Issue #653

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!

⚾ Welcome! Today is Free Friday! ⚾

NOTE: The Baseball Buffet has recently moved to a tiered model, with free subscribers receiving a shortened daily edition, and paid All-Star subscribers receiving the full buffet each day. The exception is Free Fridays, when everyone gets the full issue!

As is typical on Thursdays, yesterday’s schedule included a partial slate of games (6), as many teams were travelling or otherwise had the day off. Here are the results (link to all game box scores):

  • LAA 7, DET 1 - The Tigers scored first with a solo HR by Wenceel Pérez in the bottom of the second inning. But LAA SP Grayson Rodriguez did well otherwise (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and four Angels relievers pitched scoreless innings. Meanwhile, DET SP Jack Flaherty had 9 K in 5.2 IP, but also allowed 3 earned runs (6 H, 1 BB). The Angels later scored two in the eighth and two more in the ninth, as Zach Neto went 2-4 with a double; Mike Trout went 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 doubles, and 2 RBI; and Donovan Walton was 3-4 with 2 runs.

  • MIN 2, CWS 6 - The White Sox scored six runs early, with five coming off MIN SP Simeon Woods Richardson (2.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). CWS SP Davis Martin pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), lowering his ERA to an even 2.00 on the year. Tristan Peters went 3-4 with a double; Colson Montgomery was 2-4; and Randal Grichuk had a bases-loaded 3-run double.

  • ATL 10, BOS 2 - BOS SP Payton Tolle struck out 7 in 4.2 IP (5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB), and ATL SP Chris Sale struck out 8 in 5 IP (6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB), and the score was tied 2-2 after five. At that point the Braves bullpen pitched four scoreless innings, while the Red Sox pen allowed eight more runs. Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a grand slam in the sixth; Michael Harris II was 2-5 with a seventh inning HR; and Ozzie Albies went 3-5 with a 2-run HR in the ninth.

  • TOR 2, BAL 1 - BAL SP Chris Bassitt pitched well against his old team (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K), giving up a solo HR to Andrés Giménez in the third inning. TOR SP Patrick Corbin also did well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), only giving up a solo HR to Coby Mayo in the fourth. Four Blue Jays relievers kept the Orioles from scoring the rest of the game, including Louis Varland who closed it out for his 8th save. The winning run for the Blue Jays came in the top of the eighth when George Springer led off the inning with a double off Anthony Nunez. Nathan Lukes bunted Springer over to third, and Nunez intentionally walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He then walked Daulton Varsho which loaded the bases, and then walked pinch-hitter Yohendrick Piñango as well which scored Springer from third.

  • CHC 7, PIT 2 - PIT SP Paul Skenes had 10 K in 5.1 IP, but also allowed 4 H, 3 R (1 earned), and 3 BB. Meanwhile, CHC SP Colin Rea pitched fairly well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), finally giving up two runs in the sixth, including a solo HR to Bryan Reynolds. The Cubs added four more runs late in the game, including a 2-run HR by Ian Happ, his 12th of the year.

  • HOU 5, TEX 1 - Jeremy Peña led off the game with a HR, and was followed by a 2-run HR by Isaac Paredes. The Astros scored two more in the third off TEX SP Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and that was all that they would need as HOU SP Spencer Arrighetti once again pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), only giving up a solo HR to Josh Jung in the second. Four Astros relievers combined for three scoreless frames, including Bryan Abreu who struck out two in the ninth to close it out.


MLB and MLBPA make their initial CBA proposals

We can now see where both the owners and the players initially stand in the negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Here are two articles that give some of the highlights from each side’s initial proposals:

Advertisement

Panic is a financial news strategy. Clarity is ours.

Markets move. Headlines catastrophise. But somewhere inside the noise is the story that matters — the opportunity, not the fear. 

The Daily Upside was built by Wall Street insiders to find it — global business and finance, reported without the alarm.

Join 1M readers →


Standings

Here are the current MLB standings, with thanks to the website Plain Text Sports for the formatting. (See also the official, more detailed standings at MLB here.)


