NEW YORK METS NOTES:
METSCELLANEOUS: The Mets defeated the A’s, 3-2, yesterday to earn their fourth series win of the season…The Mets have won a season-high three straight games and are a season-high three games over .500…The Mets are on their second road trip of the season an 11-day, 10-game trip against the Athletics (2-0), Dodgers (three games) and Giants (four games).
HOW SWEEP IT IS: The Mets are looking for their first sweep of the season…The Mets are seeking their second sweep of the A’s in franchise history…New York took three straight from the A’s from June 22-24, 2007.
DOCTOR ROBERT-SON: David Robertson has appeared in seven games and has yet to allow a run…He allowed only four hits with eight strikeouts…He is holding left-handed hitters to a .167 (2-12) batting average this season…He has converted all three save opportunities he’s had this season…Overall, he has recorded 160 saves in his career…That is the seventh-most among active players.
JOSÉ, JOSÉ, JOSÉ: José Butto is slated to start today’s contest… Butto was selected as the Minor League Pitcher of the Week for the International League during the first week of the season…Butto made one start last week on April 9 against the Rochester Red Wings…He hurled 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed two hits, walked two and struck out five…In two starts this year, Butto is 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA (2 ER/9.2 IP) with five walks and eight strikeouts.
FOR PETE’S SAKE: Pete Alonso has collected a hit in eight of his last nine games, batting .353 (12-34) in that span with nine runs, six home runs, 11 RBI, five walks with a .436 OBP and an .882 SLG in that span…Alonso has hit seven home runs this season, which is tied for the major league lead.
Rank Player HR GAMES
5th Dave Kingman 154 664
6th Pete Alonso 153 545
7th Carlos Beltrán 149 839
Rank Player RBI GAMES
14th Todd Hundley 397 829
15th Michael Conforto 396 757
16th Pete Alonso 393 545
METS ALL-TIME LEADERS
WHEN YOU’RE FIFTEEN: Alonso has slugged seven homers in the team’s first 15 games of the season, which is tied for the second-most in team history with Todd Hundley (1996) and Dave Kingman (1976)…Jeff Kent hit eight home runs in New York’s first 15 games in 1994.
ROAD WARRIOR: Alonso has hit 87 home runs on the road in his career… That places him in sixth place in franchise history…Next up is Carlos
Beltran who hit 88 road home runs.
INTERLEAGUE PETE: Pete Alonso batted .333/.410/.639 against AL opponents last season with 15 runs, four doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI and 10 walks…His six home runs were tied for the sixth-most in the majors…Alonso has hit 30 home runs in Interleague Play since the 2019 season…His 30 home runs against the American League is a franchise record, and the most among any player in that time frame…Mike Piazza was the previous record holder with 28 Interleague home runs.
INVADER NIM: Brandon Nimmo has safely reached base in seven games, owning a .529 OBP in that span…Overall, in 14 games this season, Nimmo is batting .289 with nine runs, three doubles, eight RBI, 14 walks and a .468 OBP…His .468 OBP ranks eighth in the majors and fourth in the Senior Circuit…The left-handed hitter has drawn 337 walks in his career, which places him 18th in franchise history…John Milner is next with 338 walks…Nimmo has posted a .388 OBP, which is the third-highest in franchise history (min. 2,000 PA)…Only John Olerud (.425) and Dave Magadan (.391) had higher OBP.
OAK AGED: Pete Alonso is .450 (9-20) with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI and four walks in five games at the home of the Athletics…Brandon Nimmo is .500 (8-16) with seven runs, five RBI and three walks in five games there…Jeff McNeil is 6-22 with four runs,
a double, an RBI and two walks in five contests…In 22 games in Oakland, Francisco Lindor has hit .365/.385/.576 with 14 runs, nine doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and four walks…Starling Marte played 34 games at the ballpark and slashed .329/.375/.514 with 12 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 25 RBI…Mark Canha appeared in 324 games at the ballpark and has slashed .243/.348/.435 with 52 doubles, six triples, 46 homers, 147 RBI and 128 walks.
