The Baseball Buffet for 6/11/2025

Issue #302

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… I can be reached at [email protected].

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 76th day of the season had a full slate of Tuesday games:

• MIA 3, PIT 2 - Sandy Alcantara was given a prescription for what had been ailing him this season: consecutive starts against the Rockies and Pirates, the two teams with the lowest runs per game in all of baseball. He did well against Colorado, and did even better yesterday against Pittsburgh (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). The Marlins scored three runs early, with Nick Fortes hitting a 2-run HR. The Pirates mounted a comeback late, with Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz each hitting a solo HR in the 8th inning, but it wasn’t enough as Calvin Faucher pitched a scoreless ninth to record his 5th save.

• DET 5, BAL 3 - Jordan Westburg hit a HR, and both Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson went 2-4 with a double. But the Tigers tallied up 12 hits including Zach McKinstry going 2-4 with two triples and Spencer Torkelson hitting a 2-run HR, his 16th of the season.

• CIN 1, CLE 0 - This one was a pitchers duel, with Slade Cecconi doing well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), but Andrew Abbott throwing a 3-hit shutout (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The only run of the game came in the fifth when Will Benson doubled, and then Spencer Steer singled to drive him in.

• CHC 8, PHI 4 - Alec Bohm was 3-4 with 2 RBI and Max Kepler hit a 2-run HR. But the Cubs tallied 13 hits, including two HR by Ian Happ, and one each from Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch.

• WAS 4, NYM 5 - Juan Soto hit a HR in the third inning, but MacKenzie Gore otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K). Nathaniel Lowe hit a 2-run HR, and CJ Abrams went 3-4 with a HR and two doubles, but the game was tied 4-4 through nine. Reed Garrett, who has been phenomenal this year and owns a 0.95 ERA across 29 appearances, held the Nats scoreless in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the frame, Jeff McNeil singled to drive in Luisangel Acuña who was strategically used as a pinch runner for Brett Baty who would have otherwise been the ghost-runner Manfred Man on second.

• TBR 1, BOS 3 - Ryan Pepiot struck out 9 in only 5.2 innings, but he allowed three runs and that is all Boston needed as Lucas Giolito pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and two Red Sox relievers kept the Rays hitless the rest of the way. Trevor Story hit his 9th HR of the year, and recent call-up Roman Anthony was 1-4 with a double and 2 RBI.

• TEX 16, MIN 4 - Tyler Mahle picked a good day to give up a lot of hits (5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), as the under-performing Rangers offense finally exploded. Texas had 17 hits and went 9-21 with runners in scoring position to manufacture their 16 runs. Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter had their only two HR, but Josh Jung was 2-5 with 4 RBI and Kyle Higashioka was 2-5 with 5 RBI. Yes, infielder Jonah Bride pitched the ninth inning, but he managed to keep the Rangers from scoring any further.

• NYY 10, KCR 2 - Yesterday I noted that facing the Yankees would be a big test for rookie Noah Cameron, who in his first five starts had an impressive 0.85 ERA. Well, he struck out 6 in 5.2 IP, but also let up a 2-run HR to Aaron Judge (I mean who doesn’t though, right?) and a 3-run HR to Austin Wells. Overall the Yankees collected 16 hits, while Max Fried pitched well (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) to run his record to 9-1 on the year.

• ATL 1, MIL 4 - Grant Holmes struck out 9 in 5.1 IP, but also allowed three runs off two HR by Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers. Meanwhile Quinn Priester pitched very well (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and Trevor Megill struck out two in the ninth to secure his 13th save.

• TOR 10, STL 9 - The Cardinals hit three HR, including Nolan Gorman in the fourth inning, Nolan Arenado in the eighth, and Willson Contreras with a 3-run HR in the ninth that brought them within one. But the Blue Jays had 16 hits with two HR of their own from Andrés Giménez and Alejandro Kirk. Toronto has won 12 of their last 15 and are four games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

• CHW 4, HOU 2 - The Astros out hit the White Sox 9-4, but couldn’t get much going as they were 1-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven runners on base. Luis Robert Jr. was 2-4 with a HR and a double, and rookie Shane Smith once again pitched well (6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K).

• SFG 6, COL 5 - Ryan McMahon and Kyle Farmer each hit a HR off Kyle Harrison (5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and the Rockies built up a 5-2 lead through eight. But then Casey Schmidt hit a solo HR in the top of the ninth, and a flurry of walks and singles led to three more runs. In the bottom of the frame, Camilo Doval allowed some base runners but got out of it unscathed to earn his 10th save. The win is the 6th in a row for the Giants, pulling them within a half game of the NL West-leading Dodgers.

• ATH 1, LAA 2 - This one was a low scoring affair, with both Mitch Spence (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and José Soriano (7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 12 K) doing well. Angels pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud hit a HR to tie the game in the eighth, and it stayed 1-1 to force extra innings. Reid Detmers struck out two and held the Athletics in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the frame, with two outs and the ghost-running Manfred Man (Jo Adell) having advanced to third, Hogan Harris intentionally walked Zach Neto to get both a L/L match up with Nolan Schanuel and to setup force out options at second and first. That strategy backfired as Schanuel lined a single to center to drive in Adell for the win.

