The Baseball Buffet for 5/24/2025

Issue #284

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 58th day of the season had a full slate (15) of Friday games:

• BAL 5, BOS 19 (Gm 1) - This game would have been a 6-5 win for Boston, except the Red Sox exploded for 13 runs in the bottom of the 8th. Overall there were 34 hits, with the Orioles having 14 of them in the losing effort (they left 11 runners on base). Cade Povich pitched well for Baltimore (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but all four Orioles relievers did not—though this included 3B Emmanuel Rivera who pitched part of the 8th inning and let up 8 runs on 8 hits and two walks. The impressive stats for Boston include Jarren Duran (2-5 with 3 RBI), Rob Refsnyder (3-5, HR and 4 RBI), Carlos Narvaez (3-5, 2 doubles), and most of all Rafael Devers (4-6, with 8 RBI including a 3-run HR and a grand slam).

• SFG 4, WAS 0 - MacKenzie Gore once again pitched well and racked up a lot of strikeouts (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K). But Landen Roupp also did well (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and three Giants relievers combined with him on the 5-hit shutout.

• TOR 1, TBR 3 - Brandon Lowe and Curtis Mead homered for the Rays, Drew Rasmussen pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and Pete Fairbanks notched his 9th save.

• CLE 3, DET 1 - Spencer Torkelson hit his 13th HR, but Slade Cecconi otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Hunter Gaddis pitched two shutout innings, and Emmanuel Clase secured his 10th save on the year.

• SDP 2, ATL 1 - Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a HR in his first at-bat since coming off the IL. Nick Pivetta settled in after that (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). Gavin Sheets had a HR, but Chris Sale otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). But then in the ninth, Manny Machado hit a HR off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to put the Padres ahead, and Robert Suarez secured his 16th save.

• MIL 5, PIT 6 - Paul Skenes pitched very well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), and the game was tied 3-3 through eight. William Contreras hit a HR in the top of the ninth, but Oneil Cruz homered (his second of the game) in the bottom to force extras. The Brewers scored one in the top of the 10th, but in the bottom of the frame Alexander Canario singled to drive in Spencer Horwitz who was the ghost-running Manfred Man. Later in the inning, with runners on second and third, Abner Uribe threw a wild pitch and Adam Frazier scored for the win.

• CHC 13, CIN 6 - What I thought could be a pitchers duel ended up with each team having 13 hits and the Cubs rallying from being down 6-2 through six innings to score 11 in the final three innings. Seiya Suzuki was 3-5 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI, while Pete Crow-Armstrong was 3-5 with two HR (including a grand slam), a double, and 6 RBI. Dansby Swanson added a HR, and Nico Hoerner was 3-5 with two doubles.

• TEX 1, CHW 4 - Sean Burke pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and three White Sox relievers shut out the Rangers the rest of the way. Steven Wilson, who has been generally solid in relief for Chicago this year (1.72 ERA), notched his first save.

• KCR 1, MIN 3 - The Royals out hit the Twins 8-6, but they were 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 8 runners on base. Both starters did well: Noah Cameron (6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and Pablo Lopez (5.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K). Minnesota scored their three runs via HR by Carlos Correa and Ty France.

• LAD 7, NYM 5 - Clayton Kershaw started out well (2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) but then a lengthy rain delay ended his game early. This one involved a total of 17 pitchers, as it went deep into extra innings. Down 5-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Mets' Jeff McNeil tripled with two runners on, and then Tyrone Taylor singled to drive in McNeil. Even with the free runners on second, no runs were scored until the top of the 13th, when Teoscar Hernandez doubled to drive home Will Smith (and then Hernandez later scored as an insurance run on a sac fly).

• SEA 5, HOU 3 - The Astros got three hits each from Jose Altuve and Cam Smith, and Isaac Paredes hit his 11th HR. But the Mariners did more damage from homers by Leody Taveras, Miles Mastrobuoni, and Cal Raleigh—his 17th of the year to remain tied for the MLB lead. Andrés Muñoz secured his 17th save to remain in the MLB lead in that category as well.

• AZ 3, STL 4 - The D-Backs out hit the Cardinals 8-4, but could only tally three runs, all from HR by Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno. Meanwhile the Cards bunched their runs together in the 6th inning, mostly from a bases-loaded triple by Nolan Arenado. Miles Mikolas pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) and Ryan Helsley let up the HR to Moreno, but still was awarded his 10th save on the year.

• NYY 2, COL 3 - Other than letting up Aaron Judge's 17th HR of the year, Tanner Gordon pitched quite well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Reliever Zach Agnos (1.29 ERA in 12 appearances) has been a bright spot for the Rockies, and last night he notched his third save.

