The Baseball Buffet for 6/20/2025

Issue #311

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 85th day of the season had a nearly full slate of Thursday games, including some doubleheaders due to rainouts on Wednesday:

• PIT 2, DET 9 (Gm 1) - It would have been interesting to see Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal face off in the same game, but that isn’t how these two teams lined things up. Skubal pitched in this one, and did fine but wasn’t as dominating as he usually is (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K). It didn’t matter though, as the Tigers hit Andrew Heaney pretty well (4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) and Zach McKinstry added a HR in the fifth inning.

• PIT 8, DET 4 (Gm 2) - Paul Skenes had a bit less control than usual, but overall pitched well (6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 9 K). The Pirates had three early HR from Nick Gonzalez, Jared Triolo, and Andrew McCutchen, but then Colt Keith hit a 2-run HR in the seventh to tie the game 4-4. In the top of the tenth the Pirates hit a series of singles to score four runs, and then in the bottom of the tenth David Bednar came back out to finish a 5-out relief appearance for the win.

• MIN 12, CIN 5 - The Twins tallied 17 hits in this one, including six doubles and four HR, including two by Byron Buxton and one each by Kody Clemens and Ryan Jeffers. Buxton also had a double for a total of 10 total bases on the day, while Carlos Correa (3-5 with a walk) and Willi Castro (1-3 with three walks) each got on base four times.

• COL 3, WAS 4 - It took extra innings to pull it off, but the Nationals won the final game of this series, putting an end to the Rockies unlikely four-game winning streak. James Wood hit a HR off rookie Chase Dollander who otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K). With the game tied 2-2 through nine and then ten innings, the Rockies scored a run in the top of the 11th when Michael Toglia singled to center to drive in Ryan McMahon who was the ghost running Manfred Man. Colorado brought in Seth Halvorsen for the bottom of the 11th, but with a runner on third, James Wood hit his second HR of the game, and 20th on the season, for the walk-off Nats victory.

• LAA 3, NYY 7 - Carlos Rodón struck out seven and only let up four hits (6 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), but three of them were solo HR to Mike Trout, Taylor Ward, and Jo Adell. The Yankees’ bats finally woke up with Paul Goldschmidt going 2-4 with a HR and a double, Trent Grisham going 2-3 with a HR and a double, and Cody Bellinger going 3-4. Three Yankees relievers held the Angels scoreless for the final three innings, including Devin Williams striking out three in the ninth inning.

• STL 5, CHW 4 (Gm 1)- Chicago starter Sean Burke pitched pretty well (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), but so did St. Louis starter Erick Fedde (5 IP, 6, H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K). Michael A. Taylor hit a 2-run HR in the sixth to put the White Sox up 4-2, but then the Cardinals scored three in the top of eighth, including a 2-run HR by Willson Contreras. Phil Maton pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, and then closer Ryan Helsley came on and secured his 14th save on the year.

• STL 8, CHW 6 (Gm 2) - Ryan Noda, who recently joined the White Sox, hit a HR off Michael McGreevy, who was recently called back up from the minors. McGreevy pitched well otherwise (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), and the Cardinals hit two HR in the third inning (Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado). Chicago tied the game 6-6 with a 5-run seventh inning which included a grand slam by Andrew Benintendi. The score remained tied to force extras, and then in the top of the tenth Nolan Arenado singled to drive in Jordan Walker, with Lars Nootbaar adding an insurance HR after that.

• MIL 8, CHC 7 - Each team had three homers in this one: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson, and Ian Happ for the Cubs, and Rhys Hoskins, Caleb Durbin, and Isaac Collins for the Brewers. Milwaukee was up 8-3 through six, but the Cubs scored two runs in each of the 7th and 8th innings. Brewers closer Trevor Megill pitched the ninth and kept Chicago from doing any more damage, securing his 16th save.

• KCR 4, TEX 1 - The Royals scored all four of their runs from homers: two from rookie Jac Caglianone, and one from Vinnie Pasquantino. Texas could only manage three hits, as Michael Wacha pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and three Kansas City relievers held the Rangers scoreless the rest of the way, with Carlos Estévez recording his 21st save.

• AZ 9, TOR 5 - Alejandro Kirk hit two HR, and Jonathan Clase added a solo HR in the eighth, but that wasn’t enough as the D-Backs hit Kevin Gausman pretty well (4.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K), including 2-run homers by Eugenio Suárez and Pavin Smith. Ketel Marte went 3-5 with a double, and Arizona starter Ryne Nelson put in a good effort (5.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K).

• CLE 1, SFG 2 - Gavin Williams pitched very well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), Steven Kwan went 3-4, and Angel Martinez was 2-3 with two doubles. But Logan Webb also pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K) and two Giants relievers held the Guardians scoreless for the final two innings, with Camilo Doval notching his 11th save. The key hit for the Giants came in the bottom of the seventh, with runners on second and third and one out, when Wilmer Flores doubled to left to drive in two.

