HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros and A’s will open a four-game series tonight in Oakland with a rookie pitching matchup of RHP J.P. France opposite LHP Hogan Harris…France will be making his first career start opposite the A’s, while Harris will be facing the Astros for the second time after making a relief appearance opposite Houston on May 27 in Oakland (0ER/5IP).
RELYING ON ROOKIES: Of the nine starters the Astros have used this season, four are rookies, including tonight’s starter RHP J.P. France…Houston has received 37 starts from rookie pitchers, ranking fourth in the Majors behind Oakland (48), Arizona (46) and Cleveland (45)…all nine starting pitchers used by the Astros in 2023 are products of their minor league system.
THE FRENCHMAN: RHP J.P. France has been one the top rookie starters in the Majors this season following his promotion in early May…he enters tonight ranking second among AL rookies in ERA (3.31) and in opponent batting average (.252) (min. 65 IP)…in his 12 starts, France has amassed seven quality starts and has eight starts of 6.0-plus innings.
VS. OAKLAND: This is the third of four series between the Astros and A’s this season, with Houston combining to go 6-0 in the previous two sets…the Astros have outscored the A’s 31-9 in those six games, including a 21-6 advantage in their three games at the Coliseum…excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Astros have won the season series vs. the A’s in seven consecutive years (2015-22).
ON THE ROAD: The Astros continue their three-city road trip tonight in Oakland…the Astros are 3-2 so far on this trip, which has taken them through Anaheim (2-1) and Colorado (1-1)… on the season, the Astros are 28-21 (.571) in road games, which is the second-best road winning percentage in the AL.
SIGNED UP: The Astros signed RHP Kelly Austin (UCLA) as a non-drafted free agent yesterday…Austin is the fourth NDFA signed by Houston since the draft…among the Astros 20 selections in the draft, the Astros have signed 19 members of their 2023 MLB Draft class, including their first-rounder SS Brice Matthews out of the University of Nebraska, and their second-rounder RHP Alonzo Tredwell out of UCLA.
WINSDAY: The Astros secured a series split in Colorado yesterday with a 4-1 victory over the Rockies…RHP Brandon Bielak (0ER/5.2IP) was the story, becoming the first Astros hurler to toss 5.0+ scoreless frames at Coors Field since RHP Roy Oswalt tossed a one-hit shutout back in 2008…Bielak was backed by RF Chas McCormick (2×4, HR, 2RBI), who continued his torrid stretch with his fourth homer in as many games.
ROADIE: All-Star RF Kyle Tucker has an active 16-game hitting streak in road games, dating back to June 11…in those contests, Tucker is hitting .435 (27×62) and has reached base safely in 38 of his 74 plate appearances for a .514 OBP…on the season, Tucker’s .330 (59×179) road batting average ranks second in the AL and fourth in the Majors.
DOWN IN SUGAR LAND: LF Yordan Alvarez and RHP José Urquidy both made injury rehab appearances with Triple A Sugar Land yesterday…Alvarez is scheduled off today, but worked out in Sugar Land…he will be back in the lineup tomorrow, playing left field…a recap of their days yesterday:
- Alvarez (right oblique discomfort) went 1×3 with a walk and singled in his first plate appearance in a start at DH…his single up the middle registered with a 108 mph exit velocity.
- Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) tossed 3.0 innings and 45 pitches (29 strikes), allowing two runs on four hits and a walk…this marked his second rehab start with Sugar Land.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- 2B Jose Altuve (left oblique strain) hit BP on the field on Tuesday for the first time since his injury…over the last several days he’s also participated in infield drills, has run the bases and has been hitting in the batting cages…Altuve has missed the last 11 games and has missed a total of 54 games this season between two IL stints.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) ran the bases on Sunday and continues to hit off a tee in the batting cages… prior to the All-Star break, Brantley had progressed to hitting full BP before a shut down.
- LHP Framber Valdez was removed from Saturday night’s game with a left calf cramp…he threw a bullpen session yesterday without issue and is in line to make tomorrow night’s start.
