The Baseball Buffet for 6/6/2025

Issue #297

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 71st day of the season had a nearly full slate of Thursday games:

• AZ 11, ATL 10 - This game had 24 total hits and an epic comeback. The Braves built up a 10-4 lead through eight innings, leveraging five doubles and three HR by Austin Riley, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Drake Baldwin. But then the D-Backs erupted for seven runs in the top of the ninth, with Scott Blewett giving up 5 runs in 1.1 innings (including a HR to Ketel Marte in the 8th, and HR by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas in the ninth) and Raisel Iglesias giving up 4 hits and 3 runs in 0.2 IP. Of note, an unconfirmed source told MLB.com that the Braves will be calling up veteran closer Craig Kimbrel from AAA to bolster their bullpen.

• KCR 5, STL 6 (Gm 1) - Jonathan India got things going with a leadoff HR, and Noah Cameron then took the mound and was once again excellent (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). He now has a 0.85 ERA in 31.2 IP in his first five starts in the majors. Also of note, after going 0-5 in his debut on Wednesday, power-hitting prospect Jac Caglianone, playing RF in this one, went 1-4 with a double for his first major league hit. For the Cardinals, Ivan Herrara hit a two-run HR to give St. Louis the lead after 8 innings. But the Royals scored one in the ninth to tie the game 4-4, and then scored one again in the top of the tenth. However, Royals closer Carlos Estévez came in for the bottom of the tenth, and walked one and let up two singles that resulted in two runs and the loss.

• KCR 7, STL 5 (Gm 2) - All the runs were let up by the starting pitchers in this one: Cole Ragans (3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) and Matthew Liberatore (4 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). Nolan Arenado had his 7th HR of the season, and the Royals had two homers from Maikel Garcia and Freddy Fermin. Carlos Estévez again game in for the final inning, but this time held the Cardinals scoreless to record his 18th save on the year.

• DET 2, CHW 3 - Chicago’s Sean Burke pitched well (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K), giving up a HR in the seventh to Wenceel Perez. The game was tied 2-2 through nine, and Steven Wilson held the Tigers scoreless in the top of the tenth. In the bottom of the frame, with runners on second and third, rookie Tim Elko hit a single to left to drive in Korey Lee for the winning run.

• PHI 1, TOR 9 - Nick Castellanos was 3-3 with a double, but the rest of the Phillies didn’t do much offensively, as Chris Bassitt pitched well (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K). For a second game in a row, Jesús Luzardo really struggled (2.1 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Bo Bichette hit his 8th HR and Miles Straw was 2-4 with a double and 3 RBI.

• MIN 3, ATH 14 - The Twins were held to only five hits, with Matt Wallner hitting his third HR on the year. Mitch Spence did well as the Athletics starter (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), but the big story was the A’s hitters who tallied 17 hits including four HR, with two by Tyler Soderstrom (one was a grand slam), and one each by Jacob Wilson and Max Muncy. Wilson was 3-5 raising his average on the year to .363, and Brent Rooker also had a good game going 3-5 with a double and 3 RBI.

• BAL 4, SEA 3 - Cal Raleigh hit another HR, his 24th on the year which currently leads the majors. The Orioles hit two HR in the sixth inning, a 2-run HR by Adley Rutschman and a solo shot by Gunnar Henderson, which gave them the lead. Three Baltimore relievers held Seattle scoreless the rest of the way, with Bryan Baker earning his 2nd save. Can the Orioles turn things around? They have won their last six games.

• SDP 2, SFG 3 - Robbie Ray let up a HR to Manny Machado, but otherwise pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K). Dylan Cease struck out 7 in 5 innings, but let up three runs, including Giants new acquisition Dom Smith hitting a ground-rule double that drove in two. That is all it took as Ray and two relievers held the Padres scoreless after the third inning, and Camilo Doval notched his 8th save.

• NYM 5, LAD 6 - The Mets hit three HR (Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte) against Dodgers starter Landon Knack. The Dodgers were down 5-3 but then in the bottom of the eighth they scored three to take the lead. Tanner Scott struck out two in the ninth and secured his 11th save.

• CHC 7, WAS 1 - Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a 2-run HR in the first, and Ian Happ added a 2-run HR in the sixth (he also had a double and was 3-6 with 4 RBI on the day). Drew Pomeranz threw a scoreless first inning as the opener, and then Colin Rea pitched well after that (5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K).

• CLE 0, NYY 4 - Aaron Judge was 1-1 with a double, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored, and Cody Bellinger was 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBI. Max Fried was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) and three Yankees relievers combined on the 3-hit shutout.

• TEX 3, TBR 4 - The Rangers had three solo HR, two from Marcus Semien and one by Jake Burger. Jack Leiter did well (5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), with his lone run allowed coming via a HR from Junior Caminero, his 15th this year. The Rangers had a 3-1 lead until the Rays feasted on Robert Garcia for four hits and walk, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the win.

