The Baseball Buffet for 6/5/2025

Issue #296

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 70th day of the season had a full slate of Wednesday games:

• LAA 9, BOS 11 - The Angels scored four runs in the top of the first, including a 3-run HR by Taylor Ward, his 17th on the season. But the Red Sox immediately answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Suffice to say both starting pitchers ended up with awful numbers: Jose Soriano (3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) and Lucas Giolito (1.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 1 K). The game was tied 9-9 going into the ninth, when Cooper Criswell shut out LA, and then Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off 2-run HR in the bottom of the inning, his third HR in the past three games.

• MIL 9, CIN 1 - Reds catcher Jose Trevino went 3-4 with two doubles, but the rest of Cincy’s lineup only managed one other hit. The Brewers meanwhile banged out 13 total hits, including HR by Jackson Chourio, Daz Cameron, and Isaac Collins. DL Hall pitched the first three innings allowing only one hit and no runs, and then Quinn Priester came in and did well for most of the rest of the game (5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K).

• COL 3, MIA 2 - The Rockies swept this critical series, yes, winning their third game in a row, a streak which has increased their total wins on the year by 33% (they are now 12-50). They accomplished this by scoring first and scoring often—if scoring one run each in the 1st, 5th, and 6th counts as often. Hunter Goodman continued his hot hitting, going 2-4 with a triple and a double, veteran Kyle Freeland pitched well (6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), and Tyler Kinley recorded his second save of the year.

• HOU 0, PIT 3 - Oneil Cruz was 2-4 with a double and two stolen bases, giving him 22 on the year and the MLB lead in that category. Meanwhile rookie Mike Burrows was excellent (5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and three Pirates relievers combined for the shutout, including David Bednar who struck out two in the ninth for his 7th save on the season.

• CHC 0, WAS 2 - Matthew Boyd (7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) held the Nats scoreless until the 7th inning when he let up a HR to Amed Rosario, his third on the year. MacKenzie Gore was excellent once again (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and Kyle Finnegan secured his 17th save.

• CLE 4, NYY 0 - Angel Martinez hit a two-run HR in the first inning, but then Clarke Schmidt settled in and struck out 8 over 5.2 innings. Kyle Manzardo added a solo HR in the eighth inning as insurance, but four Guardians pitchers combined for a shutout against the tough Yankees lineup, including starter Luis L. Ortiz (5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K) and closer Emmanuel Clase who struck out three in the ninth.

• PHI 1, TOR 2 - Nick Castellanos homered in the second inning, but José Berríos otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K). Rookie Mick Abel did also in his second major league start (5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K), and the game was tied 1-1 when Jordan Romano allowed a couple of hits in the bottom of the ninth, including a single by Alejandro Kirk that drove in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from second for the winning run.

• AZ 2, ATL 1 - As I suggested it could be, this one was a pitchers duel with both Merrill Kelly (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) and Chris Sale (6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 10 K) doing great. In the top of the ninth Ketel Marte hit a line drive single to left that drove in Tim Tawa. That extra run was important as Justin Martinez was a bit wild and got into trouble, loading the bases and walking in a run, before striking out Michael Harris II to end the game.

• TEX 4, TBR 5 - Jonah Heim hit a HR in the fifth inning, but Shane Baz otherwise pitched well enough (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) to get his fifth win on the year. Brandon Lowe went 3-4 with a HR and a double, and Pete Fairbanks notched his 11th save.

• DET 5, CHW 4 - Jared Shuster let up five hits and 4 ER in the first inning, but the White Sox battled back by scoring runs in each of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings. The game was tied 4-4 going into the eighth, when Wenceel Perez doubled and then then Colt Keith doubled to drive him home for what would be the decisive run. Three Tigers relievers held Chicago scoreless over the final four innings, including Tommy Kahnle who secured his 8th save.

• BAL 3, SEA 2 - Adley Rutschman hit a HR, but Emerson Hancock otherwise pitched well (5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). The Orioles came from behind against the Mariners bullpen by scoring two in the seventh, and then their own pen held them scoreless over the last three innings, with Felix Bautista recording his 11th save.

