The Baseball Buffet for 5/30/2025

Issue #290

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 64th day of the season had a short slate (5) of Thursday games:

• ATL 4, PHI 5 (Gm 1) - Phillies catcher Rafael Marchán hit his first HR of the year in the third inning, and Kyle Schwarber hit his 19th HR in the 7th inning. They had a 4-2 lead when the Braves tied it in the top of the 8th, with Sean Murphy hitting his 9th HR on the season. In the bottom of the 8th, with the bases loaded, Marchán was hit by a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. The HBP call was challenged, but was upheld. In the top of the ninth Jordan Romano walked Ozzie Albies, but then Marchán threw him out attempting to steal. Romano then loaded the bases, but eventually struck out Eli White to end the game and notch his 8th, if rather nerve-racking, save of the year.

• ATL 9, PHI 3 (Gm 2) - The Braves got to Zack Wheeler (5.1 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 6 K) in the fourth inning, including a 2-run HR by Ozzie Albies. Austen Riley had a big game, going 2-3 with a HR, a double, two walks, and four RBI. Chris Sale pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) to even his record at 3-3 on the year.

• ATH 0, TOR 12 - José Berríos pitched really well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 K), and two Toronto relievers combined for the four-hit shutout. The Blue Jays hitters jumped on Jacob Lopez and Anthony Maldonado for 11 runs in the first three innings, including four HR by Ernie Clement, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer.

• TBR 13, HOU 3 - Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve each had a HR off Tampa starter Shane Baz (5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), but the Rays also scored early and the game was tied 3-3 after six. The Houston bullpen then allowed five runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, with Junior Caminero doing the most damage by hitting 3-6 with a HR, a double, and six RBI.

• WAS 9, SEA 3 - MacKenzie Gore once again pitched very well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K), retaining his MLB lead in strikeouts. Jorge López entered and allowed a couple of runs, and the game was tied 2-2 after nine. In the top of the tenth the Nats’ bats pounded Mariners reliever Collin Snider (0.1 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K), including doubles by CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr., and a 3-run HR by Josh Bell.

Today’s Trivia Question

The last of Chris Sale’s eight strikeouts yesterday was the 2,500th of his career. He is the 38th pitcher in modern history to hit this milestone and just the 40th to ever do so. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the fastest pitcher to ever reach the 2,500 strikeout level. Who’s record did he beat?

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

• BAL LF Colton Cowser

• MIA S Xavier Edwards

• TEX SP Kumar Rocker

• NYY 2B Jazz Chisholm

• BAL 3B Jordan Westburg

• SEA SP Logan Gilbert

🤕 Placed on the IL

• ATL SP AJ Smith-Shawver - 15-day IL (strained right elbow)… he is being evaluated, but he heard a “pop” in his elbow while pitching yesterday, so that isn’t a good sign.

📝 Free Agent Signing

• CHC RP Génesis Cabrera

➡️ Traded

• The Reds have traded RP Alexis Díaz to the Dodgers in exchange for low-minors pitching prospect Mike Villani. Díaz is the younger brother of Mets RP Edwin Díaz, and had been an effective closer for the Reds in the past. But he had struggled this year and was demoted to the minors (where he has continued to struggle some) before the trade.

League Leaders

With only five games yesterday there wasn’t much movement on the leaderboards. As noted above, MacKenzie Gore retained his lead in strikeouts and became the first pitcher this year to top 100. And although he didn’t have his best performance, Zack Wheeler struck out six to bump back into second place.

• 101 - WAS MacKenzie Gore

• 94 - PHI Zack Wheeler

• 92 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 90 - NYY Carlos Rodón

• 89 - BOS Garrett Crochet

• 86 - ATL Chris Sale

• 84 - SFG Logan Webb

• 79 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 77 - PHI Jesús Luzardo

• 77 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 75 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 73 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

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 30…

• 1894: Bobby Lowe hits four HR in a game. Bobby Lowe of the Boston Beaneaters becomes the first player to hit four home runs in one game, in a 20-11 win over the Reds in the second game of a doubleheader.

