DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

OLSON PITCHES TIGERS TO WIN IN SERIES FINALE: The Tigers defeated the Dodgers, 4-2, in the series finale last night at Dodger Stadium. Reese Olson threw 6.0 strong innings, allowing a run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings to earn his fifth win. Will Vest struck out two over 1.2 scoreless innings to pick up his second save. Offensively, Tyler Nevin went 2×4 with a RBI, while Kerry Carpenter added a pair of doubles.

REESE’S PIECES: Reese Olson continued his impressive stretch of pitching last night, giving up a run on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. It marked his third straight start with at least 6.0 innings pitched, two-or-fewer hits allowed and two-or-fewer runs allowed, tying Michael Fulmer for the longest such streak in franchise history. Over his last five starts, Olson is 3-2 with a 1.50 ERA (30.0IP/5ER) and 28 strikeouts.

FULLY VESTED: Will Vest recorded the final five outs in last night’s game to pick up his second save of the season and the third of his career. He has not allowed a run in a career-long 11 consecutive outings, throwing 11.2 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, one walk and 19 strikeouts.

KEEP CALM AND KERRY ON: Kerry Carpenter posted his 33rd multi-hit game of the season and his eighth in September last night, going 2×4 with two runs scored and two doubles. Since August 4, Carpenter is slashing .339/.390/.560 with eight doubles, one triple, nine home runs and 28 RBI in 44 games. During that span, he ranks fourth in the American League in batting average, while he is sixth in OPS (.950), seventh in slugging percentage, ninth in on-base percentage and tied for ninth in RBI.

MOVIN’ ON UP: Miguel Cabrera continued his climb up the all-time hits list on Tuesday against the Dodgers, going 1×3 with a run scored. The hit was the 3,167th of his career, breaking a tie with Adrián Beltré for 16th place in MLB history.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 4-2 on their current 10-game road trip, which includes three games at Los Angeles (AL) (3-0), three games at Los Angeles (NL) (1-2) and four games at Oakland (September 21-24). Detroit is 39-38 away from Comerica Park this season. As a team, the Tigers
are hitting .230/.296/.380 on the road, while the pitching staff has a 4.02 ERA (667.1IP/298ER).

TIGERS AND ATHLETICS: The Tigers and Athletics begin their second series of the season tonight. The two teams met earlier this season in Detroit with Oakland winning two-of-three games. In 2022, the Tigers went 2-5 against the A’s, including splitting two games at the Oakland Coliseum.

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• LHP Tyler Alexander (left lat/shoulder strain, 60-day IL on July 4, retroactive to July 3)
• LHP Matthew Boyd (left elbow sprain, 60-day IL on June 27)
• RHP Mason Englert (left hip tightness, 15-day IL on July 24, retroactive to July 23)
• RHP Alex Faedo (right third finger blister, 15-day IL on September 19, retroactive to September 16)
• OF Riley Greene (right elbow inflammation, 60-day IL on September 2)
• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 15-day IL on September 7)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• LHP Andrew Vasquez (left calf tightness, 15-day IL on August 29, retroactive to August 28)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

29 Tarik Skubal • 6-3, 3.25 ERA (69.1IP/25ER

• Skubal will make his 14th start of the season tonight in the series opener at Oakland. Won his third consecutive start on Friday at Los Angeles (AL), throwing 7.0 innings and giving up a run on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. Since August 5, has posted a 5-2 record with a 2.64 ERA (47.2IP/14ER) and 57 strikeouts in eight starts…has a 0.97 WHIP and has limited opponents to a .202 batting average…among qualified American League pitchers in that span, he ranks tied for first in WHIP, while he is tied for second in strikeouts, fifth in opponent batting average and sixth in ERA. Has faced the A’s five times in his career and has a 2-2 record with a 2.42 ERA (26.0IP/7ER) and 31 strikeouts…in three career starts at the Oakland Coliseum, Skubal is 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA (10.0IP/1ER) and 14 strikeouts. Picked up his first win of the season on July 24 vs. San Francisco, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts…was his first Major League win since July 21, 2022. Did not allow a run in his first two starts this season…had a streak of 27.0 innings without giving up an earned run, dating back to July 13, 2022.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s have been swept in each of the first two series of the homestand and have now been swept 19 times this year, which is the most by an A’s team since the 1960 Kansas City A’s were also swept 19 times…have lost each of the last seven games, which marks their fifth losing streak of seven or more games this year…have also lost nine of the last 11 games and are 46-106 (.303) overall, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (51-102, .333)…are 60 games under .500 for the first time since finishing the 1919 season 68 under (36-104)…have 106 losses, which are second most in Oakland history (108 in 1979) and tied for fourth most in Athletics history with the 1920 Philadelphia A’s (117 in 1916, 109 in 1915)…this is the third 100-loss season in Oakland history and the 18th in Athletics history…have lost 208 games over the last two years, which are the A’s most in consecutive seasons since the Kansas City A’s had 208 losses from 1964-65…the last time the A’s had more than 208 losses in back-to-back seasons was from 1919-20 when they had 210…have a run differential
of -329, which is the lowest in the majors this year and third lowest this century (-337 by 2003 Tigers, -333 by 2019 Tigers)…the last time the A’s were outscored by 300 or more runs was in 1954 (-333).