THEY’RE OUT OF MY LEAGUE: The new schedule format has New York playing a total of 43 Interleague games in 2023, more than double their previous high for a single season (20)…In 2022, the Mets went 9-11 against the American League…Overall, New York owns a 237-227 record in Interleague play…The team’s .511 winning percentage is the second-best among National League clubs.
INTERSTELLAR: Jeff McNeil owns a .335/.381/.471 slashline with 37 runs, 14 doubles, seven home runs and 34 RBI in 69 Interleague games, while Starling Marte has slashed .330/.392/.551 with 115 runs, 45 doubles, 11 triples, 27 home runs and 86 RBI in 172 Intearleague games…They rank
first and second in average among active players in Interleague play (min. 250 PA)…McNeil’s .335 clip is the highest all-time by a Met.
THE SAN FRANCISCO LINDOR WAY: Francisco Lindor has hit safely in five straight games and in eight of his last nine games…In nine games since April 5, Lindor is batting .314 (11-35) with 10 runs, five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI, four walks, a steal with a .400 OBP and a .714 SLG.
THE WALKMAN: The Mets lead the majors with 78 free passes this season…Brandon Nimmo is tied for second in the majors with 14 walks…Jeff McNeil has recorded 10 walks, while Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have nine free passes each this season.
OUCH: The Mets once again own the major league lead with 13 HBP… Mark Canha has been hit by 46 pitches at Oakland Coliseum, the most in the history of the ballpark…Only five active players have been hit by more pitches in a single ballpark during their career…Courtesy Sportradar.
D-FENCE: The Mets have committed only two errors in 15 games this season…The team’s .996 fielding percentage is the best in the majors.
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US: The Mets have stolen 17 bases this season, which is tied for fifth in the majors and tied for third in the National League…Starling Marte is tied for second in the NL with six steals…Brandon Nimmo, who is tied for seventh in the NL, has stolen three bases in 14 games this year…Nimmo stole a total of three bases in 151 games last season.
CURTAINS FROM CURTISS: John Curtiss hasn’t allowed a run in his last five games, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts…Overall, he has yielded one run overall in 7.1 innings (1.23 ERA) in six outings
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – JOSÉ BUTTO RHP #70
2023 STATS: 0-0, -.– ERA
BUTTO NEWS & NOTES
DEBUTTO: RHP José Butto is set to make his season debut today…He made his major league debut on August 21 last season in a start at Philadelphia…In that start, he threw 4.0 innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits with two walks and five strikeouts…New York came from behind to win, 10-9, thanks to a pair of late-innings home runs by Mark Canha.
LAST TIME OUT: Butto threw 6.0 shutout innings on April 9 vs. Rochester, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five.
SINCE HIS MLB DEBUT: Butto has made eight appearances (seven starts) for Syracuse (AAA) since making his major league debut last August…In those games, he is 2-1 with a 1.79 ERA (8 ER/40.1 IP)…He has allowed only 26 hits and 12 walks, good for a 0.94 WHIP in that span…Butto has 35 strikeouts over those eight outings.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Butto made two starts during the first week of the season for Triple-A Syracuse, going 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA (2 ER/9.2 IP) to go along with eight strikeouts and five walks…For his efforts, he was named International League Pitcher of the Week…He also earned the honor during the final week of the 2022 season after throwing 7.0 shutout innings, allowing two hits and fanning 11 in a September 21 start at Worcester
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost the first two games of this three-game series with the Mets and have now lost each of the first five series of the season…the only other times in Athletics history the A’s lost the first five series of the season are 1935, 1946 and 1951…have never lost the first six series…have lost each of the last three games, nine of the last 10 and 12 of the last 14… are 3-12 (.200) overall and have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals and Nationals (4-11, .267)…went 60-102 (.370) last year, which was the second lowest winning percentage in the majors to the Nationals and second lowest in Oakland history (54-108 in 1979)…the 3-12 record is the worst in Oakland history after 15 games and the worst by an A’s team since the 1966 Kansas City A’s were also 3-12…with a loss today, the A’s would match the worst record in Athletics history after 16 games (3-13 in 1951 and 1956)…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 stole a season-high four bases yesterday and are now 15- for-16 (93.8%) in stolen base attempts, which is the sixth best percentage in the majors…rank eighth in stolen bases…were hit by a pitch four times yesterday, which fell one short of the Oakland record of five…have been hit by eight pitches this year, which is tied for seventh most in the majors…are batting .302 (54-for-179) with eight home runs and 31 runs scored over the last five games after hitting .198 with eight home runs and 28 runs scored over the first 10 contests…have the fourth lowest OPS in the majors (.685), the fifth fewest runs (59), fifth lowest batting average (.235), are tied for the fifth fewest extra base hits (38) and have the sixth lowest on-base percentage (.308) and slugging percentage (.376)…have been shutout three times, which is tied with the Brewers and Royals for the most in the majors.
