The Baseball Buffet for 5/8/2025

Issue #268

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 42nd day of the season had a full Wednesday slate (15) of games:

• PIT 0, STL 5 - Sonny Gray pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and two relievers combined with him on 4-hit shutout. The Cardinals spread their hits and runs around, with Lars Nootbaar going 3-5 with a double and Masyn Winn was 2-4 with two doubles.

• CLE 8, WAS 6 - The Nats outhit the Guardians 13-10, but they left 15 guys on base in this one, while Cleveland did all their damage at once, scoring eight runs in the sixth inning. They used eight pitchers in all, but finally Emmanuel Clase came in and secured his 8th save on the season.

• HOU 9, MIL 1 - Milwaukee catcher Eric Haase hit a HR, but otherwise Framber Valdez pitched very well (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). Jeremy Peña was 2-5 with a HR, a double, and 4 RBI, and Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader didn’t allow any runs in the 8th and 9th, respectively.

• SFG 3, CHC 1 - Ben Brown had 9 K in 5 IP, but he also allowed three runs and that was all it took as the Cubs only had four hits in this one. Robbie Ray pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) and Ryan Walker notched his seventh save.

• SEA 6, ATH 5 - Athletics rookie Gunnar Hoglund did pretty well in his second major league start (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and the A’s hitters got to Bryan Woo with Lawrence Butler hitting his sixth HR and Jacob Wilson hitting two doubles (and going 4-5 overall on the day). But Seattle’s Rowdy Tellez hit a three-run HR in the sixth and the Mariners came from being down 5-0 to win 6-5 with Andrés Muñoz striking out two in the ninth to get his 13th save.

• NYM 7, AZ 1 - Corbin Carroll hit his 11th HR in the 8th inning, but that was the only runs the D-Backs would get. Kodai Senga was a bit wild but otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 4 K), Francisco Lindor had two doubles, and Juan Soto hit two solo HR, his 7th and 8th on the season.

• LAD 10, MIA 1 - Valente Bellozo was excellent (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) against a tough Dodgers lineup, but the Marlins bullpen failed them. Shohei Ohtani was 1-2 with 3 walks and a triple, Freddie Freeman was 3-4 with a triple and 4 RBI, and James Outman ran up the score by adding a 3-run HR in the ninth. Landon Knack pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), as did Matt Sauer (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER 1 BB, 4 K) in a long save appearance that helped rest the Dodgers bullpen.

• TEX 4, BOS 6 - Alex Bregman and Wilyer Abreu drove in all six runs for the Red Sox, with Bregman going 3-4 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI, and Abreu going 3-4 with 2 HR, a double, and 3 RBI.

• PHI 7, TBR 0 - Cristopher Sánchez was great through six innings (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), and then Taijuan Walker came in and struck out 7 in 3 IP to combine for the two-hit shutout. The Phillies got to Shane Baz (3.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 K) in the third and fourth innings, including Trea Turner hitting his second HR of the season.

• SDP 3, NYY 4 - Both starters were excellent in this one: Max Fried (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) and Dylan Cease who had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh (6.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K). Jackson Merrill had a HR for the Padres, and Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham homered for the Yankees, but the game was tied 3-3 after nine. Devin Williams loaded the bases but struck out three in the top of the 10th, and then the Yankees scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by J.C. Escarra.

• CIN 4, ATL 3 - Leadoff hitter TJ Friedl hit two HR against Grant Holmes, and the Reds used seven pitchers as Hunter Greene (3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) exited early with a groin injury. Emilio Pagán notched his 9th save.

• BAL 2, MIN 5 - The Orioles outhit the Twins 10-8, but their only extra-base hits came from Ramon Laureano who was 2-4 with a double and a solo HR. The Twins put more runs on the board via a 3-run HR from Byron Buxton and a 2-run HR from Harrison Bader. Jhoan Duran struck out three in the ninth to earn his fifth save.

• CHW 1, KCR 2 - Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run HR in the 5th, and that is all it took to win against the White Sox as Michael Wacha pitched really well (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K).

