OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Lost the first two games of this three-game set at Washington…shut out the Rangers on Wednesday 2-0 for their third shutout of the season…lost their 82nd game of the season Tuesday night to clinch a losing record for the second consecutive season (went 60-102 last year)… it marks the first time the A’s have had back-to-back losing seasons since 2015-17 when they had three straight…lost the first two games of the Texas series but won the finale to avoid the sweep…have been swept 15 times this year, which are the most times the A’s have been swept in a season since 1997 (also 15)…the only time in Oakland history the A’s have been swept more than 15 times was in 1978 (17)…have lost eight of the last 11 games and are 8-17 (.320) since the All-Star Break, which is the third lowest winning percentage in the majors…are 21-34 (.382) over the last 55 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are a season-high 51 games under .500 at 33-84 (.282)…have not been more than 51 games under .500 since finishing the 1979 season 54 under at 54-108… have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (38-81, .319)…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… swept a two-game series from San Francisco over the weekend for their second series sweep of the season (June 9-11 at Milwaukee)…including this series, are 8-12-1 over the last 20 series after going 1-16 over the first 17.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .199 (68-for-342) with 26 runs scored over the last 11 games (2.36 runs per game)…overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.221), slugging (.360), OPS (.660), runs (413) and extra base hits (289), tied for second in most times shut out (12), third in fewest doubles (158), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.300), fifth in fewest home runs (113) and eighth in most strikeouts (1066)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (24) and rank tied for eighth in hit by pitches (59).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (31), rank third in plate appearances (134), fourth in doubles (5) and tied for seventh in walks (12) and extra base hits (7).
PITCHING: The A’s compiled a 7.02 ERA over the first 49 games through May 22 but have a 4.89 ERA (323 er in 595.0 ip) in 68 games since then…have a 5.78 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.356), the second highest slugging percentage (.459) and OPS (.815), and fourth highest batting average (.268)…lead the majors with 74 hit batters, which is the second highest total in Athletics history (81 in 1911)…also lead the majors in most walks (499), are tied for first in most wild pitches (49) and tied for first in fewest shutouts (3), rank fifth in most home runs (159) and fifth in fewest strikeouts (941).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-6 with a 5.63 ERA (30 er in 48.0 ip) over the last 10 games and 11-53 with a 6.07 ERA overall…have the fewest wins in the majors, the highest ERA and are tied for the second most losses…the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched in the majors (534.0) behind just the Giants (528.2).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s used an opener on Wednesday for the 14th time this season (last on July 25)…openers are 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA (19.0 ip, 25 h, 15 r, 15 er, 4 bb, 22 so) and the main pitchers are 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA (65.1 ip, 55 h, 34 r, 33 er, 25 bb, 66 so)…are 4-10 over the first 14 games using an opener…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 three wins, two losses, two saves and three blown saves over the last seven games…has 16 saves over the last 54 games after tallying just four over the first 63…is 20-for-40 (48.4%) in save opportunities for the season, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors…has the second fewest saves and is tied for the seventh most blown saves (21)…has the highest ERA in the majors (5.47), the most losses (31) and the second most innings pitched (492.0)…the 31 losses match the Oakland record for losses by relievers (31 in 1993 and 2015)…has allowed 87-of-228 (38.2) inherited runners to score, which is the fifth highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 111-for-133 (83.5%) in stolen base attempts…rank fifth in the majors in steals, attempts, and percentage…the stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2012 (122)…A’s opponents are 80-for-116 (69.0%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 36 caught stealings are the most in the majors…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is tied for fourth most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have committed five errors in the last eight games and have 70 for the season, which is fifth most in the majors…are second in fewest double plays (81), tied for 10th in outfield assists (19) and tied for 10th in most passed balls (7).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s continue a six-game road trip to Washington (0-2) and St. Louis (three games)…went 3-2 on this five-game homestand against San Francisco 2-0) and Texas (1-2)…won the final game against the Rangers to clinch their first winning homestand of the season…went 3-7 on the last homestand against Minnesota (0-3), Boston (2-1) and Houston (1-3) and are 18-41 (.305) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…went 2-6 on the last road trip to San Francisco (0-2), Colorado (2-1) and Los Angeles-NL (0-3) and are 15-43 (.259) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…have compiled a 4.97 ERA (300 er in 543.0 ip) at home compared to 6.69 (359 er in 483.0 ip) on the road.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: The A’s are 17-23 (.425) in one-run games and 16-63 (.203) in games decided by two or more runs…17 of the A’s 33 wins (51.5%) are by one run…have a run differential of -283, which is the lowest in the majors…the lowest in Oakland history is -287 in 1979 and the lowest in Athletics history is -344 in 1915.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 14 of their 33 victories (42.4%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches the A’s total from last year…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for fifth most.
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s have used 56 players, which is third most in the majors…LHP Francisco Pérez made his A’s debut last night as the 56th player used…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 35 pitchers, which is an Athletics record (34 in 2018 & 2022)…have used 31 relievers, which is an on-going franchise record…16 different pitchers have started a game, which ties the Oakland record set in 1983…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).