• MIA 4, LAA 7 - Miami out hit LA 14-6, but still managed to lose because they left 14 runners on base, and starter Sandy Alcantara once again didn't do so well (5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). Taylor Ward and Jorge Soler each homered for the Angels, Yusei Kikuchi let up a lot of Marlins base runners but didn't allow any runs (5.2 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), and Kenly Jansen eventually came in for the ninth and recorded his 11th save.

• PHI 4, ATH 3 - Trea Turner led off the game with a HR, but then Jacob Lopez settled in and pitched quite well (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K). Athletics closer Mason Miller came in for the ninth but gave up three runs making it 4-0. Zach Wheeler was excellent as usual (6.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), but then like Miller, Phillies closer Jordan Roman came in for the ninth and gave up a 3-run HR to Nick Kurtz. But the damage stopped there as Tanner Banks came in for the final out and his first save on the season.

• BAL vs. BOS (Gm 2) - postponed

Today’s Trivia Question

Oneil Cruz of the Pirates and Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox are on teams with pretty bad records this year. But individually they are tied for the MLB lead in SB with 18. Who are the last players from each of these two teams to lead their respective league in SB? (Hint: For the Pirates it was 1998, for the White Sox it was 2010).

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

• TEX SP Kumar Rocker

• TBR RP Kevin Kelly

• TBR RF Jake Mangum

🤕 Placed on the IL

• ATH 3B Gio Urshela - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• WAS CF Jacob Young - 10-day IL (left shoulder AC sprain)

❌ Designated for Assignment

• KCR OF Hunter Renfroe - was hitting .182 with 0 HR and RBI in 99 AB

• ATH OF Seth Brown - was hitting .192 with 1 HR and 3 RBI in 52 AB

• ATL SS Orlando Arcia - was hitting .194 with 0 HR and 1 RBI in 31 AB

League Leaders

Both Gore and Wheeler pitched yesterday, so it seems like a good time to check in on the MLB pitching strikeouts leaderboard:

• 93 - WAS MacKenzie Gore

• 88 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 80 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• 79 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 78 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 78 - ATL Chris Sale

• 74 - SFG Logan Webb

• 72 - KCR Cole Ragans

• 71 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 71 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• 70 - PIT Paul Skenes

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 24…

• 1899: Pitcher Cy Seymour hits well but is very wild. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In Cincinnati‚ Giants pitcher Cy Seymour hits two doubles and two singles‚ but his wildness costs him a win against the Reds. With the bases loaded in the 10th and score tied 6-6‚ Seymour hands out his 13th walk of the game to force in the winning run. Cy strikes out none.”

• 1928: A game loaded with future Hall of Famers. As described at baseball-reference.com, “In the first game of a doubleheader in Philadelphia, a record 12 future Hall of Famers play in the Yankees' 9-7 victory over the Athletics. This number does not include non-playing Hall of Famers Herb Pennock and Stan Coveleski, managers Miller Huggins and Connie Mack, nor umpire Tom Connolly.”

• 1935: Reds host the Phillies for the first major league night game. The Cincinnati Reds hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in the first major league night game, winning, 2-1, before 25,000 fans. As described at baseball-reference.com, “On the initiative of Larry MacPhail, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt throws the switch at the White House to turn on the lights. The Reds will play seven night games, one against each of the other National League teams.”

• 1936: Tony Lazzeri has a huge game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Tony Lazzeri, batting eighth for the New York Yankees, posts an American League record with 11 RBI while hitting three home runs - two of them grand slams - and a triple in a 25-2 rout of the Philadelphia Athletics. Another major league record is tied when Ben Chapman draws five walks as the Yanks are handed 16 bases on balls. Lou Gehrig exits early and is replaced by his favorite sub‚ Jack Saltzgaver. Monte Pearson is the winner over George Turbeville in the laugher.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Bartolo Colon (1973) had a 21-year major league pitching career that spanned from 1997-2018, with Colon finally retiring at age 45. He pitched for 11 different clubs, starting out with the Indians for five and a half seasons, including one of his four all-star campaigns. He won 20+ games twice, including in 2005 for the Angels when he took home the AL Cy Young Award after going 21-8 with 3.48 ERA. He retired with a 247-188 (.568) record, 4.12 ERA, and 106 ERA+. Nicknamed “Big Sexy,” Colon also provided joy to fans as a hapless hitter, with his .084/..092/.107 slash line over 299 at-bats, including one precious HR in 2016, at Petco Park against the Padres’ James Shields, at the age of 42 years, 349 days—the oldest player to hit his first career HR.

