MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Completed the pre-All-Star Game portion of their schedule by going 3-3 on their six-game homestand (3-0 vs. Kansas City and 0-3 vs. Baltimore)…tonight, the Twins will begin a seven-game road-trip with three in Oakland over the weekend, followed by four games in Seattle from Monday-Thursday…the Twins have gone 26-22 at home and 19-24 on the road.
Since 2000, the Twins are 12-10 in their first game following the All-Star Break.
OK, TURN THE PAGE ON THAT ONE: The Twins lost to the Orioles on Sunday afternoon by a score of 15-2, their largest margin of defeat this season…Baltimore swept the Twins, marking the third time Minnesota was swept this season…Joe Ryan (8-6) was the starter and loser, allowing five runs on five hits in 4.1 innings pitched, with two walks and 10 strikeouts…Ryan fell one strikeout short of his career high and fanned double-digit batters for the fifth time in his career…the bullpen combined to allow a season-high 10 runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings pitched…the offense recorded just four hits, two from Edouard Julien, who homered and doubled.
WE WERE ON A BREAK: The Twins have 71 games remaining in the 2023 season…below are the post-All-Star break hitting (top) and pitching (bottom) numbers since 2017:
AVG R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS
2017: .268 412 680 132 21 106 395 270 607 .341 .462 .803
2018: .257 314 592 120 7 68 304 209 542 .321 .403 .724
2019: .268 430 686 130 10 141 417 255 619 .339 .491 .830
2021: .236 308 574 123 5 99 301 225 639 .309 .413 .722
2022: .241 275 556 109 8 61 261 207 585 .309 .375 .684
W L S IP H ER HR BB K ERA BAA
2017: 40 34 17 650.1 654 305 89 192 560 4.22 .261
2018: 34 34 16 594.0 574 295 79 257 533 4.47 .252
2019: 45 28 24 656.1 698 324 89 197 683 4.44 .270
2021: 34 39 20 639.0 604 330 105 210 573 4.65 .248
2022: 28 40 8 603.2 559 273 72 193 584 4.07 .244
BRAND NEW BALLGAME: Since 2017 (excluding 2020), the Twins have hit .254 (3088-for- 12141) with 614 doubles, 51 triples, 475 home runs, 1739 runs scored and a .755 OPS after the All-Star Break…Twins rank among the MLB leaders in that span in total bases (5229, 7th), runs scored (7th), home runs (6th), batting average (9th) and OPS (10th).
STARTING POINTS: Twins starters have averaged 5.7 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022… they have also struck out 561 hitters and are on pace to fan 998 batters, which would shatter the club record of 870, done in 1967…below are Twins starting pitching ranks in the MLB:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
MIN – 517.0 TB – 3.61 MIN – .230 SEA – 2.07 MIN – 3.52 SEA – 1.10 MIN – 561 SEA – .658
TEX – 514.0 MIN – 3.64 SEA – .231 MIN – 2.33 TB – 3.65 MIN – 1.12 CWS – 541 MIN – .661
HOU – 510.2 TEX – 3.71 TB – .232 SF – 2.40 SEA – 3.72 TB – 1.17 TOR – 522 TB – .676
SEA – 503.1 HOU – 3.74 MIA – .239 PHI – 2.53 MIA – 3.83 TEX – 1.20 MIA – 509 CHC – .698
TOR – 499.2 SEA – 3.74 MIL – .240 BOS – 2.60 PHI – 3.90 PHI – 1.21 LAA – 491 SD – .700
STRAIGHT A’s: The Twins and Athletics are playing the first of six scheduled meetings in 2023…Minnesota will host the A’s from September 26-28, the final three games at Target Field this season…the Twins have gone 22-37 vs. the A’s since the start of 2013 for a winning percentage of just .373, the Twins’ second-lowest winning percentage against any AL team in that span (New York-AL – .313).
The Twins went 5-1 vs. the A’s last season, going 3-0 at Target Field from May 6-8 and 2-1 at the Coliseum from May 16-18.
Carlos Correa has 48 hits in 58 career games at the Coliseum, his third-most hits of any opposing ballpark (T-Mobile Park – 53, Angel Stadium – 50)…his 35 walks here are his most in any opposing yard.
Max Kepler has reached safely in 11-straight games in Oakland, dating back to July of 2017…he has an on-base percentage of .354 here in that span.
Donovan Solano is 9-for-17 (.529) in six career games at the Coliseum…one of his six career-high four-hit games came here on August 25, 2019, with San Francisco.
Joey Gallo has hit eight home runs in his last 17 games vs. the A’s, five of those coming here…in his last 12 games here, he is hitting .302 (13-for-43) with a 1.098 OPS…Gallo has 20 career home runs against the A’s, his most vs. any opponent; nine have come at the Coliseum.
