OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have won four of the last five games, five of the last eight and are 13-13 over the last 26 games dating back to June 6…however, are 25-63 (.284) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Royals (25-62, .287)…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.

WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 25 victories (52.0%)…had their sixth extra inning win of the season Tuesday 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 24 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 25 overall have been by one run…are 15-17 (.469) in one-run games…are third in the majors in one-run losses, rank third in games (32) and tied for fifth in wins…however, are 10-46 (.179) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-17 in games decided by six runs or more…have a run differential of -227, which is the lowest in the majors.

BEFORE THE BREAK: The A’s are 25-63 (.284) with four 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 26½ 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 5.95 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 385 walks, which is third most in Oakland history (412 in 1979, 405 in 1994)…are hitting .221 and the only time in Athletics history the A’s hit under .225 before the break was last year (.211)…have 89 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 .211 (300-for-1421) with 29 home runs over the last 44 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 (.221), slugging (.352), OPS (.652), runs scored (320) and extra base hits (209)…have the second fewest doubles (116), the fourth lowest on-base percentage (.300), have the fourth most times shut out (9), have the fifth most strikeouts (810) and the seventh fewest home runs (81)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (18) and are tied for fourth in hit by pitches (48).

IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters are 23-for-85 (.271) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks…lead the majors in hits, rank third in plate appearances (96), tied for fifth in walks and in doubles, tied for eighth in extra base hits (5) and home runs and tied for ninth in RBI.

PITCHING: With 10 scoreless innings Tuesday 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 (5.95) in the majors; the second highest opponents on-base percentage (.360), slugging percentage (.464), and OPS (.823); and fourth highest batting average (.271)…lead the majors in most walks (385) 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 (691).

STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-9 with a 4.50 ERA (47 er in 94.0 ip) over the last 19 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-41 with a 6.19 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.60) 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 (410.1).

FOR OPENERS: Austin Pruitt served as an “opener” yesterday, marking the ninth time the A’s have used one this year (all since May 24)…openers are 1-3 with a 5.56 ERA (11.1 ip, 16 h, 7 r, 7 er, 10 so) and the “main” pitchers are 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA (43.1 ip, 39 h, 22 r, 22 er, 18 bb, 43 so)…are 3-6 in the nine 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 (5.69), the most losses (22) and the second most innings pitched (366.2)…is 4-for-4 in save opportunities over the last 11 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 66-of-159 (41.5%) inherited runners to score, which is the second highest percentage…is tied for the third most inherited runners.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts over the last six games and are 89-for-107 (83.2%) for the season…rank third in the majors in steals, tied for third in attempts and sixth in percentage…the 89 stolen bases are most by an A’s team over the last 11 years (had 122 in 2012)…A’s opponents are 14-for-28 (50.0%) in stolen base attempts over the last 25 games and 62-for-94 (66.0%) for the season, which is the lowest success rate in the majors…the 32 caught stealings are eight more than any other team… A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which are tied for second most (Yankees, 13).

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-0 on this six-game road trip to Detroit (2-0) 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 13-31 (.295) on the road, which is tied for the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, .279)…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 6.68 (274 er in 369.0 ip) on the road.

THIS AND THAT: The A’s have used the injured list 21 times, including 14 times for pitchers…currently have 10 players on the IL, including seven pitchers…have employed 47 players, which is tied for fourth most in the majors… have used 30 pitchers, which is fourth most…are 20-30 (.400) in night games, 5-33 (.132) during the day…are 7-7 (.500) on Tuesday, 6-7 (.462) on Friday and 12-49 (.197) on all other days of the week…have an average time of game of 2:46, which is tied for longest in the majors (Orioles)…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:44).

A’S VS. TIGERS

• The A’s won the season series last year 5-2 and have won five consecutive season series.
• Are 31-5 (.861) against the Tigers dating back to 2017, which includes 12-3 at the Coliseum and 19-2 at Comerica Park.
• Are 53-30 (.639) all-time at Comerica Park, which is the best winning percentage by any team.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 2-0 2-0
2022 1-1 4-1 5-2
Oakland History: 283-251
at the Coliseum: 152-113
at Comerica Park: 53-30
All-Time: 951-1004

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Shintaro Fujinami has picked up the win in each of his last two games and has a team-leading five of the A’s 25 wins…Esteury Ruiz stole his 43rd base of the season last night, surpassing Mitchell Page for the most by a rookie in A’s history…his 43 steals are the most in the majors this year… Seth Brown is 7-for-24 (.292) with three home runs and six RBI over his last eight games after hitting .165 with one home run and nine RBI over his previous 24 contests…Tony Kemp is 20-for-60 (.333) with six walks and a hit by pitch over his last 18 games, dating back to June 15…Jordan Diaz is 5-for-14 (.357) in three starts at designated hitter and one start at second base since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Friday

FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make the ninth appearance and fourth start of his career…four of his appearances came in a game started by an opener (Pruitt on May 27 vs. Houston; Fujinami on June 2 at Miami, June 13 vs. Tampa Bay and June 24 at Toronto)…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 27 for his second stint with the A’s and is 2-2 with a 3.79 ERA (38.0 ip, 32 h, 17 r, 16 er, 10 bb, 29 so) in seven games, including three starts, since his return… 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 (four with Las Vegas, one with Oakland)…is 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA (20 er in 57.2 ip) and .628 OPS in 11 games since then (four with Las Vegas, seven with Oakland)…walked 19 batters in 11.2 innings over his first five games but has issued just 16 free passes in 57.2 innings since then.

