The Baseball Buffet for 6/9/2025

Issue #300

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 74th day of the season had a full slate of Sunday games:

• MIA 2, TBR 3 - Drew Rasmussen pitched fairly well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), and Yandy Diaz hit a 2-run HR in the fifth to tie the game 2-2. Three Rays relievers shut out the Marlins the rest of the way, and Brandon Lowe drove in what would be the winning run in the bottom of the 8th with a sacrifice fly.

• SDP 1, MIL 0 - Freddy Peralta pitched well (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), but the Brewers’ offense only managed four hits and left 10 runners on base. The Padres only had three hits, but one was a HR by Manny Machado in the seventh inning, and that was all it took as starter Ryan Bergert did well (5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K), five Padres relievers combined on the four-hit shutout, and Robert Suarez notched his 21st save.

• PHI 1, PIT 2 - The Pirates (now 26-40) did the unlikely by sweeping the series against the Phillies (37-28), winning game three by the same low and close score that they did on Saturday. This one fulfilled its pitchers duel potential, with Cristopher Sánchez doing well (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K) and Paul Skenes shutting down the more imposing Phillies lineup (7.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K). The decisive run came with no outs in the bottom of the 8th, with Andrew McCutchen hitting a single to right to drive in Oneil Cruz from second.

• TEX 4, WAS 2 - Alex Call hit a HR, but Jacob Latz otherwise did well in a short outing by striking out 7 in 3.1 innings. Four Rangers relievers shut out the Nats the rest of the way, and Evan Carter and Jake Burger each went 3-4 with a HR.

• AZ 2, CIN 4 - Eugenio Suárez hit is his 18th HR for Arizona, but the Reds had three homers (Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Matt McLain, Jose Trevino) off D-Backs starter Zac Gallen (6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K).

• CHC 0, DET 4 - Jack Flaherty was excellent (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 9 K) and three Detroit relievers combined for a four-hit shutout. Kerry Carpenter went 3-4 with 2 doubles, and Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson were each 2-4 with 2 RBI.

• HOU 2, CLE 4 - Brandon Walter pitched fairly well (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) and Jake Meyers was 4-4 with two stolen bases. But Tanner Bibee did well for Cleveland (6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) and Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase shut out Houston the rest of the way, with Clase notching his 14th save. Bo Naylor was 3-4 a 2-run HR for the Guardians.

• TOR 3, MIN 6 - Minnesota’s 8th and 9th hitters, Brooks Lee and Christian Vazquez, each hit a HR, and Willi Castro went 3-4 with a walk and two runs scored. Meanwhile Joe Ryan pitched pretty well (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K) and four Twins relievers each pitched scoreless innings, with Jhoan Duran securing his 10th save.

• KCR 7, CHW 5 - Miguel Vargas hit a 2-run HR in the first inning, but that was the only hit Michael Lorenzen allowed (6 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K). The Royals tallied 16 hits, with Jonathan India going 3-5 with a double, rookie Jac Caglianone impressing with a 4-4 day, and both Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez hitting 2-run HR. After Trevor Richards struggled in the ninth, Carlos Estévez came in to get his 19th save and lower his ERA on the year to 1.88.

• LAD 7, STL 3 - St. Louis out hit LA 11-10, but Clayton Kershaw (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) and five Dodgers relievers scattered them such that Cards could only score their three runs one at a time. Mookie Betts hit his 9th HR, and Tommy Edman went 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI.

• NYM 13, COL 5 - Six Rockies pitchers let up six Mets HR, with Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso have two each, and Brett Baty and Francisco Alvarez hitting the others. The Mets not surprisingly swept this series in Colorado, after the Rockies had managed to take all three from the Marlins last week.

• BAL 1, ATH 5 - The Athletics jumped on Tomoyuki Sugano early (4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R 3, ER, 1 BB, 2 K), scoring four runs in the first two innings. Jacob Lopez pitched well in a short outing (4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), and four relievers shut out the Orioles the rest of the way. Max Muncy added his 3rd HR of the year late in the game, and rookie Jacob Wilson went 2-4 raising average to .372.

• ATL 3, SFG 4 - Spencer Strider allowed several runs (6 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), but what turned out to be the decisive one came in the fourth inning when Mike Yastrzemski scored after Tyler Fitzgerald reached safely because of an Ozzie Albies error. Neither team scored after that.

