BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
WEDNESDAY’S NEWS: The Orioles fell to the Padres on Wednesday night, 5-2, dropping the final meeting of a three-game series at Petco Park…Baltimore is now 10-7 in rubber matches this season after going 11-11 in such games last year…The O’s are 4-4-2 in their last 10 road series with all four of those defeats coming against National League opponents.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, his 16th of the year, to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.
Dean Kremer allowed three runs, all in the third inning, over 6.0 innings; marked his fifth straight start allowing three runs or fewer.
The O’s fell when scoring first and are now 44-12 (.786) this year when plating the first run of the game, still the best winning percentage in baseball.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: The Orioles have gone 78 consecutive series of at least two decisions (no ties) without being swept…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the most consecutive series without getting swept in Orioles history (since 1954), ahead of 46 consecutive sweepless series from 1971-72…It is the fifth-longest such streak in MLB history, trailing the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals (124), 1906-09 Chicago Cubs (115), 1903-05 New York Giants (105), and 1922-24 New York Yankees (83)…The Birds have not been swept in a series of at least two games since May 13-15, 2022 at Detroit (0-3), and have not been swept at home in a series of at least two games since August 27-29, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay (0-3).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won three of their last five games, four of seven, 11 of 17, 12 of 19, 25 of 37, and 26 of 40…At 74-47 (.612), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and third-best in MLB (see box at right)…The Braves (78-42, .650) and Dodgers (74-46, .617) are the only other teams with at least 70 wins and a .600 winning percentage this season…The team had a season-best eight-game winning streak from July 5-16, Baltimore’s longest since a 10-gamer from July 3-13, 2022…The Birds are 136-95 (.589) since June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time.
The O’s hold a 2.0-game lead over the Rays in the AL East.
AGAINST OAKLAND: The O’s and A’s are meeting for the second and final time this season this weekend…Baltimore won three of four games against Oakland from April 10-13 during the opening homestand of the year…The teams combined to score 53 runs in the four-game series in April.
On April 11, Ryan Mountcastle became the third player in Orioles history with nine RBI in a game, tying Jim Gentile (5/9/61 at MIN) and Eddie Murray (8/26/85 at CAL) for the team record; he drove in 12 runs in the series to become the first O’s player with 12 RBI in one series since Rafael Palmerio from August 15-18, 1996 t Oakland (5 G) and the first to do so in a four-game series since Dan Graham had 13 RBI from July 21-23, 1980 at Minnesota.
O THE PLACES YOU’LL GO: The Orioles are in the middle of a nine-game, 10-day road trip, which began with three games in Seattle (2-1) over the weekend and three at San Diego (1-2) earlier this week…Following yesterday’s off day, the trip concludes with three games in Oakland through Sunday…The O’s have a scheduled off day on Monday, August 21 before beginning a nine-game homestand from August 22-30…The current trip is tied for Baltimore’s second-longest of the season with another nine-game, 10-day tour from September 1-10, which features three games each in Arizona (September 1-3), Los AngelesAL (September 4-6), and Boston (September 8-0)…Baltimore’s only longer trip this season was a 10-game, 11-day expedition from April 27 to May 7, during which the O’s went 6-4 in Detroit (3-1), Kansas City (2-1), and Atlanta (1-2).
Baltimore is 38-24 (.613) away from Camden Yards this season, the best road record in the AL and second best in MLB, behind Atlanta (38-22, .633).
The Orioles’ .613 road winning percentage would be the fourth-best since the team moved to Baltimore in 1954, behind 1997 (52-29, .642), 1980 (50-31, .617), and 1994 (35-22, .614).
MAKING THEIR PITCH: O’s pitching has posted a 3.73 ERA (151 ER/364.2 IP) in 41 games since July 1, ranked fourth in the AL and sixth in MLB during that time…Starting pitchers have thrown 232.1 of those innings, second-most in the AL and third-most in MLB while Baltimore has the second-most wins in the AL and third-most victories in MLB over that period…Prior to this stretch, the Orioles had a 4.33 ERA (346 ER/719.1 IP) in the first 80 games while starters threw 418.2 of those innings, fifth-fewest in the AL and 10th-fewest in MLB through June 30.