OUCH: A’s pitchers hit two batters yesterday and have hit 94 for the season, which is the most in the majors and one short of the American League record of 95 set by the 2003 Tampa Bay Devil Rays…the Major League record is 110, set by the Reds last year…A’s batters have been hit by a pitch 82 times, which is sixth most in the majors and fourth most in Oakland history (98 in 2021, 88 in 2001, 87 in 2019).

OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .187 (41-for-219) with 13 runs scored over the last seven games…overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.224), slugging (.371), OPS (.671), runs scored (550) and extra base hits (393)…are tied with the Tigers for the lead in most times shut out (15), rank second in lowest on-base percentage (.299), third in fewest doubles (211), seventh in most strikeouts (1395), ninth in fewest walks (470) and tied for ninth in fewest home runs (162)…have 27 sacrifice hits, which is second most and the most by an A’s team since 2012 (27…had 34 in 2011).

IN THE PINCH: The A’s have 40 pinch hits, which matches the most by an American League team over the last 26 years (Rays, 2015)…the last AL team with more than 40 pinch hits is the 1997 A’s (57), and that is the only Oakland team in the designated hitter era with more than 40 pinch hits…the A’s have the most pinch hits in the majors and have not led the majors in pinch hits since 1927 when they had 50…have 190 plate appearances, which is second most in the majors and second most by an A’s team in the designated hitter era (195 in 1997)…are also tied for fourth in the majors in walks (17) and tied for eighth in extra base hits (9), doubles (5) and home runs (4).

PITCHING: The A’s have a 6.39 ERA (44 er in 62.0 ip) during the current seven-game losing streak and have a 5.56 ERA overall, which is second highest in the majors…it is currently the highest in Oakland history (5.48 in 1997) and third highest in Athletics history (6.07 in 1936, 5.79 in 1939)…have the second highest opponents OPS (.812), slugging percentage (.456) and on-base percentage (.356) in the majors and the fourth highest batting average (.268)…lead the majors with 654 walks, which are fourth most in Oakland history (680 in 1993, 667 in 1986, 655 in 1991)…have allowed 203 home runs, which are fifth most in the majors and third most in Oakland history (210 in 2017, 205 in 1996)…also have the most wild pitches in the majors this year (68), rank fourth in fewest shutouts (5) and fifth in fewest strikeouts (1212).

STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 17-67 with a 5.83 ERA…have the fewest wins in the majors, the most losses and the second highest ERA… the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…the ERA is currently second highest in Oakland history (5.94 in 1997)…have tossed one inning or fewer 13 times, three innings or fewer 30 times and fewer than five innings 64 times…have a 17-32 record when pitching enough innings to qualify for the win…have logged 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched in the majors (685.2)…will set an Athletics record for fewest innings pitched by starting pitchers in a full season (previous: 824.1 in 2018).

THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen walked two batters yesterday and now has 347 walks for the season, which matches the 1996 Detroit Tigers for the most walks by a bullpen in Major League history…has set Athletics single-season records for most losses (39), innings pitched (648.0) and runs allowed (411) by relievers…has the second most hits (632, record is 678 in 1997) and the third most strikeouts (591, had 627 in 2018 and 603 in 2019) and home runs (79, had 92 in 1964 and 81 in 2017)…has a 5.28 ERA, which is the highest in the majors and is currently the highest in Oakland history (5.22 in 1980)… has the most losses in the majors and the second most innings pitched… is 27-for-52 (51.9%) in save opportunities…has the third fewest saves in the majors and the fifth lowest save percentage…has allowed 106-of-270 (39.3%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…is tied for the second most inherited runners.

ON THE BASES: The A’s are 140-for-168 (83.3%) in stolen base attempts…the stolen bases are second most by an A’s team over the last 30 years (156 in 2010) and the only time in Athletics history the A’s had a stolen base percentage above 81.5 was in 2020 (89.7%)…rank fifth in the majors in stolen base percentage, tied for fifth in steals and sixth in attempts…A’s opponents are 107-for-142 (69.5%) in stolen base attempts, which is the lowest success rate in the majors…the 47 caught stealings are the most…A’s pitchers have 16 pickoffs, which is tied for second most.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-6 on their final homestand of the season, a season-long tying 10-game stand against San Diego (0-3), Seattle (0-3) and Detroit (four games)…the six-game home losing streak is the A’s second longest of the season (9, April 5-29)…are 24-53 (.312) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…the 53 losses are an Oakland record and two short of the franchise record (55 in 1956 and 1964)… have a 5.05 ERA (397 er in 707.0 ip) at home, which is second highest in the majors and third highest in Oakland history (5.57 in 1997, 5.12 in 1996, 4.55 in 2022)…have allowed 96 home runs, which is tied for third most in Oakland history (102 in 1996, 99 in 2017)…are batting .216 (535-for-2479), which is the lowest in the majors and second lowest in Oakland history (.209 in 2022, .225 in 1979)…leave following the game Sunday for the final road trip of the season, a six-game trip to Minnesota (three games) and Los Angeles-AL (three games)…went 3-3 on the last road trip to Texas (1-2) and Houston (2-1) and are 22-53 (.293) on the road, which is the third worst road record in the majors…the 53 road losses are second most in Oakland history (58 in 1979).

