The Baseball Buffet for 5/3/2025

Issue #264

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 37th day of the season had a full slate (15) of Friday games:

• AZ 2, PHI 3 - Merrill Kelly pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 K), but D-Backs reliever Jose Castillo gave up HR to Kyle Schwarber and Max Kepler in the seventh and that ended up being decisive. José Alvarado continued his good start to the season (1.72 ERA, 22 K in 15.2 IP) by recording his sixth save.

• KCR 0, BAL 3 - Ryan O’Hearn hit his 6th HR of the year, Dean Kremer pitched well (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 K), and Felix Bautista notched his sixth save. The Royals only had four hits in this one, and Bobby Witt Jr. didn’t get any of them, ending his 22-game hitting streak.

• TBR 0, NYY 3 - Lots of good news for the Yankees in this one. Paul Goldschmidt went 2-4 with a HR, driving in all three runs of the game. Aaron Judge went 2-4 with a triple and a double, raising his MLB-leading average to .430. Max Fried was outstanding (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) raising his record on the year to 6-0. Devin Williams again pitched fine in a non-save situation (1 IP, 1K), and Luke Weaver struck 2 in the 9th for his third save of the year.

• CLE 3, TOR 5 - Carlos Santana and Bo Naylor each homered for the Guardians, while George Springer hit a HR for the Jays. The game was tied 3-3 when in the bottom of the 8th Nathan Lukes singled to right field to drive in both Springer and Daulton Varsho. Jeff Hoffman then pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his 7th save, and lower his ERA to 1.10 (with 23 K in 16.1 IP).

• MIN 1, BOS 6 - Both starters pitched well: Joe Ryan (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and Brayan Bello (6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). But Boston scored five runs off Minnesota relievers across the 7th and 8th innings, with Alex Bregman hitting his MLB-leading 13th double (after he’d also hit his 8th HR of the year earlier).

• ATH 6, MIA 1 - Miami CF Dane Myers hit his 3rd HR of the year, but Gunnar Hoglund otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) in his major league debut. JJ Bleday went 2-4 with a HR, double, walk, and 3 runs scored.

• HOU 3, CHW 7 - The Astros outhit the White Sox 10-9, but they were only 2-13 with runners in scoring position, while Chicago was 5-11 in that situation. Yainer Diaz went 3-4 with a HR and a double in the loosing effort, while Luis Robert Jr. went 1-2 with a HR and 2 walks.

• WAS 1, CIN 6 - Josh Bell hit his fifth HR of the season, but Hunter Greene otherwise did great in this one (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K). Good to see Tyler Stephenson back and playing his first game of the year, going 2-3 with two doubles.

• LAD 2, ATL 1 - Only six hits in total, with Grant Holmes striking out 9 in 6 IP, but allowing two runs including a solo HR to Mookie Betts. Meanwhile Yoshinobu Yamamoto was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) lowering his MLB-leading ERA to 0.90.

• SEA 13, TEX 1 - The Mariners outhit the Rangers 17-3, including two HR by Cal Raleigh, giving him an MLB-leading 12 on the season. Julio Rodriguez went 2-4 with his fifth HR, and Bryan Woo was outstanding (6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K).

• CHC 10, MIL 0 - The Brewers strategy of using Tyler Alexander as an opener for Quinn Priester didn’t work out, as between the two of them they allowed nine runs in the first two innings. Pete Crow-Armstrong had two HR, Michael Busch had a grand slam, and Cubs starter Ben Brown pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K).

• NYM 9, STL 3 - Sonny Gray allowed nine hits in just 4.1 innings of work, including Pete Alonso’s 8th HR of the year. Brandon Nimmo went 3-3 with 2 walks and connected for his 7th HR.

• SDP 9, PIT 4 - Gavin Sheets hit his fourth HR, Luis Arraez went 3-5 to raise his average to .313 on the year, and the Padres used seven pitchers to contain the Pirates to four, single-run innings only.