• LAD 1, SDP 11 - Lou Trivino pitched a scoreless first inning as the opener, but then Matt Sauer struggled mightily from the third inning forward (4.2 IP, 13 H, 9 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). Luis Arraez went 3-5 with two doubles and four runs scored, Manny Machado was 3-5 with 5 RBI, Xander Bogaerts was 3-5 with 2 RBI, and even 38-year old catcher Martín Maldonado got in on the fun going 2-4 with his third HR of the year. Meanwhile, Dylan Cease walked five batters but otherwise pitched well, striking out eleven (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 11 K).

• SEA 3, AZ 10 - The Mariners had 12 hits, including HR from Randy Arozarena and Rowdy Tellez, but were 1-12 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. Meanwhile the D-Backs were more productive with their 13 hits, with Corbin Carroll hitting two triples and Arizona getting homers from Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno, and Alek Thomas.

Today’s Trivia Question

Which active player has won the most Gold Glove Awards? Bonus points if you can name some of the active players who round out the top five for most Gold Glove Awards.

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

• COL SP Austin Gomber

• NYY DH Giancarlo Stanton

🤕 Placed on the IL

• SEA SP Bryce Miller - 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation)

• LAA OF Chris Taylor - 10-day IL (left hand fracture)

• AZ RP Justin Martinez - 15-day IL (right UCL sprain)

• SFG 3B Matt Chapman - 10-day IL (right hand inflammation)

• AZ RP Christian Montes De Oca - 15-day IL (right elbow inflammation)

• BAL SS Jorge Mateo - 10-day IL (left elbow inflammation)

• KCR 2B Michael Massey - 10-day IL (left ankle sprain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• NYM C Francisco Alvarez

📝 Signed as Free Agent

• The New York Mets signed OF Travis Jankowski

⬆️ Notable Call-Up

• The Nationals are calling up Bruce the Bat Dog from my hometown AAA Rochester. The one-year-and-nine-month golden retriever earned the promotion after a perfect 1.000 bat retrieving average this year. “Our fans and front office are always excited to see our players get promoted to the Nationals, but Bruce’s promotion is a historic callup to the big leagues that he richly deserves,” said Red Wings general manager Dan Mason. Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy starred in a very real video breaking the news to his new pawspect.

MLB Debut Yesterday

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

• CHW RP Grant Taylor - Yesterday 23-year old Grant Taylor pitched one inning of relief, not allowing any hits or runs in helping Chicago beat Houston. Drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2023, Taylor had been doing well as a mixed starter/reliever at AA Birmingham, with a 1.35 ERA, 37 K in 26.2 IP and only 12 hits allowed.

League Leaders

José Caballero has turned on the jets lately, stealing six bases in the first ten days of June, vaulting him to the top of the SB leaderboard:

• 25 - TBR José Caballero

• 23 - PIT Oneil Cruz

• 21 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 21 - CHW Luis Robert Jr.

• 21 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 20 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

• 19 - CLE José Ramírez

• 19 - TBR Chandler Simpson

• 18 - PHI Trea Turner

• 17 - STL Victor Scott II

• 17 - CHC Kyle Tucker

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 11…

• 1938: Johnny Vander Meer threw a no-hitter. Johnny Vander Meer, in his first full season in the majors, threw the first of two consecutive no-hitters as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Bees, 3-0.

• 1966: Ernie Banks hits three triples. The Cubs’ Ernie Banks ties a modern major league record with three triples in one game‚ as Chicago wins on the road over the Astros, 8-2.

• 1985: Von Hayes hits two HR in the first inning. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Von Hayes becomes the first major-league player ever to hit two home runs in the 1st inning, as Philadelphia blasts the Mets, 26-7. Hayes leads off with a home run‚ off Tom Gorman‚ and capping a nine-run outburst with a grand slam. Mets relievers Joe Sambito (3 innings) and Calvin Schiraldi (1.1 innings) both give up ten runs apiece. The 26 runs in one game is a club record and the most in the National League since 1944.”

• 1990: Nolan Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Nolan Ryan pitches the sixth no-hitter of his career, extending his major league record, as the Texas Rangers beat Oakland, 5-0. Ryan is the first to pitch no-hitters in three different decades, to accomplish the feat for three different teams and, at age 43, the oldest to throw one.”

• 1995: Rondell White has six hits and goes for the cycle. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Giants score four times in the bottom of the 9th inning in their game with Montreal to tie the score at 8-8‚ but the Expos score twice in the 13th to win‚ 10-8. Montreal OF Rondell White strokes six hits while becoming the fourth Expo to ever hit for the cycle. White's hits include a single‚ two doubles‚ a triple‚ and a home run. He scores five runs‚ while picking up three ribbies.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Roger Bresnahan (1879) is a Hall of Famer who played during the dead-ball era of the early 1900s. He was primarily a catcher, but was quite versatile, playing over 200 games in CF, and several dozen games at various other positions. He played the most with the New York Giants, but also had several years with St. Louis and Chicago in the National League. Like most players of that era, he didn’t provide much HR power, but did steal some bases with 12 seasons of 10+ SB, with highs of 34 in 1903 and 25 in 1906. He walked quite a bit, leading to a strong .386 OBP on top of his .279 batting average. He was also a good defensive catcher, and in particular is credited with popularizing the use of protective equipment, such as shin guards in 1907.

