The Baseball Buffet for 5/12/2025

Issue #272

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 46th day of the season had a full Sunday slate (15) of games:

• ATL 3, PIT 4 - Chris Sale struck out 8 in 5.2 IP, and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched well for the Pirates (5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 K). Braves pinch hitter Sean Murphy doubled with the bases loaded in the 8th inning to tie the game 3-3. But in the bottom of the ninth, off at Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias, the Pirates loaded the bases and Joey Bart hit a grounder that scored Adam Frazier for the winning run.

• CHC 2, NYM 6 - Both starters pitched well: Matthew Boyd (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and Griffin Canning (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K—on his birthday!) Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 10th HR of the year, but the Mets had three homers from Mark Vientos, Francisco Lindor, and Brandon Nimmo.

• STL 6, WAS 1 - Nathaniel Lowe hit his 7th HR of the year, but Miles Mikolas otherwise pitched well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and three Cardinals relievers shut out the Nats the rest of the way. St. Louis hitters had three homers (Lars Nootbaar, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado) to lead the Cards to their 8th consecutive win, putting them just one back of the NL Central leading Cubs.

• TEX 6, DET 1 - The Tigers only managed four hits off of Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and three Texas relievers. Meanwhile the Rangers had 2-run HR from Marcus Semien and Josh Jung, and a solo HR from Jonah Heim. Also of note: Josh Jung’s brother Jace Jung played for the Tigers. They both played 3B, with their mother Mary in attendance… on Mother’s Day.

• MIL 4, TBR 2 - The Brewers got homers from Christian Yelich and William Contreras, and five Milwaukee pitchers held the Rays to just two runs, with Trevor Megill notching his fifth save.

• CIN 0, HOU 6 - Yainer Diaz hit a 3-run HR in the third inning, and Christian Walker went 2-2 with a walk and drove in the other three Astros runs. Ronel Blanco only allowed two hits in evening his record to 3-3 (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 K).

• BOS 3, KCR 1 - Wilyer Abreu hit is his 10th HR and Rafael hit his 7th HR. Meanwhile Lucas Giolito pitched well (6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and Aroldis Chapman recorded his 6th save.

• SFG 6, MIN 7 - Heliot Ramos homered for the second day in a row for the Giants, while Brooks Lee went 3-5 with a HR for the Twins. The game was tied 5-5 after nine, and the Giants scored one in the top of the 10th. But in the bottom of the frame, the Twins scored two with the game-winner coming from DaShawn Keirsey Jr. who hit a single to left field to drive in Brooks Lee.

• MIA 2, CHW 4 - Sandy Alcantara struck out 8 in 5.2 IP, but also let up 4 runs, including a 3-run HR by 26-year old prospect Tim Elko, the first hit and first HR of his major-league career.

• SDP 3, COL 9 - The Rockies showed character by bouncing back from their horrific loss yesterday by jumping on Nick Pivetta early (4 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Hunter Goodman led the offense by going 3-5 with a HR, a triple, a double, and 5 RBI, and Ryan McMahon added a HR in 8th inning. Germán Márquez (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 K) had his first good start since March 30th (his first game of the year.) After the game the Colorado announced the firing of manager Bud Black and bench coach Mike Redmond. Not a big surprise given their 7-33 start. Third base coach Warren Schaeffer has been named interim manager and hitting coach Clint Hurdle will take over as interim bench coach.

• NYY 12, ATH 2 - New York’s hitters beat up on long-time Yankee pitcher Luis Severino (4 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Overall they had 15 hits on the day, including a grand slam by Ben Rice, Paul Goldschmidt going 3-5 with three doubles, and Aaron Judge going 4-5 to raise his average on the year back up to .409.

• BAL 7, LAA 3 - Gunnar Henderson was 2-5 with a HR and a double, Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, and Cedric Mullins added two hits each, and Zach Eflin pitched well enough for the win (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K).

• LAD 8, AZ 1 - The Dodgers pounded out 18 hits, including 10 off D-Backs starter Zac Gallen (5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). The first four Dodgers hitters were 11-18, including Shohei Ohtani 2-5, Mookie Betts 3-5 with a HR, Freddie Freeman 4-4 with a HR and two doubles, and Will Smith 2-4 with a double. Meanwhile Tony Gonsolin pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) to earn his second win of the year.

• TOR 9, SEA 1 - Four Toronto pitchers held Seattle to only four hits, while Bryce Miller struggled (5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). George Springer and Addison Barger homered for the Jays, Nathan Lukes went 3-3 with two walks, and Ernie Clement was 3-4.

