OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Are 4-5 over the last nine games and are 4-13 over the last 17 contests…are 17-26 (.395) over the last 43 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 games…are 47 games under .500 at 29-76 (.276) which is one short of their season high…marks the first time they have been more than 46 games under .500 since finishing the 1979 season 54 under at 54-108…have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (30-75, .286)…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)…those two clubs are also the only modern ML teams to lose more than 117 games…are 6-9-1 over the last 19 series after going 1-16 over the first 17…have been swept 14 times, which is one more than the season total from last year…have one sweep.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .228 (95-for-416) with a .313 on-base percentage (45 bb, 8 hbp, 4 sf) since the All-Star Break…overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.222), slugging (.358), OPS (.659), runs (376) and extra base hits (257), third in fewest doubles (142), tied for third in most times shut out (11), fourth in most strikeouts (968), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.301) and seventh in fewest home runs (98)…rank tied for first in sacrifice hits (21) and tied for fifth in hit by pitches (58).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (29), are tied for third in extra base hits (7), fifth in plate appearances (114), tied for third in doubles (5), tied for 11th in walks (10), tied for 10th in home runs (2), and are tied for 12th in RBI (11).
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 3.53 ERA (31 er in 79.0 ip) over the last nine games, which has lowered the season ERA to 5.86…that is the highest in the majors but it is the lowest it has been since the sixth game of the season (April 5) when it was 5.79…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage in the majors (.355), the second highest slugging percentage (.461) and OPS (.816) and fourth highest batting average (.268)…tied for the Major League lead in most home runs (147) and lead in walks (447), hit batters (65) and wild pitches (46), are tied for the fewest shutouts (2) and are seventh in fewest strikeouts (839)…are the only team without a balk.
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-7 with a 5.40 ERA (54 er in 90.0 ip) in July and are 10-47 with a 6.15 ERA for the season…have the fewest wins in the majors, the second highest ERA and are tied for the second most losses…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched (480.0).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an opener 13 times this year (all since May 24, most recently Wednesday night)…openers are 0-4 with a 7.41 ERA (17.0 ip, 25 h, 14 r, 14 er, 3 bb, 20 so) and the main pitchers are 3-3 with a 4.84 ERA (61.1 ip, 55 h, 34 r, 33 er, 25 bb, 66 so)…are 3-10 in the 13 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 3.29 ERA (14 er in 38.1 ip) over the last nine games but has a 5.67 ERA (81 er in 128.2 ip) over the last 30 contests…has a 5.55 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also the has the most losses (28) and innings pitched (444.0)…has 14 saves over the last 42 games after tallying just four over the first 63…is 18-for-36 (50.0%) in save opportunities for the season, which is tied for the third lowest percentage in the majors…tied for the second fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (18)…has allowed just 7-of-39 (17.9%) inherited runners to score since the All-Star Break but has allowed 77-of-205 (37.6%) to score overall, which is the fourth highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 101-for-122 (82.8%) in stolen base attempts…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 77-for-111 (69.4%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 34 caught stealings are six more than any other team but the 77 stolen bases are tied for 11th most…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is third most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have not committed an error in nine of the last 13 games and have eight errors over that span…have four wins over that stretch and two of the wins came in games with errors…have 64 errors for the season, which is fourth most in the majors…are tied for third in fewest double plays (72) and tied for sixth in most passed balls (7).
ONE-RUN GAMES AND REST: The A’s are 16-22 (.421) in one-run games and 13-54 (.194) in games decided by two or more runs…that includes a 2-18 record in games decided by seven or more runs…16 of the A’s 29 wins are by one run…have the most one-run losses in the majors, rank third in games (38) and tied for eighth in wins…have a run differential of -261, which is the lowest in the majors.
WINNING LATE: The Athletics have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 29 victories (44.8%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches Oakland’s total from last year…are fifth in the Major Leagues in extra inning games (12), tied for seventh in wins and tied for eighth 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.
