Issue #638
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! ⚾
Yesterday’s schedule included a full slate of games (15) as usual for a Tuesday. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
MIA 0, MIN 3 - MIA SP Eury Pérez was doing well until he allowed three runs in the fifth (6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K), including a 2-run HR by Ryan Jeffers. Meanwhile, Bailey Ober threw a shutout (9 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K), only the third complete game across all of MLB this season.
COL 1, PIT 3 - PIT SP Paul Skenes dominated once again, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning (8 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K), and lowering his ERA to 1.98 and his MLB-leading WHIP to 0.64. Pirates reliever Gregory Soto allowed two hits and a run in the ninth, but the Pirates had already scored three early in the contest, with Oneil Cruz going 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs, and Nick Gonzales and Spencer Horwitz collecting two hits apiece.
WSH 10, CIN 4 - The Nationals hit three HRs off CIN SP Brady Singer (3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), and then scored more runs off each of the five Reds relievers who succeeded him. They hit six HRs in total, with Daylen Lile and Luis García Jr. having two each, and Brady House and James Wood having the other two. For Cincinnati, Sal Stewart went 3-5 with a double and two runs, and Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday had two hits apiece. They had 10 hits in total, but couldn't do much with them going 1-12 with runners in scoring position and leaving 11 men on base overall.
DET 2, NYM 10 - The Tigers took an early 2-1 lead in the second, including Dillon Dingler hitting his seventh HR of the season. But then NYM SP Freddy Peralta settled in (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and two Mets relievers threw three scoreless frames to close it out. Meanwhile, New York's batters had 13 hits and scored runs in six different innings with Carson Benge, Juan Soto, Mark Vientos, and Brett Baty having two hits apiece. 21-year-old Mets OF prospect A.J. Ewing made his major league debut playing CF and batting eighth, going 1-2 with 3 walks, a triple, 2 runs, 2 RBI, and a SB.
LAA 2, CLE 3
NYY 6, BAL 2
PHI 2, BOS 1
CHC 2, ATL 5
SDP 4, MIL 6
KCR 5, CWS 6
TBR 7, TOR 6
ARI 4, TEX 7
SEA 10, HOU 2
STL 6, ATH 4
SFG 6, LAD 2
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of Yesterday's Birthday Boys was long-time Tigers 2B Lou Whitaker. Many baseball fans, including myself, believe he should be in the Hall of Fame, alongside his double-play partner Alan Trammell. While I rarely mention WAR (Wins Above Replacement) as a metric in The Baseball Buffet, it is worth noting that Whitaker ranks sixth all-time in WAR (baseball-reference version) for players who played 50% or more of their games at 2B. Which five primary 2B rank above Whitaker in career WAR? (Hint: they are all Hall of Famers.)
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Row 1: Barry Zito, Willson Contreras, John Roseboro, Leon Wagner
Row 2: José Rijo, Larry Gardner, Bobby Valentine
In addition to Willson Contreras, other currently active players who were born on May 13 include CHC Nico Hoerner, COL Mickey Moniak, BOS Roman Anthony, KCR Eli Morgan, ATL DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and ARI Taylor Clarke.
You are missing out on most of this newsletter…
What you are reading are just some highlights from the full Baseball Buffet newsletter. Paid All Star subscribers receive all of the following, every day:
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 answers to the daily trivia questions!
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Today’s Matchups
Today we have another full slate of games (15), with the following looking like interesting matchups (see full list at MLB):
CHC Shota Imanaga vs. ATL J.R. Ritchie - a big test for the Braves as Imanaga has been solid this year, and Ritchie is making only his fourth major league start
SDP Michael King vs. MIL Jacob Misiorowski - two good clubs featuring an interesting pitching matchup
SEA Bryce Miller vs. HOU Lance McCullers Jr. - the Mariners get Miller back from the IL, while McCullers Jr. has struggled a lot this season so far
SFG Robbie Ray vs. LAD Shohei Ohtani - Ray continues to collect strikeouts (47 in 45.2 IP) in his age-34 season, and Ohtani is doing outstanding with a 0.97 ERA over 37 IP
Additional starting pitchers throwing today include PIT Mitch Keller, CLE Parker Messick, NYY Max Fried, BOS Sonny Gray, TOR Dylan Cease, DET Framber Valdez, and KCR Seth Lugo.
Baseball Quote of the Day
One of today's Birthday Boys (see above) is Barry Zito, so here are a few quotes from him:
"I'm big into having routines. I'm almost a little anal about it, but you have to be—especially at this level."
"I view my pitching on how confident I was out there, period. And if I lose that confidence, I can become a prisoner of my own mind."
"I'm not trying to be cocky, but I set such a high standard for myself. I'm not happy when I pitch seven innings and give up two runs and get a win."
"When I'm doing well, it's like I'm in a nice little ballet. Everything is going slow all around me. It's very peaceful."
"When someone becomes successful or rich and famous, people perceive that person as being different. But I'm the same guy I've always been."
"I'm OK being the veteran, but I'm still just a kid."
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
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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