ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
Roster Moves – The Braves today selected the contract of RHP AJ Smith-Shawver and designated LHP Lucas Luetge for assignment. Smith-Shawver is currently rated by MLB. com as Atlanta’s No. 4 overall prospect, and his first appearance will mark his major league debut. He has pitched across three different levels of Atlanta’s minor league system this season, combining to go 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA (4 ER/33.0) over seven starts with Rome, Mississippi and Gwinnett
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Braves and Athletics tonight continue a three-game series in what is the only scheduled meeting between the clubs this season… Atlanta and Oakland played just last season, with the Braves winning all four contests.
- The Braves and A’s are playing in back-to-back seasons for the first time in history, and have played just 20 total games since the advent of interleague play in 1997…Atlanta is 15-5 (.750) all-time against Oakland, its best record against any A.L. team.
- The Braves snapped their 11-game winning streak over Oakland with last night’s loss, their first to the Athletics since May 17, 2008…Since 1990, Atlanta has won at least 11 consecutive games against a single opponent just three other times…The Braves beat the Rockies in 16 straight games from 1993- ’94, and Atlanta beat the Giants in 12 straight games and the Marlins 11 consecutive times from 1994-’95.
- The Braves have played just nine games all-time here in Oakland, and yesterday’s loss broke Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak here…It was their first loss here in Oakland since 2003.
- Atlanta has dropped the season set to Oakland just once in the six seasons in which the two teams have met, going 1-2 over three games in 2005… The Braves need to win the next two games to win the season series.
- RH Bryce Elder has never faced Oakland, and has pitched against just one member of the A’s current roster…OF J.J. Bleday is 1-for-6 against him…The 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander has made 10 starts for Atlanta this season and is a perfect 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA (13 ER/58.1 IP).
- LH JP Sears has also never faced Atlanta, but has pitched against current Braves Charlie Culberson (0-for-2) and Sean Murphy (0-for-2)…The 5-foot11, 180-pound native of Sumter, SC, is looking for his first win of the season, going 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA (28 ER/53.2 IP) over his first 10 starts.
LOSS: Atlanta jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning last night before Oakland rallied for a 7-2 win… RH Michael Soroka started for the Braves, his first appearance in the majors since August of 2020.
- Despite the loss, Atlanta’s 17-8 (.680) record on the road is still the best in baseball…The Braves are just 2-5 over their last seven road games, however.
- Atlanta opened the scoring with a first-inning run, the 40th time this season the Braves have scored the game’s first run…That total is most in the majors…However, Atlanta is 30-10 (.750) when scoring first, just the ninth-best record in baseball.
- The Braves collected just two runs on the game, one day after scoring 11 versus Philadelphia on Sunday night…Atlanta’s 17 games this season scoring three-or-fewer runs are fewest in the National League, however the Braves are just 3-14 (.176) when doing so.
VERSUS LEFT-HANDERS: LH JP Sears starts tonight for Oakland and Atlanta has gone 10-4 (.714) against left-handed starters this season, the best such record in the National League.
- Just one team in baseball, Tampa Bay at 8-3 (.727), has been better versus lefties this season.
- The Braves have not faced a left-handed starter since May 15 at Texas, when they beat Cody Bradford and the Rangers, 12-0.
- Atlanta is batting .312/.372/.570 against lefthanders as a team this season, and they lead the majors in average, homers (33) and extra-base hits (64) versus lefties.
- Ozzie Albies is batting .452/.460/.823 against lefthanders this season, and his 244 wRC+ versus lefties is highest in baseball among hitters with at-least 60 such plate appearances…He also paces the majors in average, slugging and OPS (1.283) and hits (28) against left-handed pitching…For his career, he has batted .338/.365/.583 versus lefties.
- Since the start of 2018, Atlanta has gone 122-83 (.595) against lefties, the fourth-best record in baseball in that span…Only the Astros (172-89, .659) Dodgers (157-90, .636) and Yankees (134-84, .615) have been better.
FIRST INNING: The Braves plated another run in the first inning last night and the Braves’ 52 total first-inning runs are the most in MLB, eight more than any other team.
- Per MLB’s Sarah Langs, Atlanta’s 52 first-inning runs and 79 first-inning hits are the most by any team in any inning this season.
- Atlanta has scored at least one run in the first inning in eight of their last 11 games, and has scored at least one first-inning run in a majors-most 25 games this season.
RILEY STREAKING: Austin Riley went 2-for-4 last night and has hit in a season-best 12 straight games dating to May 17…He is batting .383/.400/.702 with six doubles and three homers in that span.
Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP 2023 Record: 3-0, 2.01 ERA • 2022 Record: 2-4, 3.17 ERA vs. RHB: .262 (32-122), 2 HR • vs. LHB: .211 (20-95), 2 HR Home: 0-0, 2.06 ERA (8 ER/35.0 IP) • Away: 3-0, 1.93 ERA (5 ER/23.1 IP)
Tonight’s Game
- Set to make his first career start against Oakland and 11th on the season.
- Enters play with 15 consecutive outings of at least 5.0 innings pitched.
- His 2.01 ERA on the season is the lowest in the National League and third lowest in the majors among qualified starters.
- Trails only Minnesota’s Sonny Gray (1.94) and TB’s Shane McClanahan (1.97).
- No Braves pitcher was won the ERA title since Greg Maddux (2.22) in 1998.
- Elder’s 2.83 ERA with runners on base is the lowest in the majors among qualified starters.
- Opponents are hitting .169 against him with runners on base, the second lowest rate it the NL and fourth in MLB (among QS).
- His 58.3 LOB% is the second lowest in the majors (among QS).
- Scattered seven hits and one walk over 6.0 innings of one-run ball while fanning six hitters in his last start against Los Angeles (NL).
- His groundball rate of 56.0% of balls put in play is the fifth highest in the majors among qualified starters.
- Has recorded an out on 65.8% of those grounders put in play, also the fifth highest rate in baseball among qualifiers.
- Is 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA over his last 15 games started after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for the second time, dating to August 14, 2022.
- His 1.88 ERA is the lowest among pitchers with at least 15 starts during that span.
- In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.0 innings pitched per outing, tied for the fourth highest rate in the National League (min. 15 starts).
- He has five starts in his career of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run, the most such games in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966) in a player’s first 15 starts…Larry McWilliams (’78) and Ian Anderson (’20-21) both had four such starts.
2023 Recap
- Elder’s 2.39 ERA through 17 career starts is the lowest in Atlanta franchise history to begin a career.
- The 98.0 innings pitched through his first 17 games started are the most by an Atlanta player to begin their career since Michael Soroka in 2018-19.
- His 26 earned runs allwed are also the fewest during that span.
- Elder has held opponents to one run or less in six games this season while pitching at least 5.0 frames in every outing.
- His 10 appearances of at least 5.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to one run or less are the most through a player’s first 20 outings in Atlanta franchise history
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Snapped their 11-game losing streak last night and will attempt to put together back-to-back wins for just the second time this year (May 5-6)…the 11-game losing streak tied for fourth longest in Oakland history…have lost 11 of the last 12 games, 14 of the last 16 and 19 of the last 22…are 11-45 (.196) overall, which matches the 1932 Red Sox for the second worst record after 56 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…the worst is 9-44 (.170) by the 1904 Senators (had three games called with the score tied)…both the Red Sox and Senators lost game 57…have lost each of the previous six series and are 1-16-0 in series play…lost each of the first 10 series before taking two of three at Kansas City, May 5-7…have been swept in each of the previous three series and eight times this year.
A’s IN MAY: The A’s are 5-22 (.185) in May, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors (Pirates, 6-18/.250)…the lowest winning percentage in May in Athletics history is .190 (4-17) in 1919…the lowest winning percentage in any month in Oakland history (min. 10 games) is .172 (5-24) in June, 1979…the 22 losses in May match the 1954 Philadelphia A’s for the most in May in Athletics history…the most losses in any month in Oakland history is 24 in June, 1979…went 5-23 (.179) in April, which was also the worst record in the majors…set a Major League record for most losses in April…this is the 16th 20-loss month in Oakland history, the fourth in the last two years…it is the second time since 1954 the A’s had back-to-back 20-loss months…the other time was in May and June last year when they had 21 each month…have compiled a 5.77 ERA (152 er in 237.0 ip) in May, which is the highest in the majors, after posting a 7.97 ERA in April…the only time in Oakland history the A’s had a May ERA above 5.70 was in 1997 (6.62)…have surrendered 47 home runs, which is second most in May in Athletics history (57 in 1964) and third most in any month in Oakland history (50 in April, 2023; 48 in Sept. 2015)…have scored 83 runs, which is third fewest in the majors…the only time in Oakland history the A’s scored fewer than 86 runs in May was in 1978 (79)…have 24 stolen bases, which is tied for second most in the majors and is the most by an A’s team in May since 1995 when they also had 24…are batting .212 (189-for-890), which is the lowest mark in the majors…the lowest May in Oakland history is .210 in 2012.
