The Baseball Buffet for 5/18/2025

Issue #278

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 52nd day of the season had a full slate (15) of Saturday games:

• PIT 2, PHI 5 - Zack Wheeler pitched very well as usual (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), and Bryson Stott was 2-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. The Pirates only managed four hits, with Bryan Reynolds connecting for a HR in the ninth inning for their only runs. The only other good news for the Buccos was that off-season trade acquisition 1B Spencer Horwitz has finally arrived (0-2 yesterday), after suffering an injury that required surgery early this year.

• HOU 1, TEX 5 - Tyle Mahle pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and the Rangers got HR by Wyatt Langford and Joc Pederson.

• NYM 3, NYY 2 - DJ LeMahieu and Cody Bellinger each hit solo HR, but Griffin Canning otherwise pitched pretty well (5.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). The game was tied 2-2 after eight when the Mets loaded the bases and Francisco Lindor hit a sac fly to drive in what would be the winning run as Edwin Diaz came in for the ninth, struck out two, and notched his 10th save.

• CHW 3, CHC 7 - Dansby Swanson was 2-3 with a HR, two walks, and two stolen bases, while Pete Crow-Armstrong was 2-5 with a triple and a stolen base. Chase Meidroth and Tim Elko each hit solo HR, but Matthew Boyd otherwise pitched pretty well (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) for his fourth win on the season.

• DET 1, TOR 2 - Each team only managed four hits in this one, with Spencer Torkelson hitting his 12th HR of the year and Reese Olson pitching well for Detroit (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Toronto scored one run in the 8th, and then in the bottom of the ninth Daulton Varsho doubled, and with runners on second and third, Ernie Clement singled to right, driving in Varsho for the winning run.

• WAS 10, BAL 6 - The Nationals jumped on Kyle Gibson early (0.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and overall were 7 for 13 with runners in scoring position. Jake Irvin pitched well (6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) for Washington. The two bright spots for Baltimore were Charlie Morton pitching well (4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) after Gibson left the game, and Jackson Holliday going 2-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI.

• TBR 4, MIA 0 - Drew Rasmussen pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and three Rays relievers combined with him on the shutout. Sandy Alcantara had been looking better than most of the season so far, but then gave up all four Tampa Bay runs in the fifth inning (5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K).

• CLE 1, CIN 4 - Slade Cecconi made his 2025 debut and struck out 8 over 5 innings, but let up three runs including a HR to Will Benson (his third game in a row with a HR!). Rece Hinds added a HR in the seventh, and Emilio Pagán locked down his 11th save on the year. The lone Guardians run came from a Daniel Schneemann HR in the fifth inning.

• STL 1, KCR 0 - For me, this game was an unlikely pitchers duel, with Miles Mikolas pitching really well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and two Cardinals relievers combining with him for a shutout of the Royals. Meanwhile Noah Cameron did well in his second major league start (6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), but one of the two Cardinals hits was a HR by Jordan Walker, and that was all it took.

• ATL 6, BOS 7 - The Braves jumped on Lucas Giolito early (4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), including three homers from Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Drake Baldwin. But the Red Sox came back and scored runs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, including a walk-off HR by Rafael Devers, the first of his career, and his 8th homer on the season.

• MIN 7, MIL 0 - The Twins rapped out 18 hits in this one, including 11 off starter Tobias Myers (3.2 IP, 11 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), spreading their seven runs across seven different innings. Ryan Jeffers was 4-5 with a HR and and Kody Clemens was 3-5 with a HR, while Pablo Lopez pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and three Minnesota relievers combined on the 3-hit shutout. This was the Twins 13th consecutive win, which combined with mini-losing streaks by the Guardians and Royals has vaulted Minnesota into second place in the AL Central, though still four games behind the AL-best Detroit Tigers.

• COL 14, AZ 12 - This slugfest included 34 hits, 16 extra-base hits, 26 runs, and 12 pitchers used. Both starters struggled: Zac Gallen (5 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Germán Márquez (3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K). The D-backs had an 11-6 lead through five innings, with Eugenio Suárez going 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI and Alek Thomas hitting his first HR of the year. But the Rockies came back, led by the top of their order who were a combined 11 for 17: Jordan Beck was 3-5 with 2 HR, Ezequiel Tovar was 5-6 with a HR and a triple (in only his second game from the IL), and Hunter Goodman was 3-6 with a HR and 4 RBI. Kyle Farmer also joined the fun going 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI.

• SEA 4, SDP 1 - Nick Pivetta pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB 7 K), and the Padres outhit the Mariners 8-6. But it is hard to win if you go 0-8 with runners in scoring position. Gavin Sheets hit a solo HR, but Emerson Hancock otherwise pitched well enough (4.2 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and the Mariners bullpen shut things down the rest of the way, with Andrés Muñoz getting the last four outs for his 14th save. Seattle HR came from sluggers Rowdy Tellez who hit his 8th, and Cal Raleigh who hit his 15th.

