KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
COMEBACK COMES UP SHORT: The Royals suffered a 4-3 loss in yesterday’s rubber game at Wrigley Field, falling to 1-2 through the first leg of his 9-game, 10-day trip…the Royals took an early lead in the 1st on back-to-back hits by Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey, but the Cubs scored 2 unearned runs in the bottom half thanks to what was originally ruled a single by Ian Happ and an error, followed by a sacrifice fly by Cody Bellinger… after the game, Happ’s single was ruled an RBI triple, making both runs in the inning earned…Jordan Lyles shook off that 1st frame and finished the game with 8.0 innings, allowing solo homers in the 5th and 8th to record his 3rd complete game, matching Sandy Alcantara for the Majors lead…the Royals didn’t score again until the 9th, when three straight reached with 1 out—including a pinch-hit RBI single by Maikel Garcia—and Drew Waters put the tying run in scoring position with an RBI groundout, but Dairon Blanco grounded out to end the game.
ON THE MEND: Nick Pratto went 0-for-2 with 2 walks yesterday and played 7.0 innings at first base in his 4th rehab game with Triple-A Omaha…Pratto has missed the last 22 games on the Injured List with a left groin strain.
Brad Keller allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 1 walk in the 7th inning yesterday but was credited with the win in his 1st rehab appearance with Double-A Northwest Arkansas…he began this assignment with 2 outings in the Arizona Complex League and has been on the IL since May 19 with a right shoulder impingement.
Left hander Jake Brentz pitched a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts Saturday in his 2nd rehab appearance in the Arizona Complex League…Brentz, 28, is working his way back from Tommy John Surgery in April 2022.
STARTING SOMETHING: Left hander Tucker Davidson is making his 17th career start tonight and 1st of the season, becoming the 20th different starting pitcher for the Royals in 2023…their total leads the Majors ahead of the Athletics (18), extends the Royals franchise record—the previous high was 17 in 2006—and marks the most by any team since 2019, when the Blue Jays used 21 different starting pitchers en route to a 67-95 finish.
Davidson last started on Oct. 2 of last season vs. Texas (with the Angels) and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks in 4.1 innings…he’s made 24 appearances—all in relief—this season with the Angels and Royals, and has allowed 5 runs (4 ER) in 6 appearances (6.1 IP) since being acquired by Kansas City on Aug. 1.
The Royals are 4-7 in games started by an opener this year, and tonight marks their 4th such game in the last 11…Royals openers have allowed 9 runs (8 ER) on 12 hits and 6 walks in 16.1 innings, with 20 strikeouts.
Royals starters rank 4th in MLB since the break with a 2.16 BB/9 after ranking 20th in the 1st half (3.14).
CLOSE CALLS: Yesterday’s 4-3 loss in Chicago marked Kansas City’s 8th straight game decided by 2 runs or fewer, a stretch in which 5 of those 8 games have been decided by 1 run…the Royals are 2-6 during this 8-game run, which is their longest of games decided by 2 runs or fewer since May 16-26, 2021, when they played 8 straight games, and is 1 game shy of the club record (9) done five times and most recently in 2014…it’s the longest active streak in the Majors and is 3 games shy of Philadelphia’s league-high 11-game run from July 24-Aug. 4.
The Royals are 16-17 (.485) in 1-run games this season, which is the 6th-best record in the American League behind Baltimore (22-11), Los Angeles (19-14), Toronto (21-17), Detroit (17-15) and Houston (17-17).
The Royals are 21-36 (.368) in games decided by 2 runs or fewer, which is tied with these Athletics for the 2nd-worst in the Majors, ahead of only San Diego (19-36)…they are 5-19 in games decided by exactly 2 runs, and their 19 such losses are 2 more than the Padres for the most in the Majors this season.
The Royals haven’t played a game decided by more than 2 runs since Aug. 11 vs. St. Louis, when they won 12-8, and they haven’t lost a game decided by more than 2 runs since Aug. 7 at Boston, a 6-2 defeat…they’re 4-8 since they last lost by more than 2 runs, despite having an even run differential in those 12 games.
