MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Started the second half with a win against the Athletics in Oakland last night, improving to 13-10 in their first game following the All-Star break since 2000…today, the Twins will play the second of three in Oakland…after tomorrow afternoon’s series finale against the A’s, the Twins will fly north for four games in Seattle from Monday-Thursday…the Twins have gone 26-22 at home and 20-24 on the road.
GALLO GONER = TWINS WIN: The Twins started the second half with a 5-4 victory over the Athletics last night, their 10th one-run win of the season…Kenta Maeda was the starter but did not have a part in the decision, allowing three runs on four hits, with four walks and six strikeouts in just 3.0 innings…Joey Gallo, who entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh, walloped a two-run, go-ahead homer in the top of the ninth, his third career go-ahead homer in the ninth-or-later…the Twins’ offense tallied 10 hits on the night, their 30th game this season with at least 10 hits…Edouard Julien hit a pinch-hit double in the fourth inning and finished the night 2-for-3, his third-straight multi-hit game…Carlos Correa (2-for-5) and Donovan Solano (2-for-3) each also had two hits.
At three hours, 28 minutes long, the game was the Twins’ longest nine-inning game of the season and the club’s longest nine-inning contest since a three-hour, 47-minute game against Los Angeles-AL on September 25, 2022.
ROSTER MOVE: The Twins announced today that they have placed infielder Jose Miranda on the 10-day Injured List (retroactive to July 12) with right shoulder impingement…Miranda, 25, hit .211 (30-for-142) with four doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI, nine walks and 12 runs scored in 40 games across two stints with the Twins this season…to replace Miranda on the 26-man roster, the Twins have recalled outfielder Matt Wallner from Triple-A St. Paul…the 25-year-old has hit .308 (44-for-143) with 11 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 31 RBI, 20 walks and 34 runs scored in 36 games for the Saints since May 30…this is Wallner’s third stint with Minnesota this season, after previously being with the club from April 8-15 and May 23-29.
BRAND NEW BALLGAME: Since 2017 (excluding 2020), the Twins have hit .254 (3098-for- 12176) with 617 doubles, 52 triples, 476 home runs, 1744 runs scored and a .756 OPS after the All-Star break…Twins rank among the MLB leaders in that span in total bases (5247, 7th), runs scored (7th), home runs (6th), batting average (9th) and OPS (10th).
STARTING POINTS: Twins starters have averaged 5.6 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022…they have also struck out 567 hitters, tops in the majors, and are on pace to fan 998 batters, which would shatter the club record of 870, done in 1967…below are Twins starting pitching ranks among the other MLB teams:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
MIN – 520.0 TB – 3.61 MIN – .230 SEA – 2.05 MIN – 3.52 SEA – 1.10 MIN – 567 SEA – .658
TEX – 520.0 MIN – 3.67 SEA – .231 SF – 2.38 TB – 3.65 MIN – 1.13 CWS – 541 MIN – .664
HOU – 515.0 ATL – 3.72 TB – .232 MIN – 2.39 SEA – 3.74 TB – 1.17 TOR – 526 TB – .676
SEA – 508.1 SD – 3.73 MIL – .238 PHI – 2.52 MIA – 3.85 TEX – 1.20 MIA – 514 SD – .699
TOR – 505.0 TEX – 3.74 SD – .240 BOS – 2.57 PHI – 3.92 PHI – 1.21 LAA – 498 PHI – .704
STRAIGHT A’s: The Twins and Athletics are playing the second of six scheduled meetings in 2023…Minnesota will host the A’s from September 26-28, the final three games at Target Field this season…the Twins have gone 23-37 vs. the A’s since the start of 2013 for a winning percentage of just .383, the Twins’ second-lowest winning percentage against any AL team in that span (New York-AL – .313).
The Twins went 5-1 vs. the A’s last season, going 3-0 at Target Field from May 6-8 and 2-1 at the Coliseum from May 16-18.
Carlos Correa has 50 hits in 59 career games at the Coliseum, tied for his second-most hits of any opposing ballpark (T-Mobile Park – 53, Angel Stadium – 50)…his 35 walks here are his most in any opposing yard.