MOUNT UP: Ryan Mountcastle has reached base safely in a career-high 23 straight games since July 21, tied for the longest active streak in MLB (see box at right)…It is the longest on-base streak by an Orioles batter since Trey Mancini reached safely in 23 straight games from September 5, 2019 to April 2, 2021, and the longest in a single season since Jonathan Schoop was on base in 26 consecutive games from April 12 to May 12, 2017…Mountcastle has recorded a hit in 17 of the last 18 games since July 28…His 12-game hitting streak, the second-longest of his career, was snapped on August 11 at Seattle…Mountcastle is slashing .407/.476/.611 (22-for-54) with two doubles, three home runs, 10 runs scored, nine RBI, eight walks, and one stolen base in 15 games in August…Entering today’s games, he ranks third among MLB leaders for the month in batting average and on-base percentage…He’s reached base safely in all 26 of his starts since returning from the Injured List on July 9 while batting .389/.447/.633 (35-for-90) with seven doubles, five homers, 17 runs scored, 15 RBI, 11 walks, and one stolen base in those games.
MOUNTAIN TIME: Félix Bautista ranks tied for the AL lead and tied for third in MLB with 32 saves…Bautista has secured a win or save in 39 of his 52 appearances (75.0%) this year… That would be the third-highest such percentage in O’s history (since 1954), behind Randy Myers (77.0%, 47-of-61) in 1997 and Lee Smith (82.9%, 34-of-41) in 1994, per the Elias Sports Bureau…Bautista is looking to become the seventh Oriole (eighth time) in team history to lead the league in saves and the first since Zack Britton locked down 47 games in 2016… Johnson has the team record of 51 saves set in 2012.
His 108 strikeouts are more than 12 qualified pitchers, per STATS.
Bautista’s 16.95 K/9 (108 K/57.1 IP) would be the fourth-best by a qualified reliever in MLB history in a full season; Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman holds the record with a 17.67 mark set in 2014.
STATE OF THE FARM: MLB Pipeline on Tuesday unveiled their 2023 midseason farm system rankings, with the Birds retaining the No. 1 overall spot…This is the first time any organization has been in the top spot for five straight rankings, dating back to the 2021 midseason re-rank…Baltimore’s top-ranked farm system is led by six Top 100 prospects: shortstop Jackson Holiday (No. 1), outfielder Colton Cowser (No. 14), outfielder Heston Kjerstad (No. 25), infielder Coby Mayo (No. 28), catcher Samuel Basallo (No. 50), and infielder Joey Ortiz (No. 54)…The Orioles have maintained the best farm system in baseball despite graduating infielder Gunnar Henderson, who entered the year as MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, as well as right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez (preseason No. 7) and infielder Jordan Westburg (preseason No. 74).
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 26th start of the season, 16th on the road, and 12th career start against the Athletics tonight…Became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to start and win each of his three first appearances with the team… Started a season 4-0 for the second time in his career, joining a 6-0 start with Texas in 2021; became the fifth Oriole starting pitcher since 2004 to begin a year 4-0, joining John Means (4-0 in 2021), Bud Norris (4-0 in 2013), Wei-Yin Chen (4-0 in 2012), and Erik Bedard (4-0 in 2006)…The O’s signed Gibson to a one-year contract on December 5, 2022…He has also spent time with the Twins, Phillies, and Rangers across 10 Major League seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Dealt his seventh loss of the season in his last outing on August 11 at Seattle…Allowed a career-high nine runs on a career-high-tying 12 hits (3x, last: 9/20/22 vs.TOR w/ PHI) with two walks and four strikeouts in 5.1 innings…Also surrendered a season-high three home runs…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Snapped his streak of four consecutive quality starts, his longest such streak of the season…Threw 89 pitches, 57 strikes.
CALIFORNIA LOVE: Making his 12th career start against the Athletics tonight… Earned the win in his last such start on April 10, 2023 at Oriole Park, his home debut with the O’s…Allowed one run on five hits with three walks, a wild pitch, and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings…Marked his second quality start of the season…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Threw 92 pitches, 57 strikes…Sports a 6-3 record with a 3.80 ERA (28 ER/66.1 IP) with seven quality starts in 11 career outings against Oakland.
BEST IN THE WEST: Is slated to make his 63rd career start against the AL West… Has pitched to a 20-19 record with a 4.12 ERA (164 ER/358.0 IP), a complete game, and 33 quality starts in 62 career outings against the division.
