OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Lost two of three to the Diamondbacks to close out the last homestand and have lost nine of the last 11 games…are 4-12 (.250) in May after going 5-23 (.179) in April…are 10-35 (.222) overall, which is the worst record in the majors (Royals, 14-31/.311)…it is the worst record in Athletics history after 45 games and is tied for seventh worst by an AL, NL or FL team since 1901…it is the worst since the 2006 Royals also started the year 10- 35…the lowest winning percentage in American League history is .235 by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (36-117)…are 1-13-0 in series play and have been swept six times…lost each of the first 10 series, won two of three at Kansas City from May 5-7, and have lost each of the last three series.
OFFENSE: The A’s have the fifth lowest batting average in the majors (.229), the seventh lowest OPS (.693), eighth lowest slugging percentage (.383) and ninth lowest on-base percentage (.311)…have the most strikeouts (424), are tied for the fourth fewest doubles (62), have the fifth fewest runs (173) and the ninth fewest extra base hits (121)…have the most sacrifice hits (11), the second most hit by pitches (27), are tied for fourth in intentional walks (7) and rank ninth in walks (156)…the seven intentional walks match the A’s season total from last year…have been shut out twice in the last seven games and six times overall, which is tied for third most in the majors (Mets and Royals, 7)…A’s pinch hitters are 10-for-39 (.256) with eight walks (.383 onbase percentage)…lead the majors in pinch walks and rank third in pinch hits.
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 6.08 ERA (98 er in 145.0 ip) in May after posting a 7.97 ERA in April…have a 7.13 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors (White Sox, 5.26)…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest ERA by an AL or NL team since the earned run became an official stat is 6.70 by the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies…the A’s have allowed 334 runs, which is an average of 7.4 per game…are on pace to allow 1202 runs and the modern Major League record is 1199 by the 1930 Phillies…also have the highest opponents OPS (.882), batting average (.285), on-base percentage (.378) and slugging percentage (.504) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most walks (219) and hit batters (33), are tied for the lead in most wild pitches (24) and have the sixth fewest strikeouts (342).
THE LONG BALL: The A’s have allowed at least one home run in each of the last 21 games (36 home runs total), which is the longest streak in Athletics history (previous: 17, July 26-Aug. 14, 1964)…the longest in AL or NL history since 1901 is 26 (three times, last: Orioles from June 1-28, 2017)…have yielded 79 home runs for the season, which is the most in the majors (White Sox, 67)…have six grand slams, which are the most in the majors (three teams with 3) and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-7 with a 6.59 ERA (42 er in 57.1 ip) in the 11 games since recording their only two wins of the season on May 5 and 6 at Kansas City…are 2-23 with a 7.54 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors (Reds, 6.21) and no other team has fewer than six wins from its starters…are tied for the seventh fewest innings pitched (219.2)…went 0-16 over the first 32 games.
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 6.62 ERA, which is the highest in the majors (White Sox, 5.54)…is 4-for-13 (30.8%) in save opportunities…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves and the nine blown saves are tied for fourth most…has allowed 41-of-93 (44.1%) inherited runners to score, which is the fifth highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners (Reds, 95)…has 179.1 innings pitched, which is second most (Rays, 194.0).
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 42-for-52 (80.8%) in stolen base attempts…rank third in the majors in stolen base attempts and fourth in stolen bases…the 42 steals are the most by an A’s team over the first 45 games since 1992 (49)…A’s opponents are 38-for-53 (71.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the ninth lowest success rate in the majors…the 15 caught stealings are second most (Rockies, 18) but the A’s are tied for the fifth most stolen bases allowed…A’s pitchers have four pickoffs, which is tied for third most in the majors (Brewers and Royals, 5).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin a seven-game road trip to Houston (three games) and Seattle (four games) tonight…went 2-4 on the last road trip to Kansas City (2-1) and New York-AL (0-3) and are 5-15 (.250) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors (White Sox, 7-16/.304)…went 2-5 on the last homestand against Texas (1-3) and Arizona (1-2) and are 5-20 (.200) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 6-17/.261)…have compiled a 5.99 ERA at home compared to 8.73 (161 er in 166.0 ip) on the road…are hitting .212 with 82 runs in 25 home games (3.3 runs per game) compared to .250 (171-for-685) with 91 runs in 20 road games (4.6 runs per game).
