The Baseball Buffet for 5/5/2025

Issue #265

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 39th day of the season had a full slate (16) of Sunday games, including one double-header:

• SDP 4, PIT 0 - The Padres produced a lot of baserunners against Andrew Heaney (3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), with Elias Diaz hitting a solo HR. Meanwhile Stephen Kolek pitched well in his season debut (5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 K) and four San Diego relievers combined on the shutout.

• NYM 5, STL 6 (Gm1) - The Cardinals spoiled Blade Tidwell’s major league debut (3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) with Willson Contreras going 3-4 with his fourth HR of the year

• NYM 4, STL 5 (Gm 2) - The Mets outhit the Cardinals 10-9, but they came up one run short in game two just as they did earlier in the day. Alec Burleson hit his first HR of the year for St. Louis, and Michael McGreevy pitched 5.2 innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit and striking out five.

• KCR 11, BAL 6 - The Orioles hit four HR off Royals starter Michael Lorenzen, including two from Jackson Holliday, and one each from Ryan O’Hearn and Cedric Mullins. But the Royals did even more power hitting yesterday, though they came into the game with the fewest HR of all 30 teams thus far in 2025. Maikel Garcia had two HR, and five Royals had one each: Jonathan India, Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Luke Maile, and Michael Massey (that total of 7 HR sets a new franchise record).

• MIN 5, BOS 4 - Wilyer Abreu went 3-4 with his 7th HR of the year, and other than a Byron Buxton homer in the first inning, Garrett Crochet pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 6 K). But the Twins scored two runs each in the 7th and 8th innings, and Jhoan Duran recorded his 4th save.

• TBR 7, NYY 5 - The Rays banged out 16 hits, including Yandy Diaz 3-6, Jonathan Arranda 3-4 with a HR and two walks, Travis Jankowski 3-5, and Taylor Walls 4-5. Pete Fairbanks struck out three in the ninth to secure his 8th save.

• CLE 5, TOR 4 - This one was close throughout, but the Guardians bullpen came through with three relievers each pitching a scoreless inning, and then Emmanuel Close escaping danger to get his 7th save. Andrés Giménez reached because of a throwing error by Clase, and then eventually came around to score from a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly. But then Clase got Santander to ground out, and struck out George Springer to end the game.

• ATH 3, MIA 2 - J.P. Sears pitched well (6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 K), but the game was tied 2-2 after eight. With one out, rookie 1B Nick Kurtz tripled to left field, and then Tyler Soderstrom singled to center to drive him in. Tyler Ferguson, who has been excellent this year (0.55 ERA in 16 relief appearances), got his first save.

• AZ 11, PHI 9 - Lots of offense here, with 26 hits and 20 runs over 10 innings. Ranger Suarez got some strikeouts but also struggled (3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) in his 2025 debut, while Eduardo Rodriguez also had lots of Ks but let up a few runs too (5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 10 K). The Phillies had HR from Bryce Harper, Weston Wilson, and Kyle Schwarber, but the game was tied 8-8 after nine innings. The D-Backs then scored three in the top of the 10th, and all the Phils could muster was one more run in the bottom of the frame.

• HOU 4, CHW 5 - Lance McCullers did pretty well in a short outing (3.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), his first in the majors since the 2022 World Series. Luis Robert Jr. went 2-4 with 2 SB, giving him an MLB leading 15 SB on the season. After an 80 minute rain delay the game was called mid-way through the 7th inning.

• CHC 0, MIL 4 - Shota Imanaga pitched fairly well (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), but Freddy Peralta was better (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and three Milwaukee relievers combined with him on the shutout.

• SEA 1, TEX 8 - Rookie Logan Evans didn’t do as well in his second major league start (5 IP, 11 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) as the Rangers scored six runs in the third inning. Jacob deGrom pitched well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and three Texas relievers pitched four scoreless innings.

• COL 3, SFG 9 - The struggles of Germán Márquez continued (4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 K), bringing his ERA on the year to 9.90 and his record to 0-6. Willy Adames hit two solo HR off Márquez, and the Giants overall had 13 hits with Logan Webb pitching well (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K).