• HOU 8, PIT 2 - After a long rain delay, this one finally got underway at 10:02pm Eastern Time. Framber Valdez pitched well (7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 11 K), and the Astros offense was led by Jeremy Peña who went 3-5 with 2 doubles and stolen base, and Isaac Paredes who was 2-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted, Kansas City’s closer Carlos Estévez pitched the last inning in both games of their double-header yesterday. He didn’t do well in game one, but recorded his 18th save of the year in game two—which currently leads the American League. Who are the only other two Kansas City Royals relievers to lead the AL in saves?

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

• CIN 3B Jeimer Candelario

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIN SP Pablo López - 15-day IL (right shoulder strain)… apparently out for 2-3 months… ouch! The Twins have recalled David Festa from AAA for now.

League Leaders

It has been ten days since I reported out on the RBI leaderboard, and we have a new MLB leader in the Mets’ Pete Alonso:

• 55 - NYM Pete Alonso

• 54 - BOS Rafael Devers

• 53 - CHC Pete Crow-Armstrong

• 53 - CHC Seiya Suzuki

• 50 - NYY Aaron Judge

• 49 - SEA Cal Raleigh

• 47 - SFG Wilmer Flores

• 46 - AZ Eugenio Suárez

• 45 - PHI Kyle Schwarber

• 45 - WAS James Wood

• 43 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• 43 - CIN Elly De La Cruz

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 6…

• 1925: Eddie Collins collected hit number 3,000. The great Eddie Collins of the Chicago White Sox became the sixth major leaguer to collect 3,000 hits after hitting a double off another all-time great, Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson.

• 1941: Batting helmets are first used in MLB. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The New York Giants become the first team to wear protective headgear as they use plastic helmets in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh wins the doubleheader, 5-4 and 4-3. In the nightcap, the Pirates' Rip Sewell sets a National League record by totaling 11 assists for a pitcher.”

• 1990: Cecil Fielder hits three HR… for the second time that year. s described at baseball-reference.com, “For the second time this season, Cecil Fielder belts three home runs in a game, as Detroit beats the Indians 6-4. Fielder becomes the fourth A.L. player to have two three-homer games in a season.”

• 1992: Eddie Murray breaks the all-time record for RBI by a switch hitter. Eddie Murray of the Mets becomes the all-time leader in RBI by a switch-hitter. He passes Mickey Mantle with his 1,510th RBI, and later ends his career with 1,917 RBI in total.

• 1996: A cycle and a triple play in the same game. As described at baseball-reference.com, “For only the second time in major league history and first in the American League, a cycle and a triple play take place in the same game. John Valentin of the Boston Red Sox hits for the cycle, while the Chicago White Sox turn a triple play in Boston's 7-4 victory. In 1931, outfielder Chuck Klein of the Philadelphia Phillies hit for the cycle in a game in which Philadelphia turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs.”

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Bill Dickey (1907) is a Hall of Famer who had a 17-year career as a catcher, all with the New York Yankees. Still considered one of the top dozen or so catchers ever, Dickey was an 11-time All-Star and that number would have been higher if the ASG had existed for the first five years he played. Dickey was always a high-average hitter, but developed some power as well, with four consecutive seasons (1936-39) with 20+ HR and 100+ RBI. He retired with 202 HR, 1,209 RBI, a .313/.382/.486 slash line, and 127 OPS+. He returned as a coach for the Yankees, and in particular in mentoring another great Yankee catcher, Yogi Berra.

• Anthony Rendon (1990) was the first-round draft pick (6th overall) of the Washington Nationals in 2011. He was up in the majors by 2013, and hit 21 HR with 83 RBI, 17 SB, and an NL-leading 111 runs in 2014. He had five seasons with 20+ HR for the Nationals, with his biggest numbers coming in 2019, his one All-Star season, when he led the league with 44 doubles for the second year in a row, and slugged 34 HR with a .319 average and an NL-best 126 RBI. Rendon cashed in on that success by signing with the Angels as a free agent before the 2020 season. Unfortunately, since then he has spent more time off the field than playing on it, and even when playing his numbers from 2021-2024 have not been good: 13 HR in 205 games with a .231/.329/.336 slash line.

• Ed McKean (1864) was a 19th century SS, first with the Cleveland Blues of the American Association, and then spending most of his time with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League. He was a productive hitter, scoring 100+ runs five times with a high of 131 in 1895. He hit a lot of triples, with 10+ in 10 out of his 13 major league seasons, and this helped him drive in a lot of runs, with four seasons of 100+ RBI, including a high of 133 in 1893 in 125 games. Overall for his career he scored 1,227 runs, had 158 triples and 1,124 RBI, a .302/.365/.417 slash line, and a 114 OPS+.

