The Baseball Buffet for 5/20/2025

Issue #280

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 54th day of the season had a partial slate (12) of Monday games:

• CHC 7, MIA 8 - Jesús Sánchez and Agustin Ramirez hit back-to-back HR to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Ben Brown then settled in for a few innings, but then gave up another four runs in the fifth. The Cubs’ Miguel Amaya had a 3-run HR in the fourth inning, and they were up 7-6 through eight innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Jesús Sánchez doubled to drive Derek Hill and Javier Sanoja for the win.

• NYM 1, BOS 3 - Kodai Senga gave up three runs early before settling in (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). Jarren Duran did some of that damage, going 2-4 with both a triple and a double off Senga. Hunter Dobbins pitched well in a short outing (4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and four Boston relievers shut out the Mets the rest of the way, with Aroldis Chapman getting his 7th save.

• HOU 4, TBR 3 - Danny Jansen hit a 2-run HR in the fifth inning, but the Rays were only 1-10 with runners in scoring position. The Astros got homers from Victor Caratini and Jakes Meyers, and with Houston holding a 4-3 lead, Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, and Josh Hader yet again pitched shutout innings in the 7th-9th. I’m starting to sound like a broken record on this, but those three late inning relievers have ERAs of 1.31, 1.27, and 1.71, respectively.

• CIN 7, PIT 1 - Mitch Keller pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), but once again Pirates relievers David Bednar (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K) and Colin Holderman (1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) just didn’t have it. And on top of that the Pirates could only muster five hits as Nick Lodolo pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and three Reds relievers shut out the Bucs the rest of the way. Cincinnati didn’t have any HR, so that means Will Benson’s four-game HR streak came to an end. But they did have 12 hits including seven doubles, with TJ Friedl and Austin Hays each going 3-5.

• SEA 5, CHW 1 - Davis Martin pitched well (7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), but after being pulled in the 8th inning, Cam Booser let up a grand slam to Julio Rodriguez. Luis Castillo pitched great for the Mariners (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and after Troy Taylor struggled in the bottom of the ninth, Andrés Muñoz came in and struck out the final batter to get his 15th save on the year.

• BAL 4, MIL 5 - The struggling Orioles got HR from Ramon Laureano and Cedric Mullins and were tied 4-4 after seven. But in the bottom of the 8th, William Contreras had his fourth hit of the day (4-4 with 2 doubles) by singling up the middle, deflected by SS Gunnar Henderson, to drive in Brice Turang for what would be the decisive run. Milwaukee’s closer Trevor Megill came in for the ninth inning and secured his 7th save.

• DET 4, STL 11 - Sonny Gray was outstanding (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) and the Cardinals banged out 16 hits, including five doubles and a HR by Pedro Pagés.

• PHI 9, COL 3 - Ezequiel Tovar hit a HR in the first inning, but Cristopher Sanchez otherwise pitched well enough (6 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Kyle Freeland contained the Phillies lineup (5.1 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), but they erupted in the final two innings for seven runs with Alec Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, and Edmundo each hitting a HR. For Schwarber it was a milestone, the 300th of his career.

• KCR 3, SFG 1 - Robbie Ray was great (7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), but then Tyler Rogers and Jordan Hicks gave up three runs in the final two innings, including a 2-run HR by Vinnie Pasquantino. Kris Bubic matched Ray with seven shutout innings (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), and Royals closer Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

• LAA 4, ATH 3 - J.T. Ginn struck out 7 in 4 innings, but also allowed four runs. Taylor Ward hit his 13th HR of the year, Nolan Schanuel went 3-4 with a HR and two doubles, and Kenley Jansen notched his 9th save.

• AZ 9, LAD 5 - Brandon Pfaadt let up only three hits in six innings—two solo HR by Mookie Betts, and one by Shohei Ohtani, his 17th on the year to retain his MLB lead. But the D-Backs had three homers of their own from Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno, and Geraldo Perdomo. All nine starting hitters for Arizona had a hit yesterday, and after Ryan Thompson struggled in the ninth, Shelby Miller came in for the final out and his fifth save on the year.