HIGH QUALITY: Gibson logged four straight quality starts from July 20 to August 5, his longest such streak of the season and longest since a four-gamer from July 27 to August 16, 2022 with Philadelphia…Entering play today, his 13 quality starts lead the Orioles and are tied for seventh-most in the American League.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN: Gibson earned his 11th win on August 5 vs. the Mets, his 24th start of the season…His 11 victories are his most in a season since 2019 (13) and are tied for second-most in the AL entering tonight’s game…Did not win his 10th decision in 2022 until his 28th start on September 14 at Miami with Philadelphia.
CLUB 100: Gibson recorded his 100th career win on August 5 against the Mets and his 100th strikeout of the season in the second inning on July 25 at Philadelphia…He is one of four MLB pitchers to record 100+ punchouts in nine of the last 10 seasons, along with Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer.
HOW SWEEP IT IS: Opposing batters are slashing .150/.162/.220 (15-for-100) with two home runs against Gibson’s sweeper this season…Has recorded 41 strikeouts via the offspeed pitch, the sixth-most in MLB…Last season, hitters slashed .214/.214/.357 (6-for-28) with two extra-base hits (2B, HR) against his sweeper.
HOMER (UN)HAPPY: Gibson has allowed just 15 home runs in 145.1 innings across his 25 starts; entering play today, he ranks among qualified AL pitchers in HR/9 (9th, 0.93)…Did not allow a homer in five straight starts from May 14 to June 6, his longest such streak since keeping opponents in the yard in seven straight outings from September 26, 2020 to April 29, 2021 with Texas.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Snapped a five-game losing streak on Wednesday and have lost seven of the last nine games…are 22-37 (.373) over the last 59 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are 34- 87 (.281) overall, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors…have clinched a losing record in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2015- 17 when they had three straight…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)…have been swept 16 times this year, which is one short of the Oakland record (17 in 1978)…have swept two series…are 8-13-1 over the last 22 series after going 1-16 over the first 17…have a run differential of -282, 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.
TRAGIC NUMBER: The A’s tragic number to be officially eliminated from the American League West is four…have a tragic number of three to be eliminated from the Wild Card…last year, the A’s were eliminated from the West in game 129 on Aug. 28, which was the earliest the A’s have ever been eliminated from the West…the only other time Oakland was eliminated before Sept. 1 was in 1979 (game 13 of Aug. 30).
OFFENSE: The A’s hit .250 (52-for-208) with 26 runs scored on six-game road trip to Washington and St. Louis and are now batting .233 on the road compared to .213 at home…are hitting .223 overall, which is the lowest batting average in the majors…also rank last in slugging (.364), OPS (.665), runs (435) and extra base hits (304), third in fewest doubles (167), fourth in lowest onbase percentage (.301), tied for fourth in fewest home runs (119) and most times shut out (12), tied for seventh most grounded into double plays (95) and eighth in most strikeouts (1096)…are tied for the most sacrifice hits in the majors (24) and are tied for seventh in hit by pitches (63).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (33), rank third in plate appearances (139), tied for fourth in extra base hits (8), fifth in doubles (5), tied for ninth in home runs (3) and tied for 10th in RBI (14) and walks (12).
PITCHING: The A’s tossed their second shutout in the last seven games on Wednesday after logging just two shutouts over the first 114 contests…the four shutouts are fourth fewest in the majors…allowed nine hits Wednesday, which fell one short of the Oakland record for hits allowed in a nine-inning shutout…have a 4.88 ERA (341 er in 628.2 ip) over the last 72 games dating back to May 23 after compiling a 7.02 ERA over the first 49 contests…have a 5.75 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors and the highest in Oakland history (5.48 in 1997)…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage in the majors (.358), the second highest slugging percentage (.460) and OPS (.818) and third highest batting average (.270)…lead the majors with 75 hit batters, which is an Oakland record and six short of the Athletics record of 81 set in 1911…also have a ML leading 519 walks, which are the most by an A’s team since 2011 (also 519)…rank third in the majors in most wild pitches (49), fifth in most home runs (163) and sixth in fewest strikeouts (976).
