The Baseball Buffet for 5/13/2025

Issue #273

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 47th day of the season had a partial Monday slate (11) of games:

• MIL 0, CLE 5 - Milwaukee outhit Cleveland 7-6, but they were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Five pitchers for the Guardians combined on the shutout, including Hunter Gaddis who is off to a great start this year with a 0.56 ERA in 19 appearances, with 24 K in 16 IP.

• BOS 2, DET 14 - Wilyer Abreu and Abraham Toro hit homers for Boston, but that didn’t matter as the Tigers jumped on Tanner Houck in the third inning and he left after 2.1 IP having given up 9 hits, 11 ER, with 3 BB and 0 strikeouts. Gleyber Torres and Trey Sweeney were each 3-5 with a HR, and Javier Baez added three hits too. Rookie Jackson Jobe was a bit wild, but otherwise pitched well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 7 K).

• STL 3, PHI 2 - Iván Herrera hit his fifth HR of the year, but Cristopher Sanchez otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K). Matthew Liberatore also pitched pretty well (5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), so after Masyn Winn hit a go-ahead HR in the seventh off Phillies reliever Matt Strahm, Ryan Helsley locked down his 8th save on the year, thereby extending the Cardinals winning streak to nine games.

• WAS 3, ATL 4 - James Wood hit his 11th HR of the year, but Grant Holmes otherwise pitched well (6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). Marcell Ozuna hit his 6th HR to put the Braves up 3-1 after five innings, and that was the score until the top of the ninth. Atlanta’s closer Raisel Iglesias struggled for a second day in a row, as the Nationals scored two to tie the game. But in the bottom of the ninth, with Eli White on second, Alex Verdugo singled to center to drive in the winning run.

• PIT 3, NYM 4 - Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit his first HR of the year, but David Peterson otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). Paul Skenes did too (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) and the Pirates played some small ball to tie the game in the top of the ninth. But then David Bednar’s struggles arose again, as he allowed two base-runners and Pete Alonso hit a sac fly to score Francisco Lindor for the win.

• MIA 2, CHC 5 - Dansby Swanson hit his 9th HR of the year, and Seiya Suzuki hit his 10th. Derek Hill hit a HR for the Marlins, but otherwise Colin Rea pitched well (6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), and Drew Pomeranz notched his first save (and has yet to allow an earned run in 8 relief appearances so far.)

• COL 1, TEX 2 - The Rockies outhit the Rangers 6-3, and rookie starter Chase Dollander was unhittable through five innings. But then he allowed a two-run HR to Wyatt Langford, and that is all it took as Tyler Mahle once again performed well (6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) with his ERA still an impressive 1.47 on the season.

• KCR 7, HOU 5 - Michael Wacha pitched fairly well (6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and the Royals jumped out to 7-0 lead against Astros starter Ryan Gusto (2.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). Houston mounted a comeback late in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Michael Massey hit his 2nd HR of the year for the Royals, and Carlos Estévez secured his 12th save.

• LAA 9, SDP 5 - Michael King struck out 8 in 5.2 IP, and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his 10th HR of the year. The Padres had a 5-3 lead after eight innings, with their usually reliable closer Robert Suarez coming in for the ninth. Unfortunately he had control issues (0.1 IP, 1 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) and let up a grand slam to Taylor Ward, his ninth HR of the year.

• NYY 11, SEA 5 - The Mariners got homers from Julio Rodriguez, Jorge Polanco, and Cal Raleigh, but their starter Emerson Hancock (5 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) let up three HR to the Yankees too (two by Trent Grisham, and one by Austin Wells). Anthony Volpe piled on with a 2-run HR in the ninth, and Aaron Judge was 2-3 with a double and two walks, raising his MLB-leading batting average to .414.

• AZ 2, SFG 1 - Merrill Kelly pitched well (7 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) such that the only run production Arizona needed came from two solo HR by Corbin Carroll. Veteran Shelby Miller picked up his second save, continuing his good start in 2025 (1.02 ERA in 17 appearances, with 20 K in 17.2 IP).

Today’s Trivia Question

Apologies to any of my readers who also read the Yahoo Sports AM newsletter by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. (If you don’t read it, you really should!) But I really liked the trivia question they had yesterday, so I’m using it here. Bud Black was MLB's fifth-longest tenured active manager before he was fired on Sunday, having served as the Rockies skipper since November 7, 2016. Who are the four active MLB managers hired before Black? (Hint: Two NL West, one NL East, one AL East.)

