The Baseball Buffet for 4/29/2025

Issue #260

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 33rd day of the season had a typical Monday short slate of only eight games:

• NYM 19, WAS 5 - This one had 33 hits, 24 runs in all, but with the Mets having most of that fun (21 hits, 19 runs). Griffin Canning pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 K), so it was recent call-up José Ureña who allowed some runs late to the Nationals including James Wood’s 9th HR and Nathaniel Lowe’s 5th HR. Lots of Mets filled up their stat lines, including Jeff McNeil 2-5 with a HR and a triple, and Mark Vientos going 2-4 with a HR, with 4 runs and 3 RBI. But the biggest line was Brandon Nimmo who went 4-6 with two HR (one was a grand slam), a double, 4 runs, and 9 RBI.

• MIN 11, CLE 1 - The Twins didn’t go as bonkers as the Mets, but they did have 17 hits and 11 runs. Every Minnesota player in the starting lineup got a hit, with Ryan Jeffers going 2-4 with a HR and a double, and Edouard Julien also hitting a HR. Meanwhile Bailey Ober pitched quite well (7.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) for the win.

• NYY 3, BAL 4 - The Yankees were down 4-0 after three innings, tried to mount a comeback late, but fell short. Ryan O’Hearn did the main damage with a 3-run HR in the third inning, while Tomoyuki Sugano pitched well (5 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), and Felix Bautista locked down his fourth save. One encouraging sign for the Yankees was seeing the struggling Devin Williams not allow any hits or runs in one inning of work.

• STL 1, CIN 3 - Jose Trevino hit a HR and Gavin Lux went 3-4 with two doubles to raise his average to .352 on the season. Nick Martinez pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 K) and Emilio Pagán notched his 8th save.

• ATH 1, TEX 2 - Tyler Soderstrom hit a 2-run double in the fifth inning and that was enough in this low-scoring affair. JP Sears pitched well (5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), and Mason Miller secured his ninth save of the year.

• DET 5, HOU 8 - The Tigers scored all of their runs from HR, two by Riley Greene, and one from Kerry Carpenter. The Astros outhit the Tigers 10-5, and had two HR of their own, from Jose Altuve and Christian Walker. Josh Hader struck out two in the ninth to get his 8th save.

• ATL 6, COL 3 - Hunter Goodman hit a 3-run HR that provided the Rockies only runs of the game. Bryce Elder otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 K), and three Braves relievers shut down Colorado the rest of the game, with Raisel Iglesias getting his fifth save.

• MIA 6, LAD 7 - The Dodgers spread out five runs in the first five innings, including a 2-run HR by Teoscar Hernandez in the fifth. But then Marlins pinch-hitter Dane Myers hit a grand slam in the top of the sixth to tie the game 5-5. The game remained tied through nine, with the Marlins scoring a run off a Jesús Sánchez double in the top of the 10th. But in the bottom of the 10th, Tommy Edman drove in two with a walk-off single.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, the Mets had a big game offensively, with Brandon Nimmo leading the way with 2 HR, a double, and 9 RBI. According to Stathead, that is the 43rd time since 1901 that a player has had 9 RBI in a game. Interestingly, there have been plenty of all-time greats who have had 9+ RBI in a game, but no one has done so twice. Two trivia questions on this:

• Every position is represented on the list of players with 9+ RBI in a game. Who was the pitcher who did it?

• Since 1901 there have been 12 players with 10 RBI in a game and 2 with 11 RBI. But what two players have the record of 12 RBI in one game?

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

• BAL C Gary Sanchez - 10-day IL (right wrist inflammation)

• BAL 2B Jordan Westburg - 10-day IL

Also of note, the Braves continue to “get the band back together,” as a day after signing former post-season hero Ian Anderson, now they are doing the same with OF Eddie Rosario. Although Rosario didn’t do much with the Braves and Nationals last year, he has been hitting well for AAA Oklahoma City (LAD), batting .339 in 59 at-bats. And in 2021 he was the Braves NLCS MVP after going 14-25 (.560) with 3 HR and 9 RBI. Rosario will essentially replace Jarred Kelenic, who the Braves acquired via trade from the Mariners during this past off season. A former prospect that Atlanta hoped would prosper from a change of scenery, he has been demoted to AAA after hitting only .167 with 2 HR in 60 at-bats.

League Leaders

It has been a full week since I checked in on batting average… Judge and Goldy are still at the top:

• .405 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .361 - NYY Paul Goldschmidt

• .352 - CIN Gavin Lux

• .349 - STL Brandon Donovan

• .346 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• .345 - CLE Steven Kwan

• .337 - NYM Pete Alonso

• .325 - TOR George Springer

• .324 - SFG Jung Hoo Lee

• .321 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .321 - DET Zach McKinstry

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 29…

• 1913: The Reds forgot their uniforms. According to baseball-reference.com, “Wearing the uniforms of the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds lose to the Chicago Cubs, 7-2, at West Side Grounds. Cincinnati forgot to pack uniforms and has to don those of their opponents' crosstown rivals.”

• 1922: The Giants hit four inside-the-park HR. According to baseball-reference.com, “The New York Giants hit four inside-the-park home runs at Braves Field. George Kelly hits a pair and Ross Youngs and Dave Bancroft both hit one apiece as the Giants defeat the Boston Braves, 12-3.”

• 1931: Wes Ferrell throws a no-hitter… and also hit a HR and a double. Wes Ferrell threw a no-hitter as the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns 7-0. Known for being a good hitting pitcher, Ferrell also knocked in four runs with a homer and a double. And also of note, Wes’ brother Rick was playing for the Browns.