THIS AND THAT: Wednesday concluded a 27-day stretch that began July 14 where the A’s left the state of California just once (July 28-30 at Colorado)… went 8-15 over that span…the A’s are 6-31 (.162) in the final game of a series…are 24-44 (.353) in night games, 9-40 (.184) during the day…are 8-10 (.444) on Tuesday, 7-11 (.389) on Friday and 17-64 (.210) on all other days of the week.
A’S VS. NATIONALS
- The A’s have lost each of their last three season series to Washington, dropping two of three in their first ever visit to Nationals Park last year after losing two of three in Oakland in 2017.
- Have faced the Nationals just four times, as they also swept a three-game series in Oakland in 2014 and were swept in a three-game series at RFK Stadium in 2005.
- Swept a three-game series from Montreal in 2003. Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-2 0-2
2022 0-0 1-2 1-2
Oakland History: 8-9
at the Coliseum: 4-2
at Nationals Park: 1-4
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has homered five times in his last 13 games and had six home runs over the first 22 games of his career…that bests Matt Chapman (2017), Yoenis Céspedes (2012), Brian Lesher (1996), Mitchell Page (1977) and Lou Klimchock (1958) for the most home runs in Athletics history by a player over his first 22 career games…the earliest an Athletic had reached six career home runs is 25 games by Mitchell Page (1977) and Terrence Long (2000)…Esteury Ruiz was leading the majors with 43 stolen bases at the time of his injury and now ranks second with 46 (Acuña, 54)…holds the Athletics record for stolen bases by a rookie.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (2-7, 6.30 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 27th appearance and 16th start of the season…it will be his 14th traditional start as he also has two appearances as an opener…has also pitched three times in relief of an opener…is 0-1 with a 5.24 ERA (13 er in 22.1 ip) over his last five games, including four starts…has a .198 (16-for-81) opponents batting average over that span and has issued 11 walks and hit a batter for a .295 on-base percentage.
RANKINGS: Ranks fifth among Major League rookies in strikeouts (96) and sixth in innings pitched (94.1)…also ranks third in most runs (71) and second in most walks (55), fourth in most hits (106), sixth in most home runs (16) and tied for fifth in most losses (7)…the 55 walks are 10th most among all pitchers…among pitchers with 80 or more innings, he has the second highest opponents on-base percentage in the majors (.380), the third highest OPS (.883), the fourth highest ERA (6.30), fifth highest slugging percentage (.503) and 12th highest batting average (.286).
HOME AND AWAY: Is 0-2 with a 4.60 ERA (23 er in 45.0 ip) and .819 opponents OPS in 12 games at home compared to 2-5 with a 7.84 ERA (43 er in 49.1 ip) and .940 OPS in 14 games in the road…has surrendered 10 of his 16 home runs on the road…is now 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and .779 OPS in 15 career games in the Coliseum, 2-6 with a 7.42 ERA and .926 OPS in 18 games on the road.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed 21 hits to left-handed hitters…10 of the 16 home runs he has allowed have been solo shots…has allowed two home runs over his last 15 games and 44.2 innings dating back to May 31 after allowing 14 home runs over his first 11 games and 49.2 innings…as a starter, he has a .239 (26-for-109) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .295 (28-for-95) the second time and .356 (21-for-59) the third time.
STARTING, RELIEVING AND OPENING: Has pitched in 26 games…that includes 13 traditional starts, two starts as an opener (May 28, June 20), three appearances in relief of an opener (May 24, July 5, July 25) and eight traditional relief appearances…began the season in the starting rotation and made nine starts through May 19…has tossed five innings or fewer in eight of his 13 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 eight of his 11 relief appearances.
THAT’S ODD: Has a 3.91 ERA (22 er in 50.2 ip) in odd numbered innings, a 9.50 ERA (44 er in 41.2 ip) in even numbered innings…last year, he had a 7.52 ERA and .962 opponents OPS in odd numbered innings, a 1.26 ERA and .523 OPS in even numbered innings.
INTERLEAGUE: Is 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA in eight outings against the National League this season which includes three starts and five relief appearances… has a .642 opponents OPS in interleague play…against the AL, he is 2-5 with a 7.38 ERA in 18 games (12 starts) including a .969 opponents OPS.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Began the season in the A’s starting rotation and went 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA in nine starts through May 19 before splitting his duties between the pen, the rotation and opening…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…then went 1-2 with a 7.78 ERA and 1.062 OPS in six games in May…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…went 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA, .203 opponents batting average and .678 OPS in five games, including two starts, in July.
LAST START: Took a no-decision despite allowing just two runs over 6.0 innings against the Texas Rangers…struck out a season-high tying seven batters while allowing just six hits and one walk…threw 92 pitches, the most he’s thrown in an outing since May 12, also at home against Texas.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
OPPONENT – OAKLAND ATHLETICS The Nationals and Athletics will face off three times this season (3 in D.C.)…The A’s were the last team in Major League Baseball to visit Nationals Park when they came to Washington last season on August 30…Kyle Finnegan was drafted by Oakland in 2013 (6th rd.) and spent six seasons in their Minor League system before signing with the Nationals in 2019…Jordan Weems made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2020…Robert Garcia is from Manteca, Calif. and attended Modesto Christian High School before going to UC Davis…Zack Gelof is from Rehoboth, Delaware and attended Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Delaware before going to the University of Virginia.