• CLE vs. MIN - suspended after three innings, with Minnesota up 2-1

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber hit his 300th HR yesterday. That ties him with Chuck Klein (who played most of his career with the Phillies) for 162nd on the all-time HR list. Schwarber is one of 11 active hitters in the 300-HR club. Four others have 275 or more HR but have not yet reached the 300 HR milestone. They are all aged between 32-35, so I think they will all make it there fairly soon. 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

• CLE 1B David Fry

🤕 Placed on the IL

• DET SP Reese Olson - 15-day IL (right ringer finger inflammation)

❤️‍🩹 Notable Activations

• ATL SP Spencer Strider

• LAD RF Teoscar Hernandez

League Leaders

I haven’t taken a look at the triples leaderboard in this section yet, but I noticed that both Jarren Duran and Corbin Carroll hit triples yesterday, keeping them tied and leading the pack:

• 6 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 6 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 4 - COL Jordan Beck

• 4 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 4 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 4 - CHC Kyle Tucker

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 20…

• 1871: An early pre-cursor to baseball cards. According to baseball-reference.com, “In Boston, Mort Rogers introduces a scorecard with a picture of Harry Wright on the front. Each Red Stockings home game will feature a different player so that spectators can collect them and have a full set of Boston's players by season's end. This marketing strategy will be used throughout the 19th century and will ultimately evolve into Tobacco cards and, eventually, Baseball cards.”

• 1945: One-armed OF Pete Gray has a great game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “One-armed outfielder Pete Gray of the St. Louis Browns enjoys an incredible day against the New York Yankees. Gray makes three outstanding catches, collects four hits with two RBI, and scores the game-winning run during a doubleheader sweep of the Yankees.” (Note: Although not a classic of baseball cinema, a 1986 movie was made called “A Winner Never Quits” that tells the story of Pete Gray, starring Keith Carradine in the lead role.)

• 1948: Joe DiMaggio hits for the cycle and more. Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hit for the cycle and collected six RBI in a 13-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. DiMaggio hit two home runs, a triple, a double, and a single.

• 1984: Roger Clemens gets his first win. Boston's Roger Clemens struck out seven in seven innings to earn his first major league victory, 5-4 over the Twins.

• 1999: Robin Ventura hit a grand slam in both games of a double-header. Playing for the Mets, Robin Ventura becomes the first major leaguer to hit grand slams in both games of a doubleheader, leading the Mets to a sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-10 and 10-1. Of note, on September 4, 1995, Ventura while playing with the White Sox hit two grand slams in a single game.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Hal Newhouser (1921) is a Hall of Famer who pitched in the majors from 1939-1955, with all but his final two seasons with the Detroit Tigers. A six-time All-Star, he did something quite rare in winning an MVP Award as a pitcher, and not just once but in two consecutive seasons in 1944 and 1945. That was the beginning of a three year stretch of dominance that included a 29-9 record and 2.22 ERA, 25-9 record and 1.81 ERA, and 26-9 record and 1.94 ERA. He led the AL in strikeouts with 187 in 1944 and then with 212 in 1945 earning him the pitching triple crown that year. Overall for his career Newhouser posted a 207-150 (.580) record with a 3.06 ERA and 130 ERA+.

• Ken Boyer (1931) had a 15-year major league career from 1955-1969, mostly with the Cardinals, but spending his final three seasons with the Mets, White Sox, and Dodgers. Boyer was an All-Star in seven seasons, and won five NL Gold Glove awards for his fielding excellence at 3B. After getting down-ballot MVP consideration in seven seasons, he took home the NL MVP in 1964 after leading the league with 119 RBI to go with 100 runs, 24 HR, 10 triples, and a .295 average. Over his career he totaled 282 HR and 1,141 RBI, with a .287/.349/.462 slash line, and a 116 OPS+.

• David Wells (1963) had a long 21-year career that spanned from 1987-2007. He started out as a reliever with the Blue Jays but then was primarily a starter, spending time with nine different clubs. A 3-time All-Star, “Boomer” came in third in the AL Cy Young Award vote in 1998 after going 18-4 with a 3.49 ERA for the Yankees, and then again in 2000 with the Blue Jays when he paced the AL in wins with a 20-8 record. Wells was often in the postseason and generally did well, with a 10-5 overall record and a 3.17 ERA over 125 IP. A career highlight was throwing baseball’s 15th perfect game on May 17, 1998, as his Yankees beat the Twins 4-0. His career regular season totals include a 239-157 (.604) record, 2,201 strikeouts, 4.13 ERA, and 108 ERA+.

• Bobby Murcer (1946) had a 17-year major league career, spanning from 1965-1983, spent primarily with the Yankees, but with a few seasons with the Giants and Cubs too. He had seven seasons with 20+ HR and had a little speed also, with seven seasons with 10+ SB. A five-time All-Star, he primarily played RF but spent some time in CF, including in 1972 when he took home an AL Gold Glove Award. For his career he had 252 HR, 127 SB, 1,043 RBI, a .277/.357/.445 slash line, and 124 OPS+.

