The Baseball Buffet for 5/19/2025

Issue #279

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 53rd day of the season had a full slate (15) of Sunday games:

• PIT 0, PHI 1 - In a battle of young pitchers, Paul Skenes threw a 3-hit complete game in a losing effort (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K). That’s because the Pirates couldn’t get much going against 23-year old Phillies prospect Mick Abel who was outstanding in his MLB debut (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). Three Philadelphia relievers continued what he started by completing the shutout, including Jordan Romano who fanned three in the ninth for his 5th save.

• HOU 4, TEX 3 - The Rangers outhit the Astros 7-4, and they scored first by plating three in the fourth inning. Jack Leiter (7 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but Houston came back scoring four runs off two homers from Yainer Diaz and Isaac Paredes. Yet again, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader came in to shut the door in the 8th and 9th innings, with Hader notching his 11th save.

• WAS 10, BAL 4 - The Orioles dug themselves another hole early as the Nats jumped on Zach Eflin (5.1 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), with CJ Abrams hitting two HR, and Luis Garcia Jr. and Dylan Crews also hitting homers (Josh Bell would later hit a HR as well.) Baltimore had three dingers of their own, but they were all solo shots (Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday).

• ATL 10, BOS 4 - Rafael Devers hit a grand slam in the third inning, but that would be all the runs the Red Sox would get. The Braves on the other hand banged out 16 hits and scored 10 runs across five different innings, hitting Boston starter Brayan Bello particularly well (4.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K). Matt Olson was 2-3 with two doubles and a walk, and Marcell Ozuna was 2-4 with a HR, a walk, and 3 RBI. The win moves the Braves above .500 at 24-23, which is quite something given how they started the season… and they are about to get stars Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. back too.

• DET 3, TOR 2 - Spencer Torkelson was 2-4 with a double and drove in all three Tigers runs. Detroit rookie Jackson Jobe pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and four relievers shut out the Blue Jays the rest of the way, with Will Vest collecting his fifth save and lowering his ERA on the year to 1.66 across 20 appearances.

• CLE 1, CIN 3 - Will Benson continued his hot hitting, going 3-4 with 2 HR—extending his HR streak to four games. Andrew Abbott pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and and Emilio Pagán secured his 12th save.

• TBR 1, MIA 5 - Cal Quantrill pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and four Marlins relievers combined to limit the Rays to just three hits. Meanwhile the Marlins scored their five runs from HR hit by Otto Lopez and Liam Hicks off Rays starter Shane Baz (6 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K).

• STL 1, KCR 2 - The Cardinals outhit the Royals 12-9, but it is hard to win when you go 0-8 with runners in scoring position and leave 13 runners on base. Alec Burleson hit a HR, but Michael Wacha otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), and Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth to get his 13th save.

• MIN 2, MIL 5 - Twins prospect Zebby Matthews struck out five in three innings, but also gave up five hits and walked three after being called up for his first start of 2025. Royce Lewis hit his first HR of the season, but Freddy Peralta otherwise pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth for his 6th save on the year.

• CHW 2, CHC 6 - Miguel Vargas hit his 6th HR of the season, but Colin Rea otherwise pitched well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). The Cubs had 10 hits, with Nico Hoerner going 2-4 with two doubles, and Pete Crow-Armstrong going 2-4 with a triple and a double.

• ATH 2, SFG 3 - Heliot Ramos led off the bottom of the first with a HR, but Jeffrey Springs rebounded and only allowed one other hit (6.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Justin Verlander was wild in this one (4 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 1 K), but four Giants relievers were solid with Ryan Walker notching his 8th save of the season. Reliever Randy Rodriguez pitched the 8th, and it is worth noting his numbers this year: 3-0 record, 0.92 ERA in 19 appearances, with 27 K in 19.2 IP with a 0.71 WHIP.

• COL 0, AZ 1 - Merrill Kelly was outstanding (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K) and two D-Backs relievers combined for a 3-hit shutout. Colorado’s rookie pitcher Chase Dollander did well in a short outing (4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), but the HR he allowed to Ketel Marte in the first inning was all it took to get tagged with the loss.

• LAA 6, LAD 4 - The Angels were powered by HR from Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, and Travis d’Arnaud (his first of the year). Shohei Ohtani went 3-5 against his old team, and Will Smith was 1-2 with a HR, two walks, and 3 RBI in the losing effort.

• SEA 6, SDP 1 - Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the first inning with a HR, but Bryan Woo otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Michael King struck out 8 in 5.1 IP, but gave up 4 runs (3 earned), including a HR by Randy Arozarena.

• NYM 2, NYY 8 - Max Fried once again pitched well for the Yankees (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K) and three New York relievers shut out the Mets in the final three frames. David Peterson walked four, but otherwise pitched pretty well (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K). The game was tied 2-2 when in the bottom of the 8th the Yankees scored six runs, powered by Cody Bellinger’s grand slam (he also had a double and was 3-3 with 2 walks overall).