STARTING PITCHING: On Wednesday, Paul Blackburn picked up the first win by an A’s starting pitcher since July 29 at Colorado (also Blackburn)…it was just the 12th win by an A’s starter this year, which is the fewest in the majors…the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…starters are now 12-54 with a 5.98 ERA…have the second highest ERA in the majors 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 (555.1).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s are scheduled to use an opener today for the 15th time this year (last on August 9)…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, 57 h, 34 r, 33 er, 27 bb, 70 so)…are 4-10 over the first 14 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 was 0-3 with three blown saves and a 7.23 ERA (15 er in 18.2 ip) on the road trip…has tied the Athletics record for most losses by relievers (33, also in 1965) and is closing in on the record for most walks (has 280, record is 282 in 1996) and most runs (has 332, record is 341 in 1955)…has a 5.50 ERA, which is the highest in the majors and the highest in Oakland history (5.22 in 1980)…also has the most losses in the majors this year (33) and the third most innings pitched (504.1)…is 20-for-43 (46.5%) in save opportunities…has the lowest save percentage in the majors, the second fewest saves and is tied for the fifth most blown saves (23)…has allowed 93- of-236 (39.4%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s have been successful in each of their 11 stolen bases attempts in August and are 114-for-136 (83.8%) for the season…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 83-for-119 (69.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 36 caught stealings are the most…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is tied for fourth most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s had an outfield assist in each of the three games at St. Louis and the three consecutive games with an outfield assist is the longest streak by an A’s team since June 9-11-2014…have not had a four-game streak since May 14-18, 1985…A’s outfielders have 22 assists for the season, which is tied for fifth most in the majors…the A’s have committed just one error in the last seven games but have 71 for the season, which is seventh most in the majors…have 84 double plays, which is second fewest.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin a six-game homestand against Baltimore (three games) and Kansas City (three games) tonight…went 3-2 on the last homestand against San Francisco (2-0) and Texas (1-2), which was the A’s first winning homestand of the season…are 18-41 (.305) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…went 29-51 at home last year and have back-to-back losing seasons at home for the first time since 2015-16…snapped a nine-game road losing streak on Wednesday, which was the second longest road losing streak this year (15, May 7-June 5) and tied for eighth longest in Oakland history…went 1-5 on the last road trip to Washington (0-3) and St. Louis (1-2) and are 16-46 (.258) 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 6.57 on the road.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND OTHER CLOSE CALLS: Half of the A’s wins have been by one run as they are 17-24 (.415) in one-run games and 17-63 (.213) in games decided by two or more runs…are tied for the most one-run losses in the majors and rank third in games (41)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games…rank 10th in the majors in extra inning games (12) and losses and tied for 10th in wins…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for sixth most…have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 14 of their 34 victories (41.2%).
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s have set Athletics records for most pitchers in a season (36), most relievers in a season (31) and most non-Covid injured list placements in a season (28)…have set an Oakland record for most starting pitchers (17)…prior to this year, the A’s had not used 17 or more starting pitchers since the 1956 Kansas City A’s had 18…used the IL an Athletics record 31 times last year (including nine times for Covid)…have used 57 players overall, which is second highest in Athletics history to the record of 64 set last year…the 57 players are second most in the majors to the Angels (59) and the 36 pitchers are third most (Rays 38, Dodgers 37).
A’S VS. ORIOLES
- The A’s lost three of four in Baltimore in April and with one more loss, will lose the season series to the Orioles for the first time since 2017 (3-4).
- Are 19-11 (.633) against the Orioles dating back to 2018…that includes 10-3 in Oakland and 9-8 in Baltimore.
- The A’s are 1018-956 all-time against the Orioles/Browns/Brewers…they are the only one of the seven other original American League franchises that the A’s have a winning record against.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 1-3 1-3
2022 3-1 1-2 4-3
Oakland History: 282-176
at the Coliseum: 143-138
at Camden Yards: 72-64
Athletics History: 1018-956
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has eight home runs and 20 extra base hits, which are the most in Athletics history by a player over the first 28 games of his career…his 11 doubles are tied for second most and his 20 runs are tied for sixth most… Austin Pruitt has not allowed a run in his last 12 games (14.2 ip, 7 h, 5 bb, 12 so) and the 14.2-inning scoreless streak is a career high…has not allowed a run in his last 15 relief appearances (17.0 ip).
TODAY’S MAIN PITCHER: Luis Medina (3-8, 5.31 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 18th appearance of the season…is 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA (16 er in 44.1 ip) and .229 (39-for-170) opponents batting average over his last nine games after going 1-6 with a 7.55 ERA and .288 opponents average over his first eight contests…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 11 for his second stint with the A’s this year…was called up for the first time on April 25, started and lost the next day at Los Angeles (AL) in his Major League debut, and was optioned back to Las Vegas on April 27.