ROAD WORK: After losing 2 of 3 last weekend at Wrigley Field, the Royals continue this 9-game, 10-day trip with a 3-game set in Oakland beginning tonight…following an off day on Thursday, the Royals will close out the road trip with a 3-game series next weekend in Seattle…the Royals are 18-45 (.286) on the road and are winless in their last 13 road series—including 11 losses and two splits—since they won 2 of 3 in San Diego from May 15-17.
The Royals have won 7 of their last 8 series-opening games—including 3 straight—after starting 5-27.
VS. ATHLETICS: The Royals are visiting Oakland this week after losing 2 of 3 to the Athletics at Kauffman Stadium from May 5-7…they won 2 of 3 here at the Coliseum last August, which marked their first series win over the A’s in five years, since Aug. 14-17, 2017, snapping a run of six winless sets…despite that, the Royals are 10-20 vs. the Athletics since 2018 and 14-29 since 2016, a stretch in which they have lost four season series and split two others…the Royals would have to sweep this set to clinch their first season series vs. Oakland since 2015.
The Royals are 5-14 vs. American League West teams this season and have lost all six of their series.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Royals were held to just 3 runs yesterday for just the fifth time in their last 22 games since July 28, a stretch in which Kansas City’s offense leads the American League in several offensive categories, including hits (227), triples (7), batting average (.294) and slugging percentage (.475)…they rank 2nd in the AL in total bases (368) and 3rd in runs per game (5.55) and OPS (.809)…the Royals lead the Major Leagues since July 28 with 37 stolen bases in 22 games, 14 more than the Diamondbacks and Mariners (23 each).
The Royals offense was held to 8 total bases in yesterday’s loss, snapping their streak of at least 10 total bases in 22 consecutive games dating back to July 26, which was the longest by an American League team in two years and was the 2nd-longest streak in franchise history, trailing only a 25-game run in 1976.
BOBBY BASEBALL: Over Bobby Witt Jr.’s last 21 games—since his walk-off grand slam on July 28—he leads the Majors with 16 extra-base hits, 71 total bases, a .789 slugging percentage and 1.247 OPS…he ranks tied for 1st with 28 RBI, 2nd with 38 hits and a .422 batting average and is tied for 3rd with 8 home runs…this 21-game run has seen him record 11 multi-hit efforts, 3 games with 4 hits, 2 grand slams, a 6-RBI game and an inside-the-park HR.
Friday’s game-winning HR in the 6th was Witt Jr.’s 24th of the season and 22nd as a shortstop, breaking a tie with Jay Bell (1997) for the most in a single season by a Royals player at that position…his 22 HR as a shortstop are also tied with Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager for the most in the Majors this season.
Through 126 team games—and with 36 games left—Witt Jr. is on pace for 30 homers an 47 stolen bases, a combination that has been matched only three times in Major League history, by Eric Davis in 1987 (37/50), Barry Bonds in 1990 (33/52) and most recently by Mike Trout in 2012 (30/49)…he’s 6 HR shy of becoming the first player with 30 homers and 30 steals in Royals history, and he would be the Majors’ first primary shortstop to accomplish that feat since Hanley Ramírez had 33 HR and 35 steals in 2008.
In 68 games since June 1, Witt Jr. is batting .325 with 14 HR and a .923 OPS, and leads the AL with 89 hits.
Witt Jr. ranks tied for 3rd in the Majors with 37 steals behind Ronald Acuña Jr. (56) and Esteury Ruiz (48).
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: LHP TUCKER DAVIDSON (1-2, 6.39)
Tucker is making his 1st start of the season tonight and the 17th start of his career…he last started in a no decision on Oct. 2 of last season vs. Texas (with the Angels) and allowed 3 runs in 4.1 innings.
He last pitched on Saturday, when he stranded the bases loaded to end the 4th, and worked a 1-2-3 5th vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field to mark his 3rd scoreless outing in 6 appearances with the Royals.
He has faced the A’s twice in his career, both this past April with the Angels, when he worked a combined 6.1 scoreless innings on April 1 (4.0 IP) here at the Coliseum, and 2.1 innings on April 24 at Angel Stadium…his outing here on April 1 marked his first Major League save.
He reported on Aug. 2 after being acquired from the Angels on Aug. 1 for cash, and has 6 strikeouts in 6 appearances (6.1 IP) with the Royals.
