Issue #649
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!
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Yesterday’s schedule included a full slate of Saturday games, plus a make-up game rained out on Friday. However, two other games were rained out, so we ended up with 14 contests. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):
STL 8, CIN 1 (Gm 1) - The Reds scored first, with a HR by Nathaniel Lowe in the second inning. But STL SP Andre Pallante did well overall (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and three Cardinals relievers pitched scoreless innings. Meanwhile, St. Louis scored three runs off CIN SP Chris Paddack (5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), and then added another five runs late in the game, including 2-run HRs by Jordan Walker, his 14th of the year, and rookie OF Bryan Torres, in his MLB debut.
STL 6, CIN 7 (11) (Gm 2) - In game two, the Cardinals scored first with a run in the second inning, but then the Reds finally got to STL SP Kyle Leahy in the fifth (5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 K), with Elly De La Cruz hitting a 3-run HR, and Nathaniel Lowe hitting a 2-run HR. St. Louis came back with a 3-run HR by Jordan Walker in the sixth, his now 15th of the season. Still down 6-4, José Fermín hit a 2-run HR in the top of the ninth to tie it up and force extras. Neither team scored in the 10th, and Pierce Johnson came back out and kept the Cardinals off the board a second time in the 11th as well. St. Louis closer Riley O'Brien attempted to do the same but came up short, as P.J. Higgins successfully bunted the automatic runner over to third, and then a grounder by Blake Dunn drove him in.
SEA 0, KCR 5 - The Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning off SEA SP George Kirby (6 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K). Meanwhile, KCR SP Stephen Kolek pitched a four-hit complete game shutout. Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-4 with 2 runs; Michael Massey was 2-4; and Carter Jensen was 1-2 with a walk and 2 RBI.
LAD 11, MIL 3 - The Brewers scored three runs in the bottom of the first, but then LAD SP Roki Sasaki settled in (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Four Dodgers relievers also kept the Brewers from scoring further, while Los Angeles' hitters came alive with four runs in the fourth, including a 3-run HR by Teoscar Hernández. He was 3-4 with 6 RBI on the day, while Freddie Freeman was 1-1 with a double, 4 walks, and 3 runs.
HOU 3, CHC 0
MIN 4, BOS 2
PIT 2, TOR 5
CWS 3, SFG 10
WSH 2, ATL 0
NYM 1, MIA 4
CLE 0, PHI 3
ATH 0, SDP 2
TEX 2, LAA 5
COL 4, ARI 5
TBR vs. NYY - postponed
DET vs. BAL - postponed
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Today’s Trivia Question
One of today's Birthday Boys (see below) is pitcher Bartolo Colon. He had a lengthy and successful career, but was also known for being on the larger side—at baseball-reference.com he is listed as having been 5'11" and 285 pounds. He had 2,535 career strikeouts, so can you name the only pitcher who weighed as much or more than Colon and had more career strikeouts?
(Trivia answers are provided for paid All-Star subscribers of the Baseball Buffet.)
🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉
Bartolo Colon, Brad Penny, Jack Pfiester
Currently active players who were born on May 24 include MIL Aaron Ashby and Chad Green (free agent).
Today’s Matchups
Today we have not only a typical full slate of Sunday games, but also one makeup game from yesterday's DET/BAL rainout. Here are a couple of interesting matchups (and here is the full schedule):
TBR Drew Rasmussen vs. NYY Ryan Weathers - since Saturday's game was postponed until later this year, this is now game two of two between these AL East leaders (and where Tampa now has a 5.5 game lead)
LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. MIL Brandon Sproat - the final game in this series, now tied 1-1, between these two strong NL clubs
Other starters throwing today include TOR Dylan Cease, BOS Sonny Gray, CLE Parker Messick, SEA Bryan Woo, CHC Shota Imanaga, SDP Michael King, DET Framber Valdez, and TEX MacKenzie Gore.
Baseball Quote of the Day
As noted in the May 10th issue of The Baseball Buffet, Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox recently passed away at the age of 84. I thought today I'd circle back and share a few good quotes from Cox:
"I knew I'd never make it back to the major leagues as a player. Lee MacPhail came to me and asked if I wanted to manage the Yankees' Fort Lauderdale club. I thought about it for a day or two and decided to take the job. That was the turning point. I knew it was what I wanted to do."
"If I were on the field, I'd want the manager sticking up for me. Sometimes players are dead wrong, ranting and raving, but you stick up for them. They appreciate that."
"Most umpires are good about letting the argument go, but you can only go on for so long, or go so far. If you don't leave it alone after a minute or two, you're in trouble. They want to keep the game moving, so they've got to throw you out. I had trouble leaving it alone, I guess."
"Mistakes are nothing. But it's a mistake not to try."
⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾
Did you know? I wrote a 600+ page book with the same title as this newsletter/blog? Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports. It is available at Amazon and most other major booksellers.
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