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in seven of their 10 wins…have five wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and two when leading after seven inning… lead the majors in wins when tied after seven innings and are tied for sixth in wins when trailing after seven innings…however, no other team has fewer than 11 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied with the Mariners and Twins for the most extra inning games in the majors (7), are tied for the second most losses and rank fifth in wins…have four walk-off wins, which is tied for the most in the majors (Blue Jays, Red Sox)
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Seven of the A’s 10 wins have been by one run and Oakland is 7-7 (.500) in one-run games…are tied for ninth in the majors in one-run games (14) and tied for 10th in wins and losses…however, have lost six games by 10 or more runs, which matches the A’s combined total from the previous four seasons and is the most since 2008 when they had eight such losses…have a run differential of -161, which is the lowest in the majors (White Sox, -63)…the lowest in Athletics history is -344 by the 1915 Philadelphia A’s and the lowest by an AL or NL team since 1901 is -349 by the 1932 Boston Red Sox.
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 9-17 (.346) in night games and 1-18 (.053) during the day…are batting .259 (236-for-911) with 125 runs in 26 night games (4.8 runs per game), .183 (111-for-605) with 48 runs in 19 day games (2.5 runs per game)…have the lowest day batting average in the majors and the ninth best night batting average.
PLAYERS USED: The A’s have used 42 players, which is the most in the majors (Mets, 40)…Lucas Erceg would be the 43rd…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…27 of the 42 have been pitchers, which is also the most in the majors (Rays, 25)…tied an Athletics record with 34 pitchers last year…11 of the 42 are rookies after using an Oakland-record 34 rookies last year…six have made their Major League debuts…had 23 do that last year.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s placed Zach Jackson on the injured list today and have now used the IL 14 times, including 10 times for pitchers…currently have nine players on the IL, including seven pitchers…did not commit an error in the three-game series against Arizona after making a season-high four errors last Sunday against Texas…have 30 errors overall, which is tied for second most in the majors (Angels, 31)…have nine outfield assists, which is tied for second most (Royals, 10)…have an average time of game of 2:49, which is the longest in the majors by five minutes (Padres, 2:44)…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).
A’S VS. ASTROS
- The A’s lost the season series last year for the seventh time in the last eight years last year.
- Are now 59-84 (.413) against Houston dating back to 2015 after winning each of their first four season series against the Astros (31-13,
.705). - Have lost six of the last seven games, all of which have been at Minute Maid Park…have won three straight and four of the last five in Oakland.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-0 0-0
2022 4-5 3-7 7-12
Oakland History: 90-97
at the Coliseum: 50-46
at Minute Maid Park: 40-51
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.400) and walks (30), ranks fourth in OPS (.821), sixth in runs (22), tied for sixth in doubles (8), tied for eighth in extra base hits (13), ninth in slugging (.421) and tied for 10th in RBI (14)…Brent Rooker leads the majors in OPS (1.042) and slugging (.624), ranks fifth in on-base percentage (.418) and tied for fifth in home runs (11)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in hits (49), stolen bases (20), doubles (12) and hit by pitches (10), ranks fourth in batting (.277), tied for fourth in RBI (22), tied for sixth in extra base hits (14), ninth in on-base percentage (.340) and 10th in OPS (.713).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (1-2, 7.02 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his ninth start of the season…took the loss in each of his first two starts, allowing 14 runs on 17 hits in 8.2 innings (14.54 ERA)…is 1-0 with a 5.01 ERA (18 er in 32.1 ip) in six starts since then… has walked 11 batters in his last two starts (10.0 ip) after issuing 12 free passes in his first six starts (31.0 ip).