• 1986: Roger Clemens strikes out 20 to set a new record. Red Sox starter Roger Clemens set a major league record for 9-inning games by striking out 20, leading Boston to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

• 1988: The Orioles finally win one. The Baltimore Orioles ended their 21-game losing streak with their first win of the season, 9-0 over the Chicago White Sox on a combined four-hitter by Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Luis Aparicio (1934) is a Hall of Famer and was a 13-time All-Star during his 18-year career from 1956-1973. He played the most with the White Sox, but also spent time with the Orioles and Red Sox. He was AL Rookie of the Year in 1956 when he led the league with a modest 21 SB (an era with fairly low SB totals). That was the first of nine consecutive seasons where Aparicio led his league in SB, including four seasons with 50 or more. He was outstanding defensively at SS as well, taking home nine Gold Glove Awards, leading his league in SS assists seven times and SS fielding percentage eight times.

• Noodles Hahn (1879) was born Frank George Hahn, but acquired the nickname Noodles as a child and it stuck. He had a relatively short major league career, pitching from 1899-1905 with the Reds and then 1906 with the New York Highlanders. A lefty, Hahn won 20+ games four times, and led the NL in strikeouts in each of his first three seasons. He went to school to become a veterinarian even while still playing, so when arm trouble arose in 1906, he knew he had another career option. He tried to make a few comebacks, but 1906 was his last year in the majors. His career record was 130-94 (.580), with a 2.55 ERA and 132 ERA+.

• Nip Winters (1899) was a left-handed pitcher in the negro leagues in the 1920s and early 1930s. From 1923-1932 Winters pitched eight seasons in major negro leagues, and according to numbers available at baseball-reference.com he led his league in wins four times, ERA once, and strikeouts once. His career numbers include an 89-42 (.679) record, 3.55 ERA, and 127 ERA+.

• Rick Burleson (1951) was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round (5th overall) in 1970. He played most of his best seasons for Boston, starting in 1974. He was a four-time All-Star, received down-ballot MVP consideration four times, and won an AL Gold Glove Award at SS in 1979. He had only modest power or stolen base ability, but retired with a .273 batting average.

Today’s Matchups

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

• CHC vs. PIT has two good lefties in Shota Imanaga (3.18 ERA, 27 K in 34 IP) up against Andrew Heaney who is off to a good start on the year (1.72 ERA, 31 K in 31.1 IP).

• WAS vs. PHI has the two pitchers with the most strikeouts so far this year facing off: MacKenzie Gore (3.34 ERA, 53 K in 35 IP) vs. Zack Wheeler (3.62 ERA, 50 K in 37.1 IP).

• SFG vs. SDP features two pitchers with sub-2.00 ERA so far this year: Logan Webb (1.98 ERA, 44 K in 36.1 IP) vs. NIck Pivetta (1.20 ERA, 30 K in 30 IP).

Other pitchers of note taking the hill include BOS Garrett Crochet, MIL Freddy Peralta, and TEX Jacob deGrom.

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:

• WAS Josh Bell, 14-48, with 4 HR and 2 doubles vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• WAS Keibert Ruiz, 8-27 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

• LAD Michael Conforto, 8-29 with 3 HR vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• LAD Max Muncy, 6-17 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• LAD Mookie Betts, 6-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• ATL Ozzie Albies, 4-11 with 2 HR vs. COL Germán Márquez

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 7-22 with 2 HR and a double vs. WAS MacKenzie Gore

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:

• SDP Luis Arraez, 7-11 with 0 strikeouts vs. SFG Logan Webb

• CIN Spencer Steer, 6-12 with a HR and a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• SDP Gavin Sheets, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 doubles vs. SFG Logan Webb

• AZ Randal Grichuk, 5-10 with a HR and 0 strikeouts vs. NYM David Peterson

• LAD Will Smith, 5-12 with a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• ATL Orlando Arcia, 5-13 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. COL Germán Márquez

• LAA Taylor Ward, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SEA Bryce Miller

Who is streaking?

These are players on active hit streaks and who for this reason (if playing) might also be interesting picks to get a hit today:

• 19 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr

• 12 - CIN Gavin Lux

• 12 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 11 - PIT Adam Frazier

• 11 - CLE Steven Kwan

• 10 - STL Willson Contreras

• 9 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 8 - DET Zach McKinstry

• 8 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 8 - PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes

• 8 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 7 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 7 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 7 - MIL Rhys Hoskins

• 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:

• MIN Edouard Julien, 1-11 with 7 K though the hit was a HR vs. CLE Tanner Bibee

• COL Elias Díaz, 1-22 with 5 K vs. SFG Logan Webb

• CIN Jake Fraley, 0-10 with 4 K vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• CHC Kyle Tucker, 1-13 but only 1 K and the hit was a HR vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• NYY Aaron Judge, 1-11 with 4 K vs. BAL Kyle Gibson

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

As noted above, Brandon Nimmo had 9 RBI yesterday. According to Stathead, that is the 43rd time since 1901 that a player has had 9 or more RBI in a game. This includes a pitcher, Tony Cloninger of the Braves, who on July 3, 1966 not only pitched a complete game (9 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 K), but led the Braves in their 17-3 rout of the Giants by hitting two HR, including one grand slam, with 9 RBI. The record for RBI in a game is held jointly by two Cardinals players, Jim Bottomley who had 12 RBI on September 16, 1924 in a 17-3 win over Brooklyn, and Mark Whiten who had 12 RBI (with 4 HR) in the second game of a double-header on September 7, 1993, in a 15-2 win over the Reds.

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