The Baseball Buffet for 6/18/2025

Issue #309

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 83rd day of the season had a full slate of Tuesday games:

• PHI 3, MIA 8 - The Marlins struck first with a 2-HR by Eric Wagaman, then the Phillies took the lead in the middle innings including a HR by Trea Turner. But Miami forced Jesús Luzardo out in the sixth inning, and they scored runs against all three Philadelphia relievers, including a HR by Jesús Sánchez. 

• PIT 3, DET 7 - Casey Mize pitched pretty well (6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), and the Tigers had four HR, including two by Javier Báez and one each by Wenceel Pérez and Riley Greene.

• COL 10, WAS 6 - Antonio Senzatela pitched fairly well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K), finally earning his second win of the year. The Nationals scored five runs late in the game, including HR by Nathaniel Lowe and Luis García Jr., but it wasn’t enough as the Rockies pounded out seven HR, including two by Michael Toglia (who had just been called back up from the minors), and one each from Thairo Estrada, Hunter Goodman, Ryan McMahon, Sam Hilliard, and Mickey Moniak.

• LAA 4, NYY 0 - The Yankees were shutout for the third game in a row, this time by soft-tossing Kyle Hendricks (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) and three LA relievers who combined for a 4-hitter. Giancarlo Stanton went 2-4 for the second game in a row since coming off the IL, and Will Warren struck out 11 in 6 innings, but also allowed three runs.

• AZ 4, TOR 5 - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a HR early in the game, but the D-Backs built up a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Veteran Shelby Miller came in to try and get the save, but instead let up back-to-back solo HR to Bo Bichette and Addison Barger.

• MIN 5, CIN 6 - The Twins out hit the Reds 8-5, and had HR from Byron Buxton and Harrison Bader. But Cincinnati pulled together six runs with two RBI each from TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Jake Fraley, and three Reds relievers pitched scoreless innings, including Emilio Pagán who secured his 17th save.

• NYM 4, ATL 5 - Spencer Schwellenbach struck out 8 in 7 innings, but also allowed HR to Juan Soto and Tyrone Taylor. Marcell Ozuna hit a bases loaded double in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 4-4, and eventually the game went into extras. Raisel Iglesias held the Mets scoreless in the top of the tenth, and then the Braves loaded the bases against Huascar Brazobán and with one out Austin Riley hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run.

• BAL 5, TBR 1 - The Orioles tallied 13 hits, including three each by Jordan Westburg and Dylan Carlson, plus Colton Cowser hitting his 4th HR of the year. Meanwhile, Dean Kremer pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and four Baltimore relievers held Tampa scoreless the rest of the way.

• STL 12, CHW 2 - Matthew Liberatore pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and two St. Louis relievers held the Sox scoreless after that. The Cards scored five in the second inning, and then piled on more later in the game, including HR from Alec Burleson and Victor Scott II.

• KCR 6, TEX 1 - Salvador Perez hit a 2-run HR of Jack Leiter in the first inning, and then added a second HR in the 6th. Bobby Witt Jr. also hit a HR and a double off Leiter (5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Meanwhile, Seth Lugo was excellent (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K) and three Royals relievers struck out five and held the Rangers scoreless over the final three innings.

• MIL 3, CHC 5 - The Brewers out hit the Cubs 9-6, but they were only 1-10 with runners in scoring position and left 9 runners on base. Seiya Suzuki hit a 3-run HR, his 18th of the year, and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a solo HR, his 19th on the season. Daniel Palencia came in for the ninth inning and recorded his 7th save.

• BOS 0, SEA 8 - The Mariners got to Boston starter Walker Buehler (3.1 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 2 K), including a grand slam by Cal Raleigh, his MLB-leading 27th of the season. He also added a double and was 3-4 on the day with 6 RBI. Meanwhile Bryan Woo was excellent (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and Casey Legumina and Andrés Muñoz each struck out two in their relief innings.

• CLE 3, SFG 2 - The Giants out hit the Guardians 10-6, and Rafael Devers went 2-5 with a double in his San Francisco debut. But it is hard to win when you go 1-13 with runners in scoring position and leave 13 runners on base. Gabriel Arias went 2-4 with a HR and a double for the Guardians, and four Cleveland relievers held the Giants scoreless for the final four innings, including Emmanuel Clase recording his 15th save.

• HOU 13, ATH 3 - The Astros scored on JP Sears early and then kept scoring throughout the game, including Cam Smith hitting two HR, and Christian Walker, Mauricio Dubon, and Cooper Hummel hitting one HR each.

• SDP 6, LAD 8 - The Dodgers had 12 hits, including Andy Pages going 4-4 with 2 HR, and Will Smith going 3-4 with a HR and a double. Meanwhile LA leveraged a bullpen day, and although they allowed six runs to cross, they held the Padres scoreless over the final few innings, including Tanner Scott securing his 14th save.

I plan to start including the current standings in some form here, but until then… here is a link to the official standings at MLB.com.