• SDP 5, SFG 6 - Kyle Harrison allowed 9 hits and 5 runs in 4.1 innings, but four Giants relievers shut out the Padres the rest of the way. San Francisco came back, including a 2-run HR by Matt Chapman in the sixth. Randy Rodríguez got his first save of the year, lowering his ERA to 0.66 with 39 K in 27.1 IP.

• MIN 6, ATH 1 - Ryan Jeffers and Harrison Bader each hit a HR, and rookie Zebby Matthews pitched well (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) to earn his first win of 2025. Four Twins relievers pitched shutout innings, and in total Minnesota struck out the Athletics 14 times.

• NYM 6, LAD 1 - The Mets scored three in the top of the first, including a 2-run HR by Pete Alonso, who also hit a 3-run HR later in the game. Meanwhile Griffin Canning was excellent (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) with the only Dodgers bright spot being Andy Pages who was 3-4 with a HR and a double.

• KCR vs. STL - postponed

Today’s Trivia Question

Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson is catching up to Aaron Judge on the American League hits leaderboard. He has 83, five behind Judge’s 88. Who was the last A’s hitter to lead the AL in hits? Bonus points if you can name more than one of their most recent three AL hits leaders.

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

• BAL LF Ramón Laureano

• COL SP Austin Gomber

• BAL C Gary Sánchez

• CHW RP Tyler Gilbert

🤕 Placed on the IL

• CHW 2B Lenyn Sosa - 10-day IL (right hip flexor strain)

• CIN SP Hunter Greene - 15-day IL (right groin strain)

🚼 Placed on the Paternity List

• PHI SP Zack Wheeler

📝 Free Agent Signings

• The Giants have signed 29-year old 1B Dominic Smith, who last year played with the Red Sox and Reds batting .233 with 6 HR in 275 AB. They also have designated 1B Lamonte Wade Jr. for assignment as he was hitting only .167 with 1 HR in 144 at-bats this year.

• The Reds have signed 38-year old pitcher Wade Miley who has a lifetime 108-99 record and 4.08 ERA. His first appearance didn’t give much confidence, as he pitched 2 innings allowing six hits and four earned runs.

League Leaders

It has been ten days since I reported out on the HR leaderboard, and we currently have a tie at the top, one from each league:

• 23 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 23 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 21 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 19 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 18 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 17 - LA Taylor Ward

• 16 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 16 - WAS James Wood

• 15 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

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 5…

• 1937: The Cardinals sign Stan Musial. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The St. Louis Cardinals sign 16-year-old Stan Musial to his first professional contract; he is still a pitcher at this point of his career.”

• 1982: Cal Ripken’s consecutive innings-played streak begins. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Cal Ripken's span of 8,243 consecutive innings begins with the Orioles' 3-1 victory over Minnesota at the Metrodome. The infielder's record streak, which will last for 904 games, will end when he is lifted in the 8th inning for a pinch runner during an 18-3 September loss to the Blue Jays in 1987.”

• 1989: The SkyDome opens. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Toronto SkyDome opens, but the Blue Jays lose, 5-3, to the Milwaukee Brewers. Baseball's newest and most modern stadium features a $100 million fully retractable roof, a hotel with some rooms having a view of the playing field, the world's largest video display board, and a Hard Rock Cafe.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Jack Chesbro (1874) is a Hall of Famer who had an 11-year major league career (1899-1909), pitching first for the Pirates and then the Highlanders (the AL New York team that became the Yankees). He had five 20+ win seasons, including leading the NL in wins with a 28-6 record in 1902. His best season came in 1904 when he went an amazing 41-12 for New York, with a 1.82 ERA over 454.2 IP. Overall, Chesbro had a 198-132 (.600) record, 2.68 ERA, and 110 ERA+.

• Ray Lankford (1967) had a 14-year major league career as a CF and LF, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals. He had a nice combination of power and speed, with six seasons of 20+ HR and six seasons of 20+ SB, with highs of 44 SB in 1991 and 42 in 1992. He was an All-Star once, in 1997, finishing that season with 31 HR, 98 RBI, 21 SB, and a .295 average. He struck out a lot, with 11 consecutive seasons of 100+ K, and a high of 151 in 1998. He retired with 238 HR, 258 SB, a .272/.364/.477 slash line and 123 OPS+.

