The Baseball Buffet for 5/17/2025

Issue #277

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 51st day of the season had a full slate (15) of Friday games:

• CHW 3, CHC 13 - Game one of this Chicago series went to the better team, the Cubs, with Pete Crow-Armstrong going 4-5 with a HR and 6 RBI, and the Cubbies collecting 15 hits overall. Miguel Vargas was the bright spot for the White Sox, as he was 4-4 with 2 HR and a double.

• CLE 4, CIN 5 - Game one of the Ohio series was a close one, with the Guardians getting solo HR from Bo Naylor and José Ramírez, but Tanner Bibee letting up 10 hits in 6 IP, including homers by Will Benson and Austin Hays. Emilio Pagán came in for the ninth and secured his 10th save.

• ATL 4, BOS 2 - Rob Refsnyder hit a HR off Chris Sale, which I really should have bet money on since Refsnyder is a LHP-hitting specialist. Chris Sale otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). Matt Olson and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back solo HR off Garret Crochet in the second inning, but then Crochet settled in and pitched well overall (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K). Liam Hendricks gave up two more runs in the ninth, and while Boston scored one in the bottom of the frame, it wasn’t enough.

• PIT 4, PHI 8 - Andrew Heaney pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Alexander Canario had a HR off Ranger Suarez, who otherwise pitched pretty well (7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). But the Phillies scored off the Pirates bullpen, and then Jose Alvarado came in for the last two outs and his 7th save of the year.

• WAS 4, BAL 3 - The Orioles had 14 hits, including Ramon Laureano going 4-4, and Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday getting 3 hits each. Ten of those hits were let up by MacKenzie Gore in just 3.2 innings, though he did strikeout nine, retaining his MLB lead in that category. But the Orioles left 15 men on base in this one, making it hard to score runs. The Nationals had homers from Nathaniel Lowe in the second and James Wood with his 12th HR in the 8th, which tied the game 3-3. Felix Bautista came in for the ninth and let up two walks and a single, while Kyle Finnegan closed things out in the bottom of the ninth for his 14th save of the year.

• NYM 2, NYY 6 - The Yankees jumped on Tylor Megill (2.2 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K) in the third inning, with Cody Bellinger going 3-5 and Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt each getting two more hits in this one. Carlos Rodón pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K), Devin Williams struck out three in the 8th, and after Yerry De los Santos struggled, Luke Weaver got the final out for his fifth save. As for Juan Soto’s return to the Bronx, he was 0-2 but otherwise Juan Soto-like by walking three times.

• DET 5, TOR 4 - The Tigers took an early 4-0 lead against Bowden Francis (4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), with HR from Riley Greene and Zach McKinstry. But the Jays came back with homers of their own by Daulton Varsho and Bo Bichette. In the top of the 8th Javier Báez hit his 6th HR of the year, and that would turn out to be decisive, as Beau Brieske notched his first save of the season.

• TBR 4, MIA 9 - The Marlins scored four runs in both the 4th and 6th innings, and after Max Mayer allowed four runs (3 earned) through five, the Marlins bullpen shutout the Rays the rest of the way. Miami had 13 hits, with Eric Wagaman (3-4 with 2 RBI) and Connor Norby (2-5 with 3 RBI) leading the way.

• STL 10, KCR 3 - Vinnie Pasquantino had a HR, but Andre Pallante otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Meanwhile the Cardinals had 13 hits, with Willson Contreras going 2-5 with two doubles and Ivan Herrera going 3-4 with two doubles and 4 RBI—an excellent example of the wisdom of shifting Contreras to 1B this year to keep both of their bats in the lineup.

• HOU 6, TEX 3 - Nathan Eovaldi pitched well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and the Rangers had a 2-0 lead when he departed. But the Rangers bullpen let up six runs in the 7th inning, and the Astros triad of Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, and Josh Hader finished off the game (though Hader did allow a HR to Josh Jung in the 9th this time).

• MIN 3, MIL 0 - The Twins scored their three runs early, and Joe Ryan was outstanding (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K), with three relievers teaming with him on the five-hit shutout.