STARTING AND RELIEVING: Is 2-7 with a 5.34 ERA (37 er in 62.1 ip) in 13 starts and is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA (12 er in 20.2 ip) in four games where he pitched in relief in a game started by an opener (Waldichuk on May 28 vs. Houston, Moll on June 9 at Milwaukee, Waldichuk on June 20 at Cleveland, Long on July 7 at Boston)…has tossed at least five innings 12 times, including three times as a reliever…his season high is 6.0 innings in starts on May 11, May 17 and July 7…his low is 2.0 innings in a start on June 3 at Miami.
THE LONG BALL: Has allowed just two home runs in his last 12 games and 55.1 innings after surrendering 10 home runs in his first five games and 27.2 innings…has yielded 10 home runs in 196 at bats against right-handed hitters (19.6 at bats per home run), two in 130 at bats against left-handers (65.0 at bats per home run)…eight of the 12 home runs he has allowed have come with the bases empty.
THIS AND THAT: Has walked seven batters in 7.1 innings over his first two starts in August after walking five batters in 22.0 innings in all of July…is tied for fifth in the majors in wild pitches (8)…has allowed 18 of his 52 runs in the second inning for a 9.37 ERA (17 er in 16.1 ip)…has a 2.08 ERA (3 er in 13.0 ip) in the first inning, a 3.38 ERA (6 er in 16.0 ip) in the third inning and a 1.76 ERA (3 er in 15.1 ip) in the fourth…has a 8.06 ERA (20 er in 22.1 ip) from the fifth inning on.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Began the season at Triple-A Las Vegas and was 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts when he was recalled by Oakland on April 25… made his Major League debut the next day with a start at Los Angeles (AL) and was the losing pitcher in the A’s 11-3 loss…became the 59th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the third this year (Fujinami on April 1, Miller on April 19)…allowed eight runs in 5.0 innings, which match the most runs in Oakland history by a pitcher in his debut…the first pitcher to do it was Fujinami earlier this year on April 1…it matches the most runs by an Athletics pitcher in his debut over the last 103 years (fifth time)…in addition to runs, he also had a career high in hits (8)…was optioned back to Las Vegas on April 27 and went 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA in two starts before he was recalled by Oakland a second time on May 11…matched his career high with 6.0 innings pitched on May 11 against Texas and May 17 against Arizona…his fifth career appearance on May 28 against Houston came in relief of opener Ken Waldichuk…allowed a career high three home runs and took the loss in a 10-1 decision…started in his next outing on June 3 at Miami but took the loss after allowing six runs on six hits and four walks in 2.0 innings… it was the shortest start of his career…it gave him a career-opening streak of six consecutive games with three or more runs allowed, which matched the longest such streak in Oakland history…joins Mike Morgan (June 11, 1978- July 7, 1979) and Dillon Overton (June 25-Sept. 15, 2016)…pitched in relief of opener Sam Moll on June 9 at Milwaukee and picked up his first Major League win in the A’s 5-2 victory…allowed two runs on three hits in 5.0 innings…it snapped a career-opening five-game losing streak…had an 8.19 ERA during the streak, which spanned six games, including five starts, from April 26 to June 3…it matched the third longest career-opening losing streak in
Oakland history…allowed a career-high tying eight hits in 4.2 innings in a start and loss to Tampa Bay on June 14…had a no decision in the A’s 3-2, 10-inning loss at Cleveland on June 20…pitched in relief of opener Ken Waldichuk and was the pitcher of record when he was relieved by Moll with a 2-0 lead in the seventh…Moll allowed an inherited runner to score plus a run of his own for the blown save…walked a career-high seven batters in 5.0 innings in a 12-1 loss at Toronto on June 25…is one of two A’s pitchers to walk seven batters in a game over the last eight years (Kaprielian earlier this year on April 14)… logged a career-high 100 pitches in 5.0 innings on June 30 against Chicago (AL) but allowed just one run for the win…struck out a career-high nine batters in a career-high tying 6.0 innings in relief of opener Sam Long on July 7 at Boston… combined with Long, Fujinami, Moll and May on a five-hit shutout in the A’s 3-0 win over Boston on July 8…tossed 5.2 innings and allowed three of the hits.
LAST START: He had his second straight no decision in the A’s 3-2 loss at Washington last Saturday…allowed his only run in the second inning when he loaded the bases with one out before Call grounded into a force out to drive in a run…was relieved by Perez to start the sixth with the scored tied 1-1.