• SEA 3, LAA 2 - Taylor Ward hit his 18th HR of the year, but George Kirby was otherwise masterful (7 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 14). Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz added two strikeouts each giving the Mariners pitchers 18 K on the day. Seattle had 11 hits, with Randy Arozarena going 3-5 with two doubles.

• BOS 11, NYY 7 - Aaron Judge went 3-4 with 2 HR, but Boston had five HR of their own from Kristian Campbell, Carlos Narvaez, Abraham Toro, Trevor Story, and Rafael Devers. Toro also had two doubles, and Aroldis Chapman came in for the final out and notched his 11th save—giving the Red Sox the series, two games to one. A rematch series starts this weekend, this time in Boston.

Today’s Trivia Question

As noted above, Pete Alonso hit two more HR, which gives him 17 on the season and 243 for his career. That moves him ahead of David Wright into second place on the Mets all-time HR leaderboard. Who does Alonso now have in his sights, with just nine more HR at 252 as the all-time Mets HR leader? Bonus points if you can name either of the two Mets hitters who are fourth and fifth on their list, with 220 HR and 192 HR, respectively.

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

• KCR RP Lucas Erceg

🤕 Placed on the IL

• MIN SP Zebby Matthews - 15-day IL (right shoulder strain)

• CHW RP Jared Shuster - 15-day IL (blister on left hand)

📝 Notable Free Agent Signings

• STL SP Zach Plesac - signed to a minor-league deal

• CHW SP/RP Tyler Alexander

➡️ Trades

• The Reds traded C Austin Wynns to the Athletics for cash.

• The Giants traded 1B LaMonte Wade Jr. and cash to the Angels for a Player to Be Named Later.

MLB Debut Yesterday

New section! Here I’ll try to keep up with players who just made their MLB debut the day before!

• AZ RP Kyle Backhus - With the Diamondbacks losing 4-2, 27-year old Kyle Backhus made his MLB debut by pitching a scoreless 8th inning, striking out one. Prior to being called up he had been doing well at AAA Reno, with 2.22 ERA in 24 appearances, with 36 K in 24.1 IP.

League Leaders

As noted above, Robert Suarez of the Padres had another save, helping to maintain his MLB lead in this category:

• 21 - SDP Robert Suarez

• 19 - KCR Carlos Estévez

• 18 - WAS Kyle Finnegan

• 18 - SEA Andrés Muñoz

• 17 - HOU Josh Hader

• 15 - TOR Jeff Hoffman

• 15 - CIN Emilio Pagán

• 14 - CLE Emmanuel Clase

• 14 - NYM Edwin Díaz

• 14 - LAA Kenley Jansen

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 9…

• 1906: The Boston Nationals snapped their 19-game losing streak. With a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Nationals, aka the Boston Beaneaters, ended their 19-game losing streak. This franchise began in 1876, and eventually became the Boston Braves, then the Milwaukee Braves, and ultimately today’s Atlanta Braves.

• 1966: The Minnesota Twins hit 5 HR in one inning. As described at baseball-reference.com, “The Minnesota Twins rock the Kansas City Athletics with the first five-home run inning in American League history. Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Don Mincher, and Harmon Killebrew connect in the 7th inning to give the Twins a 9-4 victory.”

• 2015: Chris Heston of the Giants threw a no-hitter. Chris Heston of the San Francisco Giants throws the first no-hitter of the season in his 14th career start, a 5-0 win over the Mets. He strikes out 11 and walks none, but hits three batters with pitches.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Dave Parker (1951) is a Hall of Famer who played the first half of 19-year career with the Pirates, and the remainder with Reds, A’s, Brewers, Angels, and Blue Jays. A 3-time Gold Glove Award winner, he was known for his powerful RF throwing arm. He was also a well-rounded hitter, winning batting titles in 1977 and 1978, and hitting 25+ HR six times including a high of 34 in 1985 when he also led the NL with 125 RBI. Parker had some speed on the bases early in his career too, with 15+ SB each year from 1976-1979. A seven-time All-Star, he won the NL MVP Award in 1978 when he hit 30 HR with 117 RBI, 20 SB, and a .334 average. Overall, Parker had 339 HR, 1,272 runs, 1,493 RBI, 154 SB, a .290/.339/.471 slash line, and a 121 OPS+.