• ATH 0, SFG 1 - Nobody scored through nine innings in this one, as both the two starters—Luis Severino (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and Landen Roupp (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)—pitched well, as did the relievers that followed them. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Athletics closer Mason Miller loaded up the bases and then lost a 9-pitch battle by walking Wilmer Flores which forced Willy Adames in from third for the lone and winning run.

• LAA 11, LAD 9 - Freddie Freeman went 4-5 and the Dodgers had HR from Andy Pages and Kiké Hernández. But Clayton Kershaw struggled in his 2025 debut (4 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K). Taylor Ward hit his 11th HR on the year, and Logan O’Hoppe and Matthew Lugo also had homers. Kenley Jansen got the last 4 outs against the team he played with for a dozen years, securing his 8th save on the season.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted below, today is Reggie Jackson’s birthday (he turns 79). Although his career was full of great accomplishments, he does remain the all-time leader in strikeouts as a batter. So today’s trivia has three parts:

• Who is second all-time in strikeouts?

• Who has the all-time single-season record for strikeouts?

• Who is the active career leader in strikeouts?

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

• LAD OF Teoscar Hernandez

🤕 Placed on the IL

• KCR SP Seth Lugo - 15-day IL (right third finger sprain)

• KCR SP Cole Ragans - 15-day IL (left groin strain)

• MIN OF Byron Buxton - 7-day IL (concussion)

• CHW RP Tyler Gilbert - 15-day IL (sprained MCL in his left knee)

League Leaders

Wilmer Flores had 3 HR and 8 HR two days ago, and added one more RBI yesterday (the only run scored of that game), putting him once again at the top of the MLB RBI leaderboard:

• 42 - SFG Wilmer Flores

• 41 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 38 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 37 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 37 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 37 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 35 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 35 - DET Spencer Torkelson

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 18…

• 1897: Bill Joyce ties record with four triples. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Bill Joyce hits four triples to lead the New York Giants to an 11-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Exposition Park. This is the last time this feat has been accomplished in major league history. Previously, George Strief of the American Association Philadelphia Athletics hit four triples in a game on June 25, 1885.”

• 1968: Frank Howard hits a HR in sixth consecutive game. Slugger Frank Howard of the Washington Senators tied an American League record by hitting a home run in his sixth consecutive game. He had 10 HR during that 6-game stretch.

• 1990: Ryne Sandberg finally commits and error. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Chicago Cubs Ryne Sandberg's errorless game streak at second base comes to an end after 123 games and 584 chances. Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds had held the previous record of 91 games.”

• 2004: Randy Johnson becomes the oldest to throw a perfect game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At the age of 40, Randy Johnson becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to throw a perfect game, retiring all 27 hitters to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Atlanta Braves, 2-0. It is the 17th perfect game in major league history and the first since David Cone of the Yankees did it against Montreal on July 18, 1999. Johnson also joins Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Hideo Nomo and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to throw no-hitters in both leagues, and creates the longest time span between no-no's, having first accomplished the feat against the Detroit Tigers in June of 1990.”

• 2021: Spencer Turnbull threw a no-hitter. The Tigers’ Spencer Turnbull throws a no-hitter, shutting out the Mariners 5-0. Only two years earlier, in 2019, Turnbull had a 3-17 record.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Brooks Robinson (1937) is a Hall of Famer who is still generally considered the greatest defensive 3B of all time. He played his entire 23-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, starting at age 18 in 1955 and retiring after his age-40 season in 1977. He as an AL All-Star in 15 consecutive seasons from 1960-1974, and won 16 Gold Glove Awards. He had some pop as well, with career highs of a .317 average, 28 HR, and a league-leading 118 RBI in his AL MVP season in 1964. He was World Series MVP in 1970 after playing outstanding defense at the hot corner and going 9-21 (.429) with 2 HR and 2 doubles. His career regular season totals include 268 HR, 1,357 RBI, a .267/.322/.401 slash line, and 105 OPS+.

• Reggie Jackson (1946) is a Hall of Famer and was one of the premier power hitters of his generation. Drafted in the 1st round (2nd overall) by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966, by 1969 in his age-23 season he hit 47 HR with 118 RBI, 114 walks, and a .410 OBP. That was the first of his 14 All-Star seasons, and the first of seven 30+ HR campaigns. He led the AL in HR four times including in 1973 when he took home AL MVP honors after leading the league with 99 runs, 32 HR, and 117 RBI, while also swiping 22 bases and hitting .293. Jackson was a showman on the field, and earned the nickname “Mr. October” for his outstanding postseason performances first with the Athletics winning the World Series MVP in 1973, but then especially with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978. Jackson swung hard, and that led to a lot of strikeouts—he led the AL in that category five times and is the all-time strikeout leader with 2,597. But he also retired with impressive totals of 563 HR, 1,702 RBI, 228 SB, a .262/.356/.490 slash line, and a 139 OPS+.

