OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost six straight and nine of the last 10 games after winning the opener…are 2-9 (.182) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Tigers (2-8, .200)…it matches the worst record in Oakland history after 11 games (1979, 1987, 1998, 2001)…the 1998 and 2001 clubs lost game 12 to fall to 2-10…went 60-102 (.370) last year, which was the second lowest winning percentage in the majors and in Oakland history…have lost the first three series of the season for the fourth time in Oakland history (1979, 1987, 2001)…lost the first four series in 1987 and 2001…this is the A’s 56th season in Oakland where they have won 17 American League West titles, four AL Wild Cards, six AL pennants and four World Championships… only the Atlanta Braves (22), New York Yankees (20) and Los Angeles Dodgers (20) have more division titles than the A’s…since the A’s moved to Oakland in 1968, only the Yankees (11), Cardinals (8) and Dodgers (8) have more league championships and only the Yankees have more world championships (7)… this is the Athletics franchise 123rd season in the American League…since 1901, the A’s have 17 AL West titles plus 15 AL pennants and nine World Championships…only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more World Championships.
OFFENSE: The A’s scored eight runs last night after collecting six runs in the previous four games…lost last night and are now 0-2 when scoring eight or more runs in a game…have been held to one run or fewer in five of the first 11 games and have been shutout three times, which is tied with the Brewers and Royals for the most in the majors…have scored just 36 runs overall, which is third fewest in the majors…finished second to last in the majors with 568 runs last year…are batting .210 and with a .281 on-base percentage, both of which are third lowest in the majors…hit .216 last year, which was the lowest in the majors and fourth lowest in Major League history in a season of 140 or more games…had a .281 on-base percentage last year, which was the lowest in the majors and the lowest by an ML team since the 1965 Mets (.277)…also have the third lowest OPS (.615) and slugging percentage (.334) in the majors this year and are tied for the fourth fewest home runs (9) and extra base hits (26)…are a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases attempts and are one of six teams without a caught stealing.
PITCHING: The A’s have allowed three home runs in each of the last four games after surrendering five home runs on Friday…the streak of five consecutive games with three or more home runs matches the longest such streak in Oakland history (Aug. 31-Sept. 4, 2021)…have allowed 23 home
runs for the season, which is the most in the majors…yielded 195 home runs last year, which were fourth most in the majors and seventh most in
Athletics history…have the highest ERA in the majors this year (7.88) and have allowed 89 runs, which are the most in Oakland history over the first 11 games…they are fourth most in Athletics history and the most since the Kansas City A’s allowed 102 in 1955…posted a 4.52 ERA last year, which was third highest in the American League…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.382) and OPS (.900) in the majors this year and the second highest batting average (.283) and slugging percentage (.518)…have the second fewest strikeouts (78), the second most walks (55) and hit batters (10) and are tied for the second most wild pitches (8).
STARTING AND RELIEVING: The A’s ERA breaks down to 9.85 by the starting pitchers and 5.79 by the bullpen…the starters ERA is more than 2½ earned runs higher than the next closest team (Tigers, 7.29)…the A’s are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…the season-opening streak of 11 consecutive games without a win from a starter is the longest such streak in Oakland history (last: 10 in 1979 and 1997)…starters have 49.1 innings pitched, which is third fewest in the majors…the bullpen had the save on Opening Day but has none since then…the one save is tied with five other teams for the fewest in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s 0-5 on their first road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (0-2)…the five-game road
losing streak matches the 1987 A’s for the second longest season-opening road losing streak in Oakland history…the longest is six games by the 1998 A’s…are the only team in the majors without a road win…went 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League…have allowed 48 runs over the first five games of the road trip (48 er in 40.0 ip, 10.80 ERA) after yielding 36 runs in six games on the first homestand (5.79 ERA)…return home following the game tomorrow for a six-game homestand against New York-NL (three games) and Chicago-NL (three games)…went 2-4 on the season-opening six-game homestand against Los Angeles-AL (1-2) and Cleveland (1-2)…were 29-51 (.362) at home last year, which set an Oakland record for lowest home winning percentage…had the second worst home record in the majors to Washington (26-55, .321).