WALK. IT. OFF.
The Washington Nationals beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2, in walkoff fashion on Saturday night…Keibert Ruiz launched the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Nationals the win and his first career walk-off home run.
- Jake Irvin tossed 6.2 strong innings, while Jose A. Ferrer (1.1 IP) and Kyle Finnegan (win, 1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for scoreless relief.
- With last night’s win, the Nationals have won 11 of their last 13 home games dating to July 8 vs. Texas.
- A win today would give Washington its third sweep of the season and second sweep over Oakland (also June 7-9, 2005 in D.C.).
STATUS CHECK
The Nationals have won seven of 10, nine of their last 14, 14 of their last 22, 18 of their last 30 and are 24- 19 (.558) since June 24…This stretch includes series victories over the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics.
BACKSTOP BATS
Keibert Ruiz leads Major League catchers in average (.333) and on-base percentage (.400) and is second in slugging percentage (.559) and hits (31) since July 9…He’s recorded six doubles, five homers, 13 RBI, 11 walks, one stolen base and 13 runs scored in 26 games over this stretch.
- Riley Adams has produced multi-hit efforts in five of his last seven starts and in six of his last nine… During this nine-game stretch, he is 14-for-34 (.412) with six doubles, a homer, six RBI and three walks.
WHAT A RELIEF
The Nationals have the best bullpen ERA in the NL (2nd in MLB) since July 21 at 2.65 (22 ER/74.2 IP)…Nationals relievers have posted a .210 opponents’ average over this stretch.
- Since Aug. 2, the group has pitched to a 1.98 ERA (8 ER/36.1 IP) with 9.66 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and a .165 opponents’ batting average…They have allowed just two of 15 inherited runners to score over this stretch (13.3%).
OK, KYLE
Kyle Finnegan has seven saves, five holds and has pitched to a 0.68 ERA (2 ER/26.1 IP) with a .141 opponents’ average (12-for-85, 2B, HR) in his last 24 appearances…He’s tossed 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings since July 14, the second-longest streak by a Nationals pitcher this season.
- He’s set a new career-high and is eighth in the NL with 18 saves this season.
- Finnegan surrendered seven earned runs and three home runs in his first three outings…Since the next outing on April 7 at Colorado, he has pitched to a 1.48 ERA (8 ER/48.2 IP) with 51 strikeouts and three home runs allowed in 46 games.
NEXT ON 20-20: LANE THOMAS
Lane Thomas hit his 20th home run and stole his 15th base on Tuesday…With five more stolen bases, Thomas would record the sixth 20 home run – 20 stolen base season in Nationals History (2005-pres.) and the first since 2016.
- Thomas ranks in the National League in hits (4th, 132), doubles (T5th, 29), total bases (7th, 225) and runs (8th, 79)..He leads the National League (T1st in MLB) with a career-high 11 outfield assists.
BORN TO RUN
CJ Abrams is tied for third in the National League with 29 stolen bases…He stole 25 consecutive bases without being caught from May 5 to Aug. 10, the longest streak in Nationals history (2005- pres.) according to the Elias Sports Bureau…It was the longest active streak in MLB at the time.
- Since being moved to the leadoff spot on July 7, Abrams is hitting .307 with six doubles, a triple, four homers, 10 RBI, eight walks, three hit by pitch, 18 stolen bases and 23 runs scored.
STARTING PITCHER – #32 TREVOR WILLIAMS
Veteran right-handed starter signed a two-year contract with the Nationals in Dec. 2022…From 2018-21, Williams was exclusively a starter, but he transitioned to a versatile swingman in 2021 and 2022…He is 35-41 with a 4.33 ERA in 118 career starts and 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 41 relief outings…Was a second-round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2013 but was traded to Pittsburgh in 2015 while pitching in the Arizona Fall League.
LAST START
Allowed six earned runs on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 4.2 innings on August 8 against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park…He took the loss in the Nationals’ 8-4 defeat.
vs. OAKLAND
Faced the Athletics once as a reliever in 2022…Allowed one earned run on two hits and struck out one hitter in 1.0 inning on September 24 at Oakland Coliseum.
POST-BREAK SUCCESS
Williams has pitched to a 3.88 ERA in 76 games (51 starts) after the All-Star break…That ERA is almost a run lower than his overall career ERA of 4.37.
START ME UP
Tonight marks Williams’ 24th start of the season…Because of his time as a reliever in 2021 and 2022, as well as the shortened season in 2020, his 24 starts are his most since he started 26 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019.
STRONG START
Williams opened the 2023 season going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA (8 ER/21.1 IP) with 13 strikeouts and just four walks in his first four starts of the season…After allowing four earned runs on April 27 at New York (NL), he tossed 5.1 innings of four-hit, shutout ball on May 2 vs. Chicago (NL).