GETTIN’ SPICEY: OF Chas McCormick ranks second on the club and eighth in the AL in both OPS (.904) and SLG (.534), among players with 200-plus plate appearances…McCormick trails only the injured OF Yordan Alvarez (.978 OPS, .589 SLG) in those categories on the club.
CHAS’ CHOMP: OF Chas McCormick, the reigning American League Player of the Week, is off to a hot start to the second half of the season, hitting .556 (10×18) with four homers and eight RBI in his five games since the break…the Player of the Week award was McCormick’s first of his career and the first by an Astro since OF Yordan Alvarez in September 2022.
COMING UP CLUTCH: The Astros lead the Major Leagues with a .284 batting average (110×388) with runners in scoring position and two outs…1B José Abreu has 54 at-bats with runners in scoring position and two outs, which ranks tied for second in the Majors…he has done his damage in those situations, hitting .407 (22×54) with 33 RBI and a .796 SLG… with RISP, regardless of the number of outs, Abreu is hitting .274 (26×95) with an .881 OPS.
HUNTING 100: Astros closer RHP Ryan Pressly has 98 career saves, including 97 as a member of the Astros…he’s looking to become just the fourth player in club history to reach the 100- save plateau, which would join him with LHP Billy Wagner (225), RHP Dave Smith (199) and RHP Brad Lidge (123).
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP J.P. FRANCE
LAST START – 7/14 AT LAA: allowed 4 runs (2ER) on 9 hits through 4.1 IP while striking out 2 batters and not surrendering a walk…snapped a streak of 6 straight quality starts and 7 straight starts of 6+ IP.
QUALITY STUFF: logged 6 consecutive quality starts from 6/4-7/5 and logged 6+ innings in 7 straight starts from 5/29-7/5…the last Astros rookie with 7 straight starts of 6.0+ was RHP Chris Sampson, who had a 9-game streak in 2007…the last Astros rookie with a streak of at least 6 straight quality starts in a single season was also Sampson, who went on a 7-game streak (May 11, 2007-June 13, 2007)…the only other Astros pitcher with a longer quality start streak this season was a 7-game streak from LHP Framber Valdez (4/4-5/9)….is T-4th for most quality starts (7) in first 12 career MLB outings among Astros pitchers.
SOLID START: his 3.31 career ERA is the 3rd-lowest from an Astros pitcher through their first 12 career appearances (min. 70 IP), trailing only RHP Jared Cosart (2.28) and RHP Dan Larson (3.16).
ROOKIE LEADERBOARD: among AL rookies (min. 70 IP), ranks 1st in ERA (3.31), 1st in WHIP (1.26), and 3rd in opponent OPS (.701)…trails only NYM RHP Kodai Senga (3.20) for the lead of MLB rookies in ERA (min. 70 IP).
VS. OAK: will be making his 1st career appearance vs. OAK…has recorded a 1.65 ERA (3ER/16.1IP) through his first 3 career starts vs. AL West opponents.
THE FIRST FRANCE: rookie right-hander made his Major League debut with his start on May 6 at Seattle…allowed 1 earned run in 11.2 IP through his first two MLB starts…he became the 4th pitcher in club history to work 5.0-plus innings, allowing 1-or-fewer runs in each of his first 2 Major League starts… joining LHP Dallas Keuchel (2012), LHP Carlos Hernández (2001) and RHP Manny Hernández as the only other Astros pitcher to record this feat.
ON THE ROAD: has posted a 2.18 ERA (10ER/41.1IP) through the first 7 road starts of his career…has held opponent’s to a .639 OPS in those starts… is the lowest road ERA in the Majors from a starting pitcher. (min. 40 IP).
ABOUT FRANCE: was selected in the 14th round by the Astros in the 2018 draft out of Mississippi State…the 2023 season is his 6th in the Astros system.
