OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Won last night by a score of 11-2, snapping a five-game losing streak…are 13-50 (.206) overall, which matches the 1932 Red Sox for the second worst record after 62 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…the worst is the 1904 Senators (11-48/.186…had three games called with the score tied)… it is the worst over any 63-game stretch since the 2021 Diamondbacks went 12-50 from May 9-July 18…were swept in a three-game series at Miami over the weekend and have now been swept nine times…are 2-17-0 in series play.
HOME AND AWAY: Last night’s win snapped a 15- game road losing streak, which tied the Oakland record set from May 24-June 23, 1986…the last A’s team to lose more than 15 straight road games is the 1945 Philadelphia A’s, who lost 19 in a row from May 20-July 3, 1945…the A’s last road win came on May 6 at Kansas City…are 1-4 on this nine-game road trip to Miami (0-3), Pittsburgh (1-1) and Milwaukee (three games)…it is the first of two three-city road trips this year…went 0-7 on the last road trip to Houston (0-3) and Seattle (0-4)…it was the eighth time in Oakland history the A’s went winless on a road trip of seven or more games, the first time since Aug. 11-17, 2015 when they went 0-7 against Toronto (0-3) and Baltimore (0-4)…are 6-26 (.188) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 7-24 (.226) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors.
OFFENSE: The A’s hit four homers last night, which snapped a six-game homerless streak…matched the longest such streak by an A’s team over the last 13 years (last: May 19-24, 2023)…last went homerless in seven straight from Aug. 8-15, 2010…have 61 home runs overall, which is tied for eighth fewest in the majors…were hit by a pitch three times on Monday, their fourth game with three or more hit by pitches this year…lead the majors with 39 hit by pitches overall and are on pace for 100, which would break the Athletics record of 98 set in 2021…are batting .199 (114-for-571) with 48 runs scored over the last 18 games (2.67 runs per game)…have scored 221 runs for the season (3.51 per game), which is third fewest in the majors…have the third lowest OPS (.657) and second lowest batting average (.221) in the majors, the third lowest slugging percentage (.356) and fifth lowest on-base percentage (.301)…rank fourth in fewest extra base hits (153), fourth in most strikeouts (581) and fourth in fewest doubles (86)…have 12 sacrifice hits, which is tied for second most to the Pirates (14)…have been shut out eight times, which is tied for the most in the majors…A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (15) and walks (10) and rank second in plate appearances (66).
PITCHING: The A’s have a 6.59 ERA, which is the highest in the majors…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… also have the highest opponents OPS (.856), batting average (.278), on-base percentage (.369) and slugging percentage (.486) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most walks (290), home runs (101) and hit batters (42), have the second most wild pitches (31) and are tied for the fourth fewest strikeouts (471)…have surrendered six grand slams, which are the most in the majors and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997)…also lead the majors with 12 walks with the bases loaded, which matches the most by an A’s team over the last 11 years.
STARTING PITCHING: James Kaprielian earned the win last night…prior to that starting pitchers were 0-16 with a 6.10 ERA (84 er in 124.0 ip) in the 26 games since recording their only two wins of the season on May 5 and 6 at Kansas City…went 0-16 over the first 32 games and are 3-32 with a 6.99 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and no other team has fewer than nine wins from its starters…the fewest wins from a starting rotation in a full season in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…the A’s have the third fewest innings pitched this year (292.1).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an opener four times this year, all in the previous 12 games…A’s openers are 0-2 with a 11.25 ERA (4.0 ip, 8 h, 5 r, 5 er, 4 so) and the “main” pitchers in those games are 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA (18.0 ip, 21 h, 12 r, 12 er, 7 bb, 22 so)…have lost all four games…used an opener nine times in 2018 (all in September) and three times in 2019 (none after June 5).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen is 0-for-2 in save opportunities over the last 29 games…the streak of 29 consecutive games without a save is the second longest single-season streak in A’s history since the save became an official stat in 1969 (May 14-Aug. 10, 1981)…the longest single-season streak is a 30-game streak from June 1-July 2, 1980…the A’s last save was on May 6 at Kansas City… the pen is 4-for-15 (26.7%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and the 11 blown saves are ied for ninth most…has the highest ERA in the majors (6.15) and the second most innings pitched (257.2)…has allowed 50-of-117 (42.77%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 58-for-73 (79.5%) in stolen base attempts…are tied for fourth in the majors in stolen bases and rank fourth in attempts…opponents are 48-for-66 (72.7%), which is the sixth lowest success rate in the majors…the 18 caught stealings are second most…A’s pitchers are tied for second in the majors in pickoffs (6).
