The Baseball Buffet for 6/12/2025

Issue #303

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 77th day of the season had a full slate of Wednesday games:

• CHC 2, PHI 7 - Jesús Luzardo shook off his last two atrocious starts and pitched very well in this one (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 K). Ben Brown on the other hand did the opposite by following up his two recent solid starts with a rough one yesterday (5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). The Phillies had HR from Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber, his 21st on the year.

• CIN 2, CLE 11 - Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl each hit solo HR, but Logan Allen otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K). Carlos Santana hit a grand slam off Nick Lodolo in the third inning, and then Lane Thomas hit a 3-run HR later in the sixth, his first HR of 2025.

• MIA 2, PIT 5 - Miami’s Heriberto Hernandez hit his first major league HR, but Bailey Falter otherwise pitched pretty well (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K). Andrew McCutchen hit a 3-run HR in the fifth inning, and three Pirates relievers held the Marlins scoreless for the final three innings, with David Bednar striking out two in the ninth and securing his 9th save of the year.

• ATL 6, MIL 2 - Rhys Hoskins hit his 10th HR of the year in the second inning, but Spencer Schwellenbach was outstanding otherwise, throwing a five-hit complete game (9 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). Eight out of nine Braves hitters had hits in this one, with Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. each hitting 2-run homers.

• TOR 5, STL 2 - The Cardinals scored their two runs early, including a HR from catcher Yohel Pozo. But the Blue Jays quickly came back with Ernie Clement going 3-4 with a HR and a double. Four Toronto relievers pitched shutout ball for 4+ innings, including Yariel Rodriguez pitching the ninth to log his first save of 2025.

• SEA 2, AZ 5 - Donovan Solano hit his first HR of the season in the fifth inning, but Eduardo Rodriguez otherwise pitched pretty well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K). The D-Backs had two homers, a solo shot from Pavin Smith and a grand slam by Eugenio Suárez, his 19th HR on the season. Veteran Shelby Miller came in for the ninth, struck out two, earned his 7th save, and lowered his ERA this year to 1.63.

• ATH 5, LAA 6 - Brent Rooker had a big game, going 4-5 with 2 HR and a double. And Athletics starter JP Sears pitched pretty well too (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K). But the Angels got to him the sixth, and continued doing damage against two relievers that inning scoring all six of their runs. Kyle Hendricks pitched pretty well (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and Reid Detmers struck out two in the ninth to record his second save of 2025.

• LAD 5, SDP 2 - Michael Conforto hit a solo HR and Teoscar Hernandez hit a 3-run HR to power the Dodgers. Meanwhile the Padres could only muster four singles off LA starter Ben Casparius and seven Dodgers relievers. Alex Vesia struck out three in the ninth inning for his third save of the year.

• DET 1, BAL 10 - The Orioles had a 3-1 lead after seven, but then busted out for seven more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Seven different Baltimore hitters had two hits each, with Jordan Westburg hitting a 3-run HR, and Ramón Urías connecting for a 2-run HR. Zach Eflin pitched well (6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) and three Orioles relievers held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way.

• WAS 0, NYM 5 - David Peterson pitched a complete game shutout (9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), the first of his career. The Mets offense was led by Brandon Nimmo who hit 2 solo HR and Juan Soto who hit a 2-run HR.

• TBR 3, BOS 4 - Yandy Diaz hit his 10th HR of the year, but Walker Buehler otherwise pitched pretty well (7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). The Red Sox hit four solo HR off Zack Littell, including two by rookie Marcelo Mayer, and one each from Jarren Duran and Abraham Toro. Aroldis Chapman came in for the ninth inning, struck out two, and notched his 12th save.

• TEX 2, MIN 6 - Marcus Semien hit a HR in the second inning, but David Festa otherwise pitched fairly well (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Byron Buxton went 3-3 with a 3-run HR, a double, and a walk, and three Twins relievers pitched shutout ball for the final three innings.

• NYY 6, KCR 3 - MLB ERA-leader Kris Bubic struggled against the Yankees (4.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), while Clarke Schmidt held the Royals scoreless through six (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K). Aaron Judge hit a HR in the seventh inning, his 25th of the year. The Royals finally put some runs on the board in the ninth, including Salvador Perez hitting a 2-run HR off Mark Leiter Jr., before Devin Williams came in for the last two outs.

• CHW 2, HOU 10 - Astros starter Ryan Gusto did well (6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), while the two White Sox pitchers largely did not: Sean Burke (3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) and Owen White (4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Only Christian Walker connected for a HR, his ninth on the year. But Houston tallied 15 hits, including 7 doubles, and were an impressive 8 for 17 with runners in scoring position.

