CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
Cubs vs. Athletics
The Cubs and the Athletics face each other in this three-game series for the first time since Aug. 5-7, 2019 … this is the teams’ first meeting in Oakland in seven years, with the previous tilts Aug. 5-7, 2016 … the Cubs have won four of five series against the A’s and look to win their third-straight set
WEST COAST LIVIN’: The Chicago Cubs today close out a six-game road trip that has seen them go 2-1 against the Dodgers and 2-0 against the A’s, including last night’s 4-0 victory over Oakland … Chicago is 6-2 this season against the A.L. West and 222-221 (.501) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997. © With the 4-0 win, the Cubs picked up their third shutout of the season … they have recorded at least three shutouts within the first 16 games for the fourth time in the last 50 seasons dating to 1974 … the other instances were 2019 (3 SHO), 2016 (3 SHO) and 1985 (3 SHO).
Last night’s victory was the team’s 10th of the season, the first time the club has won at least 10 of it’s first 16 games since 2020 and for the seventh time since 2001 (also 2020, 13; 2016, 12; 2008, 10; 2004, 10; 2003, 10; and 2001, 11).
STROMAN SHOWING OUT: Marcus recorded another quality start last night against Oakland, his fourth in as many outings, throwing 6.0 scoreless innings and limiting the A’s to two hits and two walks while striking out five.
Stroman became just the second Cubs starting pitcher with three outings of at least 6.0 innings pitched without allowing a run within the team’s first 16 games (since 1901), joining Jake Arrieta in 2016.
He also is the third Cubs starting pitcher (since 1901) to allow two or fewer runs combined over his first four starts of a season … Steve Stone did it in 1976 and Jason Hammel in 2016.
NICO IS NICE: Nico Hoerner last night recorded a double in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 14 games, the second longest of his career – his longest was July 7-26, 2022 (15 games) … he has also gone 23-straight plate appearances without a strikeout dating to April 14, the longest active streak in the majors (Jean Segura, MIA, Marcus Semien, TEX, and Keibert Ruiz, WSH, are tied for second with 21 apiece).
YOU ONLY GET ONE FIRST IMPRESSION: The Cubs today face Athletics starting pitcher Mason Miller, making his major league debut … Chicago last season twice faced starting pitchers making their major league debuts, both with Milwaukee: Ethan Small on May 30 (gm. 1) in a 7-6 Brewers win and Jason Alexander on June 1 in a 4-3, 10-inning Cubs victory … Chicago has gone up against starting pitchers making their major league debuts seven times since the start of the 2020 season with the team going 5-2 in those contests.
EASY AS 1-2-3: With the win last night over the Athletics, the Cubs earned their fourth consecutive series victory … the previous time the Chicago picked up four-straight series victories was Sept. 19-Oct. 2, 2022, against Miami (2-1), Pittsburgh (3-1), Philadelphia (3-0) and Cincinnati (3-0) … the last time the Cubs won five series (of at least two-games) in a row was Aug. 5-21, 2022, against Miami (2-1), Washington (2-1), Cincinnati (2-1), Washington again (2-1) and Milwaukee (2-1).
THE POWER OF THE WIZ: Patrick Wisdom Monday blasted two home runs, giving him five homers in four games (April 14-17) … he is the first Cub to hit five homers in four games since Willson Contreras did it Aug. 3-6, 2017, and the seventh to do it since 2000 (combined 17 occurences) … his eight long-balls on the season are tied for the major league lead and made him the fourth Cub to hit at least eight homers in the first 15 games of a season (also Lee Walls, 1958; Hank Sauer, 1954; and Gabby Hartnett, 1925).
Since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom has averaged one home run every 14.16 at-bats, the second-best rate among N.L. hitters with at least 900 plate appearances (Kyle Schwarber, 12.12) … his 61 homers in that span are tied for the seventh-most among N.L. hitters.
Wisdom has extra-base hits in each of his last five games, the first Cub to turn that trick since Frank Schwindel Aug. 12-18, 2021 (7-straight games).
HE’S UN-BELLI-VABLE: Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger went 5-for-5 Monday and recorded the first five-hit game of his career … it is the second time in his career he has not recorded an out in a game in which he had five plate appearances (also Sept. 12, 2017, 2-2 with 3 BB).
In his last 12 games, dating to April 4, Bellinger is hitting .375 (18-for-48) with three doubles, two homers, seven RBI, 11 runs scored, a .415 on-base percentage and a .978 OPS, after starting the season 1-for-15 (.067) … in that span, Bellinger ranks tied for seventh in the majors in batting average … in his last five games, he is hitting .429 (9-for-21) with a .478 OBP and a 1.145 slugging percentage.
THE LEIT SHOW IS SHINING: Cubs reliever Mark Leiter Jr. this season has made eight appearances (7.1 IP) without allowing a run and has surrendered just three hits while striking out 14 batters … 11 of his 14 punchouts have come against lefties, which are tied for the lead among all major league relievers.