• Brad Penny (1978) had a 14-year major league pitching career, mostly spent with the Marlins and Dodgers, but with a few years spread with the Giants, Tigers, Red Sox, and Cardinals. He was an All-Star twice, first when he led the NL in wins with a 16-9 record in 2006, and then also the following year when he posted a 16-4 record and 3.03 ERA, coming in third in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

• Jack Pfiester (1878) had a relatively short career, pitching in eight seasons, with only five full ones from 1906-1910 with the Chicago Cubs. But during that span he was 69-36 (.657) with a 1.77 ERA which amounts to a 143 ERA+. His short other seasons were not good ones, and that lowers his career ERA+ to 127, but he still had a 71-44 (.617) career record and 2.02 ERA.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Saturday games (15), plus one make-up game from yesterday, so lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• CHC vs. CIN involves two pitchers doing well so far this year: Colin Rea (2.38 ERA, 32 K in 41.2 IP) and Andrew Abbott (1.80 ERA, 43 K in 35 IP).

• SEA vs. HOU features Bryan Woo (2.65 ERA, 55 K in 57.2 IP, 0.87 WHIP) vs. Framber Valdez 3.57 ERA, 59 K in 63 IP).

Also on the hill today are KCR Michael Wacha, AZ Merrill Kelly, SDP Michael King, NYY Max Fried, 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:

• TBR Jonathan Aranda, 5-10 with 3 HR vs. TOR José Berríos

• NYY Trent Grisham, only 6-26 but with 3 HR and a double vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• MIL William Contreras, 5-16 with 2 HR vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 6-21 with 2 HR vs. NYM David Peterson

• BOS Rafael Devers, 7-19 with 2 HR and 4 doubles vs. BAL Zach Eflin

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:

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 12-25 with 1 HR, 1 triple, 2 doubles vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• MIN Ty France, 11-22, with 1 HR and 5 doubles vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• NYY Cody Bellinger, 11-32 with 1 HR and 5 doubles vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• BAL Cedric Mullins, 8-13 with 1 triple and 3 doubles vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• MIN Christian Vázquez, 7-13 vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• LAD Miguel Rojas, 7-14 with 1 HR and 3 doubles vs. NYM David Peterson

• MIL Rhys Hoskins, small sample but is 6-9 with a triple and 2 doubles vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• SFG Willy Adames, 6-10 and two doubles vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• STL Willson Contreras, 6-10 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• BOS Trevor Story, 6-13 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. BAL Zach Eflin

• KCR Michael Massey, small sample but is 5-6 with a HR and a double vs. MIN Zebby Matthews

• LAA Taylor Ward, small sample but is 5-9 vs. MIA Cal Quantrill

• CIN Will Benson, 5-10 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. CHC Colin Rea

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 5-10 vs. NYM David Peterson

• CIN Spencer Steer, 5-12 with a HR vs. CHC Colin Rea

• BOS Wilyer Abreu, 5-13 with a HR and a double vs. BAL Zach Eflin

• CIN Elly De La Cruz, 4-10 with a HR and a triple vs. CHC Colin Rea

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:

• 16 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 11 - CIN Spencer Steer

• 10 - MIA Kyle Stowers

• 10 - CHW Chase Meidroth

• 10 - ATH Miguel Andujar

• 9 - BAL Jackson Holliday

• 9 - ATL Ozzie Albies

• 9 - LAA Taylor Ward

• 8 - CHC Dansby Swanson

• 8 - SFG Heliot Ramos

• 8 - HOU Jake Meyers

• 8 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• 7 - DET Dillon Dingler

• 7 - DET KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

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:

• MIN Carlos Correa, 1-16 with 5 K (though he hit was a HR) vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• TBR Brandon Lowe, 3-17 with 9 K (though one hit was a HR) vs. TOR José Berríos

• TBR Taylor Walls, 0-11 with 4 K vs. TOR José Berríos

• CIN TJ Friedl, 0-11 though 0 K vs. CHC Colin Rea

• BOS Connor Wong, 0-10 with 2 K vs. BAL Zach Eflin

• CLE Carlos Santana, 2-18 with 4 K vs. DET Casey Mize

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Oneil Cruz of the Pirates and Luis Robert Jr. are tied for the MLB lead in SB with 18. The last time a Pirates player led the NL in SB was Tony Womack with 58 in 1998 (he also led the NL with 60 in 1997, and again in 2000 for the D-backs with 72.) The last time a White Sox player led the AL in SB was Juan Pierre with 68 in 2010.

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 top prospects on verge of being called up, by Sam Dykstra at MLB, 5/23/2025

• The Last Game With No True Outcomes, by Daniel Evensen at the Baseball Replay Journal, 5/23/2025

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

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