball Buffet for 4/17/2025

Issue #248

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 21st day of the season included a full slate (15) of games scheduled:

• ATL 1, TOR 3 - As noted yesterday, Spencer Strider was blowing people away at AAA as he was getting ready for his 2025 debut after missing most of last season. He pitched fairly well overall (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), but let up doubles to Antony Santander and Bo Bichette, and a HR to Vladimir Guerrero Jr—and that was enough to earn him the loss. Toronto’s Chris Bassitt was the one putting up Strider-like numbers yesterday (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K) and Jeff Hoffman picked up his fourth save.

• NYM 3, MIN 4 - David Festa pitched well in a short start (4.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 6 K), and the Twins scored first and led 3-0 until the top of the eighth when the Mets tied it up. With Byron Buxton as the Manfred Man ghost runner on second base in the bottom of the 10th, Ty France singled to center and drove him home for the win.

• DET 1, MIL 5 - Spencer Torkelson hit his sixth HR of the year, but Jose Quintana was otherwise solid (5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 K). Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins, and Sal Frelick each homered for the Brewers.

• HOU 1, STL 4 - Steven Matz pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and Lars Nootbaar’s 3-run HR was the difference in the game.

• CHC 2, SDP 4 - Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a HR late but it wasn’t enough as Nick Pivetta had held the Cubs for six strong innings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and then Robert Suarez locked up his MLB-leading 8th save in the ninth.

• WAS 1, PIT 6 - Bailey Falter pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K) and so did Mitchell Parker (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), but then Jorge Lopez allowed a grand slam to Oneil Cruz in the 7th inning and that was the difference in the game.

• CLE 1, BAL 9 - Gabriel Arias hit his fourth HR of the year, but Dean Kremer otherwise pitched well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 K). The Guardians actually outhit the Orioles 9-8, but their hits were scattered, while Baltimore had HR from Ramon Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, and a grand slam from Jackson Holliday.

• SEA 5, CIN 3 - Bryce Miller pitched well on the road, not allowing any runs at a tough hitters’ ballpark (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K). Cal Raleigh hit two HR for the Mariners, giving him seven on the year so far.

• AZ 6, MIA 2 - Matt Mervis hit his sixth HR, but Brandon Pfaadt otherwise pitched well (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 K). The D-Backs had four HR of their own from Josh Naylor, Pavin Smith, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and the first MLB homer from 2B Tim Tawa.

• SFG 11, PHI 4 - Bryce Harper went 2-3 with two walks and his fourth HR of the season, but Aaron Nola had a rare bad outing (5.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 8 K). The Giants had 13 hits in all, including Jung Hoo Lee’s MLB-leading 10th double.

• BOS 1, TBR 0 - Zack Littell pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 K), but allowed a solo HR to Boston’s eighth hitter David Hamilton in the third inning, and that was the difference in the game.

• KCR 3, NYY 4 - Aaron Judge went 3-3 and was a triple shy of the cycle, finally hitting his 7th HR of the year, after not hitting any dingers in his last 10 games.

• ATH 3, CHW 1 - Brooks Baldwin hit a HR for a White Sox, but Osvaldo Bido otherwise pitched well (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K). Mason Miller locked down his fifth save by striking out the side in the ninth.

• LAA 1, TEX 3 - Corey Seager and Jake Burger each went 3-4, but the main story was Texas’ pitching as Patrick Corbin pitched well (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and then three relievers shutout the Angels the rest of the way, leading to Luke Jackson’s sixth save on the year.

• COL 7, LAD 8 - Germán Márquez couldn’t get out of the first inning as both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman homered and the Dodgers jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Rockies came back quickly in the third inning, with Mickey Moniak hitting a HR right after Michael Toglia hit a grand slam off Bobby Miller. Down 8-6 Colorado scored one more in the 8th but it wasn’t enough and Tanner Scott finished things off for his sixth save.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Spencer Strider had mixed results in his 2025 debut after missing most of last season. He did however notch his 500th career strikeout. According to research by MLB’s Sarah Langs, he was the fasted to reach that milestone having done so in only 334 IP. Who previously held that record, having gotten his 500th career K in 372 IP?

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

• LAD SP Clayton Kershaw

🤕 Placed on the IL

• SS WAS Paul DeJong

🚼 Placed on the paternity list

• BOS 3B Alex Bregman - and he had perhaps his best game ever on Tuesday, going 5-5 with 2 HR and a double!