• Eddie Joost (1916) had a 17-year career that spanned from 1936-1955, playing mostly at SS but with some time spent at 3B and 2B also. A two-time All-Star, Joost started his career with the Reds, but later played more seasons with the Athletics. Never a high-average hitter, Joost initially didn’t have much power either. But in the second half of his career he had six consecutive seasons with 10+ HR, including 23 in 1949 and 20 in 1952. He had a good eye at the plate, something again that he leveraged more in the second half of his career, collecting 100+ walks in six consecutive seasons, including a high of 149 in 1949. As a result, he retired with a .239 average but a more impressive .361 OBP.

Currently active players who were born on June 5 include PIT Andrew Heaney, MIN Joe Ryan, MIN Royce Lewis, SEA Logan Evans, and NYM Dedniel Núñez

Today’s Matchups

A partial but solid slate of Thursday games (13), including a make-up game from yesterday. Some games that jump out to me are:

• SDP vs. SFG features two high-strikeout pitchers in Dylan Cease (4.66 ERA, 78 K in 63.2 IP) and Robbie Ray (2.43 ERA, 78 K in 70.1 IP).

• KCR vs. STL (postponed from yesterday) is interesting given how well Noah Cameron has done in his first four major league starts (1.05 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 16 K in 25.2 IP). The Cardinals will counter with veteran Miles Mikolas (3.90 ERA, 34 K in 55.1 IP).

Also on the hill today are HOU Framber Valdez, KCR Cole Ragans, DET Casey Mize, PHI Jesús Luzardo, SEA Bryan Woo, NYM David Peterson, and NYY Max Fried.

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:

• KCR Jonathan India, 8-25 with 3 HR and a double vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• AZ Eugenio Suárez, small sample but is 3-4 with 3 HR vs. ATL Grant Holmes

• SDP Manny Machado, 3-13 with 2 HR vs. SFG Robbie Ray

• PHI Kyle Schwarber, 7-16 with 2 HR and 2 doubles vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

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:

• LAD Miguel Rojas, 7-16 with a HR and 3 doubles vs. NYM David Peterson

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 5-11 with a double vs. NYM David Peterson

• LAD Andy Pages, small sample but is 5-7 with a HR vs. NYM David Peterson

• ATL Marcell Ozuna, small sample but is 4-8 with a HR and a double vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

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 - CLE Carlos Santana

• 11 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 10 - DET Colt Keith

• 10 - AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

• 10 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• 9 - WAS Amed Rosario

• 9 - LAD Andy Pages

• 8 - BOS Ceddanne Rafaela

• 8 - MIN Trevor Larnach

• 8 - SFG Heliot Ramos

• 8 - LAA Mike Trout

• 8 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 7 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 7 - AZ Gabriel Moreno

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:

• SFG Mike Yastrzemski, 0-11 with 8 K vs. SDP Dylan Cease

• SFG Matt Chapman, 2-16 with 7 K though one hit was a HR. vs SDP Dylan Cease

• KCR Bobby Witt Jr., small sample but is 0-9 with 4 K vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• KCR Mark Canha, 1-12 with 2 K vs. STL Miles Mikolas

• ATL Ozzie Albies, small sample but is 0-9 with 4 K vs. AZ Brandon Pfaadt

• PHI Bryce Harper, 1-11 with 4 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• PHI Alec Bohm, 2-15 with only 1 K vs. TOR Chris Bassitt

• HOU Christian Walker, 1-11 with 3 K vs. PIT Mitch Keller

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson now has 83 hits, five behind AL leader Aaron Judge who has 85. The last time a member of the A’s led the AL in hits was Rickey Henderson with 135 in the strike-shortened 1981 season. Prior to that, Joe Rudi paced the AL with 181 hits in 1972, and Bert Campaneris led with 177 in the pitcher’s year of 1968.

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 storylines to watch with All-Star voting underway, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 6/4/2025

• Each team's most deserving All-Star, by MLB.com writers, 6/4/2025

• One 2024 Draft pick from each team who is thriving, by Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis, and Sam Dykstra at MLB, 6/4/2025

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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