The Baseball Buffet for 6/1/2025

Issue #292

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 66th day of the season had a full slate (15) of Saturday games:

• CIN 0, CHC 2 - Nick Lodolo pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but Graham Ashcraft later let up a couple of runs and that is all it took. Drew Pomeranz pitched the first inning as an opener, and then Ben Brown was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K). Two Cubs relievers combined for the 1-hit shutout, with Daniel Palencia securing his 5th save.

• ATH 7, TOR 8 - The Athletics got homers from Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker, and 25-year old rookie CF Denzel Clarke—his first MLB HR. But they came up short as the Blue Jays hit Gunnar Hoglund pretty well (6 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 1 K), including four HR of their own: Addison Barger, Bo Bichette, and two from George Springer.

• STL 2, TEX 0 - The Rangers offense reverted back to what they’ve been most of this year with just four singles off Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 10 K) and no hits or runs in the final two innings, with Ryan Helsley logging his 13th save on the year. The Cardinals lineup didn’t produce much—three singles and two doubles—but they managed to scored two runs early off Patrick Corbin (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K).

• CHW 2, BAL 4 - The White Sox out hit the Orioles 8-5, but didn’t score much because they were 2-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. Meanwhile Jackson Holliday led off the bottom of the first with a HR, and Jorge Mateo hit a 2-run HR in the fifth inning. Dean Kremer pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and Felix Bautista struck out three in the ninth for his 10th save.

• MIL 17, PHI 7 - Alec Bohm hit a HR, but Chad Patrick otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). Jesús Luzardo? Not so much (3.1 IP, 12 H, 12 ER, 3 BB, 4 K). The Brewers tallied 23 hits in this one, with 21 coming off actually pitchers—and oddly only two coming against OF Weston Wilson who pitched the last two innings for the Phillies. The big bats for MIlwaukee were Jackson Chourio who was 4-5 with a HR, a double, a SB, and 5 RBI; Rhys Hoskins who was 2-6 with 2 HR and 6 RBI; William Contreras at 3-4 with a double; Christian Yelich at 4-6; and Daz Cameron, 3-6.

• LAA 5, CLE 7 - Mike Trout went 3-4 with a double in his second game back from the IL, and the Angels had three homers from Yoan Moncada, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adell. But it wasn’t enough as Cleveland had three HR of their own from Steven Kwan, Carlos Santana, and José Ramírez. Slade Cecconi allowed the five Angels runs in the first 4.1 innings, but then five Guardians relievers shut down LA the rest of the way, including Emmanuel Clase recording his 12th save.

• DET 0, KCR 1 - As I hinted yesterday could happen, this one was a great pitching duel between Tarik Skubal (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Michael Wacha (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Colt Keith had the only two hits for Detroit, while the Royals scrounged up four hits with their lone run coming in the bottom of the 8th when Nick Loftin doubled and then Vinnie Pasquantino singled to drive him in. Carlos Estévez picked up his 16th save on the year.

• COL 2, NYM 8 - Ezequiel Tovar hit a HR, but Kodai Senga otherwise pitched well (6.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). The Mets lineup produced three HR from Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, and Jeff McNeil—the first two coming off Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). He is now 1-10 on the year, with a 7.14 ERA and 1.98 WHIP. He is making $12 million this year and is signed through next year as well (right now it doesn’t appear likely the Rockies will pick up the $14 million team option for 2027). I say all that because it seems the 9-49 Rockies are going to ride with Senzatela in their rotation—and yes, the Rockies still haven’t won the their 10th game year.

• TBR 16, HOU 3 - I guess Jeremy Peña likes hitting leadoff, as he is now batting a career-high .305 on the season after yesterday going 2-3 with two HR. He had all three of Houston’s RBI in this one, as besides those two HR allowed Rays pitcher Zack Littell pitched well going the distance (9 IP, 10 H, 3 ER, 1 B, 6 K) for his first major league complete game. The Rays lineup scored 16 runs off 18 hits, including 7 doubles and five HR. Junior Caminero had the biggest game going 4-5 with 2 HR, 2 doubles, and 5 RBI. Yandy Diaz was 3-5 with a HR and a double, Josh Lowe was 3-4 with a HR, and Jake Mangum was 2-5 with a HR in his second game back from the IL.

