OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have won three of the last four games, four of the last seven and are 12-13 over the last 25 games dating back to June 6…however, are 24-63 (.276) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Royals (25-61, .291)…the last two Major League teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290 are the 2003 Tigers (43-119, .265) and 1962 Mets (40- 120, .250)…are 4-5-1 over the last 10 series after going 1-16 over the first 17 series…have swept one series but have been swept 11 times.

LAST NIGHT: The A’s shut out the Tigers 1-0 for their first shutout since Sept. 4, 2022 (5-0 at Baltimore)…it snapped a streak of 113 consecutive games without a shutout, which was third longest in Oakland history and the longest since the record of 198 from April 7, 1997-May 17, 1998…it was the 17th extra inning shutout in Oakland history…it was the first since Sept. 18, 2019 (1-0 in 11 innings vs. Kansas City) and the first on the road since Sept. 2, 2003 (2-0 in 12 innings at Baltimore)…collected just two hits, which marks the 14th time in Oakland history the A’s won a game with two or fewer hits… the last was on Sept. 4, 2016 vs. Boston (2 hits in a 1-0 win)…it was the first time in Athletics history the A’s won an extra inning game with two hits or fewer…JP Sears tossed 7.1 innings, ending an Athletics record streak of 120 consecutive games of seven innings or fewer by an A’s starting pitcher… extended their Athletics record streak of 353 consecutive games without a complete game dating back to Sean Manaea’s four-hit shutout on June 2, 2021 at Seattle…that was also the last time an A’s starter logged more than eight innings.

WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 24 victories (54.2%)…had their sixth extra inning win of the season last night, which matches their total from last year…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning games (12) and losses and tied for fourth in wins…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors…have 12 wins when tied or trailing after seven innings, which is fifth most.

ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: Of the A’s last 23 games, 13 have been decided by one run and Oakland is 7-6 in those games…six of the A’s last seven wins and 15 of 24 overall have been by one run…are 15-17 (.469) in one-run games…are tied for second in the majors in one-run losses, rank third in games (32) and tied for fifth in wins…however, are 9-46 (.164) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-17 in games decided by six runs or more…have a run differential of -236, which is the lowest in the majors.

BEFORE THE BREAK: The A’s are 24-63 (.276) with five games remaining before the All-Star Break…had a .344 (32-61) winning percentage before the break last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history to the 1979 club (25-69, .266)…currently trail first place Texas by 27½ games…trailed Houston by 28 games at the break last year, which were the A’s most games back at the break since 1979 (30½)…have a 5.99 ERA…the highest pre-break ERA in Oakland history is 5.67 in 1997 and the highest in Athletics history is 6.29 in 1936…have set an Athletics record for most home runs allowed before the break (125, previous 114 in 1997) and have issued 381 walks, which is third most in Oakland history (412 in 1979, 405 in 1994)…are hitting .219 and the only time in Athletics history the A’s hit under .225 before the break was last year (.211)…have 87 stolen bases, which is eighth most in Oakland history before the break (7th is 94 in 1974) and is the most since 1984 (97).

OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .207 (286-for-1381) with 26 home runs over the last 43 games dating back to May 17 after hitting .230 with 52 home runs over the first 44 contests…rank last in the majors in batting (.219), slugging (.349), OPS (.648), runs scored (308) and extra base hits (205)…have the second fewest doubles (115), the third lowest on-base percentage (.299), are tied for the third most times shut out (9), have the fifth most strikeouts (800) and are tied for the fifth fewest home runs (78)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (18) and are tied for third in hit by pitches (48).

PITCHING: With 10 scoreless innings last night, the A’s lowered their ERA under 6.00 for just the second time since the sixth game of the season (also 5.99 at the conclusion of play on June 23)…have the highest ERA (5.99) and opponents on-base percentage (.361) in the majors, the second highest OPS (.826) and slugging percentage (.465) and third highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors in most walks (381) and hit batters (56), are tied for the most wild pitches (41), rank second in most home runs (125) and have the fifth fewest strikeouts (683).

STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-9 with a 4.65 ERA (47 er in 91.0 ip) over the last 18 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-41 with a 6.23 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.55) and the wins are the fewest… have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game this year and have the fourth fewest innings pitched (407.1).

FOR OPENERS: Austin Pruitt is scheduled to start today, which will mark the ninth time the A’s have used an “opener” this year (all since May 24)…openers are 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA (8.1 ip, 16 h, 7 r, 7 er, 9 so) and the “main” pitchers are 2-2 with a 4.62 ERA (39.0 ip, 37 h, 20 r, 20 er, 15 bb, 40 so)…are 2-6 in the eight 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 has the highest ERA in the majors (5.71), the most losses (22) and the second most innings pitched (360.2)…is 4-for-4 in save opportunities over the last 10 games but is 14-for-29 (48.3%) for the season, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors…has the third fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (15)…has allowed 65-of-157 (41.4%) inherited runners to score, which is the second highest percentage…has the third most inherited runners.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts over the last five games and are 87-for-105 (82.9%) for the season…rank third in the majors in steals, fourth in attempts and sixth in percentage…the 87 stolen bases are second most by an A’s team over the last 11 years (had 88 in 2021)…A’s opponents are 14-for-28 (50.0%) in stolen base attempts over the last 24 games and 62-for-94 (66.0%) for the season, which is the lowest success rate in the majors…the 32 caught stealings are nine more than any other team… A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is second most (Yankees, 13).