• DET 8, COL 6 - Both teams scored early, including Ryan McMahon and Michael Toglia each having 2-run homers for the Rockies. The game was tied 6-6 after four innings, and remained that way through nine. In the top of the tenth, Spencer Torkelson doubled to drive in the ghost-running Manfred-Man Riley Greene. Torkelson scored when Trey Sweeney reached base on an error by Jordan Beck, and then Will Vest returned for a second inning of relief work to secure the win.

• TOR 4, LAA 5 - José Berríos struck out nine in six innings, but also let up homers to Yoan Moncada and Kyren Paris. Yusei Kikuchi pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), but then reliever Reid Detmers allowed three runs without getting any outs in the 7th. So the Jays had a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, when for the second game in a row Jeff Hoffman gave up 3 runs, with Jorge Soler hitting a bases-loaded double.

Today’s Trivia Question

Every team has played between 35-38 games so far this year. So I’m checking in on some team-level stats: which teams have the most HR, the most SB, and the highest batting average so far? (Hint: three different teams)

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

• NYY RP Jonathan Loaisiga

• MIA CF Derek Hill

🤕 Placed on the IL

• LAD RP Evan Phillips - 15-day IL (right forearm discomfort)

• CIN 3B Noelvi Marte - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• CHW LF Andrew Benintendi - 10-day IL (left calf strain)

• TEX CF Kevin Pillar - 10-day IL (lower back inflammation)

League Leaders

For batting average, Aaron Judge has come back to earth somewhat, but still sits at an even .400 at this point. We also have a new second-place hitter on this leaderboard, rookie Jacob Wilson:

• .400 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .357 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .341 - NYY Paul Goldschmidt

• .333 - CLE Steven Kwan

• .331 - STL Brendan Donovan

• .328 - NYM Pete Alonso

• .327 - BOS Alex Bregman

• .323 - KCR Maikel Garcia

• .319 - SDP Fernando Tatis Jr.

• .318 - MIL Brice Turang

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 8…

• 1906: Pitcher Charles Albert Bender hits two inside-the-park HR. According to baseball-reference.com, “Shorthanded because of injuries, Connie Mack puts pitcher Albert Bender in left field in the 6th inning in a game against the Boston Americans. Bender, who banged his first homer on May 5th, responds with two round-trippers, both inside the park, off Jesse Tannehill, in the A's win. Bender will hit just three more homers in his 16-year career.”

• 1907: Frank Pfeffer throws a no-hitter. According to baseball-reference.com, “Frank Pfeffer of the Boston Doves pitches a 6-0 no-hitter against the Reds. He will be known as "Big Jeff" until his younger, and bigger, brother Ed "Jeff" Pfeffer becomes a star hurler for Brooklyn in 1913.”

• 1935: Ernie Lombardi hits four doubles, in four consecutive innings. According to baseball-reference.com, “Reds backstop Ernie Lombardi equals the major-league record with four straight doubles, all in consecutive innings (6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th) and each off a different pitcher: Syl Johnson, Orville Jorgens, Euel Moore and Frank Pearce. The slow-footed Lombardi also has a "long single" in the 23-hit, 15-4 win over the Phillies in the first game of a double-header.”

• 1968: Jim "Catfish" Hunter throws a perfect game. Catfish Hunter of the Oakland A's pitched a perfect game to beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.

• 1984: Kirby Puckett makes his MLB debut. Minnesota's Kirby Puckett had four singles in his first Major League game as the Twins beat the Angels 5-0.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Dan Brouthers (1858) is a Hall of Famer from the 19th Century, who was one of the most dominant hitters of his generation. He won five batting titles, and variously led his league in other categories such as runs, hits, doubles, HR, and RBI. He played parts of 19 seasons in the majors, and posted an impressive .342/.423/.520 slash line and 171 OPS+.

• Turkey Stearnes (1901) is a Hall of Fame centerfielder who played 18 seasons in the Negro Leagues, from 1923-1940. According to the numbers available at baseball-reference.com, Stearnes won two batting titles, and led his league in HR several times, including 19 HR with 126 RBI in 94 games in 1925, and 24 HR in 80 games in 1928. Over 993 games and 3,807 at-bats he had a career slash line of .348/.417/.616 which is a 177 OPS+.