Tucker pitched in 18 games for the Angels this season before being traded to Kansas City and recorded 31 strikeouts (20.9 K%) & 11 walks (7.4%).
Played two seasons at Midland College and was selected to the All-Western Junior College Athletic Association First Team…is one of two Midland alumni to have played in Majors, along with right-handed pitcher Jim Henderson, who played from 2012-14 with Brewers and in 2016 with the Mets.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s lost their 90th game of the season yesterday and are on pace to go 44-118…the 118 losses would break the franchise record set by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (36-117) and would be fourth most in Major League history…the top three are the 1899 Spiders (20-134), 1962 Mets (40-120) and 2003 Tigers (43-119)…are currently 34-90 (.274), which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (40-86, .317)… are 56 games under .500 for the first time since finishing the 1946 season 56 games under at 49-105…have not been more than 56 games under .500 since the end of the 1920 season when they were 58 under at 48-106… here swept by Baltimore to open the homestand and have now been swept 17 times this year, which ties the Oakland record set in 1978…have swept two series…have lost three straight, eight of the last nine and 10 of the last 12 games…are 22-40 (.355) over the last 62 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests.
TRAGIC NUMBER: The A’s were officially eliminated from the American League West yesterday in game 124 (since Texas and Houston have three games remaining with each other, one of those teams will have at least 73 wins)…it marks the earliest they have been eliminated from the West, topping the previous mark of game 129 last year on Aug. 28…this marks just the third time in Oakland history the A’s were eliminated before Sept. 1 (game 135 on Aug. 30, 1979)…have a tragic number of four to be eliminated from the playoffs.
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s lost 12-1 yesterday, which marks the 10th time this year they have lost a game by 10 or more runs…those are the most such losses by an A’s team since 1954 (12)…have a run differential of -303, 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.
OFFENSE: The A’s are 22-for-102 (.216) on the homestand and are now batting ..213 (425-for-1995) at home compared to .233 on the road…are hitting .224 overall, which is the lowest batting average in the majors…also rank last in slugging (.364), OPS (.664), runs (442) and extra base hits (312), third in fewest doubles (172), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.301), tied for fourth in most times shut out (12), tied for fifth in fewest home runs (122) and tied for seventh in most strikeouts (1130) and most grounded into double plays (97)…are tied for the most sacrifice hits (25) and rank sixth in hit by pitches (67).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (33), rank third in plate appearances (145), tied for fourth in extra base hits (8), tied for fifth in doubles (5) and tied for ninth in home runs (3).
PITCHING: The A’s have two shutouts over their last 10 games but have allowed six or more runs seven times over that stretch for a 5.61 ERA (54 er in 86.2 ip)…have a 5.81 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 (.359), the second highest slugging percentage (.464) and OPS (.823) and third highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors with 76 hit batters, which is an Oakland record and five short of the Athletics record of 81 set in 1911…also have a ML leading 528 walks, which are the most by an A’s team since 2008 (576)…rank second in the majors in most wild pitches (53), fourth in fewest shutouts (4) and fifth in most home runs (169) and fewest strikeouts (999).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-9 with a 5.55 ERA (53 er in 86.0 ip) over the last 19 games dating back to July 29 and both of the wins are by Paul Blackburn…are 12-56 with a 6.06 ERA for the season…have the fewest wins and highest ERA in the majors and are tied for the most losses… the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…the ERA is currently the highest in Athletics history (5.94 in 1997)…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched (566.0).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen is 0-4 with three blown saves and a 7.00 ERA (28 er in 36.0 ip) over the last nine games…has a 5.54 ERA overall, 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 (34) and the second most innings pitched (521.2)…has set Athletics single-season records for most losses, walks (284) and runs allowed (348) by relievers…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 sixth most blown saves (23)…has allowed 94-of-239 (39.3%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…is tied with the Reds for the most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 11-for-12 in stolen base attempts in August and are 114-for-137 (83.2%) 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 85-for-121 (70.2%) 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 have committed 74 errors, which is tied for fifth most in the majors…A’s outfielders have four assists in the last six games and now have 23 for the season, which is tied for fourth most in the majors…the A’s have turned 88 double plays, which is third fewest.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 0-3 on this six-game homestand against Baltimore (0-3) and Kansas City (three games)…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 18-44 (.290) 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… \leave following the game Wednesday for a seven-game road trip to ChicagoAL (four games) and Seattle (three games)…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.