SEEING STARS: Starting pitchers Sonny Gray and Pablo López represented the Twins in the All-Star festivities earlier this week in Seattle… Gray was an All-Star for the third time in his career (2015 and ’19), but made his first appearance in the game, pitching a scoreless third inning, earning a hold…Gray induced a ground out by Orlando Arcia, struck out Ronald Acuña Jr., walked Freddie Freeman and struck out Mookie Betts…López pitched the ninth inning, as Geraldo Perdomo flew out, Juan Soto singled, Pete Alonso struck out, Nick Castellanos singled, then Elías Díaz struck out…it was the first time the Twins had two pitchers appear in the game since Brandon Kintzler and Ervin Santana appeared in consecutive innings during the 2017 All-Star Game in Miami.
CC ME NOW: Since being inserted into the leadoff spot on June 30, Carlos Correa has reached base safely in nine-straight games, hitting .324 (11-for-34) with two doubles, three walks, six runs scored and a .395 on-base percentage…since that date, he leads the team in hits and times on base (15)…additionally, after the All-Star break last season, Correa hit .304 (77-for-253) with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBI, a .380 on-base percentage and an .866 OPS in 66 games.
FEELING A DRAFT: The Twins completed the MLB Draft on Tuesday afternoon, selecting 21 total players, including: 13 right-handed pitchers, two left-handed pitchers, two infielders and four outfielders…the Twins also selected six players out of high school and 15 out of college.
Minnesota selected outfielder Walker Jenkins from South Brunswick High School (NC) with the fifth overall pick…the 6-foot-3, 212-pound outfielder hit .417 with two home runs, 33 runs scored, a .632 on-base percentage and a .633 slugging percentage in 24 games his senior season at South Brunswick, walking in 32 of his 95 plate appearances and leading the Cougars to the Round of 16 in the NCHSAA Class 3A state playoffs…his performance earned him the Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year award for the second-consecutive season, after taking home the honor in 2022.
2024: The Twins, in conjunction with MLB, announced their preliminary schedule for the 2024, the club’s 64th campaign in Twins Territory… for the second consecutive year, the Twins will begin their season on the road in Kansas City on March 28…Minnesota hosts Cleveland at Target Field on April 4 for the Home Opener…aside from the home-and-home series against the Brewers, the Twins’ 2024 Interleague home and road slates swap opponents from this season…as part of MLB’s balanced schedule in which the Twins play all 29 teams at least once…Minnesota will make visits to the following NL teams: Milwaukee (4/2-3), Washington (5/20-22), Pittsburgh (6/7-9), Arizona (6/25-27), San Francisco (7/12-14), New York-NL (7/29-31), Chicago-NL (8/5-7) and San Diego (8/19-21)…the schedule features 13 home games in April, 17 in May, 10 in June, 11 in July, 17 in August and 13 in September…Minnesota hosts 43 of their 81 home games between Memorial Day (May 27) and Labor Day (September 2)…the Twins will play each of their AL Central division rivals 13 times apiece in 2024: the White Sox (7 home/6 away), Guardians (6 home/7 away), Tigers (6 home/7 away) and Royals (7 home/6 away).
STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA #18
2023: 2-5, 5.18 ERA CAREER: 61-46, 3.93 ERA
Making his eighth start and appearance of 2023 and his fifth road start…also his 177th career appearance and 143rd start.
Facing Oakland for the third time in his career; is 0-0, 12.86 ERA (7.0 IP, 10 ER) with one walk and three strikeouts in two previous starts against the Athletics.
Is in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired in 2020, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.
LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win and recorded his first quality start of the season on July 4 against the Kansas City Royals, a 9-3 Twins’ victory at Target Field…pitched a season-high 7.0 innings and allowed two runs (1 earned) on three hits (1 HR), with one walk and a season-high-tying nine strikeouts (also, April 4 at Miami)…tossed 3.0 hitless innings to start his outing and recorded four strikeouts…after designated hitter Maikel Garcia reached on an error to start the fourth inning, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run home run to left-centerfield, snapping Maeda’s three-start streak of not allowing a homer…retired 11 of the final 13 batters he faced…relieved by Oliver Ortega in the eighth, who pitched 1.0 scoreless inning…Jorge López entered in the ninth inning, making his first appearance since being reinstated from the 15-day Injured List; allowed two singles and a sacrifice fly to Nick Pratto before inducing a ground-ball double play to Salvador Perez to end the game.
Marked his longest outing since July 22, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL (also 7.0 IP)…recorded his first win at Target Field since August 14, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay, which was also his last quality start.
Is 2-1, 1.59 ERA (17.0 IP, 3 ER) with five walks, 21 strikeouts and a .190 (11-for-58) opponent batting average in three starts since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain) on June 23.