A’S IN JULY: The A’s are 7-14 (.333) in July and have clinched a losing record for the sixth consecutive full month and 10th time in the last 11 months… had their only full month with a winning record last year in July (14-12)… have the sixth worst record in the majors in July…had the worst record in the majors in April and May and the eighth worst in June…have a run differential of -24 in July, which is seventh lowest in the majors…were -118 in April, -78 in May and -42 in June…rank seventh in the majors in highest ERA (5.11), sixth lowest in batting average (.235), tie for fourth fewest runs scored (83) and eighth lowest OPS on offense (.704)…have 16 stolen bases, which are the A’s most in July since 2012 (17).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are on an eight-game road trip to San Francisco (0- 2), Colorado (1-0) and Los Angeles-NL (three games)…this three-game series at Colorado marks the only time over a 27-day stretch from July 14 to Aug. 9 that the A’s will leave the state of California…went 2-4 on the last road trip to Detroit (2-1) and Boston (0-3) and are 14-37 (.275) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors behind the Royals (14-39, .264)… went 3-7 on the last homestand against Minnesota (0-3), Boston (2-1) and Houston (1-3) and are 15-39 (.278) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…have compiled a 5.13 ERA at home compared to 6.72 (318 er in 426.0 ip) on the road.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s are 8-8 (.500) on Tuesday, 7-10 (.412) on Friday and 14-58 (.194) on all other days of the week…are 23-37 (.383) in night games, 6-39 (.133) during the day…are 4-29 (.121) in the final game of a series…have used 53 players, which is the most in the majors…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have employed 33 pitchers, which is tied with the Rays and Reds for the most in the majors and is one short of the Athletics record of 34 (2018, 2022)…have set an Athletics record with 29 relievers… have used the injured list 25 times…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 12 players on the IL…the only other time in Oakland history the A’s had 13 or more players on the IL at once was in 2016 when they peaked at 16 from Aug. 22-28…have an average time of game of 2:45, which is tied third longest in the majors…however, have not averaged under 2:53
per game since 2010 (2:44).
A’S VS. ROCKIES
- The A’s last played the Rockies in 2021 and won the season series, 2-1…have not played Colorado at home since 2020.
- Are 4-7 against Colorado since 2018 but have won four of the last five.
- Lost the last game against the Rockies in 2021 by a score of 3-1.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 1-0 1-0
2021 2-1 2-1 2-1
Oakland History: 19-20
at the Coliseum: 9-7
at Coors Field: 10-13
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has 10 career hits, seven of which have gone for extra bases (four doubles, one triple, two home runs)…Tony Kemp is batting .310 (35- for-113) with a .381 on-base percentage (10 bb, 3 hbp) over his last 33 games dating back to June 15, after hitting .146 with a .244 on-base percentage over his first 51 contests.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Paul Blackburn (1-2, 5.06 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was reinstated from the injured list May 29 and is scheduled to make his 11th appearance and 10th start of the season…the relief appearance came in the final game before the All-Star Break after being scratched from his scheduled start a day earlier…is 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA (19 er in 27.1 ip) over his last six games after going 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA over his first four starts…began the year on the 15-day IL with a right middle fingernail avulsion…had no decisions, a 7.50 ERA and 1.012 OPS in six rehab starts with Single-A Stockton and Triple-A Las Vegas.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed five home runs, all to right-handed hitters…four have been solo shots…has a .274 (20-for-73) opponents batting average and no home runs the first time through the order, .296 (21-for-71) with two home runs the second time and .333 (17-for-51) with three home runs after that…has allowed a .409 (9-for-22) average against the opponents number three hitter, .458 (11-for-24) with three of the five home runs against the clean-up hitter and .417 (10-for-24) against the five hitter.
BY MONTH: His ERA has increased each month of the season…made one start in May and had a 2.25 ERA in one start…was 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA in five starts in May and is currently 0-2 with a 7.41 ERA (14 er in 17.0 ip) in four games, three starts, in July.