• George Grantham (1900) had a 13 year major-league career from 1922-1934, with about half spent with the Pirates, and the rest with the Cubs, Reds, and Giants. He played a mix of 2B and 1B, had some speed early in his career including 43 SB in his first full season, and modest power with five years of 10+ HR. Grantham hit over .300 eight times and had a high of 120 runs scored in 1930. His career slash line was .302/.392/.461 with a 122 OPS+.

• Jayson Werth (1979) had a 15-year major league career as an OF spanning from 2002-2017, playing with the Nationals, Phillies, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. He hit 20+ HR six times, with career highs of 36 HR and 99 RBI in 2009 with the Phillies, his one year as an All-Star. He retired with 229 HR, 132 SB, a .267/.360/.455 slash line, and a 117 OPS+.

• Todd Stottlemyre (1965) had a 14-year major league pitching career that spanned from 1988-2002. He pitched the first half with the Blue Jays and the remainder with the Cardinals, Rangers, A’s, and Diamondbacks. He posted 10+ wins in eight seasons, with a high win total coming in 1991 with a 15-8 record and 3.78 ERA. Over his career he tallied a 138-121 (.533) record with a 4.28 ERA. Todd is the son of another major league pitcher, Mel Stottlemyre, who pitched with the Yankees from 1964-1974.

Today’s Matchups

A full Tuesday slate of games (15), plus the continuation of yesterday’s CLE/MIN suspended game, so lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• DET vs. STL features one of the best pitchers in the game in Detroit’s Tarik Skubal (2.67 ERA, 71 K in 54 IP), with the Cardinals countering with Erick Fedde (3.44 ERA, 32 K in 52.1 IP).

• CLE vs. MIN I think is a partial double-header because of the need to finish their suspended game from yesterday (MIN was up 2-1 after three innings), and then their regularly scheduled game between these two teams that are neck and neck in chasing the Tigers in the AL Central. The Guardians will have Gavin Williams (4.29 ERA, 51 K in 42 IP) up against the Twins’ Chris Paddack (4.05 ERA, 33 K in 46.2 IP).

Also taking the mound today are NYM Clay Holmes, SDP Dylan Cease, PHI Jesús Luzardo, and LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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:

• NYY DJ LeMahieu, 22-58 (.379) with 6 HR and 3 triples vs. TEX Patrick Corbin … though a lot of that history was some time ago

• NYM Pete Alonso, 5-16 with 4 HR vs. BOS Walker Buehler (if he is the starter, TBD as of this writing)

• SFG Wilmer Flores, 7-14 with 3 HR vs. KCR Michael Lorenzen

• CIN Tyler Stephenson, 8-15 with 2 HR and a double vs. PIT Bailey Falter

• PHI Bryce Harper, 5-15 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• SEA Rowdy Tellez, 5-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. CHW Bryse Wilson

• WAS Luis García Jr., 5-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. ATL Spencer Strider

• DET Javier Báez, small sample but is 4-8 with 2 HR and a double vs. STL Erick Fedde

Also of note: MIA Kyle Stowers is 2-2 with 2 HR vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

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:

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 9-23 with a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• PHI Trea Turner, 7-15 with a double vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• PHI J.T. Realmuto, 6-13 vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• CIN Spencer Steer, 7-14 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. PIT Bailey Falter

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

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

• 9 - STL Ivan Herrera

• 8 - TEX Jake Burger

• 8 - CIN Spencer Steer

• 7 - WAS Josh Bell

• 7 - AZ Geraldo Perdomo

• 7 - SEA Julio Rodriguez

• 7 - MIA Kyle Stowers

• 7 - CHW Chase Meidroth

• 7 - CIN Will Benson

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:

• SDP Martín Maldonado, 1-18 with 7 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• SDP Jose Iglesias, 1-15 but only 2 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• TOR Myles Straw, 0-11 with 6 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• DET Tomás Nido, 0-12 with 6 K vs. STL Erick Fedde

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies hit his 300th HR yesterday. He is the 11th active player to reach that milestone, and the next four in line are:

• 290 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 283 - ATL Marcell Ozuna

• 279 - LAD Mookie Betts

• 275 - KCR Salvador Perez

Perez is 35 and off to a slow start this year (2 HR and a .218 average). He is playing a mix of C, 1B, and DH so as long as that continues I think he’ll reach 300 HR.

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.

• The hitters with MLB's most extreme swings, by David Adler at MLB, 5/20/2025

• 1st ROY poll of 2025 shows runaway favorite in AL, lots of competition in NL, by Jason Foster, 5/20/2025

• Some Home Runs Get Hit and Don't Land Anywhere Close To Where You Might Expect, by Paul Jackson at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/20/2025

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

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