• COL 0, AZ 8 - Colorado’s 24-year old Carson Palmquist made his major league debut, but the D-Backs scored five in his four innings. Meanwhile veteran Corbin Burnes was superb (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 10 K) and three relievers combined with him on a two-hit shutout.

• SEA 5, SDP 1 - Stephen Kolek (5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) allowed three HR to J.P. Crawford, Rowdy Tellez, and Cal Raleigh. Logan Evans put in a strong performance (6 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and Collin Snider came in for the 9th and struck out three.

• LAA 6, LAD 2 - Shohei Ohtani hit his 16th HR against his old team, and now has sole possession of the MLB lead in homers. Dustin May struck out 8 in 5 IP, but also allowed 4 runs, including a 2-run HR by Yoan Moncada. Jack Kochanowicz pitched well enough (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) to secure his third win on the year.

• ATH 1, SFG 9 - 1B Wilmer Flores had a huge game with three HR off three different pitchers and drove in 8 of the Giants’ 9 runs. (His 41 RBI on the season are now tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.) Logan Webb was great (8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Camilo Doval struck out three in the ninth.

Today’s Trivia Question

The Phillies’ Bryce Harper yesterday joined the 1,000+ RBI club. There are seven other active major leaguers with over 1,000 RBI… how many can you name?

Trivia answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

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).

➕ Sent on a Rehab Assignment

• NYM SP Paul Blackburn

• PIT 2B Nick Gonzales

• MIA 2B Otto Lopez

• CIN SP Rhett Lowder

🤕 Placed on the IL

• AZ SP Eduardo Rodriguez - 15-day IL (left shoulder inflammation)

• MIN SS Carlos Correa - 7-day IL (concussion)

• PHI SP Aaron Nola - 15-day IL (right ankle sprain)

📝 Free Agent Signing

• CHC SP Kenta Maeda (to a minor league contract)

League Leaders

It has been ten days since I checked on the saves leaderboard, and as noted above Kyle Finnegan notched his 14th yesterday, which leaves him just one below the leader:

• 15 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 14 - WAS Kyle Finnegan

• 13 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 12 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 11 - ATH Mason Miller

• 10 - HOU Josh Hader

• 10 - CIN Emilio Pagán

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 17…

• 1963: Don Nottebart threw a no-hitter. Don Nottebart of the Houston Colt .45s pitches the first no-hitter in franchise history, leading Houston past the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1.

• 1970: Hank Aaron gets his 3,000th hit. As described at baseball-reference.com, “During a 7-6 Atlanta loss to Cincinnati in the second game of a doubleheader, Hank Aaron collects his 3,000th career hit and his 570th home run. Aaron, the ninth man to amass 3,000 hits, is the first to also have 500 home runs.”

• 1979: The Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22. As described at baseball-reference.com, “With the wind really blowing out at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies join in a wild ten-inning slugfest won by the Phillies, 23-22. Dave Kingman hits three home runs and collects six RBI for the Cubs while teammate Bill Buckner has a grand slam and seven RBI. Kingman's third blast is a tape measure shot, touching down at almost the identical spot as his already legendary April 14, 1976 moon shot. Mike Schmidt belts two home runs for the Phils, including the game-winner in the 10th inning. Bob Boone, pitcher Randy Lerch, and Garry Maddox also homer for the Phillies and Steve Ontiveros and Jerry Martin do it for the Cubs. The eleven home runs between the two teams tie a major league game record. The contest includes 50 hits.”

• 1984: Alan Wiggins has five SB in one game. Alan Wiggins of the San Diego Padres ties a National League record by stealing five bases in one game. The three others who had done this were Dan McGann in 1904, Davey Lopes in 1974, and Lonnie Smith in 1982.

• 1998: David Wells threw a perfect game. David Wells of the Yankees pitches the 13th perfect game in modern major league history as the Yankees beat the Twins 4-0.

• 2011: Harmon Killebrew dies at the age of 74. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Harmon Killebrew, one of the great sluggers of the 1960s with 573 career home runs, passes away from cancer at 74 in Scottsdale, AZ. The gentle and universally-liked "Killer", who spent the bulk of his career with the Minnesota Twins, was the 1969 AL MVP and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Cool Papa Bell (1903) is a Hall of Famer who had a 21-year major league career in the Negro Leagues, spanning from 1922-1946, with four seasons in the Mexican Leagues from 1938-1941. According to the numbers we have at baseball-reference.com, Bell led his league in runs five times, and stolen bases eight times. Not a power hitter, he is best known for his speed which not only afforded all of those stolen bases but was important to playing well in CF too. He posted a career .325/.394/.446 slash line with a 126 OPS+.

