The Baseball Buffet for 4/22/2025

Issue #253

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 26th day of the season included a partial slate of only 8 games:

• CHW 2, BOS 4 - Andrew Benintendi and Rob Refsnyder each had a HR in this one, but the main story was Walker Buehler’s strong performance in going 7 IP, with only 4 H and 1 ER, striking out 9.

• NYY 4, CLE 6 - Jasson Dominguez and Jazz Chisholm each homered for New York, but Cleveland had two HR of their own from Jose Ramirez and Kyle Manzardo. Gavin Williams pitched well (6.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 8 K) and Cade Smith recorded his first save of the year.

• SDP 4, DET 6 - The Tigers scored all six of their runs early off Randy Vasquez (2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 K), and after Keider Montero also struggled (4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), three Detroit relievers pitched 4.2 IP of shutout ball.

• CIN 3, MIA 6 - Eric Wagaman hit his 3rd HR of the year, and Kyle Stowers hit a 3-run pinch-hit HR. But the Marlins star of the game was pitcher Max Meyer who through six innings of shutout ball with an impressive 14 K and 0 BB.

• PHI 4, NYM 5 - Francisco Lindor hit two HR, and Jesse Winker hit his first of the season. Tylor Megill pitched well (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER , 4 BB, 10 K), and Edwin Diaz got his sixth save after letting up a HR to Bryson Stott. Aaron Nola fell to 0-5 on the year, with his ERA now sitting at 6.43.

• STL 6, ATL 7 - The Cardinals outhit the Braves 11-8, including a ninth-inning HR by Willson Contreras. But it wasn’t enough as Spencer Schwellenbach had pitched well (7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and Austin Riley and Sean Murphy each homered to help power the Braves to a close win.

• TOR 0, HOU 7 - The Astros had 10 hits and 4 walks and went an impressive 5-11 with runners in scoring position to score their seven runs. But the big story was Hunter Brown’s excellent pitching, going 7 innings, allowing only two hits, one walk, and no runs, while striking out 9.

• MIL 2, SFG 5 - Caleb Durbin hit his first major league HR, but Robbie Ray otherwise pitched well enough (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and Camilo Doval locked down his third save of the year.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Max Meyer, former first round draft pick (#3 overall by Miami in 2020) had a great game striking out 14 in only 6 innings. Two part trivia question: What other Marlins pitcher once struck out 14 batters in only 6 innings? And who has the Marlins record for the most strikeouts in game? (Hint: They aren’t the same player.)

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).

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW 2B Chase Meidroth - 10-day IL (right thumb inflammation)

• ATL SP Spencer Strider - 15-day IL (right hamstring strain)

• SDP 1B Luis Arraez - 7-day IL (concussion)

• CHW SP Martín Pérez - transferred from 15-day IL to 60-day IL

• MIL SP Nestor Cortes - transferred from 15-day IL to 60-day IL

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• NYY OF Trent Grisham

League Leaders

Continuing my rotation through current league leaders in various categories, have you noticed who is leading the majors in batting average?

• .384 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .372 - NYY Paul Goldschmidt

• .356 - STL Brendan Donovan

• .355 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

• .354 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .349 - TOR George Springer

• .349 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• .341 - NYM Pete Alonso

• .338 - MIL Sal Frelick

• .337 - BOS Trevor Story

Judge is currently leading in RBI as well (25), and of course is amongst the leaders in HR with 7, just two back of Tyler Soderstrom and Cal Raleigh. It is early of course, but perhaps Judge is capable of a triple crown?

Also, it is nice to see Paul Goldschmidt, George Springer, and Trevor Story having comeback seasons thus far, and Pete Alonso has been on fire with 6 HR and 9 doubles for a .718 SLG that leads both leagues.

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 22…

• 1876: The birth of the National League. In the first National League game ever played, Joe Borden of the Boston Red Caps beats the hometown Philadelphia Athletics, 6-5.

• 1915: Yankees pinstripes are born. On this date pinstripes first appear on New York Yankees uniforms.

• 1970: Tom Seaver strikes out 19. According to baseball-reference.com, “Tom Seaver of the New York Mets strikes out the last ten batters he faces in a 2-1 victory against the San Diego Padres. Seaver gives up only two hits and finishes with a total of 19 strikeouts, tying Steve Carlton's major league record. The ten consecutive strikeouts are a record that will be tied, but not bettered.”

