The Baseball Buffet for 5/10/2025

Issue #270

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 44th day of the season had a full Friday slate (15) of games:

• ATL 2, PIT 3 - Bryce Elder struck out 8 in 6 innings, but gave up three runs including solo homers to Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo. And that is all it took, as Bailey Falter pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and the Pirates held the Braves scoreless until finally giving up two runs in the top of the ninth.

• TEX 1, DET 2 - Each team only had 3 hits in this one, as Tarik Skubal was outstanding (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 12 K) and Patrick Corbin did pretty well too (7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K).

• STL 10, WAS 0 - The Cardinals had 11 hits and spread their 10 runs across six different innings. Meanwhile Erick Fedde pitched a complete game shutout (9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) to even his record to 3-3 on the year.

• MIL 3, TBR 4 - Runs were scattered around in this game, with neither team scoring more than one per inning. Brandon Lowe hit his fifth HR of the year, Zack Littell pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and Eric Orze notched his second save.

• CHC 2, NYM 7 - Kyle Tucker hit his 10th HR, but Clay Holmes otherwise pitched well to run his record to 5-1 on the year. All nine Mets starters got a hit, with HR coming from Francisco Lindor, Brett Baty, Jeff McNeil, and Juan Soto.

• PHI 0, CLE 6 - Aaron Nola again struggled (5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), giving up homers to Kyle Manzardo and Angel Martinez, and dropping his record to 1-6 on the year. Jose Ramirez tacked on his 6th HR, and Gavin Williams (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K) pitched well for the Guardians.

• BOS 1, KCR 2 - This one was a pitching duel that continued scoreless into extra innings. 25-year old Hunter Dobbins pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), but Michael Lorenzen matched him (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Finally in the 11th inning each team scored a run, and then in the bottom of the 12th Freddy Fermin singled to center to drive in Michael Massey for the winning run.

• MIA 2, CHW 6 - In a matchup of two divisional cellar-dwellers, the Marlins outhit the White Sox 7-6 but could only bring across two runs because they were an abysmal 1-15 with runners in scoring position. Bryce Wilson pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) for Chicago and Andrew Vaughn had his 4th HR of the season.

• CIN 0, HOU 3 - The Reds were held to only four hits as Hunter Brown once again pitched very well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9 K) and Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader closed the door in the last two innings, with Hader earning his ninth save.

• SFG 1, MIN 3 - Matt Chapman hit his 8th HR of the season, but Chris Paddack otherwise pitched well (7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and Danny Coulombe collected his second save while preserving his scoreless season thus far (17 games, 15.1 IP, 17 K, 0.00 ERA).

• SDP 13, COL 9 - The game was in Colorado, so offense was to be expected. Each team had 16 hits, with the Rockies getting solo HR from Michael Toglia, Ryan McMahon, and Jordan Beck. The Padres only had one homer, from light-hitting catcher Martín Maldonado of all people. But they did more with their hits, going 7 for 18 with runners in scoring position, including Gavin Sheets going 2-5 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI, and Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill having three hits each. Closer Robert Suarez got the last two outs for his MLB-leading 15th save of the year.

• BAL 4, LAA 1 - Gunnar Henderson went 2-4 with a HR and a triple, Tomoyuki Sugano pitched well (7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and Felix Bautista secured his seventh save this season.

• LAD 14, AZ 11 - The Dodgers built and early 8-3 lead by hammering Eduardo Rodriguez (2.2 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), including Kiké Hernández hitting his sixth HR of the year. But the Diamondbacks had five HR on the day, including two from Ketel Marte, and one each by Eugenio Suárez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Randal Grichuk. So after eight innings the D-Backs were up 11-8, but then Kevin Ginkel struggled (0.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 K), including giving up a 3-run HR to Shohei Ohtani, who also had two doubles and was 3-6 with 4 RBI on the day. Tanner Scott came in and struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to get his 9th save.

• TOR 6, SEA 3 - Addison Barger was 3-4 with three doubles, and Nathan Lukes had his second HR of the year to power the Blue Jays. Jeff Hoffman notched his 8th save.

• NYY 10, ATH 2 - Will Warren pitched well (7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and nine of the Yankees 14 hits went for extra bases, including a Paul Goldschmidt HR and three HR from Jasson Domínguez, including one grand slam. At 22 years and 91 days old, he is the youngest Yankee to have a 3-HR game, beating Joe DiMaggio’s previous record of 22 years, 200 days old.

A couple of interesting Central division notes:

• In the NL Central, the Cardinals have won six in a row while the first-place Cubs have lost three in a row, suddenly tightening that division a bit.

• In the AL Central, all five teams won yesterday, with the four teams besides the White Sox all on little win streaks lately: Tigers (5 game win streak), Guardians (3), Royals (7), and Twins (6).

Today’s Trivia Question

One more check-in today on where team stats are so far in 2025. Which teams have the best ERA for starters and the best ERA for relievers? What about the worst team ERAs, separately for starters and bullpens? (Hint: four different teams for these four answers)

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

• CHW C Korey Lee

• NYM SS Ronny Mauricio

🤕 Placed on the IL

• TOR 2B Andrés Giménez - 10-day IL (right quad strain)

• CIN SP Hunter Greene - 15-day IL (right groin strain)

• HOU SP Hayden Wesneski - 15-day IL (right elbow discomfort)

• PIT 1B Enmanuel Valdez - 10-day IL (left shoulder inflammation)

• SEA RP Trent Thornton - 15-day IL (appendicitis)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• CHC RP Caleb Thielbar

➡️ Traded

The Padres traded INF/OF Connor Joe to the Reds for minor league RHP Andrew Moore and cash considerations.

