The Baseball Buffet for 5/1/2025

Issue #262

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 35th day of the season had a robust slate of 16 games:

• STL 6, CIN 0 (Gm 1) - Brady Singer pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 K), but the Reds were shut out by Miles Mikolas (5.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and three Cardinals relievers. Masyn Winn hit 2 HR, and Victor Scott II and Lars Nootbaar also homered. Elly De La Cruz stole two more bases to take the MLB lead with 13.

• STL 9, CIN 1 (Gm 2) - Things didn’t go well for Chase Petty in his major league debut. A former first-round draft pick (26th overall) of the Twins in 2021, Petty pitched 2.1 IP and let up 7 hits and 9 ER, with 2 BB and 3 K. Willson Contreras and Pedro Pagés each homered for the Cardinals, while Steven Matz pitched well in a short start (4 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).

• DET 7, HOU 4 - Detroit jumped out to a 7-1 lead through three innings, with Colt Keith hitting a HR and Javier Baez hitting a grand slam off Astros starter AJ Blubaugh in his major league debut. Riley Greene went 4-4, and Tommy Kahnle picked up his fifth save.

• ATL 1, COL 2 - Only 8 hits and 3 runs in this rare, low-offense game in Colorado. Chris Sale pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K) but the two runs he allowed was all it took to get tagged with the loss.

• MIA 7, LAD 12 - Kyle Stowers went 4-4 with 2 HR and a double, but the Marlins pitching allowed 17 hits and 12 runs, including three triples and HR by Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy (his first of the year). Tony Gonsolin had impressive control in his first start of the year (6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K).

• LAA 3, SEA 9 - Randy Arozarena hit his fifth HR, but otherwise Tyler Anderson pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). The game was tied 3-3 when Reid Detmers came in for the 7th and promptly let up 5 hits and 5 runs without getting any outs.

• SFG 3, SDP 5 - Michael King pitched well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and after Mike Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos hit homers off some Padres relievers, Robert Suarez came in for the ninth and secured his 12th save on the year.

• MIN 2, CLE 4 - Luis L. Ortiz pitched well (6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and catcher Bo Naylor provided the key hit with a 3-run HR in the bottom of the seventh.

• NYY 4, BAL 5 - Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías each homered off Carlos Carrasco (3.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Paul Goldschmidt hit his 3rd HR of the year, and Aaron Judge continued his hot hitting going 3-3 with a walk and his 10th HR, raising his batting average to .427.

• WAS 2, PHI 7 - Christopher Sanchez pitched well enough (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), three Phillies relievers pitched four shutout innings, and they got homers from Kyle Schwarber, Max Kepler, and J.T. Realmuto.

• KCR 3, TBR 0 - Vinnie Pasquantino hit his fourth HR of the year, Noah Cameron was a little wild but otherwise did well in his major league debut (6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K), and Carlos Estevez notched his ninth save.

• BOS 6, TOR 7 - Alex Bregman and Carlos Narvaez homered for Boston, while Toronto had homers from Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, and Anthony Santander. The game was tied 6-6 after nine innings, when in the bottom of the 10th, with one out and the bases loaded, Kirk singled to left scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the win.

• AZ 4, NYM 3 - Corbin Burnes was a bit wild and let up a HR to Mark Vientos, but otherwise pitched fairly well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 3 K). Justin Martinez allowed a HR to Tyrone Taylor in the bottom of the ninth, but Ryan Thompson finished off the game and earned his first save of the year.

• MIL 6, CHW 4 - The White Sox outhit the Brewers 10-8 but they also left more runners on base and made three fielding errors in the game. The Brewers used seven pitchers, but eventually Trevor Megill secured his third save of the year.

• CHC 3, PIT 4 - Both teams had 9 hits, but the Bucs did better with runners in scoring position (4-11 vs. only 1-6 for the Cubs). The decisive hit was a double by Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the 7th, that drove in both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds.

• ATH 7, TEX 1 - Nathan Eovaldi pitched really well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) but Luis Severino held the Rangers to one run as well (5 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). The game was tied going into the ninth when Brent Rooker hit a HR and then Lawrence Butler hit a grand slam.

Today’s Trivia Question

It is the end of April and Aaron Judge is sitting atop the batting average leaderboard with a .427 mark. That is very impressive, but not unprecedented. Since the year 2000, there have been 22 players who have been hitting .400 or higher at the end of April (minimum of 75 at-bats). Three have had a higher average than Judge’s current .427, including his current teammate Cody Bellinger (with LAD at the time) in 2019 at .431, and Luis Arraez (MIA) in 2023 at .438. Who was hitting .449 in 2000 at the end of April? (Hint: he ended up leading the majors with 240 hits that year, but didn’t win a batting title.)

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

• LAD SP Clayton Kershaw

• DET RP Beau Brieske

• AZ SP Slade Cecconi

• MIL SP Brandon Woodruff

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CIN 3B Jeimer Candelario - 10-day IL (lumbar spine strain)

• NYM RP Danny Young - 15-day IL (left elbow sprain)

• SEA OF Luke Raley - 10-day IL (right oblique strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• HOU RP Bryan Abreu

League Leaders

It has been a week since I checked in on the stole base leaders, and as noted above we have a new MLB leader:

• 13 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 12 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 12 - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 12 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 10 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 10 - STL Victor Scott II

• 9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 9 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

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 May 1…

• 1906 - Johnny Lush throws a no-hitter. Johnny Lush of the Philadelphia Phillies pitched a no-hitter at Brooklyn, beating the Dodgers 6-0. He went on to finish the season with an 18-15 record and 2.37, the best of his seven seasons in the majors.