RANKINGS: Is tied for third in the majors in home runs allowed (12) and tied for seventh in most runs (33)…based on a minimum of 40 innings pitched, he has the highest opponents OPS (.999) and slugging percentage (.601) in the majors, the third highest on-base percentage (.398), fourth highest ERA (7.02) and tied for the fourth highest batting average (.310).
OPPONENTS BATTING: His .310 opponents batting average breaks down to .227 (5-for-22) against left-handed hitters and .322 (47-for-146) against right-handers…his career splits are .176 (9-for-51) against lefties, .302 (75- for-248) against righties…11 of the 12 home runs he has allowed this year and 16 of the 17 in his career have been to right-handed hitters…has allowed a .386 (34-for-88) batting average with the bases empty compared to .225 (18-for-80) with runners on base…eight of the 12 home runs he has allowed have been solo shots…opponents are 11-for-48 (.229) with runners in scoring position…20 of the 33 runs he has allowed have scored on home runs… has a .241 (14-for-58) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .345 (38-for-110) after that.
HOME AND AWAY: Is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA (12 er in 21.1 ip) and .909 opponents OPS in four starts at home compared to 1-1 with a 9.15 ERA (20 er in 19.2 ip) and 1.098 OPS in four starts in the road…has surrendered eight of his 12 home runs on the road.
THIS AND THAT: Has been the starting pitcher in five of the A’s 10 wins…has left with the lead in three of his eight starts, only to have the bullpen blow the save (April 12, April 24, April 30)…the A’s have been shutout in two of his other starts…is scheduled to start on six days rest today…has just two starts on four days rest and is 0-1 with a 10.61 ERA (11 er in 9.1 ip) in those two starts…has tossed five innings or fewer in four of his eight starts and never more than 6.1 innings…has allowed one run in the first inning (8.0 ip, 1.13 ERA) but has yielded 11 of his 33 runs in the second inning (10 er in 8.0 ip, 11.25 ERA).
IN APRIL: Went 0-2 with a 7.26 ERA and .976 opponents OPS in six starts in April…had the highest opponents OPS (.976) and slugging percentage (.598) in the majors in April, the fourth highest on-base percentage (.378) and the fifth highest ERA and batting average (.307)…the ERA was the highest April ERA in Athletics history among pitchers with 30 or more innings…allowed 10 home runs, which were the most in the majors and matched Gil Heredia (2001) for the most home runs in April in Athletics history.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Allowed six runs on a career-high nine hits in his first start of the season on April 2 against Los Angeles (AL) and was the losing pitcher in the A’s 6-0 loss…surrendered a three-run home run to O’Hoppe in the fourth to snap a career-high 14.0-inning scoreless streak dating back to last year…allowed three home runs against the Angels and a career-high four in his next start on April 7 at Tampa Bay…the seven home runs in back-toback starts 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…allowed a career-high eight runs in a season-low 3.0 innings in the start against the Rays…tossed a season-high 6.1 innings April 12 at Baltimore but had a no decision in the A’s 8-4 win…left with a 4-2 lead but Familia blew the save…tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in his fourth start on April 18 at Chicago (NL) but had a no decision as the A’s were shutout 4-0…struck out a season-high seven batters in 5.2 innings on April 30 against Cincinnati…walked a career-high six batters and tossed a career-high 114 pitches on May 6 at Kansas City but picked up his first win of the season in the A’s 5-4 victory.