THIS AND THAT: Allowed nine hits in his last start after yielding five hits or fewer in each of his first seven appearances…has walked six batters in 10.0 innings over his last two games after issuing four free passes in 28.0 innings over his previous five contests…opponents are 7-for-20 (.350) with runners in scoring position…has allowed 10 of his 23 runs in the fifth inning for a 12.27 ERA (7.1 ip)…has a 3.33 ERA (9 er in 24.1 ip) over innings one through four and an 8.36 ERA (13 er in 14.0 ip) from the fifth inning on.

2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on April 14 and made his Major League debut that day 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)… had career highs in runs and walks and was optioned back to the Aviators the next day…was recalled for a second time on May 27 and pitched in relief of opener Adam Pruitt that day against Houston…entered the game to start the second inning and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings…allowed just one hit and one walk…walked the second batter he faced (Maldonado) but then retired 12 straight before Bregman singled with one out in the sixth…struck out Kyle Tucker in the fourth inning for his first career strikeout…picked up his first win in his first start on June 7 at Pittsburgh, a 9-5 A’s win…allowed three runs in 5.0 innings, which was his shortest outing as a starter…pitched in relief of Fujinami again on June 13 and picked up his second consecutive win in the A’s 2-1 victory over Tampa Bay…allowed just one run in a career-high 7.0 innings…it tied for the sixth longest outing by a reliever in Oakland history and was the longest since Reggie Harris logged 7.0 innings on Aug. 14, 1990 against Boston…was charged with the first loss of his career in the A’s 3-2 loss to Philadelphia on June 18 in Oakland…struck out a career-high seven batters in 6.0 innings and logged a career-high 95 pitches.

LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 10-4 loss to New York (AL) a week ago today in Oakland…allowed a career-high nine hits and surrendered two home runs in a game for the first time in his career…the A’s scored a run in the first but he allowed a solo home run to Kiner-Falefa in the second… had a 3-1 lead when he allowed a Kiner-Falefa sacrifice fly in the fourth…the Yankees then scored eight times in the sixth inning, including three times
off him.

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT TO OAKLAND: The Tigers dropped a 12-3 decision to Oakland last night. Miguel Cabrera went 1×2 with a double and a RBI, while Jonathan Schoop added a RBI double. Spencer Torkelson hit a triple in the ninth inning, while Zach McKinstry also had a hit. Eduardo Rodriguez started for Detroit and took the loss, giving up five runs on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings.

MIGGY STAYS HOT: Miguel Cabrera reached base twice in last night’s game, going 1×2 with a double, a RBI and a walk. Dating back to May 30, Cabrera is slashing .353/.425/.500 with seven doubles, a home run and eight RBI. Among American League players with at least 80 plate appearances in that span, he ranks third in batting average and on-base percentage.

TORK TRIPLE: Spencer Torkelson hit the second triple of his big league career in the ninth inning of last night’s game. Torkelson has hit safely in six of his last seven games and has six extra-base hits in that stretch. In those seven contests, he is batting .296/.406/.852 with a double, a triple, four home runs and eight RBI.

TIGERS AND ATHLETICS: The Tigers and Athletics conclude their first series of the season this afternoon. The two teams will meet again for a four-game series from September 21-24 in Oakland. With last night’s loss, the Tigers have now dropped 11 straight series of at least three games against the Athletics.

AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 0-2 on their current six-game homestand, which includes three games vs. Oakland (0-2) and three games vs. Toronto (July 7-9). Detroit is 18-23 at Comerica Park this season. The Tigers are hitting .238/.311/.373 as a team at home, while the pitching staff has a 4.58 ERA (377.0IP/192ER).

ON DECK: The Tigers continue their homestand tomorrow as they begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays. Detroit and Toronto played earlier this season at Rogers Centre with the Blue Jays winning two-of-three games. Detroit went 2-5 against Toronto last season, including a 1-2 record at Comerica Park.

INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Akil Baddoo, Riley Greene and Trey Wingenter each continued their injury rehab assignments with Triple A Toledo last night. Baddoo started in left field and went 1×4 with a run scored. Greene served as the designated hitter and went 5×5 with two runs scored, a double and a RBI. Wingenter threw a scoreless inning with one hit allowed and one strikeout.

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)

TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

21 Michael Lorenzen • 2-6, 4.28 ERA (82.0IP/39ER)

• Lorenzen will make his 15th start of the season today in the series finale vs. Oakland.
• Took the loss in his last start on Friday at Colorado, allowing five runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
• Has been impressive in five career outings, including four starts, vs. Oakland, compiling a 3-0 record with a 0.35 ERA (26.0IP/1ER) and 27 strikeouts…in 10 career appearances, including nine starts, at Comerica Park, he has a 3-3 record with a 3.83 ERA (54.0IP/23ER) and 37 strikeouts.
• Named to the American League All-Star Team on Sunday, his first career selection to the All-Star Game…became the first Tigers starting pitcher to earn an All-Star Game nod since Michael Fulmer in 2017.
• Among American League pitchers with at least 80.0 innings pitched this season, he ranks 10th with 2.20 walks per 9.0 innings.
• Made five starts during May, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.95 ERA (32.1IP/7ER) and 20 strikeouts…among qualified Major League pitchers in May, he ranked tied for sixth in ERA (1.95) and ninth in WHIP (0.87).