League Leaders

It has been ten days since I checked in on RBI leaders, and I see we have three sluggers in at tie at the top, with Wilmer Flores somehow still lurking just behind them:

• 34 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 34 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 34 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 33 - SFG Wilmer Flores

• 32 - DET Spencer Torkelson

• 32 - CHC Kyle Tucker

• 31 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 30 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 30 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 30 - AZ Geraldo Perdomo

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 10…

• 1967: Hank Aaron hits his only inside-the-park HR. According to baseball-reference.com, “In the eighth inning against Jim Bunning of the Phillies, Hank Aaron drives a ball to deep center field and scores ahead of the relay. It will be the only inside-the-park home run among his 755.”

• 1970: Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in his 1,000th game. The Braves' Hoyt Wilhelm becomes the first major league pitcher to appear in 1,000 games. Atlanta loses 6-5 to the Cardinals.

• 1981: Charlie Lea throws a no-hitter. Montreal's Charlie Lea, a native of France, no-hits the Giants 4-0, walking four and striking out eight in the second game of a doubleheader.

• 2022: Reid Detmers throws a no-hitter. Coming into his 11th career start with an ERA of 6.33, Reid Detmers of the Angels pitches the first (and only) complete game no-hitter of the season in a 12-0 win over the Rays.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Salvador Perez (1990) is a 9-time All-Star catcher for the Royals, with five Gold Glove Awards to his credit. In addition to his great defense, in 14 seasons he has hit 20+ HR eight times, and busted out for an AL-leading 48 HR and 121 RBI in his career year in 2021. Perez thus far has 275 HR for his career, which ranks ninth amongst players who played at least 50% of their games at catcher. His 217 HR hit while actually playing the catcher position rank tied for 12th all-time.

• Robby Thompson (1962) had an 11-year career as a 2B for the Giants from 1986-1996. A two-time All-Star he led the NL with 11 triples in 1989, and had a career high 19 HR in both 1991 and 1993. Thompson was also good defensively, earning an NL Gold Glove Award in 1993.

• Jim Hickman (1937) had a 13-year career as an OF and 1B for four different teams, but spent most of his time with the Mets and Cubs. He was a member of the expansion 1962 Mets, but developed a bit more power as a hitter later in his career with the Chicago. He hit 21 HR in 1969 and then had a career high 32 HR with 115 RBI in 1970, his one year as an All-Star.

Today’s Matchups

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

• NYY vs. ATH features Carlos Rodón (2.96 ERA, 57 K in 48.2 IP) vs. former Yankee J.P. Sears (2.93 ERA, 32 K in 40 IP). And it features the Yankees and Athletics lineups again, who are 1st and 8th in HR this year, hitting at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.

• TEX vs. DET has Jacob deGrom (2.61 ERA, 36 K in 38 IP) up against Jack Flaherty (3.79 ERA, 46 K in 38 IP)

• BOS vs. KCR features Garrett Crochet (2.02 ERA, 56 K in 49 IP) vs. Cole Ragans (3.79 ERA, 57 K in 35.2 IP)

• SFG vs. MIN has Logan Webb (2.61 ERA, 56 K in 48.1 IP) up against Joe Ryan (2.93 ERA, 47 K in 40 IP)

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:

• STL Nolan Arenado, 5-14 with 2 HR vs. WAS Trevor Williams

• TEX Joc Pederson, 6-20 with 2 HR and a double vs. DET Jack Flaherty

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:

• NYY Oswaldo Cabrera, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and a triple vs. ATH J.P. Sears

• ATH Miguel Andujar, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• LAA Yoán Moncada, 8-22 with 3 doubles vs. BAL Kyle Gibson

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:

• 16 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 14 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 11 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 9 - SDP Manny Machado

• 9 - HOU Jake Meyers

• 9 - STL Victor Scott II

• 9 - STL Brendan Donovan

• 8 - WAS James Wood

• 8 - PHI Trea Turner

• 8 - ATL Austin Riley

• 8 - COL Jordan Beck

• 7 - CLE Steven Kwan

• 7 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 7 - TBR Yainer Diaz

• 7 - ATL Eli White

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:

• LAA Jorge Soler, 2-23 with 11 K (though both hits were HR) vs. BAL Kyle Gibson

• DET Javier Báez, 3-17 with 10 K vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• ATH Gio Urshela, 1-10 with 5 K vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• STL Willson Contreras, 2-13 with 5 K vs. WAS Trevor Williams

• TEX Corey Seager, 0-10 with 4 K vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• LAD Max Muncy, 0-11 with 3 K vs. AZ Corbin Burnes

• LAD Michael Conforto, 1-11 with 4 K vs. AZ Corbin Burnes

• LAD Will Smith, 1-11 with 4 K vs. AZ Corbin Burnes

• HOU Isaac Paredes, 1-11 with 2 K (though the one hit was a HR) vs. Brady Singer

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Including openers, the best team starting pitching ERA so far in 2025 is owned by the Mets with a 2.59 ERA, followed by the Royals at 2.84. The worst, not surprisingly, is the Rockies with a 6.86 ERA, followed by the Marlins at 6.38.

For relievers, the Tigers have a tidy 2.39 ERA, followed by the Giants at 2.44. The worst bullpen ERA is currently the Nationals at 7.29 ERA, followed by the Angels at 6.99 (the bullpen is not the biggest problem for Colorado, as their relievers' ERA is ranked 15th at 3.96).

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• Recalling League Leaders of the '70s, by Paul Semendinger at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/10/2025

• Baseball’s Best Players Often Had Best Nicknames, by Dan Schlossberg at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/10/2025

• 9 players putting their teams on unfamiliar leaderboards, by Jeffrey Lutz at MLB, 5/10/2025

• Grand slams, two-homer inning highlight stats of the week, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 5/9/2025

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!