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 17…

• 1945: One-armed outfielder Pete Gray makes his major league debut. According to baseball-reference.com, “Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder, plays his major league debut game with the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. Gray hits a single off Les Mueller in four at-bats, and handles no chances in the outfield. St. Louis beats the Detroit Tigers, 7-1, for their ninth straight Opening Day win, setting a major league record that the 1975-1983 New York Mets will tie. Gray, one of many players recruited to perform during World War II, will hit .218 (51 for 254) in his only major league season.”

• 1947: Jackie Robinson gets his first National League hit. The Dodgers win 12-6 over the Braves at home as Jackie Robinson gets his first National League hit off Glenn Elliot.

• 1951: Mickey Mantle gets his first major league hit. In his first major league game, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 as the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 5-0.

• 1969: Bill Stoneman throws a no-hitter. Bill Stoneman of the Montreal Expos pitched a 7-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in only the 10th game of the Expos' existence.

• 1976: Young slugger Mike Schmidt hits 4 HR in one game. Mike Schmidt of the Philadelphia Phillies hit four consecutive home runs and added a single in an 18-6 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

• 2010: Ubaldo Jimenez throws a no-hitter. Ubaldo Jimenez pitches the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history, beating the Braves 4-0 at Turner Field.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Cap Anson (1852) was one of the top players of the 19th century, playing for 27 seasons from 1871-1897, and accumulating 3,435 hits, 1,999 runs, and 2,075 RBI. He mostly played 1B, but also got in some games at 3B, Catcher, and other positions. He led his league in RBI eight times, and won four batting titles, including a .399 average in 1881. His career slash line was .334/.394/.447 and his OPS+ was 142. He was also a player/manager for much of his career, winning five NL pennants in the 1880s. According to his page at Wikipedia, Anson innovated managerial tactics such as signals between players and the rotation of pitchers. Wikipedia also provides evidence for another side of Anson’s legacy, which it summarizes “Although the decision to ban black players from the National League and (minor) International League was made behind the scenes by team owners, Anson was the most outspoken player and vociferously insisted on segregation even before the ban was official. As a star player and team manager, his influence was substantial.”

• Jake Daubert (1884) was a good hitter over a 15 year career for Brooklyn and Cincinnati, winning two batting titles and also leading the NL in triples twice. Like many players of his era, he ran the bases well too, accumulating 251 SB. His career slash line was .303/.360/.401 and his OPS+ was 117.

• Marquis Grissom (1967) was best known for his speed and is defense. His 17-year career started with six seasons for the Expos before he played for five other franchises. He led the NL with 76 SB in 1991 and again with 78 in 1992. He was an All-Star the next two seasons, and won four Gold Glove Awards for his work in CF. He had some power too, hitting 20+ HR in five seasons and 227 for his career.

Today’s Matchups

As is typical for a Thursday, some teams are off for travel or rest, so we have a partial slate only (10). Some games that jump out to me are:

• SEA vs. CIN features two pitchers off to good starts this year in Bryan Woo (2.84 ERA, 19 IP, 14 H, 18 K) and Brady Singer (3.18 ERA, 17 IP, 12 H, 18 K). It will be interesting to see how they do at Cincinnati’s hitter-friendly ballpark.

• STL vs. NYM has the Cardinals’ SP Andre Pallante who is a groundball artist off to a good start this year with a 2.20 ERA in 16.1 IP, with 10 H and 13 K.

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:

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr, 6-11 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. DET Reese Olson.

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 8-27 with 2 HR vs. CIN Brady Singer.

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:

• 12 - STIL Brendan Donovan

• 10 - MIL William Contreras

• 9 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 9 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 9 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr

• 8 - HOU Jeremy Pena

• 7 - TOR Anthony Santander

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:

• KCR MJ Melendez, small sample but is 0-9 with 7 K vs. DET Reese Olson

• WAS Josh Bell, 2-14 with 5 K vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 1-10 with 2 K vs. CIN Brady Singer

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 1-10, though only 1 K vs. STL Andre Pallante

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Yesterday Spencer Strider notched his 500th career strikeout, doing so in only 334 IP, a new record. According to research by MLB’s Sarah Langs, the previous fastest to 500 K was Freddy Peralta who got there in 372 IP. Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Dylan Cease and José Fernández are the only other players who did so in 400.0 or fewer innings.

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