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Cincinnati’s Will Benson had two HR and also extended his HR streak to four games. That is impressive, but a 4+ game HR streak has been done several hundred times in major league history. The record is an 8-game HR streak: which three players accomplished that? (Hint: One is a Hall of Famer, the other two are not.)

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

• NYY RP/SP JT Brubaker

🤕 Placed on the IL

• BAL RF Tyler O’Neill - 10-day IL (left shoulder impingement)

• LAD RP Kirby Yates - 15-day IL (right hamstring strain)

• TEX CF Evan Carter - 10-day IL (right quad strain)

• LAA RP José Fermín - 15-day IL (right elbow impingement)

• MIN RP Danny Coloumbe - 15-day IL (left forearm extensor strain)

• MIA SS Xavier Edwards - 10-day IL (left mid back strain)

❌ Suspended

• PHI RP José Alvarado (80 games without pay following a positive test for a performing-enhancing substance)

⬆️ Interesting Call-Ups

• MIN SP Zebby Matthews. Pitching prospect Matthews was called up after posting a 1.93 ERA in seven starts at AAA St. Paul. As noted above, his first MLB start of 2025 didn’t go so well.

• MIN OF Carson McCusker. With Byron Buxton sidelined after the collision with teammate Carlos Correa, the Twins have called up 27-year old—and 6’8”, 250 pound—slugger Carson McCusker. He was drafted by the Brewers in the 26th round in the 2017 amateur draft, but then went to Oklahoma State—where his numbers weren’t super impressive. He then played a few years in the low minors and independent leagues. In 2023 he hit 14 HR in 46 games at A and AA, after mashing 17 HR with a .433 average in 37 games in independent league play. Last year he hit 19 HR with 75 RBI and a .282 average across 123 combined AA/AAA games. Then so far in 2025 at AAA St. Paul he had 10 HR in 38 games, with a .350/.412/.650 slash line. It will be interesting to see if he can do anything at the major league level!

👋🏻 Notable Releases

• BAL SP Kyle Gibson. The Orioles are really struggling, so have to make some changes. They had signed veteran SP Kyle Gibson for $5.25m in the offseason, thinking he could be part of their plans. But after four bad starts (16.78 ERA, 29 hits allowed in 12.1 IP), they have designated him for assignment.

• LAD IF/OF Chris Taylor. The Dodgers on the other hand are loaded of course, so even though Chris Taylor has always provided ample position versatility (with over 90 games each at 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and CF), his lack of offense at age 34 just wasn’t cutting it. In his career he twice hit 20+ HR and would regularly hit between .250-.280. But he batted .202 last year and was hitting .200 so far this year (with 0 HR and 0 BB walks even.) The dropping of Taylor comes on the heels of the Dodgers releasing another long-time veteran in backup catcher Austin Barnes.

League Leaders

It has been 10 days since I reported out on the MLB ERA leaders. As noted above, Max Fried pitched well again, and while his ERA rose a bit, he is still the leader:

• 1.29 - NYY Max Fried

• 1.43 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 1.47 - TEX Tyler Mahle

• 1.61 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• 1.66 - KCR Kris Bubic

• 2.00 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 2.00 - PHI Jesús Luzardo

• 2.05 - CHW Shane Smith

• 2.12 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 2.29 - TEX Jacob deGrom

• 2.42 - SFG Logan Webb

• 2.42 - MIN Joe Ryan

• 2.44 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 2.47 - NYM Griffin Canning

Quite a list, and I had missed just how well rookie Shane Smith is doing this year for the White Sox. Important note: Kodai Senga of the Mets has a 1.02 ERA in 44.1 IP, so should soon qualify for this leaderboard. A pitcher needs to have one inning pitched for each game their team has played, and the Mets have played 47 games so far.

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 19…

• 1910: Cy Young wins his 500th game. I know the statistic “wins” is rightly no longer considered as important as it once was. But still, there is something other-worldly about Cy Young and his 511 career wins. On this date in 1910 he won his 500th game, as the Cleveland Naps beat the Washington Senators, 5-44, in 11 innings. I wouldn’t argue Cy Young is the greatest all-around pitcher ever, but there is a reason the awards are named after him. (Besides, the “Walter Johnson Award” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.)

• 1933: Both Ferrell brothers hit HR in the same game. According to baseball-reference.com, “For the first time in major league history, brothers on opposite teams hit home runs in the same game. Boston Red Sox catcher Rick Ferrell homers off his brother Wes Ferrell in the 2nd inning, but the Cleveland Indians pitcher returns the favor as he homers in the 3rd on a pitch called by his sibling. It is the only time that the Ferrell brothers homer in the same game.”