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

• CLE 1B David Fry

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIA CF Dane Myers - 10-day IL (right oblique strain)

⬆️ Notable Call-Up

• AZ SS Jordan Lawlar, a 22-year old top prospect

👋🏻 Retirement

• Evan Longoria has announced his retirement. After 16 years in the majors, 3-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove Award winner Evan Longoria is calling it a career. He won the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year Award after hitting 27 HR with 85 RBI. That was his first of 10 seasons with 20+ HR, and he is retiring with 342 career homers, along with 1,159 RBI, a .264/.333/.471 slash line, and a 119 OPS+. When I published my first baseball book in 2019, “Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises”, I named Longoria as the Rays top franchise player. I plan to do a second edition of the book in the next couple of years, and as of now he’d still be the Rays top all-time player.

League Leaders

It has been nearly two weeks since I checked in on the SB leaders, so here we go:

• 16 - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 15 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 14 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 14 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 13 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 12 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 11 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 11 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 11 - STL Victor Scott II

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 13…

• 1911: Giants set both an offense record and pitching record. According to baseball-reference.com, “The New York Giants score a major league record ten runs before the St. Louis Cardinals retire the first batter in the 1st inning. Fred Merkle drives in six of the Giants' 13 runs in the 1st en route to a 19-5 victory. When Giants manager John McGraw decides to save starting pitcher Christy Mathewson for another day, Rube Marquard enters the game in the 2nd inning and sets a record for relievers (since broken) with 14 strikeouts in his eight-inning appearance.”

• 1942: Pitcher Jim Tobin does everything. According to baseball-reference.com, “Jim Tobin of the Boston Braves almost single-handedly beats the Chicago Cubs at Braves Field, 6-5, by pitching a five-hitter and hitting three consecutive home runs. Tobin, who hit a pinch homer the day before, becomes the only pitcher in modern history to collect three home runs in a game. His fourth at-bat results in a fly ball caught against the fence in left field.”

• 1952: Ron Necciai strikes out 27 in a minor league game. According to baseball-reference.com, “In an Appalachian League game, Ron Necciai of the Bristol Twins strikes out 27 batters while pitching a 7-0 no-hitter against the Welch Miners. Four of the Welch hitters reach base on a walk, an error, a hit by pitch and a passed ball charged to Twins' catcher Harry Dunlop on a swinging third strike. But 27 strikeouts are recorded on the night, including four in the 9th inning, as a result of Dunlop's miscue; one batter is retired on a grounder in the 2nd inning.”

• 1958: Stan Musial collects hit 3,000. Stan Musial had his 3,000th hit with a pinch-hit double off Chicago's Moe Drabowsky at Wrigley Field.

• 1967: Mickey Mantle has his 500th HR. Mickey Mantle's 500th home run, off Stu Miller, lifted the New York Yankees to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

• 1976: George Brett continues his 3-hits per game streak. For the sixth consecutive game, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals collects at least three hits.

NOTE: To learn more about pitcher Ron Necciai mentioned above, see the book “Rocket Ron” written by my Uncle George Stone, with a foreword by Bill Mazeroski.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Barry Zito (1978) was the Athletics first round draft pick (9th overall) in 1999, and it didn’t take him long to reach the majors. He then had a 15-year career, splitting his time between the two Bay-area teams, the A’s and the Giants. He was the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2002 after posting a 23-5 record and 2.75 ERA. That was the first of three All-Star campaigns with Oakland. After signing as a free agent with the Giants his numbers declined, and Zito eventually retired after the 2015 season with a 165-143 (.536) record, 4.04 ERA, and 105 ERA+.

• José Rijo (1965) came up through the Yankees system, but was traded along with four other players to the A’s for Rickey Henderson. After three seasons in Oakland as a mixed starter/reliever, Rijo was traded along with Tim Birtsas to the Reds for slugger Dave Parker. It was in Cincinnati that Rijo blossomed, going 87-53 (.621) with a 2.63 ERA and 147 ERA+ in seven seasons from 1988-1994. He was an All-Star once and earned down-ballot Cy Young Award consideration in two other seasons, including in 1993 when he led the NL with 227 strikeouts. Injuries forced him to retire at age 30, but he attempted a comeback six years later in 2001-2002, but then hung it up for good at age 37.

• Larry Gardner (1886) had a 17-year career in the American League from 1908-1924, mostly with the Red Sox and Indians. Gardner was good defensively at the hot corner, and was also a capable hitter with 10+ triples in six seasons, including highs of 18 in 1912 and 19 in 1914, and double-digit SB in seven consecutive seasons. Late in his career for Cleveland he posted 118 RBI in 1920 and 120 RBI in 1921, even though he only had three HR in each season. Overall, for his career Gardner had 165 SB, a .289/.355/.384 slash line, and a 109 OPS+.

• Willson Contreras (1992) is now in his tenth season, having started out with the Cubs and now playing for the Cardinals. A three-time All-Star as a catcher, he moved to 1B this season as his ability to throw out runners had started to decline, but also to preserve his health and keep his good bat in the lineup as the Cards make room for the young and promising Ivan Herrera behind the plate. Contreras has been a fairly consistent batsman, with five seasons of 20+ HR and 158 HR thus far in his career. He also has a solid .258/.353/.459 slash line and 117 OPS+.