• DET 9, LAA 1 - Zach Neto hit his fourth HR, but otherwise Tarik Skubal was great (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K). José Soriano also pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), but Kenley Jensen (0.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER) and Jake Eder (0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB) failed the Halos in the ninth. In that inning alone Riley Greene hit two HR, and Colt Keith and Javier Báez each homered as well. Greene is in rare company as only two other Tigers have done that before, Al Kaline in 1955 and Magglio Ordóñez in 2007.

• COL 0, SFG 4 - Matt Chapman hit his sixth HR of the year, and Robbie Ray pitched great (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K), putting an end to the Rockies two-game winning streak.

Today’s Trivia Question

Yesterday’s trivia question was about the 300/300 club (HR/SB), a group which José Ramírez seems destined to join one day as he just joined the 250/250 club on Thursday and presumably has plenty of baseball left in him. Ramírez would be the first 3B in the 300/300 club, as he is already the first 3B in the 250/250 club (assuming you don’t consider A-Rod a 3B, as he split his career between SS and 3B, but played in slightly more games at SS). If we consider the broader 200/200 club, there are two other 3B… can you name them?

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).

➕ Starting Rehab Assignment

• KCR SP Kyle Wright

• MIA SP Ryan Weathers

• WAS SP Michael Soroka

🤕 Placed on the IL

• NYY 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. - 10-day IL (right oblique strain)

• COL SP Ryan Feltner - 15-day IL (back spasms)

• BOS SP Walker Buehler - 15-day IL (right shoulder bursitis)

• CIN OF Austin Hays - 10-day IL (left hamstring strain)

• LAA OF Mike Trout - 10-day IL (left knee contusion)

League Leaders

As noted above, Alex Bregman hit his 13th double of the year, and is now at the top of this particular leaderboard:

• 13 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 12 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 11 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 11 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 11 - BOS Rafael Devers

• 11 - SFG Jung Hoo Lee

• 11 - KCR Salvador Perez

• 10 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 10 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 10 - SDP Manny Machado

• 10 - NYY Anthony Volpe

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 3…

• 1936: Joe DiMaggio made his major league debut. Joltin’ Joe made his big league debut for the New York Yankees and has three hits in a 14-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns.

• 1975: Sparky makes room for George Foster. According to baseball-reference.com, “Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson decides to switch Pete Rose from left field to third base, opening a lineup spot for promising slugger George Foster. Over the next four seasons, Foster will average 36 home runs, 117 RBI, and a .302 batting average to help the Reds to two World Championships.”

• 1995: The second 3-generation MLB player family. According to baseball-reference.com, “David Bell makes his major league debut at third base for the Indians in a 14-7 victory over the Tigers. His appearance makes the Bells, with his father Buddy and his grandfather Gus, the second three-generation family in major league history (the Boones were the first). Gus Bell dies four days later.”

• 2011: Francisco Liriano throws a no-hitter. Francisco Liriano throws the first complete game and shutout of his career, a no-hitter as the Twins beat the White Sox, 1-0.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Eppa Rixey (1891) is a Hall of Famer who pitched from 1912-1933 (except 1918 when he was in the military). He started out with the Phillies but then joined the Reds in 1921 and for the rest of his career. He won 20+ games four times, including leading the NL with 25 wins in 1922. He retired with a 266-251 record, 3.15 ERA and 115 ERA+.

• Red Ruffing (1905) is a Hall of Famer who pitched 22 years in the majors from 1924-1947 (except 1943 and 1944 when he was in the military). Ruffing struggled early on with the Red Sox, posting a 39-96 (.289) record and led the AL in losses twice with a 10-25 record in 1928 and 9-22 record in 1929. But the Yankees traded for Ruffing and former Yankees pitcher and new manager Bob Shawkey worked with him on his pitching delivery in a way that used his body more and saved his arm strength for later innings of games. He improved over the next couple of seasons, then really had better numbers from 1932-1942 when he was a six-time All-Star and key player on many Yankees champions. During that 11-year span Ruffing posted a 188-101 (.651) record, with a 3.39 ERA and 123 ERA+. The Yankees won six out of the seven World Series they were in during that period, and Ruffing was 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA in the post-season.

