The Baseball Buffet for 4/26/2025

Issue #257

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 30th day of the season included a typical Friday full slate of 15 games, though two were rained out:

• PHI 0, CHC 4 - Colin Rea pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and the Cubs had 11 hits, with 6 doubles and 4 stolen bases to spread their four runs out over four different innings.

• NYM 4, WAS 5 - An interesting mix of hits in this one, 18 singles… and 3 triples (CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, Mark Vientos). Jake Irvin pitched well (7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K), but the Nationals were losing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth when Crews hit his triple, and then a couple of singles led to the comeback win.

• TOR 4, NYY 2 - José Berríos pitched well (5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and Vladimir Guerrero had his 6th HR. Carlos Carrasco pitched well too (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 K) but then Devin Williams once again struggled in the closer role in the ninth giving up 3 runs off three hits and a hit batter.

• HOU 0, KCR 2 - Seth Lugo was outstanding in this one (8 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), Lucas Erceg picked up his first save of the year, and Bobby Witt Jr. was 3-4 to raise his average to .320 and extend his active hitting streak to 17 games.

• LAA 4, MIN 11 - The Angels outhit the Twins 10-8, and Logan O’Hoppe and Mike Trout each hit HR. But those were solo shots, whereas Byron Buxton hit a 2-run HR and Trevor Larnach hit a 3-run HR. They each had another extra base hit as well (Buxton a triple, Larnach a double), while Pablo Lopez pitched well enough (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6K) to get the win in his first start back from the IL.

• MIL 2, STL 3 - Matthew Liberatore pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and three Cardinals relievers shutout the Brewers in the final three innings, with Ryan Helsley notching his fourth save.

• PIT 3, LAD 0 - Yoshinobu Yamamoto was uncharacteristically wild giving up 4 walks in 5 IP, and allowing all three Pirates runs (only 1 ER, so his ERA on the year remains an impressive 1.06). Oneil Cruz stole his 12th base (tied for the MLB lead), but the main story was Paul Skenes pitching well (6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) and struggling closer David Bednar getting his second save of the year.

• CIN 8, COL 7 - There were 23 hits and 15 runs in Colorado in this one. For the Rockies, 24-year old Jordan Beck had two more HR, giving him five in two days after he had three in the double-header on Thursday. For the Reds, Spencer Steer had his second HR of the season, and as the offenses cooled off at the end, Emilio Pagan recorded his sixth save on the year.

• TBR 1, SDP 0 - By contrast, this one was a pitching duel in a pitcher’s park, with both Michael King (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) and Shane Baz (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6K) doing well. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 2-4 with a double and raised his average to .340 on the year.

• ATL 8, AZ 2 - Chris Sale did well enough (5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K) to earn his first win of the season, and the Braves lineup went 6 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

• MIA 8, SEA 4 - Dylan Moore and Jorge Polanco each had a HR, but the Mariners were only 1-9 with runners in scoring position. The Marlins on the other hand were 5-8 in that situation, and also got homers from Jesús Sánchez and Agustín Ramírez—the first of the 23-year old rookie’s career.

• ATH 6, CHW 5 - Tyler Soderstrom went 3-4, Jacob Wilson went 3-4 with his third HR of the year, and Athletics starter Luis Severino struck out 7 in 6 IP.

• TEX 2, SFG 0 - Justin Verlander pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), but the two runs he allowed were enough as Nathan Eovaldi was again excellent (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Luke Jackson closed it out with his 8th save on the year.

• BAL vs. DET - postponed

• BOS vs. CLE - postponed

Today’s Trivia Question

Nolan Ryan has the record for the most no-hitters with seven. He also tied the record for the most one-hitters with 12. Whose record did he tie?

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

• MIN 3B Royce Lewis

• BOS SP Lucas Giolito

League Leaders

Continuing my rotation through current league leaders in various categories, today I’ll circle back to look at ERA again, as we are down to just one qualified starter below 1.00, but several still below 2.00:

• 0.68 - TEX Tyler Mahle

• 1.06 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 1.16 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 1.20 - SDP Nick Pivetta

• 1.26 - NYM Kodak Senga

• 1.39 - WAS Mitchell Parker

• 1.42 - NYY Max Fried

• 1.45 - KCR Kris Bubic

• 1.72 - PIT Andrew Heaney

• 1.88 - TOR Chris Bassitt

• 1.95 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 1.98 - SFG Logan Webb

League leader Tyler Mahle, along with the Yankees’ Max Fried, are scheduled to pitch today.

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 26…

• 1941: The first MLB organ is installed. According to baseball-reference.com, “Wrigley Field becomes the first ballpark to install an organ to entertain fans, with Roy Nelson manning the keyboard. But Nelson's successful pregame serenade doesn't help the Chicago Cubs as they fall to pitcher Max Lanier and the rival St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2.”

• 1959: Sadaharu Oh hits his first home run. According to baseball-reference.com, “Sadaharu Oh hits the first HR of his Nippon Pro Baseball career. Oh will go on to hit 868 home runs during his stellar career in Japan, setting a record for the most documented home runs in professional baseball history.”

• 1969: The Babe briefly had 715 HR. According to baseball-reference.com, “The Baseball Records Committee decides to give Babe Ruth credit for one more home run during his career for a total of 715. The committee rules that one of Ruth's home runs had been incorrectly ruled a triple. The committee will later reverse its decision, returning Ruth to a total of 714 home runs.”