Today’s Trivia Question

Yesterday’s quiz was about the guys who have played the most major league games at catcher. I’ll mix in other questions in the coming days, but for today I’ll continue with that theme: Who has the major league record for most games played at 1B? (Bonus points if you can name any of the others in the top-five.)

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

• WAS 3B Paul DeJong

• ATH 2B Zach Gelof

• BOS RF Wilyer Abreu

• MIA C Rob Brantly

• NYM 3B Mark Vientos

• SDP RP Logan Gillaspie

• DET RP Alex Lange

• CHC RP Eli Morgan

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CIN RP Graham Ashcraft - 15-day IL (right groin strain)

• SFG RF Jerar Encarnación - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• ATH LF Seth Brown - 10-day IL (left elbow lateral epicondylitis)

• NYM SP Tylor Megill - 15-day IL (right elbow sprain)

• TOR SP Bowden Francis - 15-day IL (right shoulder impingement)

League Leaders

As noted above, Cal Raleigh hit his 27th HR of the year, pulling ahead of Aaron Judge on the MLB leaderboard:

• 27 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 26 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 25 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 22 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 21 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 20 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 19 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 18 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 18 - LAA Taylor Ward

• 18 - WAS James Wood

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 18…

• 1947: Ewell Blackwell threw a no-hitter. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ewell Blackwell tosses a 6-0 no-hitter against the Boston Braves.

• 1953: Gene Stephens has 3 hits in one inning. As described at baseball-reference.com, “At Fenway Park, Dick Gernert's home run highlights a 17-run, 14-hit, 7th inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 23-3. Gene Stephens becomes the first AL player to collect three hits in an inning, Sammy White scores three runs and Tom Umphlett also reaches base three times.”

• 1967: Don Wilson threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Houston Astros pitcher Don Wilson tosses his first of two career no-hitters. Wilson beats the Atlanta Braves and Phil Niekro, 2-0, facing 30 batters and striking out 15.”

• 1975: Rookie Fred Lynn has 16 total bases and 10 RBI. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Fred Lynn collects ten runs batted in with three home runs, a triple and a single in a 15-1 win by the Boston Red Sox over the Detroit Tigers. Lynn's 16 total bases tie an American League record. It will be 37 years before Ryan Braun becomes the next player to hit three homers and a triple in the same game. Lynn will go on to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the American League.”

• 2000: Mike Lansing hits for the cycle… in the first four innings. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Mike Lansing of the Colorado Rockies hits for the cycle in a 19-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, getting one of the four hits in each of the first four innings. It is believed to be the quickest cycle in major league history, as the game is not even official by the time it is completed! The Rockies set a team record with 23 hits, including five by Jeff Cirillo and four by Brent Mayne.”

• 2003: Larry Doby died from cancer at age 79. Doby was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black player in the American League. Over a 17-year major league career he had 273 HR, a .288/.389/.499 slash line, and a 140 OPS+.

• 2014: Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers throws the second no-hitter of the year, shutting out the Colorado Rockies, 8-0. It comes less than a month after his teammate Josh Beckett had pitched a no-hitter on May 26th. He strikes out 15 without giving up a walk, the only baserunner coming on a two-base error by SS Hanley Ramirez in the 8th.”

• 2024: Willie Mays died from heart failure at age 93. Mays is still often considered the greatest all-around player ever, with 660 HR, 339 SB, a .301/.384/.557 slash line, a 155 OPS+, 12 Gold Glove Awards for his work in CF.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Lou Brock (1939) is a Hall of Famer who had a 19 year major league career, starting with the Cubs but then primarily with the Cardinals. Known for his base stealing abilities, he led the NL in SB eight times, including a high of 118 in 1974 in his age-35 season. He scored 100+ runs in seven seasons, including leading the NL with 113 in 1967 and with 126 in 1971. A six-time All-Star, Brock struck out a lot (1,730 times in his career) and wasn’t considered a great defensive LF—indeed he led the NL in errors amongst LF nine times. He set a new career record for SB with 938, a mark that was later surpassed by Rickey Henderson. For his career he had 1,610 runs, a .293/.343/.410 slash line, and a 109 OPS+. Brock also did well in three World Series for the Cardinals, scoring 16 runs with 14 SB in 21 games, and a .391/.424/.655 slash line.

• Andrés Galarraga (1961) grew up in Venezuela before joining the Montreal Expos farm system as a teenager in 1979. He worked his way up through the minors and then had a 19-year MLB career from 1985-2004, spending most of his time with the Expos and Rockies, but also seeing action with five other clubs. He was nicknamed the “Big Cat” and was quite agile as a 6’3”, 235 pound 1B, winning two Gold Glove Awards early in his career. A five-time All-Star, he could hit for both average and power, with 10 seasons of 20+ HR and a batting title with a .370 mark in 1993. He led the NL with 47 HR and 150 RBI in 1996, and then again with 140 RBI in 1997. He certainly benefited from playing home games at Coors Field in the late 1990s, as he slashed .333/.394/.631 at Coors over his career. And Galarraga struck out a lot too, leading the NL four times and amassing 2,003 strikeouts over his career. But overall he slugged 399 HR, with 1,425 RBI, a .288/.347/.499 slash line, and a 119 OPS+.