THIS AND THAT: Has a 2.50 ERA (5 er in 18.0 ip) over the first two innings of the game, a 6.60 ERA (22 er in 30.0 ip) from the third inning on…the A’s are 4-5 in his starting assignments…has walked two batters or fewer in seven of his nine starts…has allowed one run or fewer four times but has a win and three no decisions in those starts…has tossed six innings or fewer in each start…has not committed an error in 10 games and 11 total chances…did not make an error last year and his 21 total chances tied for fifth most among American League pitchers with no errors.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Began the season on the 15-day injured list 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 when he was reinstated from the IL on May 29…started and had a no decision that day in a 7-2 A’s loss to Atlanta in Oakland…it was his first Major League appearance since a start on Aug. 4, 2022 at Los Angeles (AL)…logged 4.0 innings, which was his shortest outing as a starter this year…tossed a season-high 6.0 scoreless innings June 10 at Milwaukee but had a no decision in the A’s 2-1, 10-inning win…left with a 1-0 lead but Lovelady allowed a run in the eighth for the blown save…struck out a career-high nine batters in 5.2 innings on June 15 against Tampa Bay but had a no decision in the A’s 4-3 loss…logged a season-high 104 pitches…allowed a season-high nine hits on June 21 at Cleveland but had a no decision in the A’s 7-6 loss…it was his fifth no decision in his first five starts and the season-opening streak of five consecutive starts without a decision matches the longest such streak in Oakland history (Mike Oquist, 1998)…picked up his first decision in his sixth start, a 2-1 A’s win over New York (AL) on June 27…walked a season-high four batters in 5.0 innings in an 8-7 loss to Chicago (AL) on July 2…was scheduled to start on July 8 at Boston but was scratched due to illness…pitched in relief the next day against against the Red Sox and was charged with the blown save in the A’s 4-3 loss…it was his fourth career relief appearance (the other three were in 2019)…allowed a season-high six runs on a season-high tying nine hits in a 7-0 loss to Boston on July 17.
LAST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 4-1 win over Houston a week ago today in Oakland…shut out the Astros on three hits and two walks over the first five innings before allowing his only run on a one-out home run by Bregman in the sixth…was releived by Pruitt with one out in the sixth inning, runners on first and second and the A’s trailing 1-0.
COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
DOG DAYS
- The Colorado Rockies play game two of a three-game set against the Oakland Athletics tonight … returned to Coors Field for a six-game homestand last night and will welcome the San Diego Padres Monday-Wednesday following this set.
- The Rockies went 3-3 on their six-game road trip to Miami (2-1) and Washington (1-2) … lost Wednesday’s series finale in Washington 5-4 after allowing four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. • Colorado has gone 6-6 since the All-Star Break, winning two series, dropping one and splitting one …each of the Rockies’ last 10 losses since July 4 have come by three or fewer runs, tied for the second-longest such streak in franchise history, the longest since 2007.
- With last night’s loss, the Rockies dropped to 23 games under .500 with a 40-63 record, tied for their most games under .500 this season.
30 YEAR CELEBRATION
- As part of their season-long 30th anniversary celebrations, the Rockies will welcome back right-handed pitchers Pedro Astacio and Jorge De La Rosa and outfielder Carlos González to Coors Field over the weekend … the three will throw out the ceremonial first pitches prior to Sunday’s game.
PEOPLE WILL COME
- The Rockies have drawn at least 36,000 fans to Coors Field in 15-straight games since June 23, their longest streak since a 23-game string in 2001.
- At least 40,000 fans attended seven-straight games at 20th and Blake from June 30-July 18, the longest streak since an eight-game run in 2019.
BOMBERS BACK
- The Rockies have hit 31 home runs this month, their first time hitting at least 30 home runs in any month since September, 2021.
- Colorado has connected on 23 home runs since the All-Star Break, tied for the fourth-most in the Majors … have homered in each of their 12 games since the Break, their longest home run streak since a 13-game home run streak in 2019.
STREAKING
- Austin Gomber has gone 27 consecutive innings without issuing a walk, the longest stretch without a walk in franchise history surpassing José Jiménez’ 23.2 innings without a base on balls in 2002 … Gomber’s 27.0 innings is the fourth-longest walkless stretch this season in the Majors … Gomber last issued a walk in the fourth inning of his June 30 start against Detroit at Coors Field.
POWER PLAY
- Nolan Jones hit his ninth home run of the season Monday night, his fourth in his last 11 games … his average home run distance of 438 feet is the longest in the Majors (min. nine home runs), while his average exit velocity of 109.3 MPH on his home runs also tops all of baseball.