• Frank McCormick (1911) was an 8-time All-Star over a 13-year career, playing mostly with the Reds, but also a few years at the end with the Phillies and Boston Braves. He led the NL in hits three years in a row from 1938-1940, led the NL with 128 RBI in 1939, and then won the NL MVP Award in 1940 when he led the league with 44 doubles, hit 19 HR with 127 RBI, and batted .309. Overall, McCormick had 128 HR, 954 RBI, a .299/.348/.434 slash line, and a 118 OPS+.

• Irish Meusel (1893) had an 11-year major league career, playing in one game in 1914 with the Senators, then playing in the minors for a few years, and then playing ten seasons mostly with the Phillies and Giants from 1918-1927. Meusel was a LF and a very capable batsman, collecting 200+ hits twice, and 100+ RBI four times, including highs of 132 in 1922 and an NL-leading 125 in 1923. He also had 10+ steals in six seasons, with a high of 24 in 1919. He retired with a .310/.348/.813 slash line and a 119 OPS+. Irish Meusel’s younger brother Bob Meusel also had a fine major league career, playing 11 seasons, mostly with the Yankees as a teammate of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the 1920s, retiring with a nearly identical .309 lifetime batting average.

Today’s Matchups

A partial slate of Monday games (9), as many teams are travelling or otherwise have a day off. Some games that jump out to me are:

• MIA vs. PIT features 22-year old Eury Pérez, who did well as a rookie in 2023, but then missed all of 2024 after Tommy John surgery. In ramping up this year, in 8 games at A and AAA he has posted a 1.99 ERA with 27 K in 22.2 IP. It would seem likely he’ll be on a tight pitch count, but great to see him back in the show. Pittsburgh will counter with 25-year old rookie Mike Burrows who is making his fourth start and coming off a solid performance vs. Houston (5.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K).

• CHC vs. PHI is the beginning of a battle between two strong teams (though the Phillies were just swept by the lowly Pirates), with Matthew Boyd (3.01 ERA, 70 K in 68.2 IP) facing off against Zack Wheeler (2.96 ERA, 94 K in 76 IP).

• LAD vs. SDP is also the beginning of an important series, with the Dodgers just one game up on the Padres (and the Giants for that matter). Dustin May (4.09 ERA, 63 K in 61.2 IP) is pitching against Nick Pivetta (3.16 ERA, 76 K in 68.1 IP).

Also toeing the rubber today are Chris Sale and Merrill Kelly.

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:

• LAD Shohei Ohtani, 4-12 with 2 HR and a double vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

• LAD Michael Conforto, only 2-11 but both hits were HR vs. SDP Nick Pivetta

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:

• CLE Carlos Santana, 7-15 with a HR and a double and 0 strikeouts vs. CIN Wade Miley

• TBR Josh Lowe, 7-17 with a HR and two doubles vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• TBR Yandy Diaz, 5-12 with two doubles and only one strikeout vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• TBR Jonathan Aranda, 5-12 with a double vs. BOS Brayan Bello

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:

• 10 - MIN Brooks Lee

• 9 - CHC Michael Busch

• 9 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• 9 - KCR Vinnie Pasquantino

• 8 - CLE José Ramírez

• 8 - COL Tyler Freeman

• 7 - ATH Lawrence Butler

• 7 - KCR Bobby Witt Jr.

• 7 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 7 - SFG Matt Chapman

• 7 - BOS Rafael Devers

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:

• SEA Rowdy Tellez, 0-14 though only 2 K vs. AZ Merrill Kelly

• PHI Max Kepler, 2-20 with 7 K though the two hits were a HR and a double vs. CHC Matthew Boyd

• CIN Spencer Steer, 1-10 with 5 K vs. CLE Luis L. Ortiz

• CIN Elly De La Cruz, 1-11 with 2 K vs. CLE Luis L. Ortiz

• TBR Taylor Walls, 1-11 with 3 K vs. BOS Brayan Bello

• CLE José Ramírez, 2-15 with 2 K though one hit was a HR vs. CIN Wade Miley

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

With two more HR yesterday, Alonso’s 243 HR for his career moves him ahead of David Wright’s 242 on the Mets all-time HR leaderboard. Darryl Strawberry is at the top of that list, with 252 HR. Rounding out the top five are Mike Piazza with 220, and Howard Johnson with 192.

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.

• 1 intriguing trade chip for each team at 2025 Deadline, by MLB writers, 6/8/2025

• Can Braves make playoff run? It wouldn't be unprecedented, by Mark Bowman, 6/8/2025

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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