• PHI 2, MIA 1 - Both starting pitchers did well: Cristopher Sánchez (8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) and Edwin Cabrera (6.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K). The winning run came from a HR by Kyle Schwarber in the eighth inning, his 23rd HR of the season.

• NYM 1, ATL 7 - The Braves completed the sweep of the Mets, as Spencer Strider did well (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K), and Matt Olson led the offense by going 2-3 with 2 walks, 2 doubles, and 3 RBI. Clay Holmes struggled with control (4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 5 K), and Huascar Brazobán let up a lot of baserunners too (0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 0 K).

• BAL 4, TBR 1 - The Rays out hit the Orioles 8-6, but were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and left 8 runners on base. Charlie Morton pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and four Baltimore relievers held Tampa scoreless the rest of the way, with Felix Bautista striking out two in the ninth for his 15th save. Colton Cowser led the offense, going 2-4 with a HR, a double, and 3 RBI.

• HOU 4, ATH 6 - Jacob Lopez was excellent (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K), and the Athletics had HR from Willie MacIver, Lawrence Butler, and Jacob Wilson to build up a 4-1 lead through seven. But then in the top of the eighth Victor Caratini hit a 3-run HR off Mason Miller to tie the game and ultimately force extras. Michael Kelly held the Astros scoreless in the top of the tenth, and then rookie Nick Kurtz hit a walk-off HR in the bottom of the frame.

• SDP 5, LAD 3 - The Padres avoided a four-game series sweep by the Dodgers, as rookie Ryan Berget did well in a short outing (4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and the Padres bullpen contained the mighty Dodgers offense the rest of the way. Xander Bogaerts went 4-4 with a HR and a double, and Jake Cronenworth was 3-4 with a double to lead San Diego’s offense.

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. After yesterday’s games, there are only two lengthy W/L streaks going right now:

• L8 - White Sox… with Rockies doing a bit better, we could end up with competition for the worst record this year after all

• L6 - Mets… another loss so they are now tied with the Phillies for the NL East lead

Today’s Trivia Question

Nolan Arenado went 3-5 with a HR yesterday, making him only the seventh player in history to hit 350 HR and have 10 Gold Glove Awards. How many of the other six can you name?

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).

🤕 Placed on the IL

• NYY RP Yerry De los Santos - 15-day IL (right elbow discomfort)

• AZ C Gabriel Moreno - 10-day IL (right hand contusion)

• ATH RP Grant Holman - 15-day IL (right shoulder rotator cuff tendinitis)

• NYM RP Max Kranick - 15-day IL (right elbow strain)

🚼 Placed on Paternity List

• CHW SP Adrian Houser

📝 Signed as Free Agent

• Arizona has signed veteran pitcher Trevor Richards, as well as pitcher Anthony Gose who converted from being an outfielder earlier in his career.

• STL has signed veteran reliever Tyler Matzek.

League Leaders

Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-3 with a double as part of the Royals win in Texas yesterday, extending his lead on the MLB doubles leaderboard:

• 25 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 23 - ATH Lawrence Butler

• 22 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 21 - STL Brendan Donovan

• 21 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• 20 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 20 - NYY Anthony Volpe

• 19 - SFG Rafael Devers

• 19 - SDP Manny Machado

• 19 - KCR Salvador Perez

• 19 - CHW Miguel Vargas

• 19 - 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 20…

• 1932: Doc Cramer has six hits in six at-bats. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Doc Cramer of the A's collects six hits in consecutive times at bat in a nine-inning game. Cramer will do this again in 1935, the only American League player to repeat the feat.”

• 1961: Now playing at 3B… Al Kaline? As described at baseball-reference.com, “Al Kaline plays third base for the first time in his career. His two hits and two RBIs lead the Tigers to a 5-4 win over the Senators. Kaline will return to the outfield and play third base just once more, in 1965.”

• 1980: Freddie Patek hits three HR and a double. As described at baseball-reference.com, “5-foot, 4-inch Freddie Patek, one of the smallest players of his era, hits three home runs and a double in California's 20-2 rout of the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Patek will end the year with five homers.”

• 2015: Max Scherzer threw a no-hitter. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Max Scherzer of the Nationals comes agonizingly close to pitching a perfect game but has to settle for a 6 - 0 no-hitter over the Pirates. With two outs in the 9th, he hits pinch-hitter Jose Tabata with a pitch after retiring the first 26 batters in order as Tabata appears to lean into the pitch. Scherzer then retires Josh Harrison on a fly ball to end the game.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Carlos Lee (1976) had a 14-year major league career as a LF and 1B, mostly with the White Sox and the Astros, spanning from 1999-2012. He hit 20+ HR every year from 2000-2010, had six seasons with 100+ RBI, and four seasons with 100+ runs. He was a big guy (listed at 6’2” and 270 pounds) but was able to steal 15+ bases three times. A three-time All-Star, overall Lee had 358 HR, 1,363 RBI, a .285/.339/.483 slash line, and a 113 OPS+.