• 1925: Rogers Hornsby becomes player-manager, in the same year he wins the NL Triple Crown. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Rogers Hornsby is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing Branch Rickey, who remains as general manager. Hornsby will be the only player-manager to win the Triple Crown, which he does by topping a .400 batting average for the third time in four years, hitting .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. Hornsby assumes his new position halfway through a twin bill in Forbes Field, both ends of which are won by the World Series-bound Bucs, and each of which feature opposite field home runs from Rajah.”

• 1977: Dennis Eckersley threw a no-hitter. Twenty-two year old Dennis Eckersley fires a no-hitter as the Indians top the Angels 1-0.

• 1982: Cal Ripken Jr. begins his streak. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Cal Ripken, Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles begins his major league record consecutive games played streak by starting at third base (his position for the first 27 games during the streak), appearing eighth in the batting order against the Toronto Blue Jays.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Manny Ramirez (1972) was one of the greatest sluggers of his generation. He played an almost even mix of RF, mostly with the Indians early in his career, and then LF, mostly with the Red Sox and Dodgers in the second half of his career. Drafted in the first round (13th overall) by the Indians in 1991, Ramirez went on to be a 12-time All-Star, including eleven years consecutively from 1998-2008. He was both an outstanding power and high-average hitter, leading the AL with 165 RBI in 1999, in batting average with a .349 mark in 2002, and then in HR with 43 in 2004. He scored 100+ runs six times, but had 100+ RBI an impressive 12 times. He didn’t run well (38 SB, 33 CS) and was a below-average defensive outfielder, but he retired with impressive career totals of 2,574 hits, 1,544 runs, 1,831 RBI, 555 HR, a .312/.411/.585 slash line, and a 154 OPS+. Ramirez also had 21 grand slams, which is third all-time, and his 29 post-season homeruns remains the all-time record. Usually such career numbers would guarantee first-ballot Hall of Fame election, but unfortunately in 2009 Ramirez was suspended 50 games for violating baseball’s PED policy, and then again in 2011 as well—and thus far no players with known or highly suspected PED use from that era have gained election.

• Amos Rusie (1871) is a Hall of Fame pitcher who had a relatively brief 10-year major league that spanned from 1889-1901. He pitched mostly for the New York Giants, winning 30+ games in four consecutive seasons, and taking home the NL ERA title in 1894 with a 2.78 mark and then again in 1897 at 2.54. He was best known for his fastball, which enabled him to lead the NL in strikeouts five times. He was intimidating because of the combination of his fastball’s speed and his wildness, as he led the league in walks five times, including 289 in his first full season in 1890, which remains the all-time record. As described at Wikipedia, “In 1897, one of his fastballs struck future Hall of Fame shortstop Hughie Jennings in the head, rendering him comatose for four days before recovery. Rusie's wildness had been a catalyst for officials to change the distance from the pitching rubber (the back line of the pitching box at the time) to home plate from 55 feet 6 inches (16.92 m) to the current 60 feet 6 inches (18.44 m). This ruling was made effective for the 1893 season, at the peak of Amos Rusie's pitching prowess. The distance change did not reduce Rusie's effectiveness, as he led the league in strikeouts for three straight seasons afterward, while also winning what later would be known as the pitching triple crown in 1894.”

• Zack Wheeler (1990) is currently the ace of the Phillies starting rotation, and is off to a fine start to the 2025 season. Drafted in the first round (6th overall) by the Giants in 2009, he was traded two years later to the Mets for star outfielder Carlos Beltrán. Although he was an impactful pitcher for the Mets over five seasons, he also missed two seasons due to injury. Since signing with the Phillies Wheeler has fulfilled the potential that was originally seen by making him with a first-round pick. He was an All-Star in 2021 when he led the NL with 247 strikeouts to go with a 2.78 ERA over 32 starts, and then was an All-Star again in 2024 finishing the year with a 16-7 record, 2.57 ERA, and 224 strikeouts.

• Mike Donlin (1878) was an early 20th-century OF and star hitter who had a 12-year career spanning from 1899-1914. He played six seasons with the Giants but also spent time with five other clubs. He scored 100+ runs three times, including leading the NL with 124 runs in 1905. He stole 30+ bases three times, and retired with an impressive .333/.386/.468 slash line and 144 OPS+.