• Carlos Peña (1978) was a slugging 1B who played 14 years in the majors, mostly with the Rays and Tigers, but spending some time with six other clubs as well. His best numbers came in 2007 when he hit 46 HR with 121 RBI and a .282 average. He hit 31 HR with 102 RBI and took home a Gold Glove Award in 2008, and then led the AL with 39 HR in 2009, though his average dipped that year to .227. Overall he accumulated 286 HR, and although his career average was only .232, he walked a fair amount so his OBP was a more respectable .346.

• Carlos May (1948) had a 10-year major league career, most of which was with the Chicago White Sox. A 2-time All-Star, he hit .308 with a career high 23 SB in 1972, and then had his career highs of 20 HR and 96 RBI in 1973. Carlos is the younger brother of Lee May, who had an 18-year major league career.

• José Guillén (1976) had a 14-year major league career, and moved around a lot: he played for 10 different clubs and never had more than three years with any one team. He had 14 HR in each of his first two seasons for the Pirates, but developed more power later including 31 HR in 2003 and then four more seasons with 20+ HR. Overall in his career he had 214 HR, a .270/.321/.440 slash line and a near league-average 99 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

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

• HOU vs. TEX features Ronel Blanco (4.04 ERA, 43 K in 42.1 IP) who was excellent his last time out, up against Tyler Mahle (1.47 ERA, 37 K in 49 IP).

• LAA vs. LAD is a battle of two veteran lefties, with the 2025 major league debut of the great Clayton Kershaw, and the Angels countering with Tyler Anderson (2.58 ERA, 39 K in 45.1 IP) who is off to a good start this year.

Also on the mound today are PHI Zack Wheeler, MIN Pablo Lopez, and SDP Nick Pivetta.

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:

• SEA Randy Arozarena, 10-25 with 3 HR and 3 doubles vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 4-10 with 2 HR and a triple vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• SEA Cal Raleigh, 4-10 with 3 HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta… and had a HR yesterday!

• ATL Matt Olson, 5-10 with 3 HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito… and had a HR yesterday!

• WAS Nathaniel Lowe, 5-9 with 3 HR vs. BAL Kyle Gibson… and had a HR yesterday!

• KCR Jonathan India, 8-22 with 3 HR and a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• LAD Max Muncy, 3-9 with 2 HR vs. LAA Tyler Anderson

• AZ Josh Naylor, 3-9 with 2 HR vs. COL Germán Márquez

• MIL Rhys Hoskins, 6-14 with 2 HR and 3 doubles vs. MIN Pablo López

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:

• TBR Brandon Lowe, 6-15 with 4 doubles vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, small sample but is 4-7 with a HR and 3 triples vs. LAA Tyler Anderson (three triples?)

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 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 11 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 10 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 8 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 8 - STL Lars Nootbaar

• 8 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 8 - NYM Brandon Nimmo

• 7 - PIT Alexander Canario

• 7 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 7 - TOR Myles Straw

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:

• LAD Chris Taylor, 3-22 with 7 K vs. LAA Tyler Anderson

• CHW Luis Robert Jr., 2-11 with 6 K vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• SFG Matt Chapman, 2-18 with 5 K vs. ATH Luis Severino

• LAA Travis d’Arnaud, 2-14 with 4 K vs. LAD Clayton Kershaw

• LAA Taylor Ward, 0-10 with 3 K vs. LAD Clayton Kershaw

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The Phillies’ Bryce Harper now has 1,001 RBI. There are seven other active players in the 1,000 RBI club, including:

• Freddie Freeman 1266

• Paul Goldschmidt 1211

• Nolan Arenado 1150

• Andrew McCutchen 1109

• Carlos Santana 1103

• Giancarlo Stanton 1103

• Manny Machado 1069

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.

• 10 surprising players who lead their teams in hitting, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 5/17/2025

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

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