• Sandy Alomar Jr. (1966) was a catcher who had a 20-year major league career spanning from 1988-2007. He spent a little over half of his career with the Indians, and the rest with the Padres, White Sox, and four other clubs. A six-time All-Star, he was strong defensively, taking home the AL Gold Glove Award in 1990 when he also was named AL Rookie of the Year. He had a little pop, with a high of 21 HR and 83 RBI in 1997. He retired with 112 HR and a .273/.309/.406 slash line. Sandy was part of a baseball family, with his father Sandy Alomar Sr. playing 2B and SS from 1964-1978, and his younger brother Robert Alomar having a Hall of Fame career as a 2B from 1988-2004.

• Steve Cishek (1986) was a sidearm relief pitcher who pitched in the majors for 13 years, from 2010-2022. He was drafted by the Marlins and after climbing through the minors pitched with them for six years, mostly as their closer, posting 34 saves in 2013 and 39 saves in 2014. He had 25 saves for the mariners in 2016, and then was used more as a setup man or relief specialist for the rest of his career. Overall Cishek pitched for eight teams, had 133 saves, a 2.98 ERA, and a 137 ERA+.

Currently active players who were born on June 18 include HOU Jake Meyers and SEA Tayler Saucedo.

Today’s Matchups

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

• BOS vs. SEA is a matchup with two good pitchers in Garrett Crochet (2.24 ERA, 117 K in 96.1 IP) and Luis Castillo (3.29 ERA, 67 K in 79.1 IP).

• MIL vs. CHC is not only game two of an interesting NL Central matchup, but this one also features the second major league start for 23-year old prospect Jacob Misiorowski, who pitched no-hit ball for five innings in his first start. Chicago will counter with veteran Jameson Taillon (3.48 ERA, 65 K in 82.2 IP).

Some other notables taking the hill today include DET Tarik Skubal, PHI Ranger Suárez, ATL Chris Sale, STL Sonny Gray, KCR Kris Bubic, SFG Justin Verlander, 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:

• CLE Carlos Santana, only 19-86 (.221) but has 9 HR and 5 doubles vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• CLE José Ramírez, 13-41 with 4 HR and 3 doubles vs. SFG Justin Verlander

• MIL Rhys Hoskins, 4-11 with 2 HR vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• MIL Christian Yelich, 10-33 with 2 HR and a double vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• AZ Ketel Marte, 7-17 with 2 HR and a double vs. TOR Eric Lauer

• NYM Francisco Lindor, 14-34 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. ATL Chris Sale

• HOU Yainer Diaz, small sample but is 3-7 with 2 HR vs. ATH Luis Severino

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:

• KCR Mark Canha, 13-29 with a HR and a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• CHW Andrew Benintendi, 11-29 with a HR and a double vs. STL Sonny Gray

• MIA Dane Myers, 5-12 with 3 doubles vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• MIL Jackson Chourio, 5-10 with a HR and a double vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• WAS Keibert Ruiz, small sample but is 5-8 with 2 doubles vs. COL Germán Márquez

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., small sample but is 4-6 with a HR and a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• BAL Ryan O’Hearn, small sample but is 4-9 with a HR and a double vs. TBR Taj Bradley

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:

• 16 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 11 - BAL Gunnar Henderson

• 9 - TEX Marcus Semien

• 8 - TBR Yandy Diaz

• 8 - TOR Ernie Clement

• 8 - ATL Matt Olson

• 8 - PHI Brandon Marsh

• 8 - SDP Gavin Sheets

• 8 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 7 - TEX Josh Smith

• 7 - SFG Matt Chapman

• 7 - PHI Max Kepler

• 7 - STL Nolan Arenado

• 7 - SFG Mike Yastrzemski

• 7 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 7 - ATL Ronald Acuña Jr.

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:

• WAS Josh Bell, 3-26 with 9 K, though the three hits were 2 HR and a double vs. COL Germán Márquez

• ATH Brent Rooker, 2-18 with 5 K though the two hits were a HR and a double vs. HOU Framber Valdez

• MIL William Contreras, 2-19 with 4 K vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, 2-15 with 8 K vs. TOR Eric Lauer

• HOU Jake Meyers, 1-11 with 5 K vs. ATH Luis Severino

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The record for most games played at 1B is held by Eddie Murray. Here is the top-five leaderboard:

• 2,413 - Eddie Murray

• 2,383 - Jake Beckley

• 2,239 - Fred McGriff

• 2,237 - Mickey Vernon

• 2,178 - Todd Helton

Interestingly, the active leader is Freddie Freeman with 2,068 in 15th place all-time. He is still going strong, so will rise up the list and could one day surpass Murray’s record.

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.

• A Look at Baseball's Venezuelan Best, by Mark Kolier at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 6/18/2025

• 14 prime trade candidates and where they might be dealt, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 6/17/2025

• 2nd ROY poll of 2025 shows recent callups lurking, by Jeffrey Lutz at MLB, 6/17/2025

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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