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 2-4 in night games and 0-5 during the day…are one of three teams in the majors without a win in day games (Dodgers, 0-2; Tigers, 0-5)…are batting .275 (58-for-211) with 31 runs at night, .119 (18-for151) with five runs during the day…have a 6.75 ERA (39 er in 52.0 ip) at night, 9.20 (45 er in 44.0 ip) during the day.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have committed 10 errors over the first 11 games, which is the most in the majors…both of the A’s wins have been one-run decisions and Oakland is 2-1 in one-run games…are 0-8 in games decided by two runs or more and have a run differential of -53, which is the lowest in the majors (Tigers, -41)…are 2-5 when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher, 0-4 when they start a right-hander…are 2-2 in games decided in the last at bat…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 42 minutes…have not averaged under 2:43 per game since 1979 when they averaged 2:34.
A’S VS. ORIOLES
• The A’s won the season series last year 4-3 and are 18-10 (.643) against the Orioles over the last five years…that includes 10-3 in Oakland
and 8-7 in Baltimore.
• The A’s are 1017-955 all-time against the Orioles/Browns/Brewers…the only other of the seven original American League franchises that
the A’s have a winning record against is the Twins/Senators.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-2 0-2
2022 3-1 1-2 4-3
Oakland History: 281-175
at the Coliseum: 143-138
at Camden Yards: 71-63
Athletics History: 1017-955
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zach Jackson has 10 strikeouts in 5.2 innings and is tied for fifth among Major League relievers in strikeouts…Sam Moll has not allowed a hit over his first six games…opponents are 0-for-11 but he has walked four and hit three for a .389 opponents on-base percentage…Jace Peterson has back-to-back multiple hit games (4-for-8, .500) after going 3-for-25 (.120) over his first eight games.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (0-2, 14.54 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his third start of the season…begins his second season in the majors and is on his first Opening Day roster…made his Major League debut with Oakland last September.
THIS AND THAT: Allowed four home runs in his last start after yielding three in his first…the seven home runs are the most in the majors and match the most in Oakland history by a pitcher over a two-game stretch…Mike Fiers (Sept. 3-9, 2019) is the only other one to do it over the last 25 years…has allowed 14 runs, which is tied for second most in the majors (Mikolas, STL 16)…12 of the 14 runs have scored on home runs
FIRST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 6-0 loss to Los Angeles (AL) on April 2 in Oakland…allowed six runs on a career-high nine hits in 5.2 innings and all of the runs which scored on three home runs…O’Hoppe hita three-run home run in the fourth and Trout and Ohtani hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth, with Trout’s being a two-run shot…the O’Hoppe home run snapped a career-high 14.0-inning scoreless streak dating back to last year.
LAST START: He lost his second consecutive start in the A’s 9-5 loss at Tampa Bay on Friday…allowed a career-high eight runs and a career-high four home runs in 3.0 innings…surrendered a grand slam to Paredes in the second and solo home runs to Ramirez in the second and Margot and Bethancourt in the third.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Allowed a .244 opponents batting average, which broke down to .138 (4-for-29) with a .366 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .275 (28-for-102) with an .897 OPS against right-handers…surrendered 17 of his 18 extra base hits and issued nine of his 10 walks to righthanded hitters…yielded a .288 batting average and .843 OPS the first time through the order, .196 with a .650 OPS the second time and .238 with a .923 OPS after that…the first two hitters in the batting order combined for a .371 batting average against him but he held the three through nine hitters to a .198 average…opponents were 0-for-12 on an 0-2 count.