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 17-66 (.205) in games decided by two or more runs…are tied for the second most one-run losses in the majors and rank third in games (41)…are 6-7 (.462) in extra inning games…are tied for fifth in the majors in extra inning losses, tied for eighth in games (13) and tied for 10th in wins…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for seventh most…have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 14 of their 34 victories (41.2%).
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s placed Luis Medina on the injured list today and have now used the IL 30 times this year…those are the most non-Covid IL placements in a season in Oakland history…used the IL an Athletics record 31 times last year (including nine times for Covid)…have set Athletics records for most pitchers in a season (36) and most relievers in a season (32) and an Oakland record for most starting pitchers in a season (18)…the starting pitchers are the most by an A’s team since the 1956 Kansas City A’s also had 18…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 (60) and the 36 pitchers are third most (Rays 39, Dodgers 38)… have employed 18 rookies after using an Oakland record 34 last year.
A’S VS. ROYALS
- The A’s won two of three at Kansas City in May to open the season series.
- Split the season series last year and have won four season series and split two over the previous six season series.
- Are 29-14 (.674) against the Royals dating back to 2016, including 17-6 (.739) in Kansas City.
- Have not lost the season series at Kauffman Stadium since dropping two of three in 2015.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 2-1 2-1
2022 1-2 2-1 3-3
Oakland History: 337-273
at the Coliseum: 181-122
at Kauffman Stadium: 136-135
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has eight home runs, which match Mitchell Page (1977) for the most in Athletics history by a player over the first 31 games of his career… his 20 extra base are second most, his 11 doubles are tied for third and his 21 runs are tied for seventh…his 37 hits are third most in Oakland history.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Paul Blackburn (3-3, 4.09 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 15th appearance and 14th start of the season…is 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA (7 er in 30.0 ip) and .780 opponents OPS over his last five starts…went 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA and .752 OPS over his first four starts and was 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA and .902 OPS in five games in between…began the season on the 15-day injured list with a right middle fingernail avulsion and was reinstated on May 29.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed five home runs in 164 at bats against right-handed hitters (32.8 at bats per home run) and just one in 123 at bats against left-handers…five of the six home runs he has surrendered have been solo shots…has allowed a .400 (14-for-35) batting average and four of his six home runs against the clean-up hitter.
AL AND NL: Is 2-1 with a 2.72 ERA (12 er in 39.2 ip) and .695 opponents OPS in seven interleague starts compared to 1-2 with a 5.73 ERA (21 er in 33.0 ip) and .872 OPS in seven games against American League competition…is now 4-2 with a 3.07 ERA (23 er in 67.1 ip) and .652 OPS in 12 career starts against the National League and 12-18 with a 5.34 ERA and .819 OPS in 53 games against AL teams.
BY MONTH: His ERA increased each of his first three months…made one start in May and had a 2.25 ERA…was 1-0 with a 4.00 ERA in five starts in June and 1-2 with a 6.26 ERA in five games, including four starts, in July…however, has a 1.93 ERA (4 er in 18.2 ip) over his first three starts in August.
THIS AND THAT: Tossed 7.0 scoreless innings in his last start…it was the sixth time in his 13 starts he allowed one run or fewer but he is 2-0 with four no decisions in those starts, all A’s wins…the A’s are 7-6 in his starting assignments…has walked two batters or fewer in nine of his 12 starts…has not committed an error in 14 games and 15 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 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…it was the first of two times he left with the lead only to have the pen blow the save (August 5 vs. San Francisco)…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…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 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…allowed a season-high tying nine hits on a season-high 106 pitches in an 11-3 win at Colorado on July 29…logged 6.0 scoreless innings on Aug. 5 against San Francisco but had a no decision in the A’s 2-1 win…it was part of a career-high tying 10.0-inning scoreless streak from July 29 to Aug. 11…walked a season-high tying four batters in an 8-2 loss at Washington on Aug. 11.
LAST START: He combined with Austin Pruitt on a nine-hit shutout in the A’s 8-0 win at St. Louis last Wednesday…tossed a season-high 7.0 scoreless innings and allowed six of the hits while walking one.
