Issue #600
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! ⚾
[The below are some appetizers from today’s full Baseball Buffet newsletter. Paid All Star subscribers receive the full edition. Upgrade now at 30% off the annual rate!]
Yesterday featured a full slate of games, including a double-header. One game was rained out, so we ended up with 15 contests. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
HOU 11, ATH 0 - Tatsuya Imai did much better in his second major league start than in his debut, notching 9 K while not allowing any runs (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K). Two Houston relievers combined for a five-hit shutout, while the Astros' lineup roughed up Luis Morales (3 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 0 K) and the A's bullpen for 18 hits and 11 runs. Yordan Alvarez was only 1-1 with a single, but also walked four times. Christian Walker went 3-5 with a HR and his sixth double of the year, with a walk, 3 runs, and 2 RBI. Joey Loperfido went 3-4 with 2 walks, a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBI, Yainer Diaz went 3-5 with a walk, 2 RBI, and Christian Vazquez went 3-6 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
MIA 7, NYY 9 - The Marlins jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, as NYY SP Ryan Weathers allowed many baserunners (3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). MIA SP Max Meyer did well (4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), giving up a 2-run HR to Cody Bellinger in the fifth. The Yankees kept scoring from there, and built up a 9-6 lead through eight innings, with Aaron Judge going 2-4 with a BB and 2 runs, and Giancarlo Stanton going 1-3 with 2 BB and 2 RBI. Yankees’ closer David Bednar came in for the ninth inning, and gave up three hits and a walk, but only allowed one run before getting Griffin Conine to strike out with two outs and the bases loaded. Bednar sure makes things interesting!
SEA 0, LAA 1 - Zach Neto led off the bottom of the first inning with his third HR of the season. SEA SP Emerson Hancock settled in after that (6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), but the damage was done as LAA Jack Kochanowicz did well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), and five Angeles relievers combined for a five-hit shutout, including Jordan Roman who earned his third save. Angels’ RF Jo Adell went 1-3 with a single, but he was MVP of the game as he amazingly had three catches that robbed the Mariners of home runs—including one in the ninth inning where he went over the fence. See the article by Jared Greenspan at MLB for more info and video of these three great catches!
MIL 5, KCR 2 (Gm 1)
MIL 2, KCR 8 (Gm 2)
STL 6, DET 11
TOR 3, CWS 6
LAD 10, WSH 5
BAL 2, PIT 3
SDP 3, BOS 2
CIN 2, TEX 0
ATL 1, ARI 2
TBR 7, MIN 1
PHI 2, COL 1
NYM 9, SFG 0
CHC vs. CLE - postponed
Today’s Trivia Question
One of yesterday's Birthday Boys was Gil Hodges, who had 361 of his 370 HR with the Dodgers. Even with the Dodgers' long history as a franchise, their all-time HR leader only had 389 HR with the club - can you name him? (For bonus points, how many of the six other players can you name who hit 200 or more HR while with the Dodgers, meaning both Brooklyn and Los Angeles?)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Bill Dineen, Ron Hansen, Rennie Stennett
Currently active players who were born on April 5 include LAD Bobby Miller, BAL José Barrero, and ARI John Curtiss.
Today’s Matchups
Today we again have a full slate plus one, as the Cubs and Guardians have a double-header to make up yesterday’s postponed game. Here are some matchups of interest:
NYM Kodai Senga vs. SFG Logan Webb - the always interesting Senga taking on the Giants' ace
MIA Chris Paddack vs. NYY Max Fried - Fried owns a 0.00 ERA in his first two starts, and the Yankees have the best record in baseball at 7-1
CIN Chase Burns vs. TEX Jack Leiter - good matchup of two young pitchers
CHC vs. CLE is a doubleheader - Game 1 has CHC Edward Cabrera vs. CLE Slade Cecconi, and Game 2 has CHC Shota Imanaga vs. CLE Parker Messiack
Other pitchers taking the mound today include LAD Roki Sasaki, BOS Ranger Suárez, and SEA Luis Castillo.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Bill Dineen, who pitched from 1898-1909, and then had a long career as a MLB umpire. Here is an interesting quote from him:
"If I were a club owner, I would invest $15,000 in a scout and $5,000 in a manager. An old manager can run a team of real baseball players. But the best leader in the world can’t make bad material good. Every major league team needs a thoroughbred judge of raw material more than a teacher of baseball tricks."
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
Want more?
The above was just some highlights from today’s full Baseball Buffet. Paid All Star subscribers receive all of the following, every day:
Longer 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 answer to the trivia question!
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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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