LAST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 9-7, 10-inning win over Texas last Friday in Oakland…had a 1-0 lead when he allowed a RBI double to Duran in the second…had a 2-1 lead before allowing a Grossman RBI double in the third and a Taveras sacrifice fly in the fourth…the A’s tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fourth, he allowed a Heim RBI single in the fifth, the A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fifth and he allowed a solo home run to Grossman in the sixth…left trailing 5-4 but the A’s tied the game in the eighth to get him off the hook.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros continue their 6-game home- stand tonight with the first game of a three-game set vs. the visiting Oakland A’s…RHP Brandon Bielak (0-1) will make his third start of the season as he takes on A’s LHP Ken Waldichuk (1-2)…tonight will be Bielak’s second career start and fifth overall appearance vs. OAK…his last start/app. vs. them 9/24/21 at OAK (loss, 3.0 IP, 3 ER)…the Astros defeated Waldichuk in his only career start/app. vs. them on 9/18/22 in HOU (11-2 final, 2.2 IP, 5 ER).
ALTUVE’S RETURN: Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is scheduled to be activated from the Injured List…Altuve has been on the IL since fracturing his right thumb on Mar. 18 while playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic…Altuve played in a combined five games for Triple A Sugar Land and Double A Corpus Christi during his rehab assignment…to make room on the roster for Altuve, IF David Hensley was optioned to Triple A Sugar Land.
QUEST FOR 2000 RESUMES: Jose Altuve enters today needing 65 hits to reach 2,000…he would be the third player in franchise history to reach this milestone, joining Craig Biggio (3,060) and Jeff Bagwell (2,314)…his 1,935 hits since entering the league are 2nd to Freddie Freeman’s 1,955 (Freeman has 229 more ABs in that span).
VS. THE A’s: The Astros are taking on the A’s for the first time in 2023…HOU was 12-7 vs. OAK last season with a 7-3 mark here at Minute Maid Park…excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Astros have won the season series vs. the A’s in seven consecutive years (2015-22).
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won four straight and seven of their last eight games…they are 3-0 on the current homestand.
LOTS OF LEFTIES: With the A’s scheduled to start three southpaws in the current series, the Astros are scheduled to face five consecutive left-handed starters (previous two starters in the Cubs series were left-handers)…per Elias, the Astros have not faced five consecutive left-handed starters since facing five straight, 5/24-28 of 2019 (3 vs. BOS, 2 vs. CHC, respectively)…HOU was 4-1 in that span…the opposing starters and end result in those five games were as follows: 5/24 vs. BOS-C. Sale (W); 5/25 vs. BOS-D. Price (W); 5/26
vs. BOS-E. Rodriguez (L); 5/27 vs. CHC-C.Hamels (W), 5/28 vs. CHC-J. Lester (W).
A GAME OF FIRSTS: In Wednesday night’s 7-6, comeback win over the Cubs, the Astros reached a number of firsts for the season:
- first walkoff win since 9/7/22 vs. TEX (4-3 win).
- the win after trailing 6-1 marked the largest comeback since overcoming a 5-0 deficit in a 7-6 win on 7/4/22 vs. KC.
- first time scoring 4 or more 9th-inning runs in a comeback win since scoring 6 in the 9th inning of an 8-7 win on 7/11/21 vs. NYY.
- Tucker’s GW, 2-run single in the 9th was his 3rd career walkoff hit and his 1st since an RBI-single on 5/22/22 vs. DET.
SWEEPSTAKES: With the Astros sweep over the Cubs earlier this week was their second sweep of the season (other was a 3g sweep in ATL, 4/21-23)…it was also the Astros first sweep vs. the Cubs since taking a three-game series in Houston, 5/21-23 of 2012.
