TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
BACK ON TRACK — The Rays snapped a two-game skid with a 6-3 win over the Athletics on Wednesday night at Oakland Coliseum…C Christian Bethancourt (1-for-3, RBI) opened the scoring with a second-inning sacrifice fly, but Oakland responded with a three-run rally in the bottom half of the frame…Tampa Bay opened up a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning after CF Manuel Margot (3-for-4, 3 2B, RBI, 3R), 1B Yandy Díaz (3-for-4, 2B, 2RBI, R, BB) and RF Josh Lowe (1-for-5, RBI, SB) each drove in runs…the Rays made it a 6-3 final after Margot scampered home on a wild pitch in the seventh and Díaz recorded a ninth-inning RBI-single.
RHP Tyler Glasnow (5.1IP, 6H, 3ER, 4BB, 6SO) overcame a three-run homer and a season-high four walks to improve to 2-0…RHP Jason Adam (1.0IP, H, SO) picked up his career-best 11th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
With the win, the Rays remain the only team in the majors that has not suffered a losing streak of three games in 2023…they have lost back-to-back games on seven occasions, but won their next game each time…Tampa Bay’s last losing streak of 3+ games was a five-game skid to conclude the 2022 regular season.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS — Prior to today’s game, the Rays reinstated RHP Pete Fairbanks from the 15-day injured list and optioned RHP Ryan Thompson to Triple-A Durham.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ — The Rays are on their first of three West Coast road trips this season (also: 6/27-7/2 & 8/14-20)…after wrapping up the four-game series with the Athletics this afternoon, Tampa Bay will travel to San Diego for a three-game set against the Padres from 6/16-18…the Rays are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days with no off days — they are 9-4 since that stretch began on 6/3 at Boston.
SERIES TALK — Tampa Bay has gone 15-5-1 in series play, including 11-1-0 at Tropicana Field and 4-4-1 on the road…after opening the season 3-1-0 in road series, the Rays are 1-3-1 over their last five road series since the beginning of May…a win today would mark the Rays first series tie since 5/12-14 at New York-AL (2-2).
BULLISH ON THE ‘PEN — Since yielding eight runs on 6/3 (G1) at Boston, the Rays bullpen has recorded a 1.72 ERA (47.0IP, 9ER) over the last 12 games, holding opponents to a .146 average (23-for-158) and 0.77 HR/9.0 IP with 49 strikeouts against 19 walks.
RHP Jason Adam has a 0.96 ERA (9.1IP, 1ER) to go with a .133 opp. average (4-for30) and 12.54 SO/9.0 IP over his last nine outings since 5/26…the Rays have won each of the last 12 games he has pitched in dating back to 5/19.
RHP Kevin Kelly has not allowed an earned run over his last 12 appearances (8.0IP), producing a 55.0 pct. ground ball rate in that span.
RHP Robert Stephenson has allowed only one hit and one run in five outings (4.1IP) since being acquired by the Rays…RHP Shawn Armstrong has not allowed a run in four games (6.0IP) since his season debut on 6/4.
After pitching to a 7.94 ERA (11.1IP, 10ER) in 13 games with Chicago-AL to open the season, LHP Jake Diekman has a 3.48 ERA (10.1IP, 4ER), a 0.77 WHIP and a .121 opp. average (4-for-33) with the Rays (13G)…Diekman, who has turned in eight straight scoreless outings (6.1IP), has stranded all nine of his inherited runners as a Ray.
HOT HITTING HAROLD — Harold Ramírez is riding a five-game hitting streak, batting .533 (8-for-15) with one double, one homer, 3 RBI, two stolen bases and a 1.333 OPS in that span…this includes a 6-for-8 (.750) performance over his last three games…during the month of June, he ranks among AL leaders (min. 30PA) in batting average (1st, .448), OBP (6th, .469), OPS (7th, 1.124) and SLG (11th, .655).
Over his last 13 games since 5/27, Ramírez is 10-for-17 (.588) against left-handed pitchers, the highest such average in the majors in that span (min. 15AB).
Since the beginning of 2022, he has been one of baseball’s most prolific hitters against southpaws, leading the majors (min. 150PA vs. LHP) in batting average vs. lefties (.381) while ranking in OBP (2nd, .421) and OPS (8th, .965).
MASHIN’ MANNY — In last night’s win, Manuel Margot collected a career-high three extra-base hits with a trio of doubles…over his last 20 road games since 4/16, he is slashing .344/.414/.459 (21-for-61) with seven doubles, 7 RBI and six walks compared to six strikeouts…he ranks among the AL’s road leaders in that span (min. 65PA) in batting average (4th), strikeout rate (5th, 11.4%) and OPS (13th, .873).