• BOS 0, ATL 5 - The Red Sox could only muster five singles in this one, as Spencer Schwellenbach pitched great on his birthday (6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11K) and three Braves relievers shut things down the rest of the way. Meanwhile Atlanta’s hitters banged 10 hits off Walker Buehler (5.2 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), including HR by Austin Riley and Ronald Acuña Jr.

• SFG 0, MIA 1 - The Giants outhit the Marlins 8-3, but they were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Robbie Ray pitched well (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K), but the single he allowed to Javier Sanoja in the second inning drove in Dane Myers, and that is all it took. Edwin Cabrera pitched well (5.2 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and three Miami relievers combined for the shutout, with Calvin Faucher notching his 4th save.

• NYY 2, LAD 18 - If all you heard about a game was that Aaron Judge went 3-4 with 2 HR you might think the Yankees had a shot at winning. Not true this time, as Will Warren and Brent Headrick combined to allow ten runs in the first two innings. The Dodgers weren’t done there either, though the final 5 of their 21 hits and final 3 of their 18 runs came off infielder Pablo Reyes who came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th. Max Muncy went 3-6 with 2 HR and 7 RBI (the first HR gave him 200 for his career); Hyeseong Kim was 4-4 with a HR and a double; Tommy Edman went 4-5 with two doubles; Andy Pages had a HR, and Dalton Rushing hit his first career HR—albeit a pinch-hit 3-run homer off the aforementioned infielder Reyes. In addition to all of that hitting happiness for local Dodgers fans, they also saw Landon Knack pitch well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), and long-time Dodger utility guy Kiké Hernández throw a scoreless ninth.

• PIT 5, SDP 0 - Bailey Falter pitched well (6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) and three Pirates relievers combined for the two-hit shutout. Dylan Cease struck out 6 in 4.2 IP, but also allowed 7 hits and 3 ER, including a HR by veteran Andrew McCutchen, his fourth on the year.

• MIN 4, SEA 5 - Matt Wallner hit a 2-run HR in his first game since coming off the IL. He did so against Bryce Miller, who was making his first start since coming off the IL. Seattle had two HR of their own, from J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh, his 22nd of the year which ties him with Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. The game was tied 4-4 through nine, and through ten as well. In the bottom of the 11th, with one out and a runner on third, rookie Cole Young who was making his MLB debut, hit a fielder’s choice that drove in Miles Mastrobuoni for the walk off win.

• WAS 11, AZ 7 - Brandon Pfaadt couldn’t get anyone out in the first inning and allowed 6 hits and 8 ER. The damage kept coming as Scott McGough finished the inning but allowed 3 more hits and 3 ER. Yes, four D-Backs relievers shut out the Nationals for the rest of the game, but the damage was done. All nine Washington starters had hits, including five doubles and a triple by RF Daylen Lile. Arizona mounted a comeback in the middle innings, with Josh Naylor and Randal Grichuk each hitting 2-run homers, but it wasn’t enough.

Today’s Trivia Question

Current standings knowledge check… what team has the best record in baseball with a .644 winning percentage? (Hint: American League.) Then also, what four teams are tied for second best, with a .621 winning percentage? (Hint: All four in the National League.)

Trivia answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

MLB Debut Yesterday

New section! Here I’ll try to keep up with players who just made their MLB debut the day before!

• SEA IF Cole Young - The Mariners first round pick (12th overall) in 2022, the 21-year old was slashing .277/.392/.461 with 5 HR and 5 triples in 54 games at AAA. Primarily a shortstop, at each level of the minors he has also played some at 2B—and that is where he played in his MLB debut yesterday. He batted eighth and went 1-4 with a walk—but as described above, he hit into a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the 11th inning for a walk off RBI.