• Davey Lopes (1945) was a good 2B who played over half of his career with the Dodgers before also spending time with the A’s, Cubs, and Astros. A four-time All-Star, he took home a Gold Glove Award in 1978. He scored 100+ runs twice, and was adept at stealing bases, leading the NL with 77 SB in 1975 and 63 in 1976. He had 557 SB in his career, and was only caught 114 times which is a solid 83% success rate, 12th all-time amongst players with 200 or more stolen base attempts.

• George Gore (1854) was one of the better run-scorers of the 19th century, with seven seasons of 100+ runs during his 14 year career from 1879-1892. He ran the bases pretty well, and had a career .301/.386/.411 slash line which given his time period translates to a 136 OPS+.

Today’s Matchups

A typical full slate (15) for a Saturday, so there are lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• AZ vs. PHI features Brandon Pfaadt (5-1, 2.78 ERA, 29 K in 35.2 IP) vs. the win-less Aaron Nola (0-5, 5.40, 37 K in 35 IP)—who did well last time out pitching 7 IP with only 3 H and 1 ER allowed vs. the strong Cubs lineup.

• LAD vs. ATL is an interesting series, and today we have a good pitching matchup in Roki Sasaki (3.55 ERA, with 20 K but 18 BB in 25.1 IP) vs. Spencer Schwellenbach (2.87 ERA with 33 K in 37.2 IP).

Other noteworthy starting pitchers on the bump include HOU Hunter Brown, NYM Tylor Megill, MIA Max Meyer, SEA Luis Castillo, and DET Jack Flaherty.

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:

• AZ Ketel Marte, 5-13 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. PHI Aaron Nola

• NYM Jesse Winker, 4-12 with 2 HR vs. STL Erick Fedde

• NYY Anthony Volpe, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 HR vs. TBR Zack Littell

Also of note, LAA Luis Rengifo is 3-5 with 2 HR vs. DET Jack Flaherty.

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:

• CLE Carlos Santana, 7-21 with a HR and four doubles vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• NYM Jeff McNeil, 7-16 with a double and only 1 K vs. STL Erick Fedde

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, small sample but is 6-9 with a HR and a double vs. TBR Zack Littell

• BAL Cedric Mullins, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. KCR Kris Bubic

• SEA Jorge Polanco, small sample but is 4-5 with a HR vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• CHW Luis Robert, small sample but is 5-9 with a HR and a double vs. HOU Hunter Brown

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:

• 12 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 12 - DET Zach McKinstry

• 12 - BOS Alex Bregman

• 10 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 8 - WAS CJ Abrams

• 8 - LAA Zach Neto

• 7 - BOS Rafael Devers

• 7 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 7 - NYY Anthony Volpe

• 7 - CHW Luis Robert

• 7 - BAL Gunnar Henderson

• 7 - CIN Jose Trevino

• 7 - ATH Nick Kurtz

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:

• MIL William Contreras, 2-16 with 3 K vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• SEA Donovan Solano, 2-13 with 2 K vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

As of Thursday, José Ramírez became the first 3B in the 250/250 club (HR/SB) — assuming you don’t consider A-Rod a 3B, as he split his career between SS and 3B, but played in slightly more games at SS. Who are the two other 3B besides Ramírez in the broader 200/200 club? George Brett who had 317 HR and 201 SB, and Howard Johnson who had 228 HR and 231 SB. I’m not counting Paul Molitor here, as he played 3B more than any other position on the field, but was more often a DH (1,174) than a 3B (792).

Good Reads

New Feature! Here I will provide one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• Should we be worried about these 9 slow starts? by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB, 5/3/2025

• Judge, Alonso power their way to Player of the Month honors, by Jason Foster at MLB, 5/2/2025

• Suárez's amazing 4-homer history, Yanks go wild (again) and more incredible stats, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 5/2/2025

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