The Baseball Buffet for 6/7/2025

Issue #298

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 72nd day of the season had a full slate of Friday games:

• MIA 3, TBR 4 - Agustín Ramírez hit a HR in the fourth inning, but Zack Littell otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K). Five Rays hitters had two hits each, including Junior Caminero who was 2-4 with 2 doubles. Tampa was up 4-1 when Otto Lopez hit a 2-run HR in the 8th, but then Rays closer Pete Fairbanks shut things down in the ninth to earn his 12th save.

• TEX 0, WAS 2 - Alex Call had his first HR of the year, but aside from that Patrick Corbin pitched pretty well (8 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K). Unfortunately, the Rangers offense again struggled with Michael Soroka (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K) and three Nats relievers combining for a 2-hit shutout, and Kyle Finnegan recording his 18th save.

• CHC 1, DET 3 - Tarik Skubal again pitched very well (7.2 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K), and Will Vest got the last four outs to earn his 10th save. Ben Brown pitched well also (7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), but Detroit spread out three runs late in the game, including solo HR by Spencer Torkelson and pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones.

• HOU 4, CLE 2 - Cleveland DH David Fry is back and went 2-3 with a HR and a walk. But Colton Gordon pitched well for Houston (5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and once again Bryan King, Bryan Abreu, and Josh Hader pitched shut out baseball over the last three innings, with Hader recording his 17th save. Jeremy Peña continued his hot hitting, going 3-5 to raise his average to .324.

• KCR 2, CHW 7 - The Royals got back-to-back solo HR in the third inning from Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino. But Davis Martin otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and three Chicago relievers shut out Kansas City the rest of the way. The game was tied 2-2 after seven, but in the bottom of the 8th the White Sox had a series of walks and hits to score five runs and pull away.

• BOS 6, NYY 9 - Red Sox rookie Marcelo Mayer hit his first major league HR, and Rafael Devers hit his 13th HR of the year. But the Yankees got to Walker Buehler early (2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), including HR by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. Paul Goldschmidt added a HR later in the game, Aaron Judge went 3-5 with a double and a stolen base, and Devin Williams notched his 7th save.

• PHI 4, PIT 5 - This was an interesting game as each time the Phillies scored in the top of an inning, the Pirates matched it in the bottom of the same inning. Trea Turner was 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI, while Pittsburgh had HR from Bryan Reynolds and Henry Davis. The game was tied 4-4 after eight, and David Bednar struck out three in the top of the ninth. Jordan Romano came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, and Adam Frazier and Jared Triolo each singled. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then bunted trying to advance the runners and the ball rolled slowly from foul to fair, allowing IKF to reach first base to load the bases with no outs. Oneil Cruz struck out, but then Nick Gonzalez, who had tripled and scored earlier in the game, hit a long sacrifice fly to left to drive in Frazier for the win.

• TOR 6, MIN 4 - Trevor Larnach hit his 10th HR of the season for the Twins, but the Jays had homers from Addison Barger and George Springer. Toronto used a mix of six pitchers, with Jeff Hoffman striking out three in the ninth to lock down his 14th save.

• SDP 2, MIL 0 - Chad Patrick pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K), but his teammates could only manage four singles as Randy Vasquez (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) and four Padres relievers pitched a shutout. Manny Machado hit his 9th HR of the year, and Robert Suarez recorded his 20th save, which leads the majors.

• LAD 0, STL 5 - The Dodgers out hit the Cardinals 10-7, including Mookie Betts going 3-4 with a double. But they were 1-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners on base. Sonny Gray spread out the hits he allowed (6.1 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), and the Cardinals had HR from Pedro Pagés and Willson Contreras.

• NYM 4, COL 2 - The Rockies tried a different strategy, using Ryan Rolison as a one-inning opener. Whether that helped or it was something else, Antonio Senzatela did well in this one (4 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2K). Alas the Rockies epic 3-game winning streak came to an end as their bullpen allowed four runs with Juan Soto going 3-4 with a walk and Pete Alonso going 1-3 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI. Kodai Senga allowed a HR to Mickey Moniak, but otherwise pitched well again (6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and then Edwin Díaz pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

• SEA 4, LAA 5 - Both teams bunched together all their runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, including a 2-run HR by Angels catcher Travis d’Arnaud. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 13th save of the year.

• BAL 4, ATH 5 - Dylan Carlson was 1-2 with a HR and two walks, and Jackson Holliday was 3-5 with a HR and a double. But the Orioles otherwise struggled offensively going 1-9 with runners in scoring position and leaving 10 runners on base overall. The top of the Athletics order (Lawrence Butler, Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker) did most of their damage, going 7-12 with four RBI. Mason Miller came in and recorded five outs, three by strikeout, for his 13th save of the season.