• SDP RP Bradgley Rodríguez - The 21-year old reliever did well (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) in the Padres loss to the Pirates. This year he had a 3.22 ERA with 5 saves in 22.1 relief innings at AA San Antonio (has never pitched at AAA).

• MIA 2B Jack Winkler - A 10th round pick by the Athletics in 2021, the 26-year old played 2B and batted ninth, going 0-2 with two strikeouts before Jesús Sánchez pinch hit for him. Winkler was hitting .275 with 5 HR and 15 SB in 41 games at AAA Jacksonville.

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

• KCR SP Cole Ragans

• BOS 1B Romy Gonzalez

• TOR C Tyler Heineman

🤕 Placed on the IL

• STL RF Jordan Walker - 10-day IL (left wrist inflammation)

• BAL 1B Ryan Mountcastle - 10-day IL (right hamstring strain)

• HOU CF Chas McCormick - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

⬆️ Notable Call Up

• HOU IF/OF Shay Whitcomb - A versatile IF/OF, the 26-year old didn’t do much in his brief exposure in the majors last year (.220, 0 HR in 41 AB). But he has been mashing at AAA this year with 18 HR and 13 doubles with a .275 average in 53 games. He had 25 HR and 91 RBI at AAA last year, and a combined 35 HR and 102 RBI across AA/AAA in 2023.

• SEA IF Cole Young - See above under MLB Debut Yesterday.

League Leaders

It has now been two weeks since I checked in on the MLB saves leaderboard, so here we go:

• 18 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 17 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 16 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 16 - WAS Kyle Finnegan

• 14 - HOU Josh Hader

• 14 - CIN Emilio Pagán

• 13 - STL Ryan Helsley

• 13 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 12 - CLE Emmanuel Clase

• 12 - ATH Mason Miller

• 12 - NYM Edwin Díaz

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 June 1…

• 1925: Lou Gehrig begins his streak. As described at baseball-reference.com, "Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees pinch-hits for Pee Wee Wanninger, beginning his streak of playing in 2,130 consecutive games. The next day, first baseman Wally Pipp shows up with the after-effects of a concussion, and Gehrig takes over."

• 1975: Nolan Ryan threw his fourth no-hitter. The California Angels' Nolan Ryan's 100th career victory (beating the Orioles 1-0) is a memorable one as it was his fourth no-hitter, tying Sandy Koufax’s record.

• 1987: The Niekro brothers move past the Perry brothers. As described at baseball-reference.com, "Phil Niekro pitches the Cleveland Indians to a 9-6 victory, his 314th, over the Detroit Tigers. The win gives him and his brother, Joe, a major league record 530 combined victories, surpassing the mark set by the Perry brothers, Gaylord and Jim."

• 2012: Johan Santana threw the first Mets no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, "Johan Santana throws the first no-hitter in the 50-year history of the New York Mets when he defeats the Cardinals, 8-0. He walks five and needs 134 pitches to complete the game; he is helped by a great catch by Mike Baxter, who crashes into the fence at full speed and hurts himself in snagging Yadier Molina's line drive in the 7th. The Mets had played 8,120 games before their first no-hitter, while there had been 131 MLB no-hitters since they debuted."

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Dean Chance (1941) had an 11-year major league career, the first half spent with the Angels, and the second half with the Twins, Indians, Tigers, and Mets. In 1964 he was the AL Cy Young Award winner after leading the league with a 1.65 ERA and in wins with a 20-9 record. A two-time All-Star, Chance had 200+ strikeouts in three seasons and retired with a 128-115 (.527) record, 2.92 ERA, and 119 ERA+.

• Derek Lowe (1973) had a 17-year major league career with about half spent with the Red Sox, and the rest with six other clubs. He struggled at first as a starter, but then became the Red Sox closer for a few years, posting a 2.63 ERA with 15 saves in 1999 and then leading the AL with 42 saves in 2000. He switched back to the starting rotation in 2002 and was an All-Star for the second time, posting a 21-8 record and 2.58 ERA. Lowe threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox in 2002, and in the 2004 post-season he had a 1.88 ERA over three starts as he helped lead Boston to its first World Series championship in 86 years. For his career he had a 176-157 (.529) record, 4.03 ERA, and 109 ERA+.