Max Kepler has reached safely in 12-straight games in Oakland, dating back to July of 2017…he has an on-base percentage of .365 here in that span.
Donovan Solano is 11-for-20 (.550) in seven career games at the Coliseum…one of his six career-high four-hit games came here on August 25, 2019, with San Francisco.
Joey Gallo has hit nine home runs in his last 18 games vs. the A’s, six of those coming here…in his last 13 games here, he is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with a 1.159 OPS…Gallo has 21 career home runs against the A’s, his most vs. any opponent; 10 have come at the Coliseum.
CC ME NOW: Since being inserted into the leadoff spot on June 30, Carlos Correa has reached base safely in 10-straight games, hitting .333 (13-for-39) with three doubles, three walks, one RBI, seven runs scored, a .395 on-base percentage and an .806 OPS…since that date, he leads the team in hits and times on base (17)…additionally, after the All-Star break last season, Correa hit .304 (77-for-253) with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBI, a .380 on-base percentage and an .866 OPS in 66 games.
THE FAMILY JULES: Edouard Julien had a pinch-hit double last night and finished the evening 2-for-3 with one RBI…has three-straight multi-hit games for the first time in his career and is 8-for-16 with three doubles, three home runs, five RBI, one walk, four runs scored and a 1.779 OPS in his last six games, since July 3…since being recalled on June 10, he’s hitting .324 (24-for-74) with nine doubles, three home runs, six RBI, nine walks, 11 runs scored, a .393 on-base percentage and a .960 OPS in 25 games.
Julien ranks among the MLB rookie leaders this season (minimum of 125 at-bats) in slugging percentage (.515, 2nd), OPS (.870, 3rd), batting average on balls in play (.388, 3rd) and on-base percentage (.355, 7th).
DONNIE IS THE NAME, BARRELS IS THE GAME: Donovan Solano has reached safely in 14 of his last 27 plate appearances since July 3, hitting .458 (11-for-24) with seven doubles, one home run, three RBI, three walks, five runs scored, a .519 on-base percentage and a 1.394 OPS in that span…his .382 on-base percentage this season ranks sixth in the American League (minimum of 250 plate appear- ances) and 15th in MLB…Solano has already set single-season career highs in doubles (20) and walks (29) this season; is approaching his single-season bests in home runs (has 4; 7 in 2021) and RBI (has 22; 31 in 2021).
IN A GALLO-XY FAR, FAR AWAY: Of Joey Gallo’s team-leading 16 home runs this season, 11 have come on the road…he’s hitting .316 (6-for-19) with one double, four home runs, five RBI, three walks, six runs scored, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.409 OPS in his last seven road games, since June 26.
The pitch Gallo homered off of last night was estimated at 99.9 mph, per Statcast, the fastest pitch Gallo’s homered off of in his career.
Gallo enters today ninth in the majors in average exit velocity (93.5 mph).
STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ 49
2023: 5-5, 3.89 ERA CAREER: 33-36, 3.93 ERA
Making his 19th start and appearance and 10th road start of 2023…also his 113th career ap- pearance (all starts) in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22).
Facing Oakland for the second time in his career; earned the win against the A’s on August 23, 2022 at Oakland Coliseum with Miami (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K).
Acquired by the Twins from Miami on January 20, 2023, along with infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio, in exchange for infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez
A STAR IS BORN: López was named an American League All-Star on July 8, marking his first career All-Star selection…took the place of Toronto right-handed starter Kevin Gausman, who opted not to participate…pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the AL in the Midsummer Classic on July 11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, allowing two hits and recording two strikeouts…here are López’s first-half numbers and how he ranked among qualified AL starters:
STATISTIC LÓPEZ’s #s AL RANK
Strikeouts………………………………………………. 138 …………………………………………………………… 2nd
FIP………………………………………………………… 3.16 …………………………………………………………….5th
WAR……………………………………………………….. 2.9 ……………………………………………………………..5th
Innings Pitched……………………………………… 111.0 …………………………………………………………T-6th
Opponent Batting Average……………………….. .220 …………………………………………………………….9th
FIRST HALF, COMPLETE: In his last start before the All-Star break, López pitched his first career complete-game shutout on July 5 against the Kansas City Royals, in the Twins’ 5-0 win at Target Field… set career highs for innings pitched (9.0) and strikeouts (12), allowing just four hits and issuing no walks…yielded three hits in the first three innings, then retired 19 of the final 20 batters he faced to end his outing, allowing only an eighth-inning double to centerfielder Kyle Isbel in that span…retired the side in order in the top of the ninth, inducing a game-ending lineout from leftfielder MJ Melendez to conclude the complete game.