• Billy Werber (1908) had an 11-year major league career spanning from 1930-1942, playing for the Yankees, Red Sox, Athletics, Reds, and Giants. He led his league in stolen bases three times, and scored 100+ runs three times, including leading the NL with 115 in 1939, and having earlier posted a career high of 129 runs in 1934. He was never chosen as an All-Star, but did receive down-ballot MVP consideration four times. For his career he had 215 SB, a .271 average, and .364 OBP.

• Dickie Thon (1958) played in the majors for 15-years from 1979-1993, with about half his career with the Astros, and the rest with the Angels, Phillies, Padres, Rangers, and Brewers. In his first full season in 1982 he had 37 SB and led the NL with 10 triples. The following year he was an All-Star and increased his HR output from 3 to 20, while still stealing 34 bases. Thon seemed to be on the verge of stardom when on April 8, 1984, he was hit in the face by a Mike Torrez fastball. That pitch broke his orbital bone around his left eye, ending his season. Thon would return in 1985, but he struggled with vision problems. He made adjustments so that he could play another nine years, but didn’t get back to the level of play he had shown in 1983.

Currently active players who were born on June 20 include BAL Félix Bautista, LAA Touki Toussaint, MIA Ronny Henriquez, and MIL Abner Uribe.

Today’s Matchups

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

• NYM vs. PHI is an important series, as the Mets have lost six in a row so are now tied with the Phillies atop of the NL East. And this game one could be a challenge, as it looks like they will be asking Blade Tidwell to make his second career start against a tough Philadelphia lineup that is backing their ace Zack Wheeler (7-2, 2.76 ERA, 110 K in 88 IP).

• MIL vs. MIN also include a rookie making his second career start, but in this case it is the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski who pitched five no-hit innings in his debut. The Twins will counter with veteran Joe Ryan (7-2, 2.93 ERA, 89 K in 89 IP).

• WAS vs. LAD features lefty MacKenzie Gore (2.89 ERA, 119 K in 87.1 IP) against the tough Dodgers lineup and lefty future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw (3.25 ERA, 20 K in 27.2 IP).

Also on the hill today are TEX Jacob deGrom, CHC Matthew Boyd, DET Jack Flaherty, NYY Max Fried, PHI Zack Wheeler, and HOU Hunter Brown.

Also of note, Atlanta has promoted prospect Didier Fuentes, who just turned 20 a few days ago, to make his major league debut against the Marlins today. Across three levels in the minors this year Fuentes has 48 K in 39.1 IP, though with a 4.81 ERA and oddly poor 0-7 record.

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:

• SEA Jorge Polanco, 14-47 (.298) with 3 HR and 3 doubles vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• SEA Mitch Garver, 5-15 with 2 HR, a triple, and a double vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 13-48 (.271) with 2 HR, a triple, and 3 doubles vs. Zack Wheeler

• HOU Jake Meyers, only 2-9, but with 2 HR vs. LAA Yusei Kikuchi

• AZ Corbin Carroll, 6-13 with 2 HR and a double vs. COL Austin Gomber

• AZ Ketel Marte, 8-23 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. COL Austin Gomber

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, only 3-15 with 2 HR vs. COL Austin Gomber

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:

• COL Ezequiel Tovar, 6-10 with a HR, a triple, and a double vs. AZ Zac Gallen

• SEA J.P. Crawford, 5-10 vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• SDP Xander Bogaerts, small sample but is 4-4 with a double vs. KCR Michael Lorenzen

• NYM Brett Baty, 4-10 with a HR vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

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:

• 18 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 13 - BAL Gunnar Henderson

• 11 - TEX Marcus Semien

• 10 - TBR Yandy Diaz

• 10 - ATL Matt Olson

• 10 - SDP Gavin Sheets

• 9 - MIL Jackson Chourio

• 9 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 8 - TBR Brandon Lowe

• 8 - TBR Jake Mangum

• 8 - WAS Luis Garcia Jr.

• 7 - TEX Josh Smith

• 7 - STL Alec Burleson

• 7 - HOU Jake Meyers

• 7 - CIN Matt McLain

• 7 - COL Tyler Freeman

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:

• AZ Alek Thomas, 1-11 with 2 K vs. COL Austin Gomber

• CIN TJ Friedl, 2-17 with 3 K vs. STL Andre Pallante

• NYM Tyrone Taylor, 2-12 with 6 K vs. PHI Zack Wheeler

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Nolan Arenado now has 350 career HR and 10 Gold Glove Awards. According to a MLB article by Casey Drottar, the other six to accomplish this are Johnny Bench, Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, and Al Kaline.

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.

• With financial flexibility, what will the Red Sox do next?, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 6/20/2025

• Stats of the week: Morton turns back the clock, Strider racking up K's and more!, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 6/19/2025

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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