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in eight of their 12 wins…have five walk-off wins, which is tied with the White Sox and Yankees for the most in the majors…have six wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and four when leading after seven innings…are tied for the third most wins in the majors when tied after seven innings and are tied for ninth in wins when trailing after seven innings…however, no other team has fewer than 14 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning losses and tied for seventh in wins and games (7).
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s are 8-11 (.421) in one-run games…are tied for fifth in the majors in one-run losses and tied for eighth in games (19)…are 5-39 (.113) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs…have a run differential of -204, which is the lowest in the majors…had a run differential of -202 all last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history (-287 in 1979).
A’s IN MAY: The A’s went 6-23 (.207) in May after going 5-23 (.179) in April…both records were the worst in the majors…set an Athletics record for losses in May after matched the A’s total from April this year for second most in any month in Oakland history (24 in June, 1979)…it is the 16th 20-loss month in Oakland history, the fourth in the last two years…it is the second time since 1954 the A’s had back-to-back 20-loss months…the other time was in May and June last year when they had 21 each month…the May winning percentage was second lowest in May in Athletics history (4-17, .190 in 1919)…compiled a 5.54 ERA in May after posting a 7.97 ERA in April, both of which were the highest in the majors…surrendered 49 home runs, which is second most in May in Athletics history (57 in 1964) and second most in any month in Oakland history (50 in April, 2023)…batted .208, which was the lowest mark in the majors and second lowest for any month in Athletics history (.207 in Aug. 1906)…struck out 264 times, which is the most in May in Athletics history…scored 87 runs, which was second fewest in the majors and third fewest in May in Oakland history…it was the fewest since 1978 (79).
A’S VS. PIRATES
- The A’s and Pirates meet for the first time since 2019 when Oakland lost two of three at Pittsburgh.
- Have lost three straight and seven of the last eight games after winning each of the first 11.
- Have dropped four of the last five games in Pittsburgh.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-1 1-1
2019 0-0 1-2 1-2
Oakland History: 13-7
at the Coliseum: 6-3
PNC Park: 7-4
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.408) and walks (40), ranks fourth in OPS (.861), is tied for sixth in doubles (13), fifth in runs (30), sixth in slugging (.453), tied for ninth in home runs (6), is tied for seventh in extra base hits (20) and is 11th in RBI (21).…Esteury Ruiz leads Major League rookies in stolen bases (29), hit by pitches (12), is third in hits (63), fifth in doubles (14) and batting (.260), ninth in on-base percentage (.321), tied for seventh in RBI (25), tied for 10th in extra base hits (16) and 11th in runs (26).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Hogan Harris (0-0, 6.97 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make the first start of his career today…it will be his fourth appearance, as his previous three outings came in relief…the last two of those were in games started by an opener (10.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 10 so, 1.80 ERA)…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 27 for his second stint with the A’s this year…was recalled for the first time on April 14, made his Major League debut that day in relief against the Mets (0.1 ip, 1 h, 6 r, 6 er, 5 bb, 0 so) and was optioned back to Las Vegas the next day…is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA and .699 opponents OPS in eight starts with the Aviators.
MAJORS AND MINORS: Went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA and 1.040 opponents OPS over his first five games this year at the Major League and Minor League level…is 0-0 with a 1.82 ERA and .493 OPS in six games since then…walked 19 batters, struck out 11 and yielded three home runs in 11.2 innings over his first five games…has walked just seven in 29.2 innings since then (30 so, 1 hr).
MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: Made his Major League debut earlier this year on April 14 against New York (NL)…entered the game to start the fifth inning
with the A’s trailing 6-3…retired the first batter he faced (Vogelbach ground out) but his next seven batters were BB, BB, BB, HBP, BB, 2B, BB…walked five batters in 0.1 innings to become the sixth AL, NL or FL pitcher since 1901 to walk five or more his debut while pitching less than an inning (last: Justin Dunn, Sept. 12, 2019 for Seattle)…allowed six runs, which matched the most by A’s pitcher in debut of fewer than one inning (Sam Gray, April 19, 1924 at Boston; James York, Sept. 12, 1919 vs. CWS).
SECOND APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 6-3 loss to Houston on May 27 in Oakland…entered the game to start the second in relief of opener Austin Pruitt…Pruitt allowed two runs in the first and Harris shut out the Astros in five innings of work…walked the second batter he faced (Maldonado) but then retired 12 straight before Bregman singled with one out in the sixth.