• Bill Lange (1871) was also a 19th century player, albeit with a shorter major league career of only seven seasons spent with the National League’s Chicago team (1893-1899). He was a high-average hitter with ample speed on the bases, hitting 10+ triples four times and stealing 40+ bases six times, with highs of 84 SB in 1896 and then a league-leading 73 SB in 1897. According to Wikipedia, Lange “is best known for retiring from baseball during the prime of his career to get married, as his future father-in-law forbade his daughter to marry a baseball player. Despite the short-lived marriage, he refused all offers to return as a player.” Over his seven seasons he had 400 SB, a .330/.400./458 slash line, and a 123 OPS+.

Besides Anthony Rendon (who, ahem, is injured), other currently active players who were born on June 6 include SFG Joey Lucchesi, DET Will Vest, and ATL Dylan Dodd.

Today’s Matchups

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

• BOS vs. NYY is interesting as game one of a rivalry series. This time New York is hosting, and we have Walker Buehler (4.44 ERA, 42 K in 46.2 IP) taking on Will Warren (5.19 ERA, 69 K in 52 IP)—with both pitchers hit hard in their last starts.

• NYM vs. COL features Kodai Senga who is doing great this year (1.60 ERA, 59 K in 62 IP), but might be challenged pitching in the Colorado air. Plus the Rockies just won three in a row, albeit against the also not-very-good Marlins. Colorado is again trotting out Antonio Senzatela and his 1-10 record, 7.14 ERA, and 1.98 WHIP.

• ATL vs. SFG is an interesting series, as the Braves have again slumped losing four in a row and 8 of their last 10. The Giants are hanging in there in a tough NL West division. Game one today features two pitchers doing pretty well this year in Spencer Schwellenbach (3.13 ERA, 71 K in 74.2 IP) who had 11 K in 6.1 IP in his last start, up against Hayden Birdsong (2.37 ERA, 40 K in 38 IP).

Also taking the mound today are DET Tarik Skubal, KCR Seth Lugo, and STL Sonny Gray.

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:

• WAS Josh Bell, 4-16 with 3 HR and a double vs. TEX Patrick Corbin

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 4-11 with 3 HR vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• NYM Juan Soto, just one game but was 2-4 with 2 HR vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• TBR Christopher Morel, only 2-9 but with 2 HR vs. MIA Edward Cabrera

• BAL Adley Rutschman, 4-10 with 2 HR vs. ATH JP Sears

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 5-18 with 2 HR vs. PHI Joe Ross

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 Tommy Edman, 8-18 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. STL Sonny Gray

• NYM Starling Marte, 7-13 with a HR and a double vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• HOU Jeremy Peña, small sample but is 5-6 with a triple and a double vs. CLE Logan Allen

• CIN Austin Hays, 5-12 with 3 doubles vs. AZ Eduardo Rodriguez

• BAL Gunnar Henderson, 5-9 with a HR, a triple, and 2 doubles vs. ATH JP Sears

• NYM Tyrone Taylor, small sample but is 4-7 vs. COL Antonio Senzatela

• LAA Taylor Ward, 4-10 with a HR and 2 doubles vs. SEA Bryce Miller

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:

• 14 - CLE Carlos Santana

• 11 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 11 - AZ Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

• 11 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• 10 - DET Colt Keith

• 10 - WAS Amed Rosario

• 10 - LAD Andy Pages

• 9 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 8 - BOS Ceddanne Rafaela

• 8 - LAA Mike Trout

• 8 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 7 - AZ Gabriel Moreno

• 7 - CHC Michael Busch

• 7 - MIN Matt Wallner

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:

• LAD Max Muncy, 1-10 with 6 K though the one hit was a HR vs. STL Sonny Gray

• LAD Kiké Hernández, 0-10 with 4 K vs. STL Sonny Gray

• TOR Andrés Giménez, 2-15 with 4 K vs. MIN Bailey Ober

• BAL Jorge Mateo, 1-10 with 3 K vs. ATH JP Sears

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Carlos Estévez of the Royals has 18 saves, currently leading the AL. The last Royals reliever to lead the AL in saves was Jeff Montgomery, who had 45 saves and tied with Duane Ward for the league lead in 1993. Before that, the great Dan Quisenberry of course led the AL in saves several times: he tied Goose Gossage in 1980, and then led each year from 1982-1985.

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.

• Expect NL's Top Frosh To Hail From East, by Allen Settle at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 6/5/2025

• 6 of the toughest All-Star ballot dilemmas, by Will Leitch at MLB, 6/5/2025

• Which teams' offseason moves are paying off the most?, by Thomas Harrigan at MLB, 6/5/2025

• Stats of the week: Judge-Ohtani greatness, Pesky HRs and more!, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 6/5/2025

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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