He ranks third among N.L. relievers, and fifth in the majors, with 17.18 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (min. 5 G).
CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN: Nico Hoerner Monday recorded his ninth stolen base of the season, in the team’s 15th game, becoming just the second Cub (since 1901) to steal nine bags by the team’s 15th contest … in 1907, Jimmy Slagle notched his ninth stolen base in team-game number 15 … Brian McRae was the quickets to double digits in game 18 in 1996. (h/t Ed Hartig and Jordan Bastian) © The Cubs have tallied 22 stolen bases so far this season, which is the thirdmost in the majors and leads the N.L.
Starting Pitcher – #35 LHP Justin Steele (2-0, 1.42)
Last Time Out
Justin earned his second win of the season April 14 at Los Angeles (N.L.) … tied a career high with 7.0 IP … struck out a season high-tying eight batters for the eighth time in his career … has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10-straight starts dating to July 22, 2022.
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 1-0 0.75 2 2 12.0 7 1 1 5 11
Road 1-0 2.57 1 1 7.0 3 2 2 1 8
AVG vs. LHB: .313 (5-for-16) / AVG vs. RHB: .100 (5-for-50)
Justin is making his fourth start of the 2023 season today, second on the road … has posted a 1.13 ERA (7 ER/55.2 IP) since July 22, 2022, the lowest ERA in the majors during the run (min. 10 GS) … his 1.42 ERA in 2023 is tied for the second-lowest in the N.L. (min. 3 GS) … right-handed hitters are batting .100 (5-for-50) against him … opposing batters are hitting .040 (1-for-25) off his slider. © Went 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA (4 ER/13.2 IP) with 13 strikeouts in four Cactus League starts in 2023 … started and tossed the first 2.0 innings of the Cubs combined no-hitter, March 3 at San Diego.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost the first two games of this three-game series and have now lost each of the first six series of the season for the first time in Athletics history (previous: 5 in 1935, 1946 and 1951)…have a six-game losing streak for the second time this year (April 5-11)…have lost 12 of the last 13 games and 15 of the last 17…are 3-15 (.167) overall and have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (4-14, .222)…have matched the 1951 Philadelphia A’s for the worst record in Athletics history after 18 games…that club lost game 19 to fall to 3-16…the A’s won the opener this year and spent the first two days of the season in a tie for first in the American League West…were in fourth place after the April 6 off day but have spent each day since then in fifth place.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-5 on this six-game homestand against New York-NL (0-3) and Chicago-NL (0-2)…there has been just one winless homestand of six or more games in Oakland history and that came last year from April 29-May 4 against Cleveland and Tampa Bay…have a season-high six-game home losing streak and are now 2-9 (.182) in the Coliseum, which is the second lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 1-11/.083)… leave following the game today for a seven-game road trip to Texas (three games) and Los Angeles-AL (four games) that starts on Friday…went 1-6 on their first road trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (1-3).
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 3-7 in night games and 0-8 during the day…the eight-game losing streak in day games matches the longest such single-season streak by an A’s team over the last 15 years…have not lost more than eight consecutive day games in a single-season since losing 10 straight from July 30-Sept. 4, 2008…the only other team without a win in a day game this year is the Dodgers, who are 0-3…are batting .275 (96-for-349) with 46 runs in 10 night games (4.6 runs per game), .162 (41-for-253) with 17 runs in eight day games (2.1 runs per game)…have the fifth best night batting average in the majors and the lowest day batting average.
OFFENSE: The A’s were shutout for the fourth time this year last night, which matches the Royals for the most in the majors…have scored one run or fewer in seven of the first 18 games and have 63 runs overall, which is fifth fewest in the majors…are batting .261 (73-for-279) with eight home runs and 35 runs scored over the last eight games after hitting .198 with eight home runs and 28 runs scored over the first 10 contests…are tied for the third fewest extra base hits in the majors (41), have the fourth lowest OPS (.655) and slugging percentage (.350), the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.304) and the sixth lowest batting average (.228)…are tied for the eighth most hit by pitches (9).
PITCHING: The A’s have the highest ERA (7.47), opponents OPS (.857), on-base percentage (.382) and slugging percentage (.493) in the majors and the second highest opponents batting average (.282)…have allowed 139 runs, which is 30 more than any other team and the most by any team over the first 18 games since the Rockies allowed 142 in 1998…lead the majors in most walks (93), home runs (33) and hit batters (15), have the third fewest strikeouts (125) and are tied for the fourth most wild pitches (9).
WITH THE BASES LOADED: A’s opponents are 12-for-26 (.462) 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 are 0-9 with an 8.82 ERA over the first 18 games…that is the longest season-opening streak of consecutive games without a win from a starter in Athletics history (previous: 10 in 1979 and 1997)…it matches the longest streak of consecutive games without a win from a starting pitcher at any point in the season in Oakland history (July 24- Aug. 12, 1997)…A’s starters have the highest ERA in the majors and are the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…have tossed fewer than five innings nine times and are tied for the fourth fewest innings pitched (82.2)…have allowed more runs than innings pitched in nine of the 18 games.