• 1920: 26-inning pitching duel. According to baseball-reference.com, “Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Robins each pitch a 26-inning marathon in a 1-1 tie, the longest in major league history. Charlie Pick of Boston goes 0 for 11 at the plate during the deadlock at Braves Field, to set a major league record for hitless at-bats in one game.” Yes, you read that correctly, both pitchers threw complete games, all 26 innings each!

• 1969: Don Wilson throws a no-hitter. Don Wilson of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter, striking out 13, in a 4-0 victory over the Reds.

• 1991: Nolan Ryan throws his seventh and final no-hitter. In Texas, 44-year-old Rangers right-hander Nolan Ryan strikes out 16 Blue Jays for his seventh career no-hitter, a 3-0 win at Arlington Stadium.

• 1991: Rickey Henderson surpasses Lou Brock. Rickey Henderson becomes baseball’s all-time stole base leader with his 939th steal as the Oakland Athletics beat the New York Yankees 7-4.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• George McQuillan (1885) was a pitcher in the early 1900s, spending a 10-year career with the Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and Indians. His best season was his first full one, in 1908, when he went 23-17 with a 1.53 ERA over 42 starts. He never won more than 13 in a season after that, and although he retired with a 2.38 ERA that only translates into a 113 ERA+ given the time period in which he pitched.

• Marcus Stroman (1991) was drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round (22nd overall) in 2012, and was playing for them in the majors by 2014 when he went 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA as a rookie. A two-time All-Star since then, he has also spent time with the Mets and Cubs, and is now with the Yankees.

• Scooter Gennett (1990) had a seven-year major league career playing for the Brewers, Reds, and Giants. A 2B with some pop, he hit 27 HR in 2017 and 23 in 2018, the one year he was an All-Star. His biggest moment came on June 6, 2017, when he hit 4 HR in a single game. According to Wikipedia, Ryan Joseph Gennett got the nickname Scooter “from the character ‘Scooter’ on the show Muppet Babies after a childhood incident with the police. As a kid, he would constantly remove his seat-belt while traveling in the car, angering his mother. His mother took Scooter to a police station to attempt to scare him into keeping the seat-belt on. When the policeman asked Gennett his name, he replied ‘Scooter’; his mother asked him, ‘Where did you come up with that?’ He replied, ‘The Muppets’, and has gone by that name ever since.”

Today’s Matchups

As is typical for Thursday, we have only a partial slate (11) of games as some teams are travelling or otherwise have a day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• CHC vs. PIT is interesting per usual because it is Paul Skenes day (2.39 ERA, 39 K in 37.2 IP). But the Cubs lineup is formidable, and Chicago is going with Colin Rea who has been increasing his inning count lately and has an impressive 0.96 ERA over 18.2 IP so far this year.

• AZ vs. NYM features Zac Gallen who has struggled some this year (5.57 ERA, 35 K in 32.1 IP) vs. Kodai Senga who most definitely has not struggled (1.26 ERA, 25 K in 28.2 IP).

Other starting pitchers of note for today include TBR Shane Baz, TEX Tyler Mahle, DET Casey Mize, and SFG Justin Verlander.

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:

• BOS Jarren Duran, 9-18 with 3 HR and 5 doubles vs. TOR José Berríos

• TEX Marcus Semien, 6-13 with 3 HR vs. ATH Jeffrey Springs (Semien got off to a bad start this year, but has hit in his last five games)

• STL Nolan Arenado, 6-13 with 2 HR vs. CIN Andrew Abbott

• SFG Tyler Fitzgerald, small sample but is 3-5 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Kyle Freeland

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:

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 7-12 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. CHC Colin Rea

• SFG Mike Yastrzemski, 8-18 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• DET Gleyber Torres, 10-28 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

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:

• 21 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr

• 14 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 11 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 10 - DET Zach McKinstry

• 10 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 10 - PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes

• 9 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 9 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 9 - MIL William Contreras

• 8 - TEX Josh Jung

• 8 - ATL Eli White

• 7 - CHW Miguel Vargas

• 7 - SFG Jung Hoo Lee

• 7 - TEX Jonah Heim

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:

• TOR Alejandro Kirk, 0-14 with 3 K vs. BOS Tanner Houck

• TOR George Springer, 0-12 with 5 K vs. BOS Tanner Houck

• SFG Willy Adames, 0-13 with 4 K vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• LAA Jorge Soler, 1-11 with 3 K vs. DET Casey Mize

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

It is the end of April and Aaron Judge is sitting atop of the batting average leaderboard with an impressive .427 average (50-117). In the year 2000, Darin Erstad of the Angels was hitting .449 (48-107) at the end of April. He would go on to lead the majors with 240 hits, but his .355 average came in second in the AL Nomar Garciaparra hit .372 (and Todd Helton led the NL at .372 as well).

Good Reads

New Feature! Here I will provide one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• 7 teams have made a big leap at certain positions, by Brian Murphy at MLB, 4/29/2025

• 10 surprises from the 1st month of the 2025 season, by Jason Foster at MLB, 4/27/2025

• 8 rebound candidates off to promising starts, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 4/24/2025

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