NEW YEAR, NEW RANDY — After drawing two more walks last night, Randy Arozarena’s 30 walks since 5/8 are tied with PHI Kyle Schwarber for most in the majors in that span…he owns an MLB-best 21.3 pct. walk rate over that timeframe, compared to 7.5 pct. in his first 33 games of the season (3/30-5/7)…on the season, Arozarena’s 14.3 pct. walk rate is up 7.2 pct. from 2022 (7.1%), the second-largest year-to-year increase in the majors behind CHC Ian Happ (+7.4%).
Arozarena has also seen significant improvements in his hard hit pct. (41.0% to 50.9%; +9.9%), barrel rate (7.9% to 16.2%; +8.3%) and chase rate (30.9% to 22.7%; -8.2%).
As a team, the Rays rank second in the AL in walks since the beginning of May (146BB), trailing only Minnesota (149BB) in that span.
CHANGING THE GAME — The Rays lead the majors in stolen bases (91) while ranking third in homers (113)…per Elias, no club has paced MLB in both home runs and steals over a full season since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, and only 10 clubs have turned the trick in the Modern Era (since 1900)…the Rays have three players with 7+ HR and 15+ SB (Wander Franco, Josh Lowe, Taylor Walls); only five other players in baseball have accomplished the feat this season, none from the same club…Tampa Bay leads the majors in players with 9+ homers (8) and players with 7+ stolen bases (6).
The Rays were the first team in MLB history (since 1901) to record 100+ homers and 80+ stolen bases within their first 70 games of a season (113HR, 89SB).
Tampa Bay’s 113 homers are tied for 13th most through a club’s first 71 games in MLB history (since 1901)…its 91 stolen bases are the fourth most through 71 games in the Wild Card Era (since 1995), trailing the 2009 Rays (110SB), 1995 Cincinnati Reds (109SB) and 1999 Houston Astros (94SB).
BATTLE OF THE BAYS — Tampa Bay and Oakland conclude a seven-game season series this afternoon, with the Rays holding a 4-2 edge thus far…with last night’s win, the Rays clinched the season series over the Athletics for the second consecutive season (4-3 in 2022)…marks the third time in club history that Tampa Bay has won back-to-back season series against Oakland (also: 2007-08, 2017-18).
The Rays have won seven of their last nine games against the Athletics, posting a +38 run differential (60-22) in that span.
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (4-3, 4.19)
TALKIN’ TAJ — Tampa Bay’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 16 prospect in baseball (MLB.com) will make his ninth career start today, including his fifth on the road…ranks among AL rookies (min. 35.0IP) in strikeout rate (1st, 31.7%), wins (T2nd, 4), strikeouts (4th, 52), WHIP (6th, 1.27) and ERA (7th, 4.19)…his 52 strikeouts are tied for the second most through a pitcher’s first eight starts with the Rays in franchise history, trailing only Charlie Morton (56SO – 3/29-5/2, 2019).
LAST TIME OUT — Bradley took the loss in his last outing on 6/10 vs. Texas…he worked 3.2 innings, allowing five runs (4 earned) on four hits and a season-high four walks with four strikeouts.
Bradley had never allowed 4+ walks in the minors spanning 78 appearances (75 starts)…he has allowed seven walks in his last two starts after allowing five over his first five starts
UNFAMILIAR FOE — Bradley will be making his first career start against the Athletics this afternoon…in two starts against AL West opponents, Bradley is 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA (8.2IP, 7ER), striking out 10 batters against four walks while holding opponents to a .242 average (8-for-33).
STRIKEOUT SAVANT — Bradley’s 52 strikeouts are tied with Zach Eflin for the second most through a pitcher’s first eight starts with the Rays in franchise history, trailing only Charlie Morton (56SO – 3/29-5/2, 2019).
Since his debut on 4/12, Bradley’s 31.7 pct. strikeout rate is fifth highest among major league starters (min. 8GS), trailing ATL Spencer Strider (39.1%), TOR Kevin Gausman (34.2%) and LAA Shohei Ohtani (33.8%) and CIN Hunter Greene (33.3%).
ABOVE THE CURVE — Bradley utilizes his curveball 14.6 pct. of the time and is holding opponents to a .190 (4-for-21) average on the offering…he has allowed just one extra-base hit on the pitch, a homer to TOR George Springer on 5/23.