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 6.01 ERA, which is fourth highest in the majors…has 76.1 innings pitched, which is tied with the Red Sox for the most…had a save on Opening Day but has none since then…the one save is the fewest in the majors and the A’s have four blown saves, which is tied for the most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s had their five-game errorless streak snapped last night…have made four errors over the last 12 games after making eight miscues over the first six contests…have 12 errors overall, which is tied for fourth most in the majors…have a 0-8 record when going errorless and are 3-7 when making one or more errors…have four outfield assists, which are tied for fourth most in the majors…have two passed balls, which are tied for third most…had just three passed balls all last year.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts on the homestand and are 18-for-19 (94.7%) for the season…rank third in the majors in stolen base percentage and tied for sixth in steals…A’s opponents are 11-for-12 (91.7%) in stolen base attempts over the last six games and are 20-for-23 (87.0%) for the season…the 20 stolen bases allowed are tied for third most in the majors
A’S IN APRIL: The A’s are 2-15 (.118) in April and the 15 losses are tied with the 2019 club for the third most April losses in Oakland history…the record is 17 in 1994 (7-17) and 2001 (8-17)…the .292 winning percentage in 1994 is the lowest in Oakland history in an April with more than five games…have a 7.86 ERA this month and the highest April ERA in Oakland history is 6.20 in 1994… have allowed 33 home runs, which is third most in Oakland history in April (36 in 1996, 34 in 2019).
EXTRA INNING GAMES AND OTHER CLOSE CALLS: The A’s played their third extra inning game of the season Sunday and are 0-3 in those games…the three losses are second most in the majors and the three games are tied for fourth most…six of the A’s first 18 games have been decided in the winning teams last at bat and the A’s are 2-4 in those games…two of the A’s three wins have been by one run and Oakland is 2-4 in one-run decisions…are tied for fifth in the majors in one-run losses and tied for sixth in one-run games (6).
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have a run differential of -76, which is the lowest in the majors (Royals, -42)…are 1-4 when scoring six or more runs in a game… are 3-11 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…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 48 minutes, which is second slowest in the majors…have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).
THE INJURED LIST: The A’s placed Ramón Laureano and Trevor May on the injured list today and now have 10 players on the IL (Acevedo, Blackburn, Brown, Jiménez, Piña, Rucinski, Snead, Tarnok), including seven pitchers…the 10 IL placements are tied for fourth most in the majors (Yankees and Mets 12, Braves 11)…have added five players to IL since the start of the season after beginning the year with five players on the IL…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. CUBS
• The A’s have lost the first two game of this series and have been swept by the Cubs once (Aug. 5-7, 2016 in Oakland).
• Have lost seven of their last eight games against the Cubs.
• Including this year, have lost five of the six season series.
• The A’s and Cubs meet for the first time since 2019 when Oakland lost two of three at Wrigley Field.
• This is the Cubs first visit to Oakland since 2016…the A’s were swept in a three-game series that year.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-2 0-0 0-2
2019 0-0 1-2 1-2
Oakland History: 5-12
at the Coliseum: 2-6
at Wrigley Field: 3-6
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Adrián Martínez ranks third among Major League relievers with 13.2 innings pitched…Sam Moll has not allowed a hit over his first nine games…
opponents are 0-for-18 but he has walked four and hit three for a .280 opponents on-base percentage…Esteury Ruiz leads American League rookies in batting (.300) and on-base percentage (.393), is tied for the lead in hits 18) and doubles (4), ranks second in stolen bases (4), tied for third in RBI (8), fifth in OPS (.749) and slugging (.367), tied for fifth in extra base hits (4) and sixth in runs (6).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Mason Miller (Major League Debut)
FOR STARTERS: Was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas today and will be making his Major League debut…will become the 58th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the second this year (Fujinami on April 1)…has made just 11 appearances, including 10 starts, as a minor leaguer and has just 28.2 innings pitched…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut with fewer games pitched as a professional is Kirk Dressendorfer, who made the A’s Opening Day roster in 1991 and started on April 13 after pitching in just seven games, including four starts, in 19.1 innings with Short-Season Southern Oregon in his professional debut in 1990…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut and win was Adrián Martínez at Detroit last year on May 10…the last to strike out 10 or more batters was Aaron Harang on May 25, 2002 against Tampa Bay…the last to toss at least seven innings was Rich Harden on July 21, 2003 at Kansas City…the last complete game was by Mike Morgan June 11, 1978 against Baltimore and the only shutout is by Mike Norris April 10, 1975 against Chicago…the 57 pitchers to start in their debut have combined for a 16-20 record and a 4.31 ERA.