• SFG 10, COL 7 - Both the Giants and Rockies had 13 hits each in this one. For the Rockies, Hunter Goodman was the main force, going 3-5 with a HR and two doubles. They had a 6-3 lead through seven innings, but then the Giants came back with seven runs in the final two innings. Willy Adames was 3-4 with a HR and a double, and Mike Yastrzemski was 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Eugenio Suárez hit his 19th HR of the year. That gives him 295 career HR, breaking a tie with Magglio Ordóñez for third place on the all-time HR list for players born in Venezuela. Who are the top two players on that list? And bonus points for each player you can name that rounds out the Venezuelan-born top-10 HR leaderboard.

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

• PIT C Joey Bart

• ATH 3B Gio Urshela

• DET SP Alex Cobb

• NYY SP Marcus Stroman

🤕 Placed on the IL

• TBR RP Manuel Rodriguez - 15-day IL (right forearm strain)

• KCR SP Cole Ragans - 15-day IL (left rotator cuff strain)

• TOR RF Nathan Lukes - 7-day IL (concussion)

• SFG C Patrick Bailey - 10-day IL (neck strain)

Also of note: Detroit’s rookie SP Jackson Jobe, who has been on the IL, will now miss the rest of the season due to Tommy John surgery.

⬆️ Notable Call-Up

• MIL SP Jacob Misiorowski - although I’ve not seen it hit the official transactions list yet, everyone is reporting that Brewers top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski is being called up to make his MLB debut today. He is a hard thrower who can hit triple digits on the radar gun, and thus far at AAA Nashville he has a 2.13 ERA with 80 K in 63 1/3 IP.

League Leaders

It has been over ten days since I reported on the MLB ERA leaders, and we have a new name at the top of the list:

• 1.56 - TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• 1.59 - NYM Kodai Senga

• 1.82 - HOU Hunter Brown

• 1.84 - NYY Max Fried

• 1.88 - PIT Paul Skenes

• 1.92 - KCR Kris Bubic

• 2.12 - TEX Jacob deGrom

• 2.16 - DET Tarik Skubal

• 2.20 - LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto

• 2.22 - TBR Drew Rasmussen

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 12…

• 1928: Lou Gehrig hits 2 HR and 2 triples. Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees collects 14 total bases with two triples and two home runs in a 15-7 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

• 1939: Stars gather to dedicate the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Hall of Fame is officially dedicated at Cooperstown, New York. The greatest-ever gathering of members and future inductees of the Hall of Fame accept their plaques: Grover Alexander, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Walter Johnson, Nap Lajoie, Connie Mack, Babe Ruth, George Sisler, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, and Cy Young.”

• 1970: Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis no-hits the San Diego Padres, 2-0. Ellis receives all his support on two home runs by Willie Stargell. Ellis will later claim that he was suffering from the after-effects of his previous night's LSD trip while pitching this gem.”

• 1981: The painful 1981 strike begins. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At 12:30 AM, after meeting with the owners for most of the previous day, players' union chief Marvin Miller announces, ‘We have accomplished nothing. The strike is on.’”

• 1997: Interleague play begins. As described at baseball-reference.com, “After 126 years of major league play tradition, the first interleague game is played as the San Francisco Giants beat the host Texas Rangers, 4-3. Glenallen Hill becomes the National League's first regular season designated hitter.”

• 2007: Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Justin Verlander throws the sixth no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history. Hitting 100 mph on the radar gun in the 9th inning, he shuts down the Brewers with 12 strikeouts, walking four. Magglio Ordonez makes a sliding catch on a shot by Corey Hart in the 7th to keep hope alive and later catches the final out of the contest. It is Detroit's first no-hitter in 23 years, the second no-hitter of the season and the first ever at Comerica Park. Bill Hall is never retired despite batting three times against Verlander, drawing walks every time up.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Bill Foster (1904) is a Hall of Famer who pitched in the Negro Leagues for 14 years, spanning from 1923-1937. According to the data available at baseball-reference.com, Foster led his league in ERA four times, including in 1927 with a 2.03 mark when he also led his league in wins with a 21-5 record over 31 games. Foster was the top vote getter and the winning pitcher in the first East-West All-Star Game in 1933, and was on the All-Star team again in 1934. His career totals include a 110-56 (.663) record, 2.63 ERA, and an impressive 164 ERA+. Bill Foster was the much younger half-brother of Rube Foster, a Negro League player, pioneer, team owner, and fellow Hall of Famer.