PITCHING: The A’s allowed three runs yesterday, marking just the third time this year they have yielded three runs or fewer in a game…have allowed at least 10 runs six times…have allowed 121 runs for the season, which is 32 more than any other team (Rockies and White Sox, 89)…it is second most by any Major League team over the first 15 games of the season over the last 68 years (Rockies, 122 in 1998)…have a 7.97 ERA, which is more than two earned runs higher than the next closest team (Tigers, 5.87)…also have the highest opponents OPS (.882), on-base percentage (.383) and slugging percentage (.499) in the majors and the second highest batting average (.279)… have the most home runs (28), walks (79) and hit batters (14), the third fewest strikeouts (105) and are tied for the fourth most wild pitches (8).
WITH THE BASES LOADED: A’s opponents are 12-for-19 (.632) with four grand slams, six walks and two hit by pitches with the bases loaded…the walks and grand slams are the most in the majors and the hit by pitches are tied for the most…the four grand slams match the second highest season total by an A’s team over the last six years (surrendered six last year).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers have compiled a 9.71 ERA, which is nearly three earned runs higher than the next closest team (Red Sox, 6.99)… the A’s are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers (0-8)… the season-opening streak of 15 consecutive games without a win from a starter is the longest such streak in Athletics history (previous: 10 in 1979 and 1997)…starters have 67.2 innings pitched, which is fourth fewest in the majors.
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 6.11 ERA, which is third highest in the majors…has 63.1 innings pitched, which is second most to the Red Sox (64.0)…had a save on Opening Day but have none since then…the one save is tied with the Cubs and Phillies for the fewest in the majors…have three blown saves, which is tied for sixth most…has allowed 14-of-28 (50.0%) inherited runners to score, which is the fifth highest percentage.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have not committed an error in the last three games and have made three errors over the last nine games after making eight miscues over the first six contests…have 11 errors overall, which is tied for third most in the majors…the A’s have a 0-6 record when going errorless and are 3-6 when making one or more errors…are tied for sixth in the majors with three outfield assists…have two passed balls, which are tied for second most…had just three passed balls all last year.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-2 on their second homestand of the season, a six-game stand against New York-NL (0-2) 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) and are now 2-6 (.250) at home for the season… 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)…went 1-6 on their first road trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (1-3)…were 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League.