• PHI 3, CLE 0 - Luis L. Ortiz pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), but allowed one of the two HR that Kyle Schwarber hit on the day (which tied him with Aaron Judge for the major league lead with 14). Zack Wheeler was excellent (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and Jordan Romano picked up his third save.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted, Aaron Judge’s batting average surged back up to .409 yesterday. He is far ahead of his Yankees teammate Paul Goldschmidt who is in second with a .349 mark. The next three are also American League hitters (Jacob Wilson, Jonathan Arranda, and Steven Kwan). Who currently leads the NL in batting average, with a more modest .324?

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

• CIN RP Ian Gibaut

• CIN SP Rhett Lowder

📝 Signed as a Free Agent

• LAD RP Lou Trivino

League Leaders

The top two strikeout pitchers of 2025 both threw today, so here is the updated K leaderboard:

• 75 - WAS MacKenzie Gore

• 74 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 67 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• 65 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 65 - KCR Cole Ragans

• 65 - SFG Logan Webb

• 64 - ATL Chris Sale

• 61 - CIN Hunter Greene

• 60 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• 60 - DET Tarik Skubal

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 12…

• 1910: Charles Bender threw a no-hitter. Charles Bender of the Philadelphia Athletics pitched a 4-0 no-hitter against the Cleveland Naps.

• 1926: Walter Johnson becomes the second pitcher two in 400 games. Walter Johnson won the 400th game of his career, defeating the St. Louis Browns 7-4. Johnson ended his career with 417, and only he and Cy Young (511) topped 400.

• 1955: Toothpick Sam Jones threw a no-hitter. Sam Jones of the Chicago Cubs throws a no-hitter, and as described at baseball-reference.com, “he does it in the hardest way. In the 9th inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Jones walks the bases full and then strikes out Dick Groat, Roberto Clemente and Frank Thomas in a row to preserve his 4-0 victory.”

• 1956: Carl Erskine threw his second career no-hitter. Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a 3-0 no-hitter against the New York Giants. His first no-hitter came in 1952 against the Chicago Cubs.

• 1970: Ernie Banks hits his 500th HR. Ernie Banks becomes the eighth member of the 500 home run club, connecting off Pat Jarvis during a 4-3 Cubs win over the Braves.

• 2001: A.J. Burnett threw a no-hitter. A.J. Burnett pitches an unlikely no-hitter, overcoming nine bases on balls to lead the Marlins over San Diego, 3-0.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Yogi Berra (1925) is a Hall of Famer who had a 19-year career, almost entirely of course with the New York Yankees. An All-Star in 15 consecutive seasons from 1948-1962, Berra had 20+ HR eleven times and 100+ RBI five times. As the catcher he was a leader on many of the dominant Yankees teams of that era, and so earned three AL MVP Awards in 1951, 1954, and 1955. He was often quite productive in the postseason too, hitting 12 HR in 75 World Series games. He retired with 358 HR, 1,430 RBI, a .285/.348/.482 slash line and 125 OPS+. And of course he is the most quoted baseball player of all-time, with countless one-liners and sentiments that both confuse and delight.

• Lou Whitaker (1957) was one of the best 2B of his generation, a 5-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove Award winner. He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1978 and then by the early 80s developed some power in his swing, eventually hitting 20+ four times including a high of 28 in 1989. For his career Whitaker accumulated 244 HR, 1,386 runs, 143 SB, a .276/.363/.426 slash line, and 117 OPS+. Many consider it a snub that he only received 2.9% of the vote in his one year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Given that his longtime teammate Jack Morris, and especially his double-play partner Alan Trammell, eventually got into the Hall, many hope “Sweet Lou” will one day soon as well.

• Felipe Alou (1935) had a productive 17-year major league career from 1958-1974. A three-time All-Star, Alou played primarily with the Giants and Braves, but also spent time with four other teams. Playing a mix of all three OF positions and 1B, Alou hit 20+ HR four times, with a high of 31 in 1966. He led the NL in hits twice, with 218 in 1966 when he also led the league with 122 runs, and again with 210 hits in 1968. Alou finished his career with 206 HR, a .286/.328/.433 slash line, and 113 OPS+. He then went on to become a manager, leading the Expos from 1992-2001 and the Giants from 2003-2006. Baseball certainly runs in his family, as his brothers Jesús and Matty each had 15-year major league careers, his son Moisés had a 17-year career, and his nephew Mel Rojas was a pitcher in the majors for 10 years.