• Hideki Matsui (1974) started his professional career of course in his home country of Japan. There he was a huge star, hitting 30+ in seven consecutive seasons, including 50 in 2002, his final year before coming over to the New York Yankees for his age-29 season. Matsui was very durable, playing every game in his first three MLB seasons. He was runner-up for the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2003 after hitting 16 HR with 106 RBI and a .287 average. He was an All-Star that year, and again in 2004 when he hit 31 HR with 108 RBI and a .298 average. He went on to hit 20+ HR a total of six times in the majors, with four seasons of 100+ RBI and three with 100+ runs scored. Nicknamed Godzilla, Matsui usually played well in the postseason as well, hitting 10 HR in 56 games with a .312 average, and in 2009 wining the World Series MVP award after he went 8-13 with 3 HR and 8 RBI. Overall in the majors he hit 175 HR, with a .282/.360/.462 slash line and a 118 OPS+. He hit 332 HR in 10 seasons in Japan, so between the two that is 508 HR in all.

• Ryan Klesko (1971) had a 16-year career as a LF and 1B, playing mostly with the Braves and Padres. He hit 20+ HR eight times, and was an All-Star in 2001 finishing that year with career highs of 30 HR, 113 RBI, and 105 runs. Overall, Klesko had 278 HR, 987 RBI, a .279/.370/.500 slash line, and a 128 OPS+.

Players who are currently active and who were born on June 12 include MIL Aaron Civale, ATH Sean Newcomb, and TBR Hunter Bigge.

Today’s Matchups

As usual, a short slate of Thursday games (8), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have the day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• STL vs. MIL involves two NL Central teams with almost identical records, and this is an interesting pitching matchup with veteran Sonny Gray (7-1, 3.35 ERA, 81 K in 75.1 IP) going for the Cardinals, and the Brewers having 23-year old rookie Jacob Misiorowski make his major league debut (see above).

• DET vs. BAL is worth highlighting simply because Tarik Skubal (2.16 ERA, 105 K in 83.1 IP) is pitching. He has allowed just 12 H and 1 ER in his last 23.2 IP, while striking out 26 and walking… no one. The Orioles will try to counter with Dean Kremer (4.98 ERA, 53 K in 72.1 IP).

Also on the bump today are NYM Kodai Senga, KCR Seth Lugo, and HOU Framber Valdez.

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 Juan Soto, 6-10 with 2 HR vs. WAS Michael Soroka

• TEX Marcus Semien, 7-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• NYY Paul Goldschmidt, 8-14 with 2 HR vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• CHC Justin Turner, 5-19 with 2 HR vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• MIL Christian Yelich, 6-24 with a HR and 2 triples vs. STL Sonny Gray

• MIN Byron Buxton, small sample but is 2-6 with 2 HR vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

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 Tommy Pham, 9-24 with 5 doubles vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• CHW Austin Slater, 6-12 vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• NYY DJ LeMahieu, 6-13 vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• SFG Mike Yastrzemski, 5-12 with 2 doubles vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

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:

• 11 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 11 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 11 - José Ramírez

• 9 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 9 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 8 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 8 - COL Hunter Goodman

• 8 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 7 - SFG Matt Chapman

• 7 - KCR Freddy Fermin

• 7 - TOR Alejandro Kirk

• 7 - STL Masyn Winn

• 7 - TOR George Springer

• 7 - SEA Jorge Polanco

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:

• BAL Ramón Laureano, 2-15 with 6 K though one hit was a HR vs. DET Tarik Skubal

• NYY Aaron Judge, 1-14 with 5 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• NYY Jazz Chisholm, 2-16 with 5 K though one hit was a HR vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• NYY Anthony Volpe, 1-11 though only 1 K vs. KCR Seth Lugo

• PIT Oneil Cruz, 0-11 with 4 K vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• MIL Sal Frelick, 0-10 with 3 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• CHC Kyle Tucker, 1-15 though only 1 K and the one hit was a HR vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Eugenio Suárez now has 295 career HR, one more than Magglio Ordóñez for third place on the all-time HR list for players born in Venezuela. The top two on that list are Miguel Cabrera with 511 and Andrés Galarraga with 399. Here is the top-10 leaderboard in full:

1. 511 - Miguel Cabrera

2. 399 - Andrés Galarraga

3. 295 - Eugenio Suárez

4. 294 - Magglio Ordóñez

5. 288 - Bobby Abreu

6. 279 - Salvador Perez

7. 251 - Tony Armas

8. 246 - Victor Martinez

9. 238 - Jose Altuve

10. 234 - Carlos González

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.

• In, out and on the bubble: Leitch's 2025 All-Star ballot guide, by Will Leitch at MLB, 6/11/2025

• Five years later: Here's each team's best Draft pick from 2020, by Sam Dykstra, Jonathan Mayo, and Jim Callis at MLB, 6/11/2025

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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