In addition to Zack Wheeler, other currently active major leaguers born on May 30 include MIL Andruw Monasterio, TEX Alan Trejo, and DET John Brebbia.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Friday games (15), so we have lots of possibilities. Some games that jump out to me are:

• DET vs. KCR is the start of a good AL Central series, with Casey Mize (2.45 ERA, 41 K in 47.2 IP) facing Seth Lugo (3.02 ERA, 42 K in 56.2 IP).

• NYY vs. LAD is the start of a rematch series between last year’s World Series participants. Throwing in this one are the current MLB ERA leader Max Fried (1.29 ERA, 67 K in 70 IP) and Tony Gonsolin (4.68 ERA, 28 K in 25 IP).

Also taking the mound today are SDP Nick Pivetta, CIN Andrew Abbott, TOR Chris Bassitt, HOU Framber Valdez, AZ Merrill Kelly, and SEA Bryan Woo.

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:

• ATL Matt Olson, 7-13 with 4 HR vs. BOS Lucas Giolito

• CLE José Ramírez, 4-10 with 3 HR vs. LAA José Soriano

• AZ Corbin Carroll, 4-9 with 2 HR and a triple vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• WAS Josh Bell, 4-8 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• LAD Max Muncy, 5-17 with 2 HR and a triple vs. NYY Max Fried (even so, this is a LvL matchup, so Muncy might not play)

• CIN Elly De La Cruz, 6-13 with 2 HR and a triple vs. CHC Colin Rea

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:

• KCR Salvador Perez, 12-28 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. DET Casey Mize

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., 5-11 with a HR and a double vs. DET Casey Mize

• NYY Trent Grisham, 7-15 for a HR and a double vs. LAD Tony Gonsolin

• LAD Tommy Edman, 6-16 with a triple and 2 doubles vs. NYY Max Fried

• CIN Spencer Steer, 6-14 with a HR vs. CHC Colin Rea

• CIN Will Benson, 5-12 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. CHC Colin Rea

• SDP Luis Arraez, 5-12 with 2 doubles vs. PIT Mitch Keller

• TOR Bo Bichette, 5-12 vs. ATH Jeffrey Springs

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:

• 21 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 14 - ATL Ozzie Albies

• 13 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• 12 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 11 - BAL Ramon Urias

• 10 - PHI Alec Bohm

• 9 - AZ Ketel Marte

• 9 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 8 - WAS Amed Rosario

• 8 - TBR Curtis Mead

• 8 - BAL Ryan O’Hearn

• 8 - HOU Mauricio Dubón

• 8 - CLE Carlos Santana

• 8 - NYY Paul Goldschmidt

• 7 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 7 - HOU Cam Smith

• 7 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 7 - MIN Ty France

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:

• LAD Mookie Betts, 2-30 with 9 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• LAD Michael Conforto, 2-21 with 10 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• LAD Freddie Freeman, 2-13 with 7 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• LAD Will Smith, 3-25 with 6 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 2-15 with 4 K vs. NYY Max Fried

• NYM Tyrone Taylor, 1-11 with 5 K vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• DET Riley Greene, 0-10 with 4 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• MIL Rhys Hoskins, 1-13 with 4 K vs. PHI Taijuan Walker

• CIN TJ Friedl, 1-14 though only 1 K vs. CHC Colin Rea

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Chris Sale notched his 2,500th strikeout yesterday. In doing so, the left-hander became the fastest in baseball history to reach the 2,500-K milestone, getting there in 2,026 innings. The record previously was held by another lefty, Randy Johnson, when he fanned his 2,500th batter after 2,107 2/3 innings in 1999.

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.

• Memorial Day Benchmark: Beasts and Least Of The American League East, by Matthew Nethercott at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/30/2025

• Best catching season ... ever? This backstop has a chance, by Brent Maguire at MLB, 5/29/2025

• Sale the fastest to 2,500 K's as Braves thump Wheeler, by Mark Bowman at MLB, 5/29/2025

• Acuña’s HR on 1st pitch in return, Skubal's gem among highlights of week, by Sarah Lanks at MLB, 5/29/2025

• Here's everything you need to know about the burgeoning AUSL, by Anthony Castrovince at MLB, 5/29/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent 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.

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