THIS AND THAT: Was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and .653 opponents OPS in three starts in the Coliseum, 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA and .884 OPS in four starts on the road…however, surrendered four of his five home runs in Oakland…had a 7.52 ERA and .962 opponents OPS in odd numbered innings, a 1.26 ERA and .523 OPS in even numbered innings…did not allow a run in the fourth inning (6.0 ip)…tossed five innings or fewer in five of his seven starts.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
THREE’S COMPANY: The O’s will go for their first three-game winning streak of the season tonight after beating Oakland in the first two games in this series…Baltimore has won two games in a row for the second time this season, joining April 3-4 at Texas.
O’s pitchers have struck out double digit batters in three straight games for the first time since May 15-19, 2021.
The Orioles have hit three home runs in each of the last two games; Baltimore ranks second in the AL and fourth in MLB with 18 homers this season (see chart at right).
MOUNT UP: Last night, Ryan Mountcastle became the third player in Orioles history with nine RBI in a game, tying Jim Gentile (5/9/61 at MIN) and Eddie Murray (8/26/85 at CAL) for the team record…Mountcastle is the first Oriole and third player to do so at Oriole Park, joining NYY’s Danny Tartabull (9/8/92) and KC’s Mike Moustakas (9/12/15).
His grand slam in the seventh inning was the second of his career (5/22/21 at WSH) and the first by an O’s batter this season; the blast traveled 456 feet, the farthest home run by an Oriole this season and the farthest of his career.
He now has seven career multi-homer games and two against the A’s (9/3/22).
Mountcastle is tied for the MLB lead among first basemen with two Defensive Runs Saved, per Sports Info Solutions…Mountcastle compiled three DRS last season after having -6 DRS (-5 in LF, -1 at 1B) in 2021.
His 95.9 mph average exit velocity is eight-best in MLB, per Statcast; his 19 batted balls of 95+ mph are tied for seventh-most.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Orioles will travel to Chicago to face the White Sox for three games from April 14-16, then have a scheduled off day before traveling to Washington, D.C. for two games against the Nationals from April 18-19.
AGAINST OAKLAND: The O’s and A’s are meeting for their first series of the year… Baltimore will play seven games against Oakland this season…The Orioles will travel to RingCentral Coliseum on August 18-20…The O’s went 3-4 against the A’s in 2022, dropping three of four games in Oakland from April 18-21 before taking two of three at Oriole Park from September 2-4.
BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman has tallied a hit in five consecutive games, the longest by an O’s batter this season, since April 7 while slashing .563/.682/1.000 (9-for-16) with one double, two home runs, six runs scored, three RBI, and six walks during that stretch…He’s also reached base safely in eight straight games with a .514 on-base percentage since April 3.
Entering today’s games, Rutschman ranks among AL leaders in hits (T-4th, 15), average (5th, .375), on-base percentage (8th, .457), OPS (9th, 1.057), and total bases (T-9th, 24); ranks ninth in MLB in batting average.
He homered in back-to-back games (4/9-10) for the first time in his career.
Rutschman is batting .467/.556/.667 (7-for-15) against lefties this season after slashing .173/.287/.265 (17-for-98) against southpaw in his rookie year.
HAYS OF OUR LIVES: Austin Hays batted leadoff last night for the first time this season and finished 4-for-5 with a double, a homer, a career-high four runs scored, and two RBI…He has hit a home run in two straight games for the third time in his career and for the first time since April 24-26, 2022…Hays is only the second Oriole since 2015 to score four runs in a game, along with Ryan Mountcastle on May 30, 2022 at Boston.
Three of Hays’ four hardest-hit balls and six of 11 in 2023 have come in this series, including his leadoff double last night which was 110.2 mph, per Statcast; the double was the second-hardest hit ball of his career, trailing only a 110.3 mph home run on May 14, 2021.
Last night marked his second game with at least four hits, joining a five-hit effort on April 1 at Boston; he and Adley Rutschman are two of the three MLB players with two games of at least four hits this season (MIA’s Luis Arráez) and the duo have accounted for four of the 13 4+ hit games in MLB this season.