• Carlos Zambrano (1981) had a 12-year major league career, with all but his final season spent with the Cubs. He led the NL in wins in 2006 with a 16-7 record, one of three All-Star campaigns. Over his career he posted a 132-91 (.592) record, 3.66 ERA, and 120 ERA+. After his final major league season in 2012 he continued to play in the minors and foreign leagues through 2019. Zambrano was considered one of the best hitting pitchers of his generation, as he had a .238 average with 24 HR in 693 at-bats.

Currently active major leaguers born on June 1 include STL Iván Herrera and CIN Andrew Abbott.

Today’s Matchups

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

• NYY vs. LAD will answer the question how the Yankees respond to first losing 8-5, then getting an 18-2 beat down yesterday. It won’t be easy either, as they are facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1.97 ERA, 75 K in 64 IP), and going with swingman Ryan Yarbrough (3.06 ERA, 35 K in 35.1 IP).

• MIL vs. PHI is similar in that the Phillies have lost the first two games of the series, the first 6-2 and the second an ugly 17-7 thrashing. Today’s matchup is Jose Quintana (2.65 ERA, 24 K in 34 IP) up against Ranger Suárez (2.97 ERA, 31 K in 30.1 IP).

Also on the bump today are TEX Jacob deGrom, BOS Garrett Crochet, TOR Kevin Gausman, NYM Clay Holmes, KCR Kris Bubic, HOU Hunter Brown, AZ Corbin Burnes, and SEA Luis Castillo.

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 Teoscar Hernández, 13-36 with 7 HR and 2 doubles vs. NYY Ryan Yarborough… that is a lot of homers!

• MIL William Contreras, 8-19 with 3 HR and a double vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• HOU Yainer Diaz, 3-10 with 2 HR vs. TBR Taj Bradley

• CIN TJ Friedl, 4-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, 10-18 with 2 HR and 3 doubles vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• SDP Manny Machado, 6-21 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

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:

• CIN Austin Hays, 8-14 with 3 doubles vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• CIN Tyler Stephenson, small sample at 5-9 with a HR and a double vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• BAL Dylan Carlson, 6-15 with a triple and 2 doubles vs. CHW Adrian Houser

• PHI Johan Rojas, small sample but is 5-9 vs. MIL Jose Quintana

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 5-11 with a double vs. NYY Ryan Yarborough

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:

• 13 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 11 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 10 - BAL Ryan O’Hearn

• 10 - CLE Carlos Santana

• 9 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 8 - WAS Amed Rosario

• 8 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 8 - CIN TJ Friedl

• 7 - AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

• 7 - MIL Sal Frelick

• 7 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• 7 - WAS James Wood

• 7 - DET Colt Keith

• 7 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 7 - TOR Jonatan Clase

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, 2-15 with 8 K vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• STL Nolan Arenado, 2-20 with 5 K vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• TBR Yandy Díaz, 1-10 with 5 K vs. HOU Hunter Brown

• WAS Keibert Ruiz, 1-11 with 3 K vs. AZ Corbin Burnes

• CIN Jake Fraley, 0-12 with 2 K vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Current standings knowledge check… The Tigers in the AL Central have the best record at 38-21 (.644). Tied for second are four National League clubs at 36-22 (.621): Cubs, Mets, Phillies, and Dodgers.

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.

• 7 biggest questions in MLB as we enter pivotal month of June, by Will Leitch at MLB, 5/31/2025

• What it means to be in 1st place on June 1, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 6/1/2025

• Forever Royal: Moose wraps up storied MLB career with KC, by Anne Rogers at MLB, 5/31/2025

• Harrison, 2-time All-Star for Pirates, announces retirement, by Jeffrey Lutz at MLB, 5/31/2025

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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