ROAD WARRIOR — In four road starts, Bradley is 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA (21.0IP, 4ER) and 27 strikeouts against seven walks with a .200 opponent average (15-for-75)…in four starts at Tropicana Field, he is 2-2 with a 7.13 ERA (17.2IP, 14ER).
THIS AND THAT — The right-hander has been at his best with runners on base, holding opponents to a .197/.243/.258 (13-for-66) clip compared to .293/.356/.524 (24-for-82) with the bases empty…has held opponents to a .157 clip (14-for-89) with five walks in two-strike counts…opposing 6-9 hitters are 7-for-55 (.127) against him compared to .323 (30-for-93) vs. the first five spots in the order.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Had their seven-game winning streak snapped yesterday, which was the A’s longest over the last two years…are now 7-5 (.583) in June…had just six wins in May and five in April…are 19-51 (.271) overall, which is the second worst record in the majors ahead of the Royals (18-50, .265)…it is the worst record by an A’s team over the first 70 games since the 1920 Philadelphia A’s started the year 17-52 (had one game end in a tie)… have won three of the last four series after winning just one of the first 17… swept Milwaukee over the weekend for their first sweep of the season…have been swept nine times.
OFFENSE: The A’s are hitting .246 (97-for-394) with 54 runs scored in 12 games in June (4.5 runs per game) after batting .208 with 87 runs in 29 games in May (3.0 runs per game)…lead the majors in hit by pitches (43), are tied for the lead in sacrifice hits (14) and tied for eighth in walks (238)…however, have the lowest batting average (.223) and slugging percentage (.356), the second lowest OPS (.663) and sixth lowest on-base percentage (.306)… are tied for the fewest extra base hits (168), rank third in fewest runs (254), fifth in most strikeouts (642) and fewest doubles (95) and eighth in fewest home runs (66)…have been shut out eight times, which is tied for the most… A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (15), are tied for the lead in walks (10) and rank fifth in plate appearances (69).
PITCHING: The A’s have a 4.37 ERA (51 er in 105.0 ip) in June…that follows a 5.54 ERA in May and 7.97 in April, both of which were the highest in the majors…have a 6.24 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors… the last team to finish the year with an ERA above 6.00 is the 1999 Rockies (6.03)…also have the highest opponents OPS (.838), on-base percentage (.365) and slugging percentage (.473) and the second highest batting average (.273)…lead the majors in most walks (320), home runs (105) and hit batters (45), are tied for the most wild pitches (35) and have the fifth fewest strikeouts (527)…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 14 walks with the bases loaded, which are the most by an A’s team since 2011 (18).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 4-1 with a 3.20 ERA (14 er in 39.1 ip) over the last eight games after going 2-32 with a 7.19 ERA over the first 61 games…are 6-33 with a 6.70 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and the wins and 321.0 innings pitched are the fewest…the fewest wins from a starting rotation in a full season in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year.
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an “opener” six times this year (all since May 24)…A’s openers are 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA (6.0 ip, 10 h, 5 r, 5 er, 7 so) and the “main” pitchers are 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA (30.0 ip, 28 h, 15 r, 15 er, 10 bb, 30 so)…are 2-4 in the six 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 had its streak of six consecutive games with a save snapped last night…that matched the longest streak in Oakland history (fourth time, last: June 25-30, 2018) and it followed a 29-game stretch without a save, which was the second longest single-season streak by an A’s team since the save became an official stat in 1969…that fell one short of the record of 30 (June 1-July 2, 1980)…the pen is now 10-for-22 (45.5%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage in the majors, the third fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (12)…has a 2.58 ERA (11 er in 38.1 ip) over the last eight games but has a 5.74 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors…has 293.0 innings pitched, which is second most to the Rays (296.1)…has allowed 53-of-130 (40.8%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…has the fourth most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s stole three bases last night and now have 14 steals over the last 10 games…are 69-for-86 (80.2%) in stolen base attempts…rank fourth in the majors in stolen bases and attempts…had 78 stolen bases all last year…A’s opponents are 56-for-81 (69.1%), which is the fourth lowest success rate in the majors…the 25 caught stealings are the most in the majors but the 56 stolen bases are eighth most…A’s pitchers had two pickoffs last night and now have nine for the season, which is tied with the Yankees for the most in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-1 on this seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay (2-1) and Philadelphia (three games)…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 9-25 (.265) at home, which is the second lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 9-26/.257)…won two of three from Atlanta to close out the last homestand for the first home series win of the season…went 5-4 on the last road trip to Miami (0-3), Pittsburgh (2-1) and Milwaukee (3-0)…it was the A’s first winning road trip since Sept. 14-19, 2021…are 10-26 (.278) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, 9-24/.273)…have compiled a 5.48 ERA (191 er in 314.0 ip) at home compared to 7.05 on the road WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 10 of their 19 victories…have five walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors (White Sox, 6)…are 10-47 when tied or trailing after seven innings compared to 9-4 when leading after seven innings…rank fourth in the majors in wins when tied or trailing after seven innings but no other team has fewer than 14 wins when leading after seven…are 4-4 (.500) in extra inning games…are tied for fifth in the majors in extra inning wins and losses and rank seventh in games (8).