• Babe Adams (1882) had 19-year major league career which spanned from 1906-1926, almost all of it spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won 20+ games twice, in 1911 when he was 22-12 with a 2.33 ERA and again in 1913 when he was 21-10 with a 2.15 ERA. Adams had great control, and five times led the NL in lowest walks and hits per nine innings (WHIP) and had the lowest walk rate in the NL each year from 1919-1922. He was critical to the Pirates World Series Championship in 1909 over the Tigers, as he pitched three complete games, with a 1.33 ERA and only 18 hits allowed in those 27 innings. He retired with a 194-140 (.581) record, 2.76 ERA, and 118 ERA+.

• Jim Sundberg (1951) was one of the best defensive catchers of his era (1974-1989). He played 16 years in the majors, mostly with the Rangers, but with some time with the Royals, Cubs, and Brewers. A 3-time All-Star, Sundberg won six Gold Glove Awards and frequently led his league in catcher putouts, assists, and fielding percentage, and was regularly amongst the leaders in caught-stealing percentage. Although generally a light hitter with a career .248 batting average, he batted .279 from 1977-1981, and had four seasons with 10+ HR.

• Joakim Soria (1984) had a 14-year major league career from 2007-2021, pitching 7 years with the Royals but also playing for eight other teams. His two All-Star seasons came in 2008 when he posted 42 saves with a 1.60 ERA and in 2010 when he had 43 saves and a 1.78 ERA.

• Eric Young Sr. (1967) was drafted out of Rutgers by the Dodgers in the 43rd round of the 1989 amateur draft. His solid batting average and ample speed on the bases led him to the majors by 1992, but after that season he was drafted by the Rockies as the 11th pick in the expansion draft. Young immediately contributed with 42 stolen bases in 1993, then in 1995 he batted .317 and led the NL with 9 triples, and then in 1996 he hit .324 and led the NL with 53 stolen bases—his one All-Star season. Over 15 years as a 2B and LF in the majors Young had nine seasons with 30+ SB, with a total of 465 to go with a .283/.359/.390 slash line. Eric Young Sr. is also the father of major leaguer Eric Young Jr., who had a 10-year career including pacing the NL stolen bases once himself, with 46 in 2013.

• Jack Sanford (1929) had a 12-year major league career, mostly with the Giants, Phillies, and Angels, from 1956-1967. He was NL Rookie of the Year for the Phillies in 1957 when he went 19-8 with a 3.08 ERA while leading the league with 188 strikeouts. Then in 1962 he was the NL Cy Young Award runner-up after posting a 24-7 record and 3.43 ERA.

Today’s Matchups

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

• PIT vs. PHI concludes the Pennsylvania series with Paul Skenes (2.63 ERA, 53 K in 54.2 IP) throwing for the Pirates, and Phillies prospect Mick Abel making his major league debut for Philadelphia.

• HOU vs. TEX concludes the Texas series with Framber Valdez (3.54 ERA, 51 K in 56 IP) facing Jack Leiter (4.34 ERA with 23 K in 29 IP).

• SEA vs. SDP features two good pitchers in Bryan Woo (2.84 ERA, 50 K in 50.2 IP) and Michael King (2.32 ERA, 56 K in 50.1 IP).

• NYM vs. NYY completes the NY subway series, with David Peterson (3.05 ERA, 43 K in 44.1 IP) against MLB ERA-leader Max Fried (1.11 ERA, 52 K in 56.2 IP).

Also on the hill today are ATL Spencer Schwellenbach, DET Jackson Jobe, MIL Freddy Peralta, 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:

• STL Nolan Arenado, 9-19 with 4 HR vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 7-23 with 3 HR and a double vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• COL Ezequiel Tovar, 7-16 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• TEX Jonah Heim, 5-20 with 2 HR and a double vs. HOU Framber Valdez

Also of note: Jorge Soler is 2-2 with 2 HR vs. LAD Tony Gonsolin

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:

• WAS Amed Rosario, 7-18 with 3 doubles vs. BAL Zach Eflin

• WAS Luis Garcia Jr, 5-10 with a double vs. BAL Zach Eflin

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 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 11 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 11 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 9 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 8 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 7 - STL Ivan Herrera

• 7 - TEX Jake Burger

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:

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 3-27 with 11 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 3-28 with 6 K (though one hit was a HR) vs. NYY Max Fried

• ATH Seth Brown, 2-15 with 9 K vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• ATH Gio Urshela, 1-14 with 2 K vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• COL Brenton Doyle, 2-13 with 7 K vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• TEX Josh Jung, 2-12 with 7 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• TEX Ezequiel Duran, 3-20 with 7 K (though one hit as a HR) vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• TEX Jake Burger, 1-11 with 6 K vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• CIN Spencer Steer, 1-10 with 5 K vs. CLE Luis L. Ortiz

• SFG Matt Chapman, 1-14 with 4 K vs. ATH Jeffrey Springs

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Reggie Jackson remains the all-time leader in strikeouts with 2,597. Second all-time is slugger Jim Thome with 2,548. The active career leader is Giancarlo Stanton, whose 1,963 ranks ninth all-time. And the record for the most strikeouts in a single season remains Mark Reynolds who had 223 in 2009.

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.

• 8 hitters who have put cold starts in 2025 behind them, by Brian Murphy at MLB, 5/17/2025

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

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