- spent the entire 2022 season with Triple A Sugar Land, going 3-4 with a 3.90 ERA (48ER/110.2IP) in 34 games (15 starts)…struck out 136 hitters in his 110.2 innings, while allowing a .233 opponent average.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have won back-to-back games after losing eight straight and are now 6-9 over the last 15 games…are 15-21 (.417) over the last 36 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are 27-71 (.276) overall, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (28-69, .289)…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 6-7-1 over the last 14 series after going 1-16 over the first 17…were swept by the Twins to open the homestand and have been swept 13 times, which matches the season total from last year…have one sweep this season.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: The A’s defeated Boston 6-5 yesterday and 16 of the A’s 27 wins are by one run…17 of the A’s last 34 games have been decided by one run and Oakland is now 16-20 (.444) in one-run games…are tied for the most one-run losses in the majors, rank third in games (36) and tied for sixth in wins…are 11-51 (.177) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-18 in games decided by seven or more runs…have a run differential of -256, which is the lowest in the majors OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .241 (120-for-499) with 67 runs scored over the last 15 games (4.5 runs per game)…however, rank last in the majors with a .221 batting average and 353 runs scored overall…also rank last in the majors in slugging (.358), OPS (.658) and extra base hits (239), third in fewest doubles (131) and most strikeouts (912), tied for third in most times shut out (11), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.300) and eighth in fewest home runs (93)…are tied for second in sacrifice hits (18) and rank third in hit by pitches (54).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (25), rank fourth in plate appearances (106), tied for fourth in doubles (4) and extra base hits (6), tied for seventh in walks (10), tied for ninth in home runs (2) and tied for 10th in RBI (10).
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 5.66 ERA (78 er in 124.0 ip) in July after logging a 4.77 ERA in June…have a 6.00 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage in the majors (.359), the second highest slugging percentage (.465) and OPS (.823) and fourth highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors in most walks (422) and hit batters (62), are tied for the lead in most wild pitches (44) and fewest shutouts (2), rank third in most home runs (136) and eighth in fewest strikeouts (782)…are the only team without a balk.
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 1-5 with a 6.22 ERA (41 er in 59.1 ip) in July and are 9-45 with a 6.31 ERA for the season…have the fewest wins in the majors, the second highest ERA and third most losses…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched (449.1).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has gone back-to-back games without allowing an earned run for the first time this year…however, has a 6.14 ERA (65 er in 95.1 ip) over the last 22 games and a 5.66 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors…also the has the most losses (26) and innings pitched (413.2)…has 12 saves over the last 35 games after tallying just four over the first 63…has converted 16-of-33 (48.5%) save opportunities for the season, which is the third lowest percentage in the majors…has the third fewest saves and is tied for the eighth most blown saves (17)…has allowed 73-of-187 (39.0%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 17-for-19 (89.4%) in stolen bases attempts over the last 16 games and 96-for-116 (82.8%) for the season…rank third in the majors in attempts, 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 73-for106 (68.9%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 33 caught stealings are eight more than any other team but the 73 stolen bases are tied for 10th most…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is third most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s committed four errors yesterday but won…it was just the 23rd game in Oakland history that the A’s won while making four or more errors (previous: Aug. 22, 2012 vs. Minnesota)…now have 60 errors for the season, which is tied for third most in the majors…are tied for 10th in outfield assists (16)…rank sixth in fewest double plays (70) and tied for ninth in most passed balls (6).
AGAINST THE WEST: The A’s are 4-23 (.148) against American League West competition, which is the lowest intra-division winning percentage in the majors…the lowest mark in Oakland history is .306 (11-25) in 1997 and the lowest mark by any team against its own division is .224 (17-59) by the Nationals last year…are batting .197 (171-for-868) with 71 runs scored (2.6 runs per game) against teams from the West and have allowed 176 runs for a run differential of -105.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 27 victories (48.1%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches the A’s total from last year…are tied for fourth in the majors in extra inning games (12), tied for fifth in wins and tied for sixth in most losses…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for second most…have 12 wins when tied or trailing after seven innings, which is tied for fifth most.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s have won back-to-back home games for the fourth time this year…have not won more than two straight at home since winning the final three home games last year and the first home game this year…are 2-4 on this 10-game homestand against Minnesota (0-3), Boston (2-1) and Houston (four games)…this 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 YorkAL (1-2) and Chicago-AL (2-1) and are 14-36 (.280) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…begin an eight-game road trip to San Francisco (two games), Colorado (three games) and Los Angeles-NL (three games) on Tuesday…will have four days off over a 12-game stretch beginning next Monday…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 5.28 ERA (271 er in 462.0 ip) at home compared to 6.80 on the road.