LAST APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 4-0 loss at Miami last Friday…entered the game to start the second inning in relief of opener Shintaro Fujinami, who allowed two runs in the first…Harris retired each of the first seven batters he faced and did not allow a run until yielding two in the fifth on a Soler RBI double and a De La Cruz RBI single…those were the only two runs he allowed in five innings of work
PITTSBURGH PIRATES NOTES:
THE PIRATES: Had their six-game winning streak snapped with last night’s loss…Have had four separate winning streaks of at least four games this season, including a season-high seven-game winning streak from 4/17-23, their longest winning streak since 2018 (11 games)…Are 0.5 game behind the first place Brewers in the National League Central coming into today.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: The Pirates will look to win their third straight series in today’s finale against the A’s…The Pirates swept the Cardinals in three games this past weekend and also took two of three games at San Francisco on the final stop of their previous road trip from May 29-31…Pittsburgh won four straight series earlier this year from April 17-30.
ON DECK: The Pirates are off tomorrow but will return to action Friday night for the beginning of a three-game series against the Mets…This will be just the second series the Pirates have played against the NL East the season after taking two of three games against the Nationals on the road in May…Pittsburgh lost two of its three games against the Mets at PNC Park last year from September 6-7.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: Tomorrow night the Bradenton Marauders will host the Dunedin Blue Jays at 6:30 in the MLB Pipeline Game of the Month…This first Game of the Month glimpse at the Florida State League will be available for free on MLB.com and the MLB Pipeline homepage and can also be viewed through MLB.TV, MiLB.TV and the First Pitch app… Bradenton’s roster is highlighted by Termarr Johnson, who the Pirates selected fourth overall in the last year’s draft and is currently rated No. 20 among MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects.
RULE 5 ROLLING: Rookie lefthander Jose Hernandez extended his scoreless streak to 9.0 innings in Tuesday night’s game… Hernandez, who was selected by the Pirates in the Rule 5 Draft during last year’s winter meetings, comes into today with the lowest ERA (2.13), third-lowest batting average against (.207) and tied for the fourth-most strikeouts (24) among all National League rookie relievers.
LOVING LEFTIES: Rodolfo Castro comes into today ranked fifth in OPS (1.091), eighth in slugging (.651) and ninth in batting (.349) among all National league players against lefthanded pitchers…The Pirates have gone 11-6 in games started by lefthanders this season.
I WANT TO RUN: The Pirates had one stolen base last night and have now swiped 10 bags in their last six games…Pittsburgh is 21-14 in games when the team records at least one stolen base this season…Pittsburgh ranks first in the National League (68) and second in MLB behind the Rays (82) in stolen bases this season.
CLOSING IN ON 2000 HITS: Andrew McCutchen comes into today just three hits shy of 2000 in his career…McCutchen has recorded 1512 of his 1997 hits with the Pirates organization…McCutchen’s 1512 hits with Pittsburgh ranks 12th in team history…Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente is first with 3000 while Tommy Leach is 11th (1603).
KEEPING UP WITH CUTCH’S MILESTONES: Andrew McCutchen is just one double shy of 400 in his career (his next double will also be his 300th as a Pirate)…McCutchen ranks seventh all-time in Pirates history in doubles (Hall-of-Famer Pie Traynor is sixth with 371).
BAE, BAE, BAE: Ji Hwan Bae is hitting at a .370 clip (17-for-46) in his last 15 games…Bae’s .370 average since May 19 ranks sixth in all of MLB behind Luis Arraez (.453), Josh Jung (.394), Whit Merrifield (.381), Freddie Freeman (.373) and Spencer Steer (.373).
THE HOT CORNER: Ke’Bryan Hayes has hit safely in each of his last six games, going 11-for-24 with a double, triple, home run and seven RBI…Hayes ranks fifth among all National League third basemen in total bases (87) behind Austin Riley (106), Jeimer Candelario (98), Max Muncy (98) and Nolan Arenado (92).
THE RENEGADE: David Bednar earned a save in each of the three games in this past weekend’s series sweep against St. Louis…Bednar is one of just seven different Pirates to record three saves in a three-game series since saves became an official statistic in 1969… Mark Melancon was the last Pirate to accomplish three saves in a three-game series from June 1-3, 2015, while Jose Mesa accomplished it twice in 2004…Courtesy of @OptaStats.
STARTING PITCHER – 59 – RHP ROANSY CONTRERAS
YEAR W-L ERA G GS CG SHO IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-4 4.82 11 10 0 0 56.0 56 30 30 23 42
ROANSY CONTRERAS: The 23-year-old righthander is making his 11th start (12th appearance) of the season today…He had a no-decision (4.0ip/5r) in the team’s 7-5 comeback win Friday night against the Cardinals.
vs. OAKLAND: Has never faced the A’s.