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 mostly focus on the biggest, more impactful injury list changes (for a full list, see all the latest MLB transactions).

🤕 Injured Lists

  • BOS RP Garrett Whitlock - 15-day IL (left knee inflammation)

  • DET RP Kenley Jansen - 15-day IL (pelvic inflammation)

  • TOR 2B Lenyn Sosa - 10-day IL (right shoulder impingement)

🚼 Paternity List

  • CLE CF Steven Kwan

❌ Released

  • TEX DH Andrew McCutchen - the 39-year old McCutchen had a good Spring Training, but then has hit only .192 with 1 HR in 73 AB. It will be interesting to see if another team might give him a shot, as he did manage to collect 13 HR with 57 RBI and a .239 average last year for the Pirates.


MLB Leaders

Three of the top four players (so not including Matt Olson) on the RBI leaderboard are not hitters I would have predicted would be there at this point in the season:

  • 50 - LAD Andy Pages

  • 47 - WSH CJ Abrams

  • 44 - MIA Liam Hicks

  • 44 - ATL Matt Olson

  • 42 - STL Jordan Walker

  • 41 - TBR Jonathan Aranda

  • 41 - CWS Munetaka Murakami

  • 40 - HOU Christian Walker

  • 39 - HOU Yordan Alvarez


Current Hitting Streaks

The following guys are on active hitting streaks of seven or more games:

  • 11 - ARI Ketel Marte

  • 11 - BOS Willson Contreras

  • 8 - CHC Alex Bregman

  • 7 - HOU Taylor Trammell

  • 7 - CIN Nathaniel Lowe


Today’s Trivia Question

Salvador Perez recently hit his 312th career HR, which moved him past Iván Rodríguez into 7th place on the all-time leaderboard for players who were primarily catchers (those who played 50% or more of their games at catcher). How many of the top six can you name? (Bonus points if you can name them in order.)

For the answer, see the bottom of this full edition of The Baseball Buffet.


On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history. All quoted descriptions are from baseball-reference.com.

📅 On May 29…

  • 1922: A consequential Supreme Court ruling. "The United States Supreme Court finds that baseball is primarily a sport and not a business in its ruling on the Federal Baseball Club v. National League case. In using this argument, the court rules that baseball is not subject to antitrust laws nor to standard interstate commerce regulations."

  • 1942: Lefty Gomez collects four hits. "New York's Lefty Gomez‚ self-described as the worst-hitting pitcher in baseball‚ bangs out four hits in pitching a four-hit‚ 16 - 1 victory over Washington. They are his last major league hits. Buddy Hassett adds four hits as well."

  • 1971: A Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan double-header. "The Mets feature firepower as Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver combine to strike out 26‚ tying the Mets' own major league record set on September 9‚ 1970, in a doubleheader sweep of the Padres. Seaver wins the opener‚ 5 - 1‚ with ten K's and Ryan cops the nitecap‚ 2 - 1. Mets batters strike out 15 times: the 41 strikeouts ties the major league record."

  • 1971: The Reds trade for a young George Foster. "In a great trade for Cincinnati‚ the Giants ship OF George Foster to the Reds for SS Frank Duffy and P Vern Geishert."

  • 1972: Moe Berg dies at the age of 70. "Morris (Moe) Berg dies in Belleville, New Jersey, at the age of 70. In addition to playing 15 years in the major leagues, the multitalented Berg also gained distinction as an attorney, linguist, mathematician, and most curiously, as an American secret agent during World War II."

  • 1976: Joe Niekro hits his only major league HR... off his brother. "Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro hits the only home run of his 22-year major league career. Strangely enough, Niekro enjoys his feat against his brother, Phil, the ace pitcher of the Atlanta Braves. With his unexpected home run, Joe leads the Astros to a 4 - 3 victory over Atlanta."

  • 1977: Larry Parrish has a big game. "Larry Parrish is 5 for 5‚ including three homers‚ with five RBIs and five runs scored to lead the Expos to a 14 - 4 win over the Cardinals. Del Unser also homers for Montreal."