OFFENSE: The A’s scored seven runs last night, snapping an Oakland-record tying streak of 11 consecutive games with three runs or fewer…are now batting .185 (69-for-372) with 26 runs scored over the last 12 games (2.2 runs per game)…were hit by a pitch a season-high tying four times yesterday (also April 14 vs. the Mets), which fell one short of the Oakland record of five… have been hit by a pitch 34 times this year, which is second most in the majors…are on pace for 98 hit by pitches, which would tie the Athletics record set in 2021…have the second lowest batting average (.221) and OPS (.659) in the majors (.221), the third lowest slugging percentage (.359) and fourth lowest on-base percentage (.300)…rank second in fewest doubles (73), third in fewest runs (196) and most strikeouts (525) and fourth in fewest extra base hits (136)…have the most sacrifice hits (12)…have been shut out seven times, which is tied for second most in the majors (Royals, 8)…A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (13) and walks (9) and rank fourth in plate appearances (57).
PITCHING: The A’s have a 6.78 ERA, which is the highest in the majors…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the highest ERA by an AL or NL team since the earned run became an official stat is 6.70 by the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies…also have the highest opponents OPS (.870), batting average (.280), on-base percentage (.372) and slugging percentage (.497) in the majors this year…lead the majors in most walks (261), home runs (97) and hit batters (39), are tied for the most wild pitches (29) and have the sixth fewest strikeouts (426)…have surrendered six grand slams, which are the most in the majors and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-13 with a 5.90 ERA (66 er in 100.2 ip) in the 22 games since recording their only two wins of the season on May 5 and 6 at Kansas City…went 0-16 over the first 32 games and are 2-29 with a 7.12 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and no other team has fewer than eight wins from its starters…have the fourth fewest innings pitched (263.0).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an “opener” three times this year, all in the last six games…A’s openers are 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA (3.0 ip, 6 h, 3 r, 3 er, 3 so) and the “main” pitchers in those games are 0-2 with a 6.92 ERA (13.0 ip, 16 h, 10 r, 10 er, 7 bb, 17 so)…have lost all three 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 is 0-for-1 in save opportunities over the last 22 games…the streak of 22 consecutive games without a save is second longest by an A’s team over the last 19 years (25, April 19-May 17, 2019)…the A’s last save was on May 6 at Kansas City…is 4-for-14 (28.6%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and the 10 blown saves are tied for 10th most…has the highest ERA in the majors (6.39) and the second most innings pitched (228.0)…has allowed 43-of-103 (41.7%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…has the third most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 53-for-65 (81.5%) in stolen base attempts…rank third in the majors in stolen bases and attempts and 10th in stolen base percentage…opponents are 42-for-59 (71.2%), which is the sixth lowest success rate in the majors…the 17 caught stealings are second most (Rockies, 18) but the A’s are tied for the 10th most stolen bases allowed…A’s pitchers are tied for third in the majors in pickoffs (5).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 1-3 on this six-game homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (1-0)…went 2-5 on the last homestand against Texas (1-3) and Arizona (1-2) and are 6-23 (.207) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…have lost each of the first nine home series, which is one short of the Oakland record for consecutive home series lost, set last year from April 22-June 23 (10)…went 0-7 on the last road trip to Houston (0-3) and Seattle (0-4) and are 5-22 (.185) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in seven of their 11 wins…have five wins when tied after seven innings, three when trailing after seven innings and three when leading after seven inning…are tied for the third most wins in the majors when tied after seven innings and are tied for seventh in wins when trailing after seven innings… however, no other team has fewer than 13 wins when leading after seven innings…are 3-4 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning losses and tied for sixth in wins and games (7)…have four walkoff wins, which is tied for second most in the majors (Yankees, 5).
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s won 7-2 last night, which was their largest margin of victory this year…seven of the A’s 11 wins have been by one run and Oakland is 7-10 (.412) in one-run games…are tied for sixth in the majors in one-run losses and rank ninth in games (17)…lost 10-1 on Sunday, which was their ninth loss by nine or more runs this year…that matches the 1996 A’s for the second most such losses in Oakland history (had 11 in 1979)…have a run differential of -194, which is the lowest in the majors…had a run differential of -202 all last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history (-287 in 1979).
THIS AND THAT: Paul Blackburn and Jonah Bride became the 44th and 45th players to appear in a game for the A’s this year, which is the most in the majors (Brewers, 42)…Blackburn is the 29th pitcher, which is also the most (Rays, 28)…the A’s are 10-9 when scoring four or more runs, 1-36 when scoring fewer than four runs.
