Issue #622
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!
⚾ Welcome! ⚾
Yesterday featured a full slate of games, plus a make-up game doubleheader. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
STL 4, PIT 2 - The Pirates went with a bullpen day yesterday, and it worked really well... until it didn't. Mason Montgomery (1 IP), Justin Lawrence (1 IP), and Wilber Dotel (4 IP) had a combined perfect game going through six innings. Three other Pirates relievers kept the shutout going, but then in the ninth inning the Cardinals came alive against Dennis Santana. Pedro Pagés and JJ Wetherholt hit back-to-back HR to tie the game 2-2, and then a single, walk, and double scored two more. STL SP Dustin May gave up two runs early but then did well (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), and eventually George Soriano pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the year.
BOS 5, TOR 0 - BOS SP Ranger Suárez had a no-hitter going through five innings, finally giving up a double to Jesús Sánchez to lead off the sixth. Overall though he had 10 K in 8 IP (1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB), and Greg Weissert pitched the ninth to combine for the shutout. Meanwhile the Red Sox scored four in the middle innings off TOR SP Dylan Cease (5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), and then Carlos Narváez added a solo HR in the eighth.
NYY 4, TEX 2
TBR 3, CLE 2
SEA 4, MIN 11
LAA 7, CWS 8
CHC 7, SDP 9
MIA 4, LAD 5
Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is Barry Larkin. He played his entire career with the Reds, and ranks third in games played for that franchise with 2,180. Can you name the two players who played in more games for the Reds? For bonus points, can you name the next three after Larkin, who also played in 2,000+ games for the Reds?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Barry Larkin, Matt Chapman, Red Lucas, Tom Browning
In addition to Matt Chapman, other currently active players who were born on April 28 include TBR SP Shane McClanahan, ARI Alek Thomas, and NYY Anthony Volpe.
See what you are missing!
What you are reading are just some highlights from the full Baseball Buffet newsletter. Paid All Star subscribers receive all of the following, every day:
Game summaries for every game
Current MLB standings
Notable player transactions… injuries, call-ups, free agent signings, trades, etc.
Rotating statistical leader lists
Current hitting streaks of seven or more games
On this day in baseball history…
Career summaries for each of The Birthday Boys
Daily Hitter Watch and Pitcher Watch lists - who has historically done well or poorly against their matchup today?
Good Reads… my favorite recent baseball articles from other writers
… and the answers to the daily trivia questions!
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Today’s Matchups
Today we have a full slate of games (15), with the following being some of the interesting matchups (see also full list):
BOS Payton Tolle vs. TOR Trey Yesavage - to great young pitchers, with Tolle making his second major league start of the year, and Yesavage making his first
SEA Logan Gilbert vs. MIN Joe Ryan - two usually good starters who have had mixed results so far this year
LAA José Soriano vs. CWS Davis Martin - Martin is off to a good start this year, but Soriano has been truly outstanding
NYY Cam Schlitter vs. TEX Jacob deGrom - a good young pitcher vs. a good veteran pitcher
Other starters who are climbing the hill today include CIN Chase Burns, PHI Jesús Luzardo, MIN Clay Holmes, DET Casey Mize, CHC Edward Cabrera, and LAD Shohei Ohtani.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, so here are a few quotes from him:
"What people don't realize is that professionals are sensational because of the fundamentals. The sensationalism has taken over the professionalism."
"I have a love for Shea Stadium and its fans. I had so much fun with the fans. Yeah, they booed me. I was like, 'I know, I know.'"
"I'm glad that I just played baseball, because I'm sure I had a much longer baseball career than I would've had a football career. I did miss football, but I didn't miss some of the injuries from football."
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.
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