  • 1990: Rickey Henderson becomes the AL stolen base king. "Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics becomes the American League's all-time stolen base king. In swiping third base against the Toronto Blue Jays, Henderson steals his 893rd base to surpass the long-standing record set by Ty Cobb."

  • 2010: Roy Halladay throws a perfect game. "Roy Halladay pitches the 20th perfect game in Major League history, striking out 11 in the process, as the Phillies defeat the Florida Marlins, 1 - 0. Following Dallas Braden's perfect game earlier in the month, it is the first time that two perfect games are pitched in the same season in 130 years. Lee Richmond and John Montgomery Ward had both pitched perfect games five days apart in 1880."


🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys 🎉

Eric Davis, George McQuinn, Paul Skenes, Blue Moon Odom

Eric Davis (1962)

  • 17-year major league career, spanning from 1984-2001, the first half with the Reds, and the second half split between several other clubs

  • Like Kirk Gibson, whose birthday was yesterday, Davis had elite talent but often missed playing time due to injuries. He had a very strong combination of power and speed, posting 27 HR and 80 SB in 132 games in his first full season in 1986, and then 37 HR and 50 SB in 129 games in 1987.

  • Had eight seasons with 20+ HR, and seven seasons with 20+ SB. Davis was an efficient base-stealer, with a career success rate of 84%.

  • Early in his career he was also outstanding defensively in CF, taking home three consecutive NL Gold Glove Awards from 1987-1989.

  • Overall he had 282 HR, 349 SB, a .269/.359/.482 slash line, and a 125 OPS+

George McQuinn (1910-1978)

  • 12-year major league career, spanning from 1936-1948, mostly as a 1B for the St. Louis Browns

  • Had modest power, regularly hitting over 10 HR a year with a high of 20 HR in 1939

  • Six-time All-Star, and scored 100+ runs twice

  • Overall had 135 HR, a .276/.357/.424 slash line, and a 110 OPS+

Paul Skenes (2002)

  • Overall #1 draft pick in 2023 by the Pirates

  • As a rookie in 2024 he was selected as the NL’s starting pitcher for the All-Star game, and went on to win the Rookie of the Year award after posting an 11-3 record, 1.96 ERA, and 170 K in 133 IP in 23 starts.

  • In 2025 he only had a 10-10 record, but still won the NL Cy Young Award because he led the league with a 1.97 ERA to go with 216 strikeouts.

  • So far this year he has had a few rough outings, but has been stellar in many others, with a 3.00 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 60 IP

Blue Moon Odom (1945)

  • Had a 13-year major league pitching career, spanning from 1964-1976, mostly with the Athletics

  • He was an All-Star in 1968 when he had a 16-10 record and 2.45 ERA, then again in 1969 when he had a 15-6 record and 2.92 ERA

  • He later went 15-6 with a 2.50 ERA in 1972

  • Overall had a 84-85 record and a 3.70 ERA

  • According to Wikipedia, Johnny Lee Odom was "nicknamed Blue Moon in grade-school by a classmate who thought Odom's round face resembled the moon."

In addition to Paul Skenes, other currently active major leaguers born on May 29 include CLE Patrick Bailey, TBR Steven Matz, DET Brenan Hanifee, and DET Zack Short.

Today’s Matchups

As usual for a Friday, we have a full slate of games today (15). Here are a few interesting matchups (see full list at MLB):

  • MIN Taj Bradley vs. PIT Jared Jones - Bradley owns a 2.77 ERA so far this year, while Jones is making his first major league start since the end of the 2024 season.

  • MIA Max Meyer vs. NYM Freddy Peralta - Meyer hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts (13 IP) and has a 2.52 ERA this year

  • KCR Stephen Kolek vs. TEX MacKenzie Gore - Kolek threw a shutout his last game, and didn't allow any runs over 6.1 IP the game before that

  • PHI Zack Wheeler vs. LAD Justin Wrobleski - Wheeler owns a 1.67 ERA in six starts this year, but will be tested by the tough Dodgers

Other starters on the hump today include TBR Nick Martinez, CHC Shota Imanaga, DET Troy Melton, SFG Logan Webb, NYY Carlos Rodón, and SEA George Kirby.