ROSTER NOTES: The A’s placed Ryan Noda on the injured list today and have now used the IL 25 times this year…the only times in Oakland history the A’s used the IL more times for non-Covid reasons were in 2016 (27) and 2018 (26)…currently have 13 players on the IL…the A’s have employed 52 players this year, which is tied with the Angels and Reds for the most in the majors… Tayler Scott would become #53…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 32 pitchers (Scott would be #33), which is third most in the majors (Reds and Rays, 33) and third most in Athletics history…used 34 pitchers in 2018 and 2022…have used an Athletics record 28 relievers, topping the previous mark of 27 set in 2018 and 2022…14 pitchers have started a game, which is tied for third most in Oakland history (16 in 1983, 15 in 2018)…17 of the 52 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).
A’S VS. ASTROS
- The A’s are 0-6 to start the season series after losing the season series last year for the seventh time in the last eight years.
- Have a seven-game losing streak against the Astros, which is their third longest ever (10, July 20, 2016-April 28, 2017; 8, April 28-June 14, 2018)
- Have lost 12 of the last 13 games, including nine of the last 10 at Minute Maid Park.
- Are 59-90 (.396) against Houston dating back to 2015 after winning each of their first four season series against the Astros (31-13, .705).
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-3 0-3 0-6
2022 4-5 3-7 7-12
Oakland History: 90-103
at the Coliseum: 50-49
at Minute Maid Park: 40-54
TODAY’S TIDBITS
JJ Bleda has homered in back-to-back games for the first time in his career and now has seven home runs in 57 games with the A’s this year after hitting five home runs in 65 games as a rookie with the Marlins last year… Tony Kemp is batting .322 (28-for-87) with a .392 on-base percentage (8 bb, 2 hbp) over his last 26 games dating back to June 15, after hitting .146 with a .244 on-base percentage over his first 51 contests.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Hogan Harris (2-3, 6.51 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 11th appearance of the season and his career…has made four starts and six relief appearances, five 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 5.40 ERA (28 er in 46.2 ip) in nine games since his return.
THREE-GAME LOSING STREAK: Is 0-3 with an 8.03 ERA (34 er in 47.0 ip), .317 (32-for-101) opponents batting average and .943 OPS over his last five 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 6.23 ERA (18 er in 26.0 ip), .229 (22-for-96) average and .693 OPS in six relief appearances…has yielded four of his six home runs as a starter…has tossed at least four innings in five of his six relief appearances…logged 0.1 innings of relief in his Major League debut, which was a traditional relief appearance…his other five relief appearances came in games started by an opener (Pruitt on May 27 vs. Houston and July 15 vs. Minnesota; Fujinami on June 2 at Miami, June 13 vs. Tampa Bay and June 24 at Toronto).
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed 18 of his 19 extra base hits to right-handed hitters (has surrendered one home run to a lefty)…opponents are batting .394 (13-for-33) with runners in scoring position.
THIS AND THAT: Has allowed five home runs in 24.2 innings over his last five games after surrendering just one home run in 23.2 innings over his first five contests…has walked 13 batters in 18.2 innings over his last four 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, eight and six in his last three…has allowed 12 of his 35 runs in the fifth inning for a 12.00 ERA (9.0 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 an 8.03 ERA (22 er in 24.2 ip) and .943 OPS in five 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…allowed a career-high seven runs in 4.2 innings in a 9-0 loss at Detroit on July 6…it was his shortest outing as a starter…logged a career-high 105 pitches.
LAST APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 10-8 loss to Minnesota on Saturday in Oakland…pitched in relief of opener Adam Pruitt…entered the game to start the second inning with the A’s trailing 2-0…allowed a two-run single to Correa in the second, a two-run home run to Taylor in the third and another run in the fifth on a steal of home.