PLAYER NOTES: Yesterday, Joey Estes became the 24th pitcher to start a game for the A’s this year, which ties the 1915 Philadelphia A’s for the Major League record for most starting pitchers used in a season…he became the 41st pitcher, which is an Athletics record and one short of the Major League record of 42 (2019 Mariners, 2021 Mets, 2021 Orioles, 2022 Cubs)…have also used 36 relievers, which is an Athletics record and two short of the Major League record (38 by the 2021 Orioles)…have employed 62 players, which is second most in Athletics history (64 in 2022), and used 22 rookies, which is second most in Oakland history (34)…lead the majors in most pitchers this year and rank third in players (Reds 65, Angels 64).

A’S VS. TIGERS

• Won two of three at Detroit in early July to open the season series.
• Won the season series last year 5-2 and have won each of the previous five season series.
• Are 31-6 (.838) against the Tigers dating back to 2017, which includes 12-3 at the Coliseum and 19-3 at Comerica Park.
• Are 53-31 (.631) all-time at Comerica Park, which is the best winning percentage by any team.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Luis Medina (3-9, 5.56 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is 3-9 with a 5.56 ERA and .809 opponents OPS in 21 games, including 15 starts, over two stints with the A’s in his Major League debut… has 97 strikeouts in 98.2 innings (8.85 per nine innings), but has walked 53 (4.83 per nine innings), hit seven and has 10 wild pitches…began the year by making his Triple-A debut at Las Vegas and 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…returned to Oakland on May 11 and pitched in 17 games before he was placed on the 15-day injured list Aug. 21 retroactive to Aug. 19 with a blister on his right index finger…made one rehab start with the Aviators and was reinstated on Sept. 4…is 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA (12.2 ip, 11 h, 11 r, 9 er, 10 bb, 13 so) in three games, including two starts, since his return. RANKINGS: Ranks second among Major League rookies in most wild pitches (10), third in walks (53) and losses (9), sixth in runs (67) and tied for seventh in hit batters (7)…the A’s have not had a rookie lose 10 games since 2017 when both Daniel Gossett (11) and Jharel Cotton (10) did it…his 10 wild pitches are tied for third most in Oakland history by a rookie behind Blake Stein (15 in 1998) and Matt Keough (12 in 1978)…the wild pitches are tied for sixth in the majors this year among all pitchers.

FIRST EIGHT, LAST 13: Went 1-6 with a 7.55 ERA, .288 opponents average and .935 OPS over his first eight games, including six starts, through June 14…is 2-3 with a 4.25 ERA (28 er in 59.1 ip), .240 (55-for-229) opponents batting average and .723 OPS in 13 games, including nine starts, since then…yielded 10 home runs in 39.1 innings over his first eight games (2.29 per nine innings) but just four in 59.1 innings since then (0.61 per nine innings).

STARTING AND RELIEVING: Is 2-8 with a 5.68 ERA (45 er in 71.1 ip) in 15 starts and is 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA (16 er in 27.1 ip) in six games where he pitched in relief in a game started by an opener/limited starter (Waldichuk on May 28 vs. Houston, Moll on June 9 at Milwaukee, Waldichuk on June 20 at Cleveland, Long on July 7 at Boston, Perez on Aug. 18 vs. Baltimore, Miller on Sept. 16 vs. San Diego)…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 yielded 11 home runs in 221 at bats against right-handed hitters (20.1 at bats per home run), three in 164 at bats against left-handers (54.6 at bats per home run)…nine of the 14 home runs he has allowed have come with the bases empty.

THIS AND THAT: Is 0-5 with a 6.45 ERA (32 er in 44.2 ip) in 10 games during the day, 3-4 with a 4.83 ERA (29 er in 54.0 ip) in 11 games at night…has tossed fewer than five innings in each of his last six appearances, including four starts, and is 0-1 with a 6.26 ERA (16 er in 23.0 ip) over that span…compiled a 2.86 ERA in July but has a 5.56 ERA or higher in all other months… has allowed 20 of his 67 runs in the second inning for an 8.41 ERA (19 er in 20.1 ip).

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 18…tossed 5.2 innings and allowed three of the hits.

LAST APPEARANCE: He pitched in relief of Mason Miller last Saturday in the A’s 5-2 loss to San Diego in Oakland…Miller allowed two runs in the first and Medina retired eight of the first nine batters he faced…with two outs in the fourth, he walked Sullivan, allowed a single to Kim and then walked Tatis and Soto to force in a run…also allowed two unearned runs in the fifth inning.