Hitter Watch
The following hitters have done well historically against the SP they are facing today:

  • ATL Mike Yastzemski, 10-25, 3 HR, 3 doubles vs. CIN Chris Paddack

  • BAL Pete Alonso, 6-14, HR, 2 doubles vs. TOR Austin Voth

  • ATH Shea Langeliers, 4-8, double vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

  • NYY Jazz Chisholm, 5-11, 2 HR, double vs. ATH Luis Severino

  • NYY Aaron Judge, 4-8, HR, double vs. ATH Luis Severino

  • SEA Mitch Garver, 3-8, 2 HR vs. ARI Zac Gallen

  • LAD Freddie Freeman, 21-54 (.389), 2 HR, 4 doubles vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

The following hitters have not done well historically against the SP they are facing today:

  • TOR George Springer, 0-8, 4 K vs. BAL Trevor Rogers

  • ATH Brent Rooker, 1-12, 5 K, though the one hit was a HR vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

  • SEA Josh Naylor, 0-13, 5 K vs. ARI Zac Gallen

Pitcher Watch
The following pitchers have done well against players on the team they are facing today:

  • NYY Carlos Rodón, 47 AB, 1 HR, 16 K, 2 BB, .128/.180/.217 vs. ATH hitters

  • ARI Zac Gallen, 41 AB, 2 HR, 11 K, 3 BB, .122/.182/.273 vs. SEA hitters

The following pitchers have not done well against players on the team they are facing today:

  • PHI Zack Wheeler, 122 AB, 6 HR, 33 K, 25 BB, .320/.432/.531 vs. LAD hitters

  • ATH Luis Severino, 76 AB, 5 HR, 20 K, 12 BB, .289/.409/.557 vs. NYY hitters

  • SFG Logan Webb, 69 AB, 1 HR, 11 K, 3 BB, .362/.389/.453 vs. COL hitters


Baseball Quote of the Day

One of today's Birthday Boys is Eric Davis, so here are some good quotes from him:

"I love the game, it's the greatest game on earth, that's why I can't understand all of this talk about trying to make the game better. People talk about the high strike zone and changing this and that. Why? To speed up the game? That's the beauty of baseball. There is no time element."

"I'm not head-strong, and I'm not egotistical. I understand certain things better now. I won't be trying to be play everyday. There's only one Cal Ripken, one Lou Gehrig and one Joe DiMaggio. What is good for them isn't necessarily good for Eric Davis."

"Come on, when does it come to the point where your name can't come up in trade talks? Willie Mays got traded. Pedro Martinez got traded. So what? That's part of the game."

"It's like, now you're actually complaining because you're making $9 million and guys are making more? If it makes you that upset, quit. Leave the game. Go home then and try finding another job that's going to pay you that."

"Never give up and don't ask why because every situation does not need an answer. I'm a firm believer that I don't worry about anything I can't control."

"I'm no different than others with cancer. I just happen to play professional baseball. I'm part of those statistics that cancer has touched as well."

"It takes a lot of energy to be negative. You have to work at it. But smiling is painless. I'd rather spend my energy smiling."

⚾ Enjoy the games today! ⚾


Today’s Trivia Answer

Here is all-time HR leaderboard for primary catchers (those who played 50% or more of their games at catcher):

  • 427 - Mike Piazza

  • 389 - Johnny Bench

  • 376 - Carlton Fisk

  • 358 - Yogi Berra

  • 324 - Gary Carter

  • 324 - Lance Parrish

  • 312 - Salvador Perez

  • 311 - Iván Rodríguez

  • 282 - Brian McCann

  • 275 - Jorge Posada


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.

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

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.

This newsletter was produced with beehiiv.

New to Now Taking the Field? Become a subscriber and get each article in your email inbox so that you don’t miss anything!

Subscribe

Keep Reading

© 2026 Now Taking the Field.
beehiivPowered by beehiiv