• 2017 - The first AL/NL player from Africa. According to baseball-reference.com, “Gift Ngoepe becomes the first major leaguer from Africa. Entering in a double switch in a 6-5 Pirates win over the Cubs, the South Africa native singles and walks off Jon Lester in his first two plate appearances and helps turn the game-ending double play. He is the second player to debut this week for the Pirates as the first player from his country, following Lithuania's Dovydas Neverauskas by two days.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Aaron Judge (1992) is one of the superstars of his generation. He won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2017 with one of the best rookie seasons ever, as he led the AL with 128 runs, 52 HR, and 127 BB to go with 114 RBI and a .284/.422/.627 slash line. He would eclipse most of those lofty numbers in 2022 with AL-leading 133 runs, 62 HR, 131 RBI, and 111 BB, to go with a .311/.425/.686 slash line. In 2024 he would again pace the AL with 58 HR, 144 RBI, and 133 walks. And he’s off to a great start in 2025, batting .409 with 7 HR in 26 games.

• Hack Wilson (1900) was a Hall of Famer who played from 1923-1934, with his best seasons coming with the Cubs. He led the NL in HR four times, including his career year in 1930 when he won the NL MVP Award with 56 HR to go with an all-time major league record of 191 RBI. He was a stocky (5’6”, 190 pounds) centerfielder who was a powerful hitter, but also had a combative nature and issues with alcohol consumption that was likely a factor in the early end to his career. He retired with a .307/.395/.545 slash line and 144 OPS+.

• Amos Otis (1947) had a solid 17-year major league career, mostly with the Royals. He was a good CF, taking home three AL Gold Glove Awards. A five-time All-Star, he had modest power with a career high 26 HR in 1973, but even better speed on the bases with seven seasons of 25+ SB and a high of 52 in 1971 which paced the AL. He retired with 193 HR, 341 SB, a .277/.343/.425 slash line, and 115 OPS+.

• Virgil Trucks (1917) was a two-time All-Star who pitched 17 years in the majors, primarily with the Tigers but also spending time with four other clubs. He won 20 games once, and 19 games twice, and had a 3.39 ERA and 117 ERA+ for his career.

• Sal Maglie (1917) was a two-time All-Star over a 10-year major league career. After working his way through the minors he pitched for the New York Giants in 1945. He jumped to the Mexican League and because of that was suspended from MLB for several years, finally rejoining the Giants in 1950 and going 18-4 with a league-leading 2.71 ERA. In 1951 he paced the NL in wins with a 23-6 record, and then went 18-8 the following year. Overall he retired with an impressive 119-62 (.657) record, 3.15 ERA, and 127 ERA+.

• Mike Scott (1955) was a three-time All-Star who started in the majors with the Mets, but had his best seasons with the Astros. He went 18-8 in 1985, and then won the NL Cy Young Award in 1986 when he was 18-10 with an NL-leading 2.22 ERA and 306 strikeouts. He came in second in the NL CYA vote in 1989 after going 20-10 with a 3.10 ERA.

Today’s Matchups

A typical full slate on a Saturday, plus two extra games to make up for rainouts yesterday, so lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• TOR vs. NYY features Kevin Gausman (3.16 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 26 K in 31.1 IP) vs. Max Fried (1.42 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 30 K in 31.2 IP).

• PIT vs. LAD follows yesterday’s big pitching showdown with Mitch Keller vs. MLB rookie Roki Sasaki who has a 3.20 ERA but continues to walk a lot of batters (16 BB in 19.2 IP).

Also on the hill today are MLB ERA leader TEX Tyler Mahle, plus STL Sonny Gray, CIN Hunter Greene, PHI Jesús Luzardo, NYM Clay Holmes, and SDP Dylan Cease,

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:

• NYY Aaron Judge, 13-39 (.333) with 6 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• SFG Willy Adames, small sample but is 4-8 with 2 HR and a double vs. Tyler Mahle (currently leading MLB in lowest ERA)

Shohei Ohtani is also 2-8 with 2 HR vs. PIT Mitch Keller, and Kyle Higashioka is 2-7 with 2 HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray.

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:

• MIN Carlos Correa, 11-23 with a triple and 2 doubles vs. Yusei Kikuchi

• CIN Gavin Lux, 8-20 vs. COL Antonio Senzatela (and in Colorado)

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 8-15 with a HR and a double vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 7-12 with a HR vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• TEX Kevin Pillar, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray

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:

• 17 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr

• 12 - MIA Eric Wagaman

• 11 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 9 - CIN Gavin Lux

• 9 - ATL Matt Olson

• 9 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 9 - PIT Adam Frazier

• 7 - STL Willson Contreras

• 7 - CLE Steven Kwan

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:

• NYY Anthony Volpe, 2-17 with 10 K (though the two hits were a HR and double) vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 2-18 with 9 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• KCR Hunter Renfroe, 4-24 with 12 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• TBR Christopher Morel, 0-11 with 6 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 1-12 with 5 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez (could Witt’s 17-game streak end today?)

• CHC Kyle Tucker, 1-13 vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

• CHC Justin Turner, 1-10 vs. PHI PHI Jesús Luzardo

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Nolan Ryan had 7 no-hitters, and he had his 12th one-hitter on this date, April 26th, 1990, when the Texas Rangers beat the White Sox 1-0. Ryan struck out 16 batters as he allowed only Ron Kittle's check-swing single to right field in the second inning. The record that he tied for the most one-hitters was held by Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer Bob Feller.

This newsletter was produced with beehiiv, an outstanding platform for creating email newsletters and blogs. If this might be of interest for your own creative work, get a 30-day trial and 30% off your first three months!