Joined Joe Ryan (June 22 vs. Boston) as the first pair of Twins teammates to both throw a complete-game shutout in the same season since Brian Duensing, Francisco Liriano (no-hitter) and Carl Pavano all did so in 2011.
His career-high 12 strikeouts surpassed his previous career best of 11, done twice previously (May 13, 2022 vs. Milwaukee and July 26, 2022 at Cincinnati).
Recorded an out in the ninth inning for the first time in his career; his previous career high in innings pitched in a start was 8.0, done twice previously (June 8, 2021 vs. Colorado and May 7, 2022 at San Diego).
TWO STARTS AGO: Earned the win in the Twins’ 8-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on June 30 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards…recorded his 10th quality start of the season, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing one run on three hits (1 HR), with three walks and six strikeouts…escaped a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the second inning by retiring centerfielder Cedric Mullins on a flyout… retired 10-consecutive batters from the second through the fifth innings…allowed a solo home run to designated hitter Adley Rutschman to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, then struck out the side to complete his outing…was relieved by Jovani Moran to start the bottom of the eighth with Minnesota leading 8-1; Twins’ offense scored eight runs on 13 hits to win the series opener.
TALE OF TWO HALVES: In 29 career starts after the All-Star break, López is 5-12, 4.97 ERA (154.0 IP, 85 ER) with 43 walks, 131 strikeouts and an .802 opponent OPS…has better career numbers in the first half, going 22-20 with a 3.58 ERA (409.2 IP, 163 ER), 111 walks, 437 strikeouts and a .660 opponent OPS…last season, he went 4-6, 4.97 ERA (76.0 IP, 42 ER) in the second half after going 6-4 with a 2.86 ERA (104.0 IP, 33 ER) in the first half.
TAKING ON THE TOWN: López is facing Oakland for the second time in his career…earned the win in his only previous appearance against the Athletics on August 23, 2022 at Oakland Coliseum in a 5-3 Miami victory, pitching 6.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, two walks and five strikeouts… marked his 11th career start of 6.0-or-more scoreless innings; has since recorded two more such starts (7.0 scoreless IP on October 2, 2022 at Milwaukee, complete-game shutout in his last start on July 5 vs. Kansas City)…has faced four active Oakland hitters previously, holding them hitless in 12 at-bats with five strikeouts (see box to right).
In four career starts against American League West division opponents (OAK – 1, HOU – 1, TEX – 1, LAA – 1), he is 1-2, 3.80 ERA (21.1 IP, 9 ER) with 10 walks and 25 strikeouts.
HITTING THE ROAD: Making his 10th road start of 2023 today…is 2-3, 2.78 ERA (55.0 IP, 17 ER) with 14 walks and 66 strikeouts in nine previous road starts this year…won his last road start on June 30 at Baltimore to snap a seven-start winless streak on the road…has recorded a quality start in each of his last four road outings, his longest streak of quality starts on the road in his career…despite López owning the fourth-lowest road ERA in the American League (min. 8 road GS), the Twins are 3-6 in his road starts in 2023, providing him with an average of only 2.95 runs of support…in nine home starts this year, he is 3-2, 4.98 ERA (56.0 IP, 31 ER) with 16 walks and 72 strikeouts; Twins have gone 7-2 in his nine starts at Target Field.