• DET 13, LAA 1 - This one was all Tigers, as Reese Olson pitched well (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K) and Detroit had 16 hits including HR from Kerry Carpenter, Colt Keith, and Trey Sweeney.

• WAS 4, CIN 1 - Nick Martinez pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), but Tyler Stephenson’s solo HR was the only run the Reds could generate. The Nationals scored three off reliever Graham Ashcraft in the 7th, while MacKenzie Gore was solid (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 9 K) and extended his MLB lead in strikeouts with 68 in 42 IP.

• LAD 3, ATL 4 - Austin Riley did the damage, hitting two, 2-run HR against Dustin May. Bryce Elder pitched well enough (5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and Raisel Iglesias had 3 strikeouts in the ninth to notch his 6th save.

Today’s Trivia Question

Who were the batting leaders in the only year when both leagues’ champions each had batting averages of .325 or lower?

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

• BAL SP Zach Eflin

• SEA SP George Kirby

• BAL RP Andrew Kittredge

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIA 2B Otto Lopez - 10-day IL (right ankle sprain)

• CHW RP Fraser Ellard - 15-day IL (left late strain)

League Leaders

I haven’t covered WHIP (Walks and Hits per IP) yet, and in checking in on the WHIP leaderboard I was surprised to see some of the names here, including Eovaldi at the top:

• 0.77 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• 0.82 - CIN Hunter Greene

• 0.82 - SDP Nick Pivetta

• 0.83 - SEA Bryan Woo

• 0.88 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 0.90 - MIN Joe Ryan

• 0.91 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 0.93 - TOR Kevin Gausman

• 0.93 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 0.94 - NYY Max Fried

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 5…

• 1904: Cy Young throws a perfect game. Boston Pilgrims pitcher Cy Young hurls the second of his three no hitters, a 3-0 perfect game against the Philadelphia Athletics.

• 1925: Ty Cobb goes 6-6 with 3 HR. Although not known as a HR hitter, Ty Cobb at age 38 goes 6-for-6, with three home runs, in Detroit's 14-8 win over the Browns.

• 1962: Angels rookie Bo Belinsky throws a no-hitter. 25-year old rookie Bo Belinsky pitches a no-hitter, beating the Orioles 2-0.

• 1975: The Herb Washington pinch-runner experiment comes to an end. Oakland releases pinch runner Herb Washington after he had played in 105 major league games without batting, pitching, or fielding. He stole 31 bases, was caught 17 times, and scored 33 runs.

• 2021: John Means throws a no-hitter. According to baseball-reference.com,
  “John Means of the Orioles throws what is already the third no-hitter of the season, blanking the Mariners, 6-0. He misses a perfect game by the slightest of margins, as Sam Haggerty reaches base in the 3rd on a strikeout and wild pitch, then is promptly caught stealing. Means strikes out 12 in facing the minimum 27 batters.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Charles “Chief” Bender (1884) is a Hall of Famer who pitched 15 years in the majors, spending most of that time with the Philadelphia Athletics. He won 20+ games twice, and during his peak seasons from 1906-1914 he had a 148-66 (.692) record with a 2.09 ERA and 129 ERA+. After playing in the Federal League for one season, and then the Phillies for two, he left baseball during World War I to work in shipyards. When he returned to pitching he was a player-manager for several minor league teams, and at times overpowered his opponents such as in 1919 when he posted a 29-2 record and 1.06 ERA for Richmond of the Virginia C-level league, or in 1920 when he went 25-12 with a 1.94 ERA at A-level New Haven. He continued for several more years in the minors, and then worked as a pitching coach, scout, and minor league manager for some years after that.

• Larry Hisle (1947) was a power-hitting outfielder who had a 14-year career with the Phillies, Twins, and Brewers. He was a two-time All-Star, as he led the AL with 119 RBI in 1977 to go with 28 HR and .302 average, and then the following season hit 34 HR with 115 RBI and a .290 average. Overall for his career, he had 166 HR, 128 SB, a .273/.347/.452 slash line and 123 OPS+.

• Charles Nagy (1967) had a 14-year career from 1990-2003, all with the Indians except his final season. A three-time All-Star he won 15+ games in six seasons, and received down-ballot Cy Young Award consideration three times.