• José Reyes (1983) had a 16-year career from 2003-2018, mostly with the Mets but with a few seasons with the Marlins, Blue Jays, and Rockies. A four-time All-Star, Reyes was mostly a SS with some time at 3B too. He leveraged his speed to steal a lot of bases, with eight seasons of 30+ SB, including leading the NL with 60 in 2005, 64 in 2006, and 78 in 2007. Reyes scored 100+ runs four times, and led the NL in triples four times, with 17 in both 2005 and 2006, 19 in 2008, and 16 in 2011 when he also led the NL with a .337 batting average. He retired with 1,180 runs, 131 triples, 145 HR, 517 SB, and a .283/.334/.427 slash line.

• Frank Thomas (1929) had a 16-year major league career from 1951-1966, playing a mix of LF, CF, 3B, and 1B. He spent the first half of his career with the Pirates, while the second half was spread across six different clubs. He hit 20+ HR in nine seasons, with a high of 35 HR and 109 RBI in 1958, one of his three All-Star campaigns. Thomas retired with 286 HR, 962 RBI, a .266/.320/.454 slash line, and a 107 OPS+.

• Dave Cash (1948) had a 12-year major league career as a 2B mostly with the Pirates, Phillies, and Expos. A three-time All-Star, Cash was a good contact hitter who rarely struck out and batted .283 for his career. He led the NL with 213 hits in 1975, and triples with 12 in 1976. He had some speed also, stealing 20+ bases twice with 120 total.

Players who are currently active and who were born on June 11 include ATH Max Schuemann, BOS Garrett Whitlock, ATL Davis Daniel, and STL Ryan Fernandez.

Today’s Matchups

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

• ATL vs. MIL features two pitchers having pretty good seasons so far this year: Spencer Schwellenbach (3.24 ERA, 75 K in 80.2 IP) and Chad Patrick (2.84 ERA, 63 K vs. 69.2 IP)

• CHC vs. PHI is again two good teams facing off, with two pitchers doing very differently lately: Ben Brown has pitched well his last two games, while Jesús Luzardo, who was doing great this year, has given up 20 earned runs in 5.2 IP over his last two starts.

• NYY vs. KCR has MLB’s ERA leader in Kris Bubic (1.43 ERA, 79 K in 75.1 IP) facing a test against the Yankees offense. New York will counter with Clarke Schmidt (4.04 ERA, 50 K in 49 IP) taking the hill.

Also taking the mound today are PHI Jesús Luzardo, SEA Bryan Woo, DET Casey Mize, NYM David Peterson, and SFG Robbie Ray.

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:

• STL Nolan Arenado, 7-22 with 3 HR and a double vs. TOR Eric Lauer

• BAL Ryan O’Hearn, 6-11 with 2 HR vs. DET Casey Mize

• LAA Zach Neto, 5-10 with 2 HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• LAA Logan O’Hoppe, small sample but is 3-9 with 2 HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• SEA Rowdy Tellez, small sample but is 2-3 with 2 HR vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• SFG Tyler Fitzgerald, small sample but is 3-5 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Kyle Freeland

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:

• SFG Mike Yastrzemski, 9-21 with a HR, a triple, and 2 doubles vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 5-13 with a HR and a double vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• NYY Aaron Judge, small sample but is 5-8 with a HR and a double vs. KCR Kris Bubic

• CLE José Ramírez, small sample but is 4-5 with a HR vs. CIN Nick Lodolo

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:

• 10 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 10 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 10 - CLE José Ramírez

• 8 - SDP Manny Machado

• 8 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 8 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 8 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 7 - SFG Matt Chapman

• 7 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 7 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 7 - DET Zach McKinstry

• 7 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 7 - KCR Freddy Fermin

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:

• NYM Francisco Alvarez, 2-14 with 7 K vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• NYM Pete Alonso, 1-13 with 5 K vs. WAS Jake Irvin

• SFG Willy Adames, 2-16 with 5 K vs. COL Kyle Freeland

• CHC Kyle Tucker, 1-16 with 4 K though the one hit was a HR vs. PHI Jesús Luzardo

• TBR Brandon Lowe, small sample but is 0-6 with 5 K vs. BOS Walker Buehler

• LAA Luis Rengifo, 1-10 though only 1 K vs. ATH JP Sears

• DET Gleyber Torres, 2-18 with 3 K vs. BAL Zach Eflin

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Amongst active players, 3B Nolan Arenado has taken home the most Gold Glove Awards with 10. Mookie Betts has six Gold Glove Awards earned when he was an OF, and then C Salvador Perez, 3B Matt Chapman, and OF Jason Heyward each have five.

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.

• 10 accomplished vets looking to end All-Star droughts, by Jared Greenspan at MLB, 6/11/025

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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