In 53 career road starts, he is 16-19, 4.20 ERA (281.0 IP, 131 ER) with 77 walks and 287 strikeouts…is 17-17 with a 3.71 ERA (340.0 IP, 140 ER), 95 walks and 340 strikeouts in 59 career home starts.
PITCH BREAKDOWN: Used a five-pitch mix in his first 18 starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…has primarily used his sweeper and sinker against right-handed hitters, favoring his changeup and curveball against left-handed hitters…recorded six strikeouts with his four-seam fastball in his last start on July 5 vs. Kansas City; marked his highest strikeout total with his four-seamer in any start in his career…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (94.9)……………..35.3% (604 pitches, 290/314)… .242 (31-for-128), 8 2B, 6 HR, 47 K
Sweeper (84.3)……………………….20.9% (358 pitches, 283/75).. .156 (12-for-77), 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 30 K
Changeup (88.4)……………………20.8% (356 pitches, 135/221)…. .184 (19-for-103), 2 2B, 2 HR, 32 K
Curveball (82.3)…………………….. 12.5% (213 pitches, 54/159) .. .246 (14-for-57), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 25 K
Sinker (94.5) …………………………..10.5% (179 pitches, 174/5)…… .319 (15-for-47), 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 K
Lopez’s changeup has accumulated a run value of -7 this year, tied for the eighth-best run value on a changeup in baseball, according to Baseball Savant.
In his first 18 starts this year, López has an average fastball velocity of 94.8 mph, a 2.1 mph increase from last season and the largest year-to-year jump of his career.
RIGHT ON: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .199 (44-for-221) batting average this season, with opposing righties going just 1-for-14 (.071) with seven strikeouts against him in his last start on July 5 vs. Kansas City…his 84 strikeouts against righties are the fifth most in the American League this year…his .199 opponent batting average vs. righties this season ranks eighth in the AL (min. 15 GS)…left-handed hitters are batting at a .245 (47-for-192) clip against him in 2023.
Over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.650 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.737 OPS).
REELIN’ IN THE STRIKEOUTS: After fanning a career-high 12 batters in his last start on July 5 vs. Kansas City, López has recorded 138 strikeouts in his first 18 starts with Minnesota, becoming one of 19 pitchers in American League/National League history (since 1901) to record at least 138 strikeouts in his first 18 starts with a team…owns the most strikeouts through a pitcher’s first 18 games with the Twins in club history (since 1961) and is one of only three Minnesota pitchers to record at least 100:
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost five straight games to fall a season-high 43 games under .500 at 25-68 (.269)…it is the first time the A’s have been 43 games under since the second to last game last year (59-102 on Oct. 4)…had a low of 46 games under in 2022 on Oct. 1 (56-102)…have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (26-65, .286)…are on pace to lose 119 games, which would be the most since the 2003 Tigers went 43-119 (.265)…the Tigers and the 1962 Mets (40-120, .250) are the last two Major League teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290…were swept in a three-game series at Boston in the final series before the All-Star Break… it was the 12th time Oakland has been swept this year (have swept one series)…were swept 13 times all last year…are 5-6-1 over the last 12 series after going 1-16 over the first 17.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .248 (85-for-343) with 47 runs scored (4.7 runs per game) over the last 10 games…however, rank last in the majors in batting (.221) and runs scored (333) overall…also have the lowest slugging percentage (.353) and OPS (.653), the fewest extra base hits (221), second fewest doubles (123), third most strikeouts (855), tied for the third most times shut out (10), fourth lowest on-base percentage (.300) and are tied for the sixth fewest home runs (85)…rank second in sacrifice hits (18) and fourth in hit by pitches (51).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters are 25-for-89 (.281) with four doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks…lead the majors in hits, are tied for second in extra base hits (6), rank third in plate appearances (100), tied for fourth in doubles, tied for sixth in walks, tied for ninth in home runs and tied for 10th in RBI.