AT THE HELM: Astros skipper Dusty Baker is in his 26th season as a manager and his fourth in Houston…Baker, who ranks ninth all-time in managerial wins with 2,117, has an outside shot of moving up to sixth all time by seasons end…he immediately trails Hall of Famer Joe McCarthy (2,125) for eighth place on that all-time list.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA in the Majors with a 3.36 clip…the Astros also lead the Majors in strikeouts per 9.0 (9.81).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB
- Houston: 3.36
- Tampa Bay: 3.38
- Minnesota: 3.41
BULLPEN WEAPONS: RHP Phil Maton and RHP Bryan Abreu have been outstanding this season…Maton has allowed just nine hits and two runs in his first 18 appearances (21 IP) for a 0.86 ERA…opponents are hitting just .127 (9×71) against him, including a .125 (5×40) average by left-handers and a .129 (4×31) average by righties…meanwhile, Abreu has tallied 36 strikeouts in his 21.1 IP while allowing just three earned runs for a 1.27 ERA, and also posting a .151 opponent average (15.10 SO/9IP ratio ranks 3rd in the AL).
LATE ATTACK: The Astros offense has come alive late in games this season, producing a ML-best 81 runs in the 7th inning or later.
Most Runs – 7th inning or later
- Houston: 81
- Tampa Bay: 80
- Texas: 79
STREAKS SNAPPED:LF Yordan Alvarez had both of his streaks snapped in Wednesday’s 7-6 win over the Cubs:
- his franchise-record streak of reaching base in 36 games to start a season was snapped…the last Major Leaguer with a longer start-of-season streak was OF Odúbel Herrera (41g) for the 2018 Phillies.
- his career-long 13 game hit streak was snapped…during the streak, which ran from 5/2-16, he hit .354 (17×48) with 3 HR and 12 RBI while posting a 1.061 OPS (.646 SLG).
STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: LF Yordan Alvarez has been at his best in the big moments in his career, especially this season…he’s hitting .500 (15×30) with RISP, .588 (10×17) with RISP and two outs, .571 (4×7) with the bases loaded, and .375 (9×24) in close and late situations.
AMERICAN LEAGUE RANKINGS: Among AL players, LF Yordan Alvarez ranks second in RBI (39), fifth in OPS (.939) and sixth in SLG (.551)…3B Alex Bregman ranks third in walks (27) and third in plate apps. per strikeout (10.61)…additionally, 2B Mauricio Dubón ranks seventh in batting average (.309).
HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 14 appearances (12.0 IP)…that is the 2nd-longest streak of innings by an Astros hurler to RHP Luis Garcia’s 13.0-inning scoreless streak.
HOME-COOKIN: The Astros are 3-0 thus far on the 6-game homestand after sweeping the Cubs…after this 3-game series vs. OAK, they’ll hit the road for a 6-game trip to MIL (3g) and OAK (3g), respectively…HOU’s 13-8 (.619) road record is T-1st in the AL.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP BRANDON BIELAK
LAST START – 5/13 AT CWS in his 2nd start of the season, he allowed 1 run on 8 hits with 4 strikeouts in 5.0 innings…has allowed 2 earned or fewer in all 3 (2 starts) of his appearances this season.
WHAT A RELIEF: came on in relief on May 1 vs. SF after RHP Luis Garcia was removed in the 1st inning after 8 pitches…matched his career-high with 6 strikeouts, tossing 4.0 IP and allowing 2 runs, 2 hits and 3 walks… was the longest relief outing from an Astros pitcher this season and was the longest from an Astros pitcher since RHP Peter Solomon on 9/29/21 vs. AZ….had been recalled earlier in the day following the placement of RHP José Urquidy on the 15-day IL.
BACK IN THE BIGS: is making his first stint in the Majors this season and has appeared at the MLB level in each of the last 4 seasons (all with the Astros)… continues to serve in a hybrid starter-relief role…prior to his start on May 1, he had not made a start at the Major League level since 9/24/21 at OAK.
STARTER VS. RELIEVER: will be making his 11th career start in what is his 49th career MLB appearance…has gone 1-4 with a 5.59 ERA (23ER/327P) as a starter vs. going 5-4 with a 4.56 ERA (36ER/71.0IP) as a reliever…of his 38 appearances as a reliever, has tossed at least 2.0 IP on 18 occasions.