Hays is third among qualified batters with a 19.5 barrel-per-plate appearance percentage, trailing only Toronto’s Matt Chapman (25.0%) and Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds (24.5%), per Statcast.
NEED FOR SPEED: Baltimore’s 17 stolen bases are tied for second in MLB with Arizona and behind only Cleveland (18 SB)…Their 17 stolen bases through their first 11 games of the season are the most in O’s history (since 1954) …The O’s have only been caught stealing once for a 94.4 percent success rate…Jorge Mateo has swiped six of those, tied for the MLB lead with Cleveland’s Myles Straw while Cedric Mullins is tied for third in MLB with five steals…They are the only pair of teammates in MLB with at least five steals apiece and their 11 combined stolen bases are more than 22 MLB teams have this season.
RISING TIDE: O’s affiliates are 14-7 to start the season, tied with Minnesota for the most collective wins and winning percentage (.667) among minor league affiliates… The Orioles are ranked as the No. 1 farm system by MLB Pipeline…Marks the fourth consecutive time between the preseason and midseason lists that the O’s are in the top spot…Since Pipeline began ranking systems in 2015, only one other organization has claimed the top spot four times in a row, and that was the Padres (2018 pre/mid, 2019 pre/mid)…Baltimore is also ranked as the No. 1 farm system by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, as well as in Baseball America’s preseason rankings for the first time since the publication began their Organizational Talent Rankings in 1984.
STARTING PITCHER – #64 DEAN KREMER RHP
QUICK HITS: Slated to make his third start of the 2023 season against the Athletics tonight…Made a career-high 22 appearances (21 GS) in 2022, 11 appearances at home (10 GS), and 11 on the road…Owned an 8-7 record with a 3.23 ERA (45 ER/125.1 IP) and 87 strikeouts…Made six starts of 5.0-or-more scoreless innings, tied for seventh-most in the AL…Acquired by the Orioles along with 2B Breyvic Valera, RF Yusniel Díaz, RHP Zach Pop and 3B Rylan Bannon in exchange for SS Manny Machado on July 18, 2018…Originally selected by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of UNLV.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in Baltimore’s Home Opener on April 7 vs. New York-AL, allowing four runs on five hits (1 HR) with three walks and four punchouts in 5.0+ innings of work…An inherited runner scored after he exited…Threw 87 pitches, 52 strikes…Winless in his last six starts vs. New York-AL.
AGAINST OAKLAND: Making his second career start against Oakland…Did not factor into the decision in his only start on September 2, 2022 at Oriole Park, allowing two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 6.0 innings… Threw 94 pitches, 63 strikes.
AGAINST THE AL WEST: Making his 10th career start against the AL West…Made six starts against the division in 2022, going 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA (8 ER/39.1 IP) with four quality starts…Sports a 3-0 record with a 2.38 ERA (14 ER/53.0 IP) in nine career starts against the AL West…Recorded his first career complete game and shutout in his last start against the division on September 23, 2022, vs. Houston.
HOME SWEET HOME: Went 3-4 with a 2.95 ERA (19 ER/58.0 IP) in 10 games (9 GS) with 46 strikeouts to 14 walks at Oriole Park in 2022…The Orioles owned a 6-4 record in those games..Allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in eight of his 10 home starts…Opposing batters slashed .236/.288/.311 (50-for-212) with just four home runs against Kremer at OPACY in 2022.
‘KREM’ OF THE CROP: Had his career-high scoreless streak snapped at 22.2 innings on July 4 vs. Texas; according to Elias Sports Bureau and STATS, he does not get credit for the two outs he recorded in the fifth inning…Marks the longest scoreless streak by an Orioles starter since Mike Mussina pitched 27.0 scoreless innings from September 21, 1995 to April 2, 1996…The last Orioles pitcher with a scoreless streak of at least 22.2 innings was Steve Johnson, who tossed 25.1 scoreless frames across eight games (three starts) from August 25 to September 29, 2012.