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Each of the A’s last two wins, three of the last four and 11 of 19 overall have been by one run…are now 11-11 (.500) in one-run games… are tied for seventh in the majors in one-run games (22) and tied for 10th in wins (11)…however, are 8-40 (.167) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs…have a run differential of 0 in June after posting a mark of -78 in May and -118 in April…are -195 for the season, 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).
PLAYERS USED: The A’s have used 45 players, which is tied with the Brewers and Reds for the most in the majors…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…29 of the 45 have been pitchers, which is second most to the Rays (32)…tied an Athletics record with 34 pitchers last year…12 of the 43 are rookies after using an Oakland-record 34 rookies last year…seven have made their Major League debuts…had 23 do that last year.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s are 15-26 (.366) in night games, 4-25 (.138) in day games…are 15-11 when scoring four or more runs, 4-40 when scoring fewer than four runs…committed two errors last night and now have 40 for the season, which is tied for seventh most in the majors…are tied for second in the majors in outfield assists (14)…have used the injured list 15 times, including 11 times for pitchers…currently have seven players on the IL, including six pitchers…have an average time of game of 2:46, which is the longest in the majors…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43)…have allowed at least one run in each of their last 97 games, which is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by an A’s team since an Athletics record 198-game streak from April 7, 1997-May 17, 1998…the A’s last shutout was on Sept. 4, 2022 at Baltimore (5-0).
A’S VS. RAYS
- The A’s have lost the season series for the second consecutive year and fourth time in the last six meetings as they are 2-4 entering the
final game today. - Are 17-24 (.415) against the Rays dating back to 2017.
- Have lost seven of the last nine games, which includes a six-game losing streak that was snapped on Monday…the losing streak matched the A’s longest ever against Tampa Bay (May 26-Sept. 4, 1998).
- Are 64-37 (.634) against the Rays at home, which is their best record against any AL team in the Coliseum.
- Were swept in a three-game series at Tampa Bay in April to open the season series…it was the first time the A’s were swept at Tampa Bay since April 19-21, 2013.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 2-1 0-3 2-4
2022 0-3 3-1 3-4
Oakland History: 118-87
at the Coliseum: 64-37
at Tropicana Field: 54-50
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda is tied for fourth in the the majors in walks (46) and ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.406).…leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.406) and walks (46) and tops AL rookies in OPS (.847)…Esteury Ruiz leads the majors in stolen bases (33) and hit by pitches (12)…leads ML rookies in stolen bases (33) and hit by pitches (12) and is tied for third in hits (69).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Paul Blackburn (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was reinstated from the injured list May 29 and is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season…began the year on the 15-day IL with a right middle fingernail avulsion…made three rehab starts with Single-A Stockton and Triple-A Las Vegas from April 7-16 before his rehab assignment was halted…resumed on May 14 and made three more starts with the Aviators…had no decisions, a 7.50 ERA and 1.012 OPS in six rehab starts overall.
FIRST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 7-2 win over Atlanta on May 29 in Oakland…it was his first Major League appearance since a start on Aug. 4, 2022 at Los Angeles (AL)…allowed a RBI single to Murphy in the first but that was the only run he would allow in four innings of work…was relieved by Erceg to start the fifth with the A’s trailing 1-0 but Oakland scored four times in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead.
SECOND START: He had his second consecutive no decision in the A’s 7-5 loss at Miami on June 4…allowed a RBI double to Gurriel in the second inning but the A’s came back with five runs in the third…he yielded a sacrifice fly to Stallings in the fourth to make the score 5-2 and then surrendered a game-tying three home run to Cooper in the fifth…was relieved by Waldichuk to start the fifth with the scored tied 5-5.
LAST START: He had his third consecutive no decision in the A’s 2-1, 10-inning win at Milwaukee last Saturday…tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and a walk…retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced and was relieved by Pruitt to start the seventh with the A’s leading 1-0…Lovelady allowed a run in the eighth for the blown save.