PITCHING: The A’s struck out a season-high 14 batters last night and now have 739 for the season, which is eighth fewest in the majors…have compiled a 6.25 ERA (91 er in 131.0 ip) over the last 15 games dating back to June 24… had a 7.43 ERA over the first 38 games through May 10 and a 4.64 ERA in 40 games in between…have a 6.04 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.361) and the second highest OPS (.829), batting average (.274) and slugging percentage (.468)…lead the majors in most walks (403), hit batters (60) and wild pitches (43) and rank second in most home runs (131).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-12 with a 5.24 ERA (64 er in 110.0 ip) over the last 24 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-44 with a 6.33 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.43), the wins are the fewest and the losses are tied for second most…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the fewest innings pitched (426.1).
FOR OPENERS: Austin Pruitt will start for the A’s today, which marks the 11th time the A’s have used an opener (all since May 24)…openers are 0-4 with a 7.30 ERA (12.1 ip, 19 h, 10 r, 10 er, 1 bb, 12 so) and the main pitchers are 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA (49.1 ip, 46 h, 26 r, 26 er, 19 bb, 52 so)…are 3-7 in the 10 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 compiled a 6.63 ERA (54 er in 73.1 ip) over the last 17 games dating back to June 22 but is 4-2 with four saves and one blown save over that span…overall, has the highest ERA in the majors (5.72), the most innings pitched (391.2) and is tied for the most losses (24)…has converted 14-of-30 (46.7%) save opportunities, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors…has the third fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (16)…has allowed 71-of-175 (40.6%) inherited runners to score, which is the second highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 92-for-111 (82.9%) in stolen base attempts…are tied for third in the majors in attempts, rank fourth in steals and sixth in percentage…the stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2012 (122)…A’s opponents are 67-for-99 (67.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 32 caught stealings are eight more than any other team…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is third most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have committed 56 errors, which is fifth most in the majors…have turned 66 double plays, which is tied for fifth fewest…A’s outfielders have 16 assists, which is tied for second most…A’s catchers have six passed balls, which is tied for fifth most.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 25 victories (52.0%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches the A’s total from last year…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning games (12), tied for fourth in losses and tied for fifth in wins… have six walk-off wins, which is tied for second most…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 29 games, 15 have been decided by one run and Oakland is 7-8 in those games…six of the A’s last eight wins and 15 of 25 overall have been by one run…are 15-19 (.441) in one-run games…are tied for the most one-run losses in the majors, rank third in games (34) and eighth in wins…however, are 10-49 (.169) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-19 in games decided by six runs or more… have a run differential of -249, which is the lowest in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-1 on this 10-game homestand against Minnesota (0-1), Boston (three games) and Houston (four games)…it is the first of two 10-game homestand and it begins a 27-day stretch where the A’s will leave the state of California once (July 28-30 at Colorado)…went 3-3 on the last homestand against New York-AL (1-2) and Chicago-AL (2-1) and are 12-33 (.267) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors… went 2-4 on the last road trip to Detroit (2-1) and Boston (0-3) and are 13-35 (.271) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…have compiled a 5.29 ERA (245 er in 417.0 ip) at home compared to 6.80 on the road.
PLAYERS USED: Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom made their Major League debuts last night and the A’s have now used 51 players, which is tied for second most in the majors (Angels, 52)…Freddy Tarnok would become player #52…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 31 pitchers, which is tied for third most…tied an Athletics record with 34 pitchers last year…27 of the 31 pitchers have appeared in relief, which ties the Athletics record (2018, 2022)…14 have started a game, which is tied for third most in Oakland history (16 in 1983, 15 in 2018)…16 of the 51 players are rookies after using an Oakland-record 34 rookies last year…10 have made their Major League debuts (had 23 do that last year).
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have used the injured list 24 times, including 15 times for pitchers…currently have 12 players on the IL, including seven pitchers… are 20-32 (.385) in night games, 5-36 (.122) during the day…are 7-7 (.500) on Tuesday, 6-9 (.400) on Friday and 12-52 (.188) on all other days of the week… have an average time of game of 2:45, which is second longest in the majors (Orioles, 2:46)…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:44)…had a 25-67 (.272) record at the All-Star Break, which was the second lowest winning percentage in Athletics history before the break (25-69/.266 in 1979)…trailed first place Texas by 27½ games, which are the third most games back at the break in Oakland history (30½ in 1979, 28 in 2022).