A’S VS. BRAVES
- The A’s defeated Atlanta last night for the first time since May 17, 2008…that snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Braves, which
is their longest losing streak against a National League team and tied for sixth longest against any team. - Are 5-15 (.250) all-time against the Braves, which is the A’s worst record against any team.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 1-0 0-0 1-0
2022 0-2 0-2 0-4
Oakland History: 5-15
at the Coliseum: 2-7
at Truist Park: 0-2
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.400) and walks (33), ranks third in OPS (.867), sixth in extra base hits (18) and doubles (11), tied for sixth in runs (27), tied for seventh in home runs (6), eighth in slugging (.467) and tied for ninth in RBI (19)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in hits (59), stolen bases (27) and hit by pitches (12), is tied for second in doubles (13), ranks sixth in RBI (23), seventh in on-base percentage (.338), eighth in batting (.273), ninth in extra base hits (15) and 10th in runs (24).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: JP Sears (0-3, 4.70 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 11th start of the season…is 0-1 with a 3.25 ERA (10 er in 27.2 ip) and .675 opponents OPS in five starts in May after going 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and .846 OPS in five starts in April…has seven no decisions, which are tied for the most in the majors among starters.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has a .226 (37-for-164) opponents batting average and .777 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .300 (12-for-40) with a .681 OPS against left-handers…has allowed 19 of his 20 extra base hits to righties for a .500 slugging percentage (.325 vs. lefties)…has yielded 36 of his 40 career extra base hits to righties, including all 20 of his home runs…has a .305 (25-for-82) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .197 (24-for-122) after that…has not allowed a hit to the opponents number eight hitter (0-for-19)…opponents are 0-for-20 on an 0-2 count.
WALKS AND STRIKEOUTS: Has walked two batters or fewer in each of his 10 starts, including three starts with no walks and four with one…has issued 10 free passes in 53.2 innings for the season, an average of 1.68 per nine innings…that is seventh lowest in the majors among pitchers with 50 or more innings pitched…has struck out 52 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.20 is 10th best.
THIS AND THAT: Is 0-0 with a 2.86 ERA (7 er in 22.0 ip) in four starts in Oakland and 0-3 with a 5.97 ERA (21 er in 31.2 ip) in six starts on the road…has started the season 0-3 and is now 0-4 with a 4.83 ERA (34 er in 63.1 ip) over his last 12 games dating back to Sept. 25, 2022…went 6-2 with a 3.58 ERA over the first 24 games of his career…has allowed at least one home run in eight of his 10 starts and has 12 home runs overall, which is tied for ninth most in the majors…has tossed six innings or fewer in all 10 of his starts this year and all 21 in his career…has a 6.52 ERA (21 er in 29.0 ip) and .276 (32-for116) opponents batting average in odd numbered innings, a 2.55 ERA (7 er in 24.2 ip) and .193 (17-for-88) opponents average in even numbered innings.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Allowed a career-high tying eight hits in his first start on April 4 against Cleveland but had a no decision in the A’s 4-3 win…tossed a career-high tying 6.0 innings in the A’s 4-3, 10-inning loss to New York (NL) on April 16…struck out a career-high 11 batters in a career-high tying 6.0 innings on April 21 at Texas but had a no decision in the A’s 5-4 win…also had a career-high 101 pitches and walked two, his first of three games in 2023 with two walks (April 27 at Los Angeles-AL and May 3 vs. Seattle)…allowed a career-high tying six runs in a season-low 4.1 innings in an 8-7 loss at Los Angeles (AL) on April 27…tossed a career-high tying 6.0 innings and did not allow a run on May 3 against Seattle but had a no decision in the A’s 7-2 10-inning loss…left with 2-0 lead but the pen allowed one run in the seventh and one in the ninth for the blown save…it was the first of two times he left with the lead only to have the bullpen blow the save (May 25 at Seattle)… surrendered a career-high tying three home runs in a 7-2 loss at New York (AL) on May 8…tossed a career-high tying 101 pitches in 5.1 innings on May 14 against Texas…allowed two runs in a career-high tying 6.0 innings in a no decision at Houston on May 20.
LAST START: He had his third straight no decision in the A’s 3-2 loss at Seattle last Thursday…allowed a solo home run to the second batter he faced (France) but that was the only run he would allow in five innings of work… did not allow a hit after the second inning and was relieved by May to start the sixth with the A’s leading 2-1…May allowed a home run to the first batter he faced (France) for the blown save.