• ATL 4, SFG 5 - The Giants scored three in the bottom of the first off Spencer Schwellenbach (6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), but then the Braves came back including a two-run HR by Matt Olson in the 7th to tie the game at 4-4. Atlanta didn’t score in the top of the tenth, and in the bottom of the inning, after the ghost-runner Manfred Man (Tyler Fitzgerald) had advanced to third on a ground out, Pierce Johnson’s wild pitch let in the winning run.

• AZ 3, CIN 3 - Suspended after six innings and will resume on Saturday

Today’s Trivia Question

Its not easy being an expansion team. If you look at the all-time winning percentages of all 30 currently active major league franchises, none of the top ten are expansion teams (those added to the AL or NL since 1961). The Yankees of course top the list at .570, followed by the Giants at .535, and the Dodgers at .532. Which expansion team ranks highest in all-time winning-percentage, coming in 11th overall with a .502 mark?

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 RF Tyler O’Neill

• NYM SP Sean Manaea

• MIN RP Danny Coulombe

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIA RP Jesus Tinoco - 15-day IL (right forearm strain)

• ATL RP Daysbel Hernandez - 15-day IL (right forearm inflammation)

• CLE C Austin Hedges - 7-day IL (concussion)

• COL SS Ezequiel Tovar - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

• ATH C Shea Langeliers - 10-day IL (left oblique strain)

Also of note, Arizona’s ace starting pitcher Corbin Burnes will now undergo Tommy John surgery and so is out for the rest of the year.

⬆️ Notable Call-Ups

• CIN 1B Christian Encarnacion-Strand - coming off the IL, and was doing well at AAA (.327)

• ATH OF Seth Brown - 32-year old, .227 career hitter in the majors, but of note because he was recently batting .500 (21-42) with 7 HR in 9 games at AAA

• COL SS Ryan Ritter - 24-year old rookie who was batting .305 with 16 HR in 52 games at AAA

• CHW C Kyle Teel - 23-year old rookie who was batting .295 with 8 HR and 7 SB in 50 games

• ATL RP Craig Kimbrel - as I noted yesterday, Kimbrel was likely coming up. He pitched for the Orioles last year, and at age 37 has been working his way back to the majors with his original team, the Braves. He had a 2.45 ERA with 17 K in 14.2 IP at AAA.

League Leaders

It has been over two weeks since I checked the triples leaderboard, and Jarren Duran yesterday hit his 7th to take over sole possession of the top spot:

• 7 - BOS Jarren Duran

• 6 - AZ Corbin Carroll

• 4 - COL Jordan Beck

• 4 - DET Zach McKinstry

• 4 - COL Mickey Moniak

• 4 - LAD Shohei Ohtani

• 4 - CHC Kyle Tucker

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 7…

• 1966: The Mets could have had Reggie Jackson. As described at baseball-reference.com, "The New York Mets, picking first in the June amateur draft, pass up Arizona State outfielder Reggie Jackson to select catcher Steve Chilcott. Chilcott will retire after six years in the minors and will be the first number-one pick to never play in the major leagues. The Kansas City Athletics take Jackson with the second pick."

• 1973: Pitching prospect David Clyde drafted before Dave Winfield and Robin Yount. As described at baseball-reference.com, "The Texas Rangers select high school pitching phenom David Clyde with the first overall pick in the 1973 amateur draft and will bring him straight to the major leagues, a move that will have a detrimental impact on his future. Dave Winfield, picked fourth overall by the San Diego Padres, will also go straight to the major leagues, but with much better results; Winfield was also taken in the NBA and NFL drafts. John Stearns is taken second by the Philadelphia Phillies (and is also picked in the NFL draft), and the Milwaukee Brewers, picking third, take high schooler Robin Yount, who will be their starting shortstop by Opening Day in 1974."

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Thurman Munson (1947) was a catcher for the Yankees in the 1970s, and started by winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 1970 after hitting .302 with a .386 OBP. He later won the AL MVP Award in 1976 after hitting 17 HR with 105 RBI, with 14 SB and again a .302 average. That was one of three seasons in which Munson had 100+ RBI, and one of seven All-Star seasons. He was also strong defensively, taking home three AL Gold Glove Awards. Tragically, Munson died on August 2, 1979 in a crash while practicing landings in his aircraft at Akron–Canton Airport. The Yankees honored him by immediately retiring his uniform number 15, and dedicating a plaque to him in Monument Park. (Source: Wikipedia)

• Don Money (1947) had a 16-year career as an infielder for the Phillies and Brewers. He primarily played 3B, but spent time at the three other infield positions as well. A four-time All-Star, Money had eight seasons with 14+ HR, with a high of 25 HR and 83 RBI in 1977. He retired with 176 HR, a .261/.328/.406 slash line, and a 106 OPS+.

• Heathcliff Slocumb (1966) had a 10-year career as a relief pitcher, working as a closer for several seasons, including in 1995 when he was an All-Star and finished with 32 saves and a 2.89 ERA. He was traded to the Red Sox after that season, and then posted 31 saves with a 3.02 ERA in 1996. Slocumb had 27 saves split between Boston and Seattle the following year, but never reached those levels again.