A’S VS. TWINS
- The A’s lost 5-4 last night and six of their last eight losses to the Twins have been by one run.
- The A’s lost the season series last year for the first time since 2015 as they went 1-5… that was the A’s second worst record ever against the Twins (1-8 in 2003).
- Have won seven of the last 10 season series and are 42-27 (.609) against the Twins dating back to 2012, which includes a 24-9 (.727) record in Oakland.
- The A’s 1019 wins against the Twins/Senators are their most against any team.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-1 0-0 0-1
2022 1-2 0-3 1-5
Oakland History: 315-312
at the Coliseum: 176-134
at Target Field: 22-23
All-Time: 1019-1017
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and is tied for third in the majors in walks (60)…ranks 13th in the majors in on-base percentage (.378)…leads Major League rookies in walks…Tyler Soderstrom is scheduled to start at catcher today…at the age of 21 years and 233 days, he will become the second youngest starting catcher in Oakland history…the youngest is Scott Meyer, who was 21 years and 38 days when he made his only career start on Sept. 26, 1978 at Chicago.
TODAY’S MAIN PITCHER: Hogan Harris (2-3, 6.07 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 10th appearance of the season and his career…has made four starts and five relief appearances, four of which have come in a game started by an opener…this is 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 and was optioned back to Las Vegas the next day…returned to Oakland on May 27 and is 2-3 with a 4.85 ERA (23 er in 42.2 ip) in eight games since his return.
THREE-GAME LOSING STREAK: Is 0-3 with a 7.40 ERA (29 er in 43.0 ip), .310 (26-for-84) opponents batting average and .929 OPS over his last four games, including three starts…went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA, .184 opponents average an .501 OPS over his first four games following his May 27 promotion.
STARTING AND RELIEVING: Is 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA (16 er in 21.0 ip), .301 (25- for-83) opponents batting average and .892 OPS in his four starts, 1-0 with a 5.32 ERA (13 er in 22.0 ip), .203 (16-for-79) average and .634 OPS in five relief appearances…has yielded four of his five home runs as a starter…has tossed at least 4.2 innings in four of his five relief appearances…logged 0.1 innings of relief in his Major League debut, which was a traditional relief appearance…his other four relief appearances came in games 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).
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed 17 of his 18 extra base hits to right-handed hitters (has surrendered one home run to a lefty)…opponents are batting .429 (12-for-28) with runners in scoring position.
HOME AND AWAY: Is 1-2 with a 4.94 ERA (13 er in 23.2 ip), .221 (19-for-86) opponents batting average and .675 OPS in five games at home compared to 1-1 with a 7.45 ERA (16 er in 19.1 ip), .289 (22-for-76) average and .856 OPS in four road games.
THIS AND THAT: Has allowed four home runs in 20.2 innings over his last four games after surrendering just one home run in 23.2 innings over his first five contests…has walked 10 batters in 14.2 innings over his last three games after issuing four free passes in 28.0 innings over his previous five contests… yielded five hits or fewer in each of his first seven games but has allowed nine and eight in his last two…has allowed 11 of his 30 runs in the fifth inning for a 12.38 ERA (8.0 ip).
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)…the went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and .517 OPS over his next eight games from May 4 to June 13 (four with Las Vegas, four with Oakland)…is 0-3 with a 7.40 ERA (17 er in 20.2 ip) and .929 OPS in four games since then (all with Oakland).
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 a career-high 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 a debut of fewer than one inning (Sam Gray, April 19, 1924 at Boston; James York, Sept. 12, 1919 vs. CWS)…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…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…allowed a career-high nine hits and surrendered two home runs in a game for the first time in his career in a 10-4 loss to New York (AL) on June 29.
LAST START: He lost his second consecutive start in the A’s 9-0 loss at Detroit on July 6…allowed a career-high seven runs in 4.2 innings, which was his shortest outing as a starter…logged a career-high 105 pitches…yielded a two-run single to Baez in the first, two more runs in both the third and fourth and another in the fifth on a grounded into double play.