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 3-5 in night games and 0-7 during the day… the only other team with a win in a day game is the Dodgers, who are 0-2… are batting .300 (86-for-287) with 45 runs in eight night games (5.6 runs per game), .149 (32-for-215) with 14 runs in seven day games (2.0 runs per game)…have the third best night batting average in the majors and the lowest day batting average.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s are 3-8 when the opponent starts a right-handed pitcher, 0-4 when they start a left-hander…are the only team in the majors without a win when the opponent starts a lefty…two of the A’s three wins have been by one run and Oakland is 2-3 in one-run decisions…the five one-run games are tied for third most in the majors…have a run differential of -62, which is the lowest in the majors (Tigers, -37)…the A’s are 1-4 when scoring six or more runs in a game…five of the A’s first 15 games have been decided in the winning teams last at bat and the A’s are 2-3 in those games…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 47 minutes, which is fourth slowest in the majors…have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43)
THE INJURED LIST: The A’s placed Domingo Acevedo on the injured list Wednesday and now have seven players on the IL (Blackburn, Brown, Piña, Rucinski, Snead, Tarnok)…began the season with five players on the IL after starting the season with three last year…used the IL 31 times last year, which broke the Oakland record of 27 set in 2016 and matched in 2021…however, used the IL nine times for Covid in 2022 and three times in 2021.
A’S VS. METS
• The A’s have lost the first two games of this series and have now lost the season series five times in seven meetings…have one win (2005)
and one split (2014).
• Have been swept by the Mets in a three-game eries once: June 22-24, 2007).
• The two clubs met last year for the first time since 2017 with the Mets taking two of three at the Coliseum from Sept. 23-25.
• The two clubs also met in the 1973 World Series, with the A’s winning in seven games…the ’73 A’s will be celebrated with a reunion today.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-2 0-0 0-2
2022 1-2 0-0 1-2
Oakland History: 7-14
at the Coliseum: 4-6
Citi Field: 3-5
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zach Jackson has not allowed a run in seven of his first eight appearances for a 1.17 ERA…Shea Langeliers is 5-for-16 (.313) with two home runs and five RBI over his last four games after going 6-for-28 (.214) with a home run and RBI over his first eight…Adrián Martínez is tied for second among Major League relievers with 11.0 innings pitched…Sam Moll has not allowed a hit over his first six games…opponents are 0-for-12 but he has walked four and hit three for a .368 opponents on-base percentage… Carlos Pérez has hit safely in each of his five games with an at bat (9-for15, .600)…Brent Rooker is 9-for-22 (.409) with four home runs and 11 RBI over his last five games after going 0-for-7 with no RBI over his first four contests…Esteury Ruiz leads American League rookies in batting (.326), on-base percentage (.426), hits (15) and doubles (4), ranks second in OPS (.839), tied for second in RBI (7), extra base hits (4) and stolen bases (3), fourth in slugging (.413) and tied for fifth in runs (6).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: JP Sears (0-1, 5.59 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his third start of the season…is in his second season in the majors and is on his second consecutive Opening Day roster…made his Major League debut with the Yankees last year and pitched in relief during his first stint.
FIRST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 4-3 win over Cleveland on April 4 in Oakland…tossed 4.2 innings and allowed a career-high tying eight hits… logged a career-high 98 pitches…yielded two runs in the second inning, including an Arias solo home run…also allowed a RBI double to Ramirez with two outs in the fifth and was relieved by Jackson with the A’s trailing 3-2… Oakland tied the game in the sixth and won it on a Tony Kemp walk-off single. LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 5-1 loss at Baltimore last Monday…the A’s scored a run in the top of the first but he allowed a two-run home run to Mouncastle in the bottom of the first…also surrendered a solo home run to Rutschman in the fourth and was relieved by Familia to start the sixth with the A’s trailing 3-1.
SEARS’ 2023 STARTS
Date Opponent Opponent Score Dec ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR #PIT
April 4 April 4 Cleveland Cleveland 4-3 – 5.79 4.2 8 3 3 1 5 1 98
April 10 April 10 at Baltimore at Baltimore 1-5 L 5.59 5.0 3 3 3 1 4 2 90
SEARS’ CAREER STARTS VS. NEW YORK (NL)
Career: 0-1, 14.73 ERA in one career appearance, a start
Date Site Score Dec ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR #PIT
Sept. 25, 2022 Sept. 25, 2022 Coliseum Coliseum 4-13 L 3.2 8 6 6 2 2 0 78
Career Totals (1 game, 1 start) Career Totals (1 game, 1 start) 0-1 14.73 3.2 8 6 6 2 2 0
Coliseum (1 game, 1 start) Coliseum (1 game, 1 start) 0-1 14.73 3.2 8 6 6 2 2 0
Citi Field (0 games, 0 starts) Citi Field (0 games, 0 starts) 0-0 — 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 Totals (1 game, 1 start) 2022 Totals (1 game, 1 start) 0-1 14.73 3.2 8 6 6 2 2 0
• Allowed a career-high tying six runs on a career-high tying eight hits in his only start on Sept. 25 of last year at the Coliseum.