• 1993: Chris Bosio throws a no-hitter. Seattle’s Chris Bosio pitches a no-hitter to give the Mariners a 7-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

• 2023: Adolis García has a career game. Adolis García led the Rangers to an 18-3 win over the Athletics, as he homered three times in the first five innings, was hit by a pitch, and then doubled in each of his final two plate appearances. In all he had 16 total bases, 5 runs, and 8 RBI.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Jimmy Key (1961) played over half of his 15-year career with the Blue Jays, with the rest coming with the Yankees and Orioles. A five-time All-Star, Key led the AL with a 2.76 ERA in 1987, and in wins with a 17-4 record in the strike-shortened 1994. He never won a Cy Young Award, but came in the top five in voting three times. He retired with a 186-117 (.614) record, 3.51 ERA, and 122 ERA+.

• Mickey Vernon (1918) had a 20-year career mostly with the Washington Senators, but spent a half dozen seasons with four other teams. A seven-time All-Star, Vernon had moderate speed early in his career, and developed a little power later in his career, with a high of 20 HR in 1954. Arguably his best offensive numbers overall came the year before, in 1953, when he led the AL with 43 doubles and a .337 average, to go with 101 runs, 11 triples, 15 HR, and 115 RBI. He retired with a .286/.359/.428 slash line and 116 OPS+.

• Kevin Kiermaier (1990) announced his retirement after the 2024 season, having spent 12 years in the majors, mostly with the Rays. Known primarily for his outstanding defense in CF, he won four Gold Glove Awards, while also often providing 10+ HR and 10+ SB.

• Dee Strange-Gordon (1988) is the son of 21-year pitcher Tom Gordon, and the older brother of Nick Gordon who has played in the majors for parts of four years and is currently in the minors. Strange-Gordon was one of the top base-stealers of his generation, swiping 30+ bags six times, and leading his league in SB three times: 64 in 2014, 58 in 2015, and 60 in 2017. He mostly split his 11-year career between the Dodgers, Marlins, and Mariners, and in 2015 led the NL with 205 hits and a .333 average, while also earning a Gold Glove Award at 2B. A two-time All-Star, he retired with a .286 average and 336 SB.

Today’s Matchups

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

• SDP vs. DET features two starters having a good 2025 so far in Nick Pivetta (1.57 ERA, 23 IP, 14 H, 24 K) and Jack Flaherty (2.53 ERA, 21.1 IP, 14 H, 25 K).

• LAD vs. CHC also features two pitchers doing well so far this year in Dustin May (1.06 ERA, 17 IP, 7 H, 14 K) and Shota Imanaga (2.22 ERA, 28.1 IP, 18 H, 21 K).

• SEA vs. BOS features the 2025 debut of SP Brayan Bello, someone the Red Sox are counting on if they are going to contend in such a difficult division this year.

Also on the bump today are PHL Cristopher Sánchez and Chris Bassitt.

HR Watch

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

• SDP Fernando Tatis Jr, small sample but is 7-10 with 2 HR and 4 doubles vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• HOU Yordan Alvarez, 8-19 with 5 HR and a double vs. TOR Chris Bassitt (who has been excellent so far this year with a 0.77 ERA and 31 K in 23.1 IP)

• DET Gleyber Torres, only 4-17 with 7 K, but has 2 HR and a double vs. SDP Nick Pivetta (who as noted above has also been excellent with 1.57 ERA, 23 IP, 24 K)

• CHW Andrew Vaughn, only 5-20 with 9 K, but has 2 HR and a double vs. MIN Bailey Ober

Also of note is LAD Tommy Edman who is 2-5 with 2 HR vs. CHC Shota Imanaga, and Austin Riley who is 3-3 with a HR and a double vs. STL Andre Pallante.

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. In addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• SFG Willy Adames, 6-17 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. MIL Jose Quintana

• NYY Anthony Volpe, small sample but is 3-6 with a HR vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

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 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr

• 12 - HOU Jeremy Pena

• 10 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• 9 - MIA Eric Wagaman

• 9 - NYM Luisangel Acuna

• 8 - PHI Bryson Stott

• 8 - PHI Alec Bohm

• 8 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 7 - ATL Drake Baldwin

• 7 - CIN Austin Hays

• 7 - CIN Gavin Lux

• 7 - CHW Lenyn Sosa

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:

• BOS Alex Bregman, 1-15 but with 0 K vs. SEA Bryce Miller

• CHW Luis Robert Jr., 1-11 with 5 K (though the hit was a HR) vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• SDP Manny Machado, 2-14 with 5 K (but also 8 BB) vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• HOU Isaac Paredes, 2-14 with 4 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Yesterday, the Marlins’ Max Meyer, had a great game striking out 14 in only 6 innings. A.J. Burnett did the same on July 6, 2005, though he otherwise didn’t do as well with 4 hits, 5 walks, 4 earned runs allowed. The Marlins record for most strikeouts in one game is held by Ricky Nolasco who had 16 K in 7.2 IP on September 30, 2009. Also of note, José Fernández has by far the the most Marlins games (5) with 14 or more strikeouts.

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