• Lave Cross (1866) was a versatile 3B, C, and OF over a 21-year major league career from 1887 to 1907. He never led his league in any major offensive categories, but was a capable hitter with career totals of 1,338 runs, 1,378 RBI, 303 SB, a .292/.329/.383 slash line, and an even 100 OPS+. Like many players of his era, Cross’ best numbers came in the high-offense season of 1894 when he batted .387 with 128 runs, 132 RBI, 23 SB, and 210 hits.

• Lance Lynn (1987) announced his retirement as the 2025 season was getting underway, having pitched for 13 years in the majors, about half with Cardinals and the other half spread across five clubs. He posted 15+ wins four times, including in his first full season in 2012 when he was an All-Star with an 18-7 record and 3.78 ERA. He was also an All-Star in 2021 when he went 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA. Over his career he posted a 143-99 (.591) record, 3.74 ERA, 111 ERA+, and had more strikeouts (2,015) than innings pitched (2,006.1).

• Hank Borowy (1916) had a 10-year major league career, that started with the Yankees in 1942 but included stops with four other teams, ending with the Tigers in 1951. In his rookie season he went 15-4 with a 2.52 ERA, and then followed that up with 2.82 and 2.64 ERAs the next two seasons. Mid-way through the 1945 season he was purchased by the Cubs from the Yankees, and finished that year with a 21-7 record and 2.65 ERA. He would never reach those high marks again, and retired with a 108-82 (.568 record), 3.50 ERA, and 104 ERA+.

Today’s Matchups

A typical partial slate (11) of Monday games, as some teams are travelling or otherwise have a day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• PIT vs. NYM has Paul Skenes (2.77 ERA, 47 K in 48.2 IP) facing the 26-15 New York Mets with David Peterson (3.05 ERA, 36 K in 38.1 IP).

• STL vs. PHI is interesting because the Cardinals have won eight in a row and are just one game behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Today they have Matthew Liberatore (3.07 ERA, 38 K in 41 IP) pitching, but it is a tough matchup with the 24-16 Phillies and Cristopher Sanchez (2.89 ERA, 44 K in 37.1 IP).

Also taking the mound today are MIL Freddy Peralta, TEX Tyler Mahle, SDP Michael King, 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:

• SFG Mike Yastrzemski, only 9-40 but with 3 HR, 1 triple, and 3 doubles vs. AZ Merrill Kelly.

• SFG Willy Adames, 7-19 with 2 HR vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• COL Ryan McMahon, 5-13 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. TEX Tyler Mahle

• SDP Manny Machado, small sample but is 2-8 with 2 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, small sample but is 3-8 with 2 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• AZ Pavin Smith, small sample but is 3-6 with 2 HR vs. SFG Justin Verlander

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:

• HOU Christian Walker, small sample but is 5-8 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• CHC Nico Hoerner, small sample but is 5-8 with a triple vs. MIA Cal Quantrill

• MIL Christian Yelich, 5-14 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. CLE Ben Lively

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:

• 11 - SDP Manny Machado

• 11 - STL Victor Scott II

• 10 - COL Jordan Beck

• 9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 9 - TBR Yainer Diaz

• 8 - LAD Andy Pages

• 7 - TEX Josh Smith

• 7 - PHI Alec Bohm

• 7 - HOU Christian Walker

• 7 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 7 - NYY Cody Bellinger

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:

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, small sample but is 0-8 with 7 K vs. STL Matthew Liberatore

• PHI Andrew McCutchen, 1-14 with 5 K (though the one hit was a HR) vs. NYM David Peterson

• LAA Jorge Soler, 0-11 with 4 K vs. SDP Michael King

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 2-18 with 4 K vs. NYY Clarke Schmidt

• AZ Ketel Marte, 2-16 with 4 K vs. SFG Justin Verlander

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾ AZ

Today’s Trivia Answer

Aaron Judge is currently hitting .409, and the next four on the MLB batting average leaderboard are also from the AL. Leading the NL, with a more modest .324 mark, is San Diego’s Manny Machado. Somehow Pete Alonso of the Mets, a career .249 hitter before this season, is next at .320, tied with Machado’s teammate Fernando Tatis Jr.

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.

• 5 Baseball Cards that Just Missed the Parade, at the Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 5/11/2025

• See which prospects made big jumps on the freshly updated Top 100 list, by Sam Dykstra at MLB, 5/11/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

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!