• Herb Score (1933) was a highly touted prospect out of high school in Florida and signed with the Cleveland Indians organization on his 19th birthday in 1952. He was The Sporting News’ Minor League Player of the Year in 1954, and then AL Rookie of the Year in 1955 after going 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA and leading the AL with 245 strikeouts. He led the AL in strikeouts again the following year with 263, while posting a 20-9 record and 2.53 ERA. Score was off to a great start in 1947 as well, when an on-field injury nearly ended his career. As described at Wikipedia, “On May 7, 1957, during the first inning of a night game against the New York Yankees at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Score threw a low fastball to Gil McDougald with Jim Hegan catching. McDougald lined the pitch to the mound and struck Score in the face, breaking Score's facial bones and injuring his eye. … Score eventually recovered his 20/20 vision, though he missed the rest of the season.” He returned and pitched a partial 1958 season, had one more year with the Indians, and then three years with the White Sox. He was never as effective as he was those first two years, and many assume it was because of the eye injury—but Score always maintained that it was a later elbow injury, change in pitching motion, and then additional arm injuries, that led to his performance decline. Soon after retiring Score took up television and radio broadcasting for the Indians, something he did for over 30 years from 1964-1997.

Today’s Matchups

A full slate of Saturday games (15), plus the D-Backs and Reds need to finish their suspended game from yesterday. Some games that jump out to me are:

• HOU vs. CLE is a matchup of two teams in the hunt with almost identical records, with Hunter Brown (1.83 ERA, 84 K in 73.2 IP) vs. Gavin Williams (3.79 ERA, 66 K in 59.1 IP).

• BOS vs. NYY is game two of the rivalry series, and features Boston’s ace Garrett Crochet (1.98 ERA, 101 K in 82 IP) vs. Ryan Yarbrough (2.83 ERA, 40 K in 41.1 IP) who has been especially effective with a 1.59 ERA and 20 K in 17 IP over his last three starts.

Also on the bump today are PHI Ranger Suárez, TOR Kevin Gausman, LAD Yoshinobu Yamamoto, TEX Jacob deGrom, SFG Logan Webb, KCR Michael Wacha, SEA Luis Castillo, and NYM Clay Holmes.

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:

• LAA Luis Rengifo, 5-20 with 3 HR vs. SEA Luis Castillo

• DET Javier Báez, 12-21 (.571) with 4 HR and 2 doubles vs. CHC Jameson Taillon

• SFG Willy Adames, 3-10 with 2 HR and a double vs. ATL Bryce Elder

• LAD Teoscar Hernández, small sample but is 3-6 with 2 HR vs. STL Erick Fedde

• MIN Royce Lewis, small sample but is 5-7 with 2 HR vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

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:

• ATL Michael Harris II, 6-11 with a HR and a double vs. SFG Logan Webb

• PHI Nick Castellanos, 6-11 with a double vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• PHI Edmundo Sosa, small sample but is 4-4 with 2 doubles vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

• PIT Andrew McCutchen, 4-10 with 2 doubles vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• KCR Salvador Perez, small sample but is 4-6 with a HR and a double vs. CHW Adrian Houser

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:

• 12 - MIL Christian Yelich

• 12 - HOU Jeremy Peña

• 11 - DET Colt Keith

• 11 - LAD Andy Pages

• 10 - TOR Bo Bichette

• 9 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 7 - CHC Michael Busch

• 7 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• 7 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 7 - STL Willson Contreras

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:

• MIN Harrison Bader, 1-11 with 6 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• MIN Byron Buxton, 1-10 with 3 K vs. TOR Kevin Gausman

• CHW Andrew Benintendi, 2-14 with 5 K vs. KCR Michael Wacha

• MIA Kyle Stowers, small sample but is 1-8 with 6 K vs. TBR Taj Bradley

• PIT Tommy Pham, small sample but is 1-9 with 5 K vs. PHI Ranger Suárez

• WAS Josh Bell, small sample but is 1-9 with 4 K vs. TEX Jacob deGrom

• LAA Logan O’Hoppe, small sample but is 0-8 with 3 K vs. SEA Luis Castillo

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

The Yankees of course have the all-time highest franchise winning percentage (.570) amongst the 30 currently active AL and NL teams. As noted, the top ten are all from the original 16 franchises. Coming in 11th is the highest ranked expansion era franchise, and the only one with a lifetime winning percentage over .500… the Houston Astros at .502. Next up are the Blue Jays (.498, 14th overall) and the Angels (.495, 15th overall).

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.

• League Leaders Of The '50s, by Paul Semendinger at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 6/7/2025

• 8 players who could use a change of scenery, by Mark Feinsand at MLB, 6/7/2025

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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