• Edd Roush (1893) is also a Hall of Fame centerfielder who played 18 seasons in the majors, mostly with the Reds, but also spending some time with three other clubs. A high-average hitter with little power, Roush led the NL with a .341 average in 1917 and then .321 in 1919. He had 182 triples over his career, including a league-high 21 in 1924. He retired with a .323/.369/.446 slash line and 126 OPS+.

• Adrián González (1982) was a slugger with a 15 year career from 2004-2018, spending most of his seasons with the Padres and Dodgers. A five-time All-Star, he won four Gold Glove Awards at 1B. He hit 25+ HR seven times, with a high of 40 in 2009, and had 100+ RBI seven times, including in 2014 when he led the NL with 116. He retired with 317 HR, a .287/.358/.485 slash line, and 129 OPS+.

• Mike Cuellar (1937) was a Cuban left-handed pitcher who the Reds first brought into professional baseball in the late 1950s, but who later had his greatest success with the Orioles. He played parts of 15 years in the majors, and won 20+ games four times, including in 1969 when he went 23-11 and won the AL Cy Young Award, and then in 1970 when he led the AL in wins with a 24-8 record. A four-time All-Star, Cuellar retired with a 185-130 (.587) record, 3.14 ERA, and 109 ERA+.

• Dennis Leonard (1951) played his entire professional career in the Royals system, including 12 years in the majors. He won 20+ games three times, in 1977, 1978, and 1980, but strangely was never selected to an All-Star team roster. Injuries became a big issue for Leonard and he would miss a lot of time from 1982-1985. He came back and started 30 games in 1986, but retired after that season with a solid 144-106 (.576) record, 3.70 ERA, and 107 ERA+.

Today’s Matchups

A typical partial slate (9) of games on a Thursday (including a DET/COL doubleheader), with some teams travelling or otherwise getting day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• TEX vs. BOS features Jack Leiter looking to bounce back from a poor outing against Seattle, up against Brayan Bello who has been pretty good so far in three starts (2.55 ERA, 12 K in 17.2 IP).

• LAD vs. AZ includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto who is leading the majors in ERA with a 0.90 mark and 49 K in 40 IP, up against Brandon Pfaadt (3.79 ERA, 35 K in 40.1 IP) who is looking for a better game than his last time out against the Phillies.

Also on the bump today are KCR Kris Bubic, DET Casey Mize, PHI Jesús Luzardo, and TOR Chris Bassitt.

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:

• LAD Michael Conforto, small sample but is 3-7 with 2 HR vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

• LAD Enrique Hernandez, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and a double vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

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:

• TBR Yandy Díaz, 5-10 with 3 doubles vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

• BAL Ryan O’Hearn, 4-10 vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• CHW Andrew Vaughn, 4-10 with a HR vs. KCR Kris Bubic

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:

• 15 - SEA J.P. Crawford

• 12 - LAA Zach Neto

• 12 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 9 - MIN Harrison Bader

• 9 - TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

• 8 - DET Javier Baez

• 8 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 8 - SDP Manny Machado

• 8 - HOU Jake Meyers

• 8 - STL Victor Scott II

• 8 - STL Brendan Donovan

• 7 - WAS James Wood

• 7 - MIN Byron Buxton

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 Max Muncy, 1-9 with 5 K vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

• TEX Adolis García , 1-10 with 4 K (the one hit was a HR) vs. BOS Brayan Bello

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Thus far in 2025 the highest team-level offense results in these categories are:

• HR - Yankees with 62, three more than the Dodgers

• SB - Cubs with 48, two more than the Brewers

• BA - Cardinals at .260, a point higher than the Dodgers or Phillies

Good Reads

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

• MLB execs polled on top Deadline trade candidates, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 5/7/2025

• Shutting the door: One prospect with closer potential from each team, by Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo, and Jim Callis at MLB, 5/7/2025

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