SEARS’ CAREER MATCHUPS VS. NEW YORK (NL)
PLAYER BA OBP SLG OPS AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SH SF HB DP
Alonso .500 .500 .500 1.000 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canha .333 .333 .333 .667 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Escobar 1.000 1.000 1.000 2.000 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lindor .667 .667 1.000 1.667 3 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
McNeil .000 .500 .000 .500 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Nido .000 .000 .000 .000 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Nimmo .500 .667 .500 1.167 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Pham .000 .000 .000 .000 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
SPRING TRAINING RECAP: Went 0-1 with a 5.19 ERA and .874 opponents OPS in five games, including four starts…allowed a .304 opponents batting average but walked just four batters in 17.1 innings…allowed at least two runs in each of his five appearances…also pitched in a minor league game on March 17.
SEARS’ 2023 SPRING TRAINING APPEARANCES
Date Opponent Start/Rel Score Dec ERA IP H R ER BB SO HR
Feb. 25 Arizona S 12-7 – 10.80 1.2 3 2 2 0 2 1
Mar. 2 at Chicago (NL) S 1-6 L 9.64 3.0 5 3 3 0 4 0
Mar. 7 at Arizona R 9-3 – 8.22 3.0 4 2 2 1 3 1
Mar. 12 at San Francisco S 3-4 – 6.39 5.0 3 2 2 1 6 1
Mar. 23 at Texas S 7-7 – 5.19 4.2 6 3 1 2 3 1
Totals (5 games, 4 starts) 0-1 5.19 17.1 21 12 10 4 18 4
2022 RECAP: Pitched for four different teams in two organizations and made his Major League debut, combining for a 6-3 record, a 3.86 ERA and .716 opponents OPS in 17 games, including 11 starts…was on the Yankees Opening Day roster and went 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in seven games, including two starts, over five stints…was traded to the A’s with three other players for Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino on Aug. 1…made one start for Triple-A Las Vegas before reporting to Oakland on Aug. 10 and was 3-3 with a 4.69 ERA in 10 games, including nine starts, with the A’s…his six wins ranked sixth among American League rookies…his 3.86 ERA was fifth lowest among AL rookies with 70 or more innings pitched.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Combined for a .256 opponents batting average, which broke down to .254 (54-for-213) with a .723 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .265 (13-for-49) with a .684 OPS against left-handers… yielded 17 of his 20 extra base hits to righties, including all eight of his home runs…opponents hit .256 with the bases empty, .255 with runners on…allowed a .226 average with runners in scoring position.
STARTING AND RELIEVING: Was 5-3 with a 4.27 ERA and .776 opponents OPS in his 11 starts compared to 1-0 with a 2.60 ERA and .501 OPS in six relief appearances…surrendered seven of his eight home runs as a starter…stranded both of his inherited runners in relief and first batters faced were 0-for-5 with a walk.
THIS AND THAT: Was 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA and .585 opponents OPS in eight games against AL West teams, 2-3 with a 5.81 ERA and .858 OPS in nine games against all other teams…had a 1.64 ERA in the first inning…allowed 10 of his 31 runs in the second inning for a 6.75 ERA…had a 3.64 ERA from the third inning on…combined for a 4-3 record and a 4.25 ERA in 10 games in the Coliseum and Yankee Stadium…was 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA in seven games on the road…allowed three hits or fewer in 10 of his 17 appearances and two runs or fewer 13 times.