- Elias Díaz ranks fourth in average home run distance (423 feet) and Ryan McMahon is eighth (420 feet) (min. nine home runs).
- Per Baseball Savant, Jones’ 99.4 MPH average arm strength is the highest in baseball among all position players … Brenton Doyle checks in at eighth with a 95.2 MPH average.
DO IT LIKE TOVAR
- Rookies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar collected his 100th career hit with a single in the seventh inning last night against Oakland, becoming the 12th Rockie in history to reach the mark in 105 or fewer games, the first since David Dahl in 2018.
- Tovar joins Michael Harris II, Julio Rodríguez and Wander Franco as the only players age 21 or younger since 2020 to have at l00 hits within their first 105 career games … is the fourth Venezuelan-born player all-time to accomplish this feat joining Ronald Acuña Jr., Gleyber Torres and Miguel Cabrera.
- Has begun his Rockies career by starting 105 consecutive games, the longest stretch of consecutive starts without a bench appearance to begin a Rockies’ career, per Elias … the previous streak was 69 games by Trevor Story in 2016.
- The 21-year-old SS ranks among NL rookie leaders in doubles (22, 1st), batting average (.262, 3rd), hits (93, 3rd), extra-base hits (35, 3rd), RBI (47, 3rd), WAR (1.7, 3rd), triples (three, T-4th), games (96, T-4th) and home runs (10, T-7th).
- Tovar’s 1.4 defensive WAR is tied for fifth overall in the NL, ranks tied for second among NL shortstops (min. 75% of games at SS) and is tied with Anthony Volpe for the Major League lead among all rookies.
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #32 CHRIS FLEXEN RHP
WELCOME TO COLORADO
- After signing a Minor League contract with the Rockies on July 13, Flexen makes his debut for Colorado tonight.
- Selected by the Mets in the 14th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Memorial HS (Newark, Calif.) … was committed to play for Arizona State University but chose to sign with New York-NL.
- Released by New York-NL on Dec. 11, 2019 before signing with the Seattle Mariners on Dec. 18, 2020.
- Designated for assignment by Seattle and traded back to the Mets on July 3 with Trevor Gott for Zach Muckenheim … released by New YorkNL on July 6.
2023 SO FAR
- Pitched in 17 games (four starts) for the Mariners in 2023 … went 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA (42.0 IP, 36 ER), 19 walks and 29 strikeouts.
- 0-4 as a starter this year in four starts, April 5-23 … posted a 10.38 ERA over 17.1 innings pitched with 20 earned runs … hitters are slashing .355/.417/.566 against him when he starts.
- Last started against St. Louis on April 23 … tossed four innings and allowed six runs on nine hits, two home runs, with three walks and three strikeouts.
- Moved to the bullpen after his start on April 23 … posted a 5.84 ERA (24.2 IP, 16 ER) as a reliever … pitched more than one inning in nine of his 13 appearances.
STILL THE AL WEST
- In eight career games (five starts) against Oakland, Flexen has a 3-2 record with a 3.44 ERA (34 IP, 13 ER) … last three appearances since 2022 have been in relief, allowing no runs across four innings of work.
- Tossed a scoreless innings against the A’s on May 22 of this season, striking out two.
- His last start against the A’s came on Sept. 27, 2021 in Seattle … earned the win going five innings with four runs on seven hits, one walk and six strikeouts … has won each of his last three starts against the A’s.
ALTITUDE
- Has made two previous appearances at Coors Field as a member of the Mets, starting here on Aug. 2, 2017 and making a one out relief appearance on June 21, 2018.
- Allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings in his lone start … allowed a two-run home run to Carlos González.
FEELIN 22
- Went 8-9 with two saves and a 3.73 ERA over 137.2 innings in 33 games (22 starts) … limited opponents to a .250 average (132-for-529), walked 51 and struck out 95.
- Went 7-9 with a 4.02 ERA (121.0 IP, 54 ER) in his 22 starts.
- Went 3-0 with 1.95 ERA (27.2 IP, 6 ER) in five starts in July … limited opponents to a .204 (21-for-103) average, while walking 12 and striking out 18 …among AL pitchers in July, ranked 5th in ERA (min. 27.0 IP).