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 1-0 on this six-game road trip to Detroit (1-0) and Boston (three games), which takes them into the All-Star Break…went 1-5 on the last road trip to Cleveland (0-3) and Toronto (1-2) and are 12-31 (.279) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…went 3-3 on the last homestand against New York-AL (1-2) and Chicago-AL (2-1) and are 12-32 (.273) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…have compiled a 5.29 ERA at home compared to 6.78 (271 er in 360.0 ip) on the road.

A’S VS. TIGERS

• The A’s won the season series last year 5-2 and have won five consecutive season series.
• Are 30-5 (.857) against the Tigers dating back to 2017, which includes 12-3 at the Coliseum and 18-2 at Comerica Park.
• Are 52-30 (.634) all-time at Comerica Park, which is the best winning percentage by any team.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 1-0 1-0
2022 1-1 4-1 5-2
Oakland History: 282-251
at the Coliseum: 152-113
at Comerica Park: 52-30
All-Time: 950-1004

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and is tied for second in the majors in walks (58)…ranks 10th in the majors in on-base percentage (.386)… leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.386) and walks (58)… Esteury Ruiz stole his 42nd base of the season Saturday, which ties the Athletics rookie record set by Mitchell Page in 1977…leads the majors in stolen bases (42), ranks fourth in hit by pitches (12) and is fifth in batting with runners in scoring position (.372)…leads ML rookies in stolen bases (42) and hit by pitches (12), is tied for third in doubles (19), ranks fifth in hits (84) and tied for seventh in RBI (33).

TODAY’S “MAIN” PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (1-5, 6.78 ERA)

FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 20th appearance of the season…that includes 10 traditional starts and two appearances as an opener…began the season in the A’s starting rotation and went 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA over his first nine starts through May 19…is 0-2 with a save and a 6.64 ERA (20.1 ip, 29 h, 17 r, 15 er, 13 bb, 25 so) in 10 appearances since then.

RANKINGS: Ranks sixth among Major League rookies in innings pitched (66.1), tied for sixth in strikeouts (64) and tied for eighth in games started (11)…ranks second in most runs (54) and walks (41), tied for second in most hits (86), tied for third in most home runs (14) and tied for fifth in most losses (5)…among all pitchers with 60 or more innings pitched, he has the highest opponents batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.555) and OPS (.965) in the majors and the second highest ERA (6.78).

HOME AND AWAY: Is 0-2 with a 4.06 ERA (14 er in 31.0 ip) and .823 opponents OPS in nine games at home compared to 1-3 with a 9.17 ERA (36 er in 35.1 ip) and 1.082 OPS in 10 games in the road…has surrendered nine of his 14 home runs on the road.

OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed 14 hits to left-handed hitters, 11 of which are for extra bases (seven doubles, one triple, three home runs)…has allowed a .356 (48-for-135) batting average with the bases empty compared to .277 (38-for-137) with runners on base…opponents are hitting .247 (23-for-93) with runners in scoring position and are 2-for-13 (.154) with the bases loaded…as a starter, he has a .250 (19-for-76) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .339 (41-for-121) after that.

THIS AND THAT: Allowed 14 home runs in 49.2 innings over his first 11 games, none over his last eight games and 16.2 innings…has tossed five innings or fewer in five of his nine traditional starts and never more than 6.1 innings… tossed 1.0 inning and 1.2 innings in his two starts as an opener (May 28 vs. Houston, June 20 at Cleveland)…had a 3.38 ERA (2.2 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 1 er, 4 so) in those two games…has tossed at least 2.0 innings in six of his eight relief appearances.…has left with the lead in three times in position to win only to have the bullpen blow the save (April 12, April 24, April 30)…has allowed two runs run in the first inning (11.0 ip, 1.64 ERA) but has a 7.81 ERA (48 er in 55.1 ip) from the second inning on

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-to-back 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 3.0 innings in the start against the Rays, which was his shortest outing of the season in a traditional start… 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…finished April 0-2 with a 7.26 ERA and .976 opponents OPS in six starts…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…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…then walked five batters in each of his next two starts and his streak of three consecutive games with five or more walks matches the longest by an A’s pitcher over the last 30 years (Chad Gaudin, July 12-23, 2007)…was moved out of the starting rotation after allowing four runs on five hits and five walks in 5.0 innings in a 5-1 loss at Houston on May 19… took the loss in his first relief appearance on May 24 at Seattle…struck out a season-high tying seven batters in 2.2 innings but allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks…made his first start as an opener on May 28 against Houston (1.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 so)…earned the first save of his career on June 12 against Tampa Bay when he tossed 3.0 scoreless innings in the A’s 4-3 win…became the first A’s pitcher to toss three or more scoreless innings for the save in a one-run game since Elias Sosa on May 2, 1978…made his second start as an opener on June 20 at Cleveland (1.2 ip, 2 h, 2 so)…allowed six runs in 2.1 innings of relief on June 25 at Toronto.