• Logan Gilbert (1997) is a current member of the Seattle Mariners pitching staff, and was an All-Star last year when he finished the season with 220 K in a league-leading 208.2 IP. So far in his career he has a 3.55 ERA which is a 107 ERA+.

• Bob Cerv (1925) played parts of 12 seasons in the majors, starting out for several years as a part-time player (often used as a pinch-hitter) for the New York Yankees. The Kansas City Athletics purchased him from the Yankees after the 1956 season, and in 1958 Cerv had his one All-Star campaign as he hit 38 HR with 104 RBI and a .305 average.

• Tommy Helms (1941) was a light-hitting, good fielding 2B during his 14-year major league career, mostly spent with the Reds and Astros. Helms was NL Rookie of the Year in 1966 after he batted .284 with 9 HR (that would be his career high). He was an NL All-Star the next two seasons, and then took home two NL Gold Glove Awards in 1970 and 1971. After that season he was traded along with power hitter Lee May for five players, one of whom was future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.

Today’s Matchups

A typical short slate (10) of Monday games, as many teams are either travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• SDP vs. NYY features two pitchers off to good starts in 2025, with Nick Pivetta (1.78 ERA, 39 H in 35.1 IP) and Carlos Rodón (3.43 ERA, 52 K in 42 IP).

• SEA vs. ATH features the top two teams in the AL West, with the Mariners having won 8 of their last 10, and the Athletics 7 of their last 10. The pitchers today are Bryce Miller (3.52 ERA with 31 K in 30.2 IP) and Luis Severino (3.30 ERA with 33 K in 43.2 IP).

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:

• NYM Pete Alonso, 4-9 with 3 HR vs. AZ Ryne Nelson

• NYM Juan Soto, 3-12 with 2 HR and a triple vs. AZ Ryne Nelson

• NYM Jesse WInker, 3-8 with 2 HR vs. AZ Ryne Nelson

• LAD Michael Conforto, 8-30 with 3 HR vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• LAD Mookie Betts, 7-16 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• LAD Max Muncy, 6-18 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• NYY Aaron Judge, 5-18 with 2 HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• ATL Sean Murphy, 5-8 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. CIN Brady Singer

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:

• PIT Adam Frazier, 13-34 (.382) with 2 triples and 4 four doubles vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• PIT Bryan Reynolds, 14-39 (.359) with a triple and 4 doubles vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• PIT Ke’Bryan Hayes, 8-21 (.381) with a triple and a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 4-8 with a HR and 2 triples vs. AZ Ryne Nelson

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 5-11 with a HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

• LAD Will Smith, 6-14 with a double vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 5-12 vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

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:

• 14 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 12 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 10 - WAS CJ Abrams

• 10 - LAA Zach Neto

• 9 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 9 - BAL Gunnar Henderson

• 8 - HOU Jeremy Pena

• 8 - MIN Harrison Bader

• 8 - AZ Alek Thomas

• 7 - AZ Gabriel Moreno

• 7 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 7 - MIN Ryan Jeffers

• 7 - DET Riley Greene

• 7 - DET Javier Baez

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:

• SDP Martín Maldonado, 0-14 with 5 K vs. NYY Carlos Rodón

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 3-25 with 4 K vs. STL Miles Mikolas

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Who were the batting leaders in the only year when both leagues’ champions each had batting averages of .325 or lower? You might think it was one of the recent years that have had low batting average champions, but no:

• 2024: NL Luis Arráez .314, AL Bobby With Jr. .332

• 2022: NL Jeff McNeil .326, AL Luis Arráez .316

• 2021: NL Trea Turner .328, AL Yuli Gurriel .319

Or what about 1968, the “Year of the Pitcher,” when Carl Yastrzemski led the AL with a .301 average? Nope, because Pete Rose led the NL at .335.

The answer is 1960, when Pete Runnels of the Boston Red Sox led the AL at .320 and Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirates topped the NL at .325.

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.

• The improbable story of MLB's best rotation so far in 2025, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 5/4/2025

• 5 Baseball Cards that Won't Just Walk Away, at Wax Pack Gods Newsletter, 5/4/2025

• When Hall of Famers Crowded a Boxscore, by Bill Pruden at

  Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/2/2025

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