• John Roseboro (1933) had a 14-year major league career, mostly with the Dodgers. He was an All-Star catcher in four seasons, and was a key member of some good Dodgers teams that included great pitchers like Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and others. He won two NL Gold Glove Awards, and had a little pop with a career high 18 HR in 1961.

• Leon Wagner (1934) had a 12-year major league career, mostly playing LF with the Indians, Angels, and Giants. He hit 20+ HR in six consecutive seasons, with a high of 37 HR and 107 RBI in 1962, one of two seasons he was an AL All-Star. For his career he had 211 HR, a .272/.340/.455 slash line, and a 120 OPS+.

• Nico Hoerner (1997) is a speedy middle-infielder for the Cubs, having been drafted by Chicago in the first round (24th overall) in 2018. Hoerner’s best season so far came in 2023 when he stole 43 bases, scored 98 runs, and took home an NL Gold Glove Award for his fine 2B defense.

• Bobby Valentine (1950) played parts of 10 seasons in the majors from 1969-1979, spending time with the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets, and Mariners. Versatile in the field, he got into games at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions. He wasn’t a powerful hitter, but batted a respectable .260 over his career. Many fans will be more familiar with Valentine as a manager, as he led the Rangers from 1985-1992, the Mets from 1996-2002, and the Red Sox for one season in 2012. His managerial record includes a 97-win season in 1999 and an NL Pennant in 2000.

Today’s Matchups

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

• STL vs. PHI has a nice pitching matchup in Sonny Gray (3.50 ERA, 47 K in 46.1 IP) vs. Jesús Luzardo (2.11 ERA, 51 K in 47 IP).

• NYY vs. SEA features current MLB ERA leader Max Fried (1.05 ERA, 47 K in 51.2 IP) up against Bryan Woo (3.25 ERA, 44 K in 44.1 IP).

• AZ vs. SFG has Brandon Pfaadt (3.28 ERA, 41 K in 46.2 IP) up against Robbie Ray (2.84 ERA, 46 K in 44.1 IP).

Also taking the mound today are NYM Kodak Senga, KCR Kris Bubic, HOU Framber Valdez, and SDP Dylan Cease.

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:

• TBR Jonathan Arranda, small sample but is 4-8 with 2 HR vs. TOR José Berríos

• HOU Yordan Alvarez, small sample but is 4-6 with 2 HR and a double vs. KCR Kris Bubic

• TEX Kevin Pillar, 7-17 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Kyle Freeland

Also of note, CHC Seiya Suzuki seems to like hitting against MIA Valente Bellozo as he is 2-2 with 2 HR so far.

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:

• TEX Corey Seager, 14-23 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Kyle Freeland. This looks impressive, but it seems Seager might be headed to the IL with a hamstring injury… and this is an odd historical line since it is an LvL matchup, and Seager normally hits RHP better. Huh.

• PHI Trea Turner, 9-23 with a triple and a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• PHI Alec Bohm, 5-11 with a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• TBR Yandy Diaz, 6-17 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR José Berríos

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:

• 12 - SDP Manny Machado

• 10 - TBR Yainer Diaz

• 9 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 8 - LAD Andy Pages

• 8 - PHI Alec Bohm

• 8 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 7 - TEX Josh Smith

• 7 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 7 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 7 - KCR Kyle Isbel

• 7 - MIL Rhys Hoskins

• 7 - MIA Connor Norby

• 7 - CHC Nico Hoerner

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, 0-20 with 12 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease — ouch… maybe good timing for a day off?

• KCR Hunter Renfroe, 4-27 with 12 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr, 2-16 with 5 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• KCR Salvador Perez, 1-10 with 4 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• KCR Maikel Garcia, 1-12 with 2 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• PHI Bryce Harper, 3-20 with 9 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 3-22 with 9 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• TBR Brandon Lowe, 2-15 with 8 K (though one hit was a HR) vs. TOR José Berríos

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾ AZ

Today’s Trivia Answer

As noted, Bud Black was MLB's fifth-longest tenured active manager before he was fired on Sunday, having served as the Rockies skipper since November 7, 2016. The four active managers hired before Black are: Rays manager Kevin Cash (since 2014), Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (2015), Braves manager Brian Snitker (May 2016), Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo (Nov. 4, 2016)

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.

• 1st Cy poll of 2025 shows repeat winner in AL, runaway favorite in NL, by Jason Foster at MLB, 5/12/2025

• 5 reasons not to give up on the struggling Orioles, by Will Leitch at MLB, 5/12/2025

• Evan Longoria's top 10 moments, by Adam Berry at MLB, 5/12/2025

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!