• 2008: Jon Lester threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Jason Varitek catches his fourth no-hitter, tying Ray Schalk for the major league record; one of Schalk's no-hitters was later removed from the official records, making Varitek the first backstop to have four official no-hitters to his name. The hurler is Jon Lester, only two years after he was sidelined with lymphoma. The Red Sox top the Royals, 7-0, as Lester fans nine.”

• 2021: Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Corey Kluber of the Yankees is the latest pitcher to join this season's no-hitter parade, pulling off the feat with a 2-0 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field. It is already the sixth nine-inning no-hitter this year, and comes one day after Spencer Turnbull of the Tigers had pitched the previous one.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Ed Walsh (1881) is a Hall of Famer who pitched in the majors from 1904-1917, almost all spent with the Chicago White Sox. He had a relatively short 7-year peak period from 1906-1912, during which he won 24+ games four times, including an amazing 40-15 record in 1905. He led the AL in ERA twice, innings pitched four times, games started three times, complete games twice, and would often come into games in relief as well. For his career he had a 195-126 (.607) record, with an all-time record low 1.82 ERA, which translates into an impressive 146 ERA+. (Note: some websites and records indicate he was born on May 14 not May 19, and there is disagreement on the year as well, with some indicating 1880 or 1882. For this Birthday Boys series, I am using Baseball-Reference.com as my source.)

• Curt Simmons (1929) had a 20 year major league pitching career spanning from 1947 to 1967, mostly spent with the Phillies and Cardinals. He was a 3-time All-Star and won 15+ games five times. He retired with a 193-183 record, 3.54 ERA, and 111 ERA+.

• Gil McDougald (1928) had a productive but relatively short 10-year career from 1951-1960, entirely with the New York Yankees. Playing a mix of 2B, 3B, and some SS, McDougald had modest power, consistently hitting 10-14 HR for his first eight seasons. He was AL Rookie of the Year in 1951 when he batted .306 with 14 HR and 14 SB. A five-time All-Star, McDougald often received down-ballot MVP consideration as his combination of good defense, infield versatility, and steady hitting was indeed valuable to the powerful Yankee teams he was a part of. He retired with 112 HR, a .276/.356/.410 slash line, and 111 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

A partial but solid Monday slate of games (12), with just a few teams travelling or otherwise getting the day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• KCR vs. SFG features two starters doing pretty well this year in Kris Bubic (4-2 record, 1.66 ERA, 56 K in 54.1 IP) and Robbie Ray (6-0 record, 3.04 ERA, 55 K in 50.1 IP).

• CLE vs. MIN has the Twins, who as noted above finally lost to end their 13-game winning streak, going against their division rivals at a time when the two teams have almost identical records, and both are trying to catch the Tigers. Even the two starters in this one have similar numbers so far this year: Logan Allen (3.70 ERA, 31 K in 41.1 IP) and Bailey Ober (3.72 ERA, 40 K in 48.1 IP).

Also throwing today are NYM Kodai Senga, SEA Luis Castillo, STL Sonny Gray, and PHI Cristopher Sanchez.

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:

• PHI Nick Castellanos, only 4-17 but with 3 HR vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• LAD Michael Conforto, 3-9 with 2 HR vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

• MIL Jake Bauers, 3-9 with 2 HR and a double vs. BAL Dean Kremer

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:

• CIN Spencer Steer, 6-16 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. PIT Mitch Keller… and is on a 7-game hitting streak

• CHC Nico Hoerner, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 doubles vs. MIA Edward Cabrera

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 5-12 with a double vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

• SFG Matt Chapman, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR and a double vs. KCR Kris Bubic

• LAD Will Smith, 4-10 with 2 doubles vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt… and is hitting .339 so far this year

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 4-9 with a HR and a double vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

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:

• 13 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 12 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 12 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 8 - STL Ivan Herrera

• 8 - TEX Jake Burger

• 7 - ATH Luis Urias

• 7 - CIN Spencer Steer

• 7 - WAS Josh Bell

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:

• KCR Hunter Renfroe, 3-33 with 17 K though all three hits have been HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray… definitely an all-or-nothing situation here!

• DET Javier Báez, 3-26 with 14 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• CHW Matt Thaiss, 1-12 with 8 K vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 2-15 with 7 K vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• CIN Will Benson, 0-10 with 6 K vs. PIT Mitch Keller… but will be interesting because Benson has hit HR in his last four games!

• CIN TJ Friedl, 1-18 with 3 K vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• CLE Steven Kwan, 1-15 though 0 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Will Benson of the Reds has a 4-game HR streak going. The three players who hit a HR in 8 consecutive games are:

• 1993 - SEA Ken Griffey Jr.

• 1987 - NYY Don Mattingly

• 1956 - PIT Dale Long

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 Outlasted The Rookie Buzz, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 5/18/2025

• Kershaw and the 3,000K Club, by Joe Posnanski at Joe Blogs, 3/18/2025

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

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