LAST APPEARANCE: He pitched 2.2 scoreless innings of relief in the A’s 10-4 loss to New York (AL) last Thursday in Oakland…entered the game in the sixth inning with one out, the A’s trailing 9-3 and runners and runners on first and third…it was the first time he entered a game with runners on base and he allowed one run to score

LAST TRADITIONAL START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 5-1 loss at Houston on May 19…allowed a run in the second on a RBI ground out and the A’s tied the game with a run in the top of the third…he then surrendered a RBI double to Tucker in the fourth and a two-run home run to Tucker in the sixth for the loss.

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS SHUT OUT IN SERIES OPENER: The Tigers lost to the Athletics, 1-0, in 10 innings in the series opener on Tuesday. Tarik Skubal made his first start of the season for Detroit, throwing 4.0 hitless innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Reese Olson followed with 5.0 scoreless frames, allowing one hit with one walk and five strikeouts. Miguel Cabrera and Matt Vierling each had two hits, while Jake Rogers and Zack Short each finished the game 1×4.

ROSTER MOVES: The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:

*Following last night’s game, optioned RHP Garrett Hill to Triple A Toledo

*Reinstated LHP Eduardo Rodriguez from the 15-day injured list

MULTI-HIT MIGGY: Miguel Cabrera had a pair of hits in last night’s game, recording the 887th multi-hit game of his career. Dating back to May 30, Cabrera is slashing .348/.416/.485 with six doubles, a home run and seven RBI. Among American League players with at least 60 at-bats in that span, he ranks fourth in on-base
percentage and fifth in batting average.

WELCOME BACK TARIK!: Tarik Skubal returned to the mound for the Tigers last night, pitching 4.0 hitless innings with six strikeouts in his first Major League start since August 1, 2022. Since the start of the 2022 season, Skubal has allowed two runs-or-less in 12 of his 22 starts.

EXTRA, EXTRA: The Tigers played their 13th extra-inning game of the season last night, falling to 8-5 in those contests. Detroit’s 13 extra-inning contests are the second most in the Majors, trailing only Cleveland (14).

TIGERS AND ATHLETICS: The Tigers and Athletics continue their season series tonight. Detroit went 2-5 against Oakland last season, including a 1-4 record at Comerica Park. The A’s have won the season series from the Tigers each of the last five seasons the two teams have played.

AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 0-1 on their current six-game homestand, which includes three games vs. Oakland (0-1) and three games vs. Toronto (July 7-9). Detroit is 18-22 at Comerica Park this season. The Tigers are hitting .240/.313/.375 as a team at home, while the pitching staff has a 4.40 ERA (368.0IP/180ER).

INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Akil Baddoo and Beau Brieske continued their injury rehab assignments with Triple A Toledo last night. Baddoo started at designated hitter and went 0x3 with a RBI. Brieske pitched in relief for the Mud Hens, giving up a run on a hit with two walks and a strikeout in 1.1 innings.

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• LHP Tyler Alexander (left lat/shoulder strain, 60-day IL on July 4, retroactive to July 3)
• OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
• LHP Matthew Boyd (left elbow sprain, 60-day IL on June 27)
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March
  27)
• RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
• OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
• RHP Will Vest (right lower leg strain, 15-day IL on June 27)
• RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

57 Eduardo Rodriguez • 4-4, 2.13 ERA (67.2IP/16ER)

• Rodriguez will make his 12th start of the season tonight vs. Oakland after being reinstated from the injured list prior to the game…had been sidelined since May 30 with a left index finger pulley rupture.
• Made an injury rehab start with Triple A Toledo on Thursday at Columbus, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings with three hits allowed, one walk and four strikeouts.
• Has made eight starts in his career against Oakland, going 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA (47.1IP/21ER) and 50 strikeouts…in 17 career starts at Comerica Park, he has an 8-5 record with a 2.94 ERA (95.0IP/31ER) and 91 strikeouts.
• Had six consecutive starts with at least 5.0 innings pitched and one run-or-less allowed from April 12-May 10, the longest streak of his career, and tied with Michael Fulmer (May 21-June 17, 2016) and Al Benton (April 19-May 20, 1945) for the second-longest streak in franchise history…over that stretch, he compiled a 4-0 record with a 0.43 ERA (41.2IP/2ER) and 41 strikeouts…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, his 0.43 ERA was tied with Doug Fister for the second lowest by a Tigers pitcher over a six-start span since 1913, trailing only Al Benton, who had a 0.33 ERA over six starts in 1945.
• Since 2018, he has a .659 winning percentage, which ranks eighth among all active Major League pitchers over that span (min. 100 starts).