TWO STARTS AGO: Took the loss on June 28 at Atlanta in the Twins’ 3-0 defeat as Minnesota was swept in the three-game series at Truist Park…pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with two walks and four strikeouts…allowed one run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double by first baseman Matt Olson, scoring rightfielder Ronald Acuña Jr….allowed another run in the third inning on two singles and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Ozzie Albies…stranded a runner at third base with two outs in the fifth inning, retiring third baseman Austin Riley on a flyout to end his outing… relieved by Jovani Moran to start the sixth inning; Moran and Jordan Balazovic limited the Braves to one run in 3.0 innings pitched, but the Twins’ offense managed only four hits and was shut out for the sixth time in 2023.
Has received zero runs of support in three of his seven starts this season and one-or-fewer runs of support in four of his seven starts.
SECOND HALF STARTER: Maeda will take the mound tonight to start the Twins’ second-half schedule… has made seven previous second-half starts for Minnesota, all during the 2021 season, going 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA (38.2 IP, 20 ER), nine walks, 42 strikeouts and a .236 (34-for-144) opponent batting average…in 75 career appearances (45 starts) after the All-Star break, he is 20-17, 4.47 ERA (263.2 IP, 131 ER) with 72 walks and 297 strikeouts…has slightly better numbers in the first half, going 35-28, 3.80 ERA (464.2 IP, 196 ER) with 146 walks and 492 strikeouts in 90 career appearances (86 starts) before the All-Star break.
AGAINST OAKLAND: Maeda is facing Oakland for the third time in his career tonight…is 0-0, 12.86 ERA (7.0 IP, 10 ER) with one walk and three strikeouts in two previous starts against the Athletics…last faced Oakland on May 16, 2021 at Target Field; pitched 4.0 innings and allowed five runs (3 earned) on a season-high-tying eight hits, with one walk and just two strikeouts in a 7-6 Twins’ defeat…also faced the Athletics on April 21, 2021 at Oakland Coliseum, his only career start in Oakland, pitching 3.0 innings and allowing a season-high seven runs on eight hits (3 HR), with no walks and only one strikeout in a 13-12 Twins’ defeat.
His 12.86 ERA in two career starts vs. Oakland is his second-highest ERA against any single opponent in his career, trailing New York-AL (18.41).
Making his first start against an American League West division opponent this season…went 3-1 with a 5.08 ERA (33.2 IP, 19 ER), 10 walks and 33 strikeouts in seven starts against the AL West in 2021…is 5-5, 5.09 ERA (70.2 IP, 40 ER) with 26 walks and 71 strikeouts in 16 career appearances (14 starts) against AL West teams.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s were swept in a three-game series at Boston in the final series before the All-Star Break…it was the 12th time Oakland has been swept this year (have swept one series)…were swept 13 times all last year… have lost four straight and five of the last seven games…are a season-high 42 games under .500 at 25-67 (.272), which is the worst record in the majors behind the Royals (25-63, .284)…finished the season last year 42 games under at 60-102 and had a low of 46 games under on Oct. 1 (56-102)…are on pace to lose 118 games, which would be the most since the 2003 Tigers went 43-119 (.265)…the Tigers and the 1962 Mets (40-120, .250) are the last two Major League teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290… are 5-6-1 over the last 12 series after going 1-16 over the first 17.
OFFENSE: The A’s hit .251 (78-for-311) with 43 runs scored (4.8 runs per games) over the final nine games before the All-Star Break…however, rank last in the majors in batting (.221) and runs scored (329) overall…also have the lowest slugging percentage (.353) and OPS (.652), the fewest extra base hits (217), second fewest doubles (120), third lowest on-base percentage (.299), are tied for the third most times shut out (10), have the fifth most strikeouts (845) and seventh fewest home runs (85)…rank second in sacrifice hits (18) and fourth in hit by pitches (50).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters are 24-for-88 (.273) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks…lead the majors in hits, rank third in plate appearances (99), tied for fifth in doubles, tied for sixth in walks, tied for ninth in extra base hits (5) and home runs and tied for 10th in RBI.
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 6.34 ERA (86 er in 122.0 ip) over the last 14 games dating back to June 24…had a 7.43 ERA over the first 38 games through May 10 and a 4.64 ERA in 40 games in between…have a 6.04 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.361), the second highest OPS (.828) and slugging percentage (.467) and third highest batting average (.273)…lead the majors in most walks (397), hit batters (60) and wild pitches (43), rank second in most home runs (130) and are tied for the fifth fewest strikeouts (725).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-12 with a 5.16 ERA (61 er in 106.1 ip) over the last 23 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-44 with a 6.30 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.47), the wins are the fewest and the losses are tied for second most…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the fewest innings pitched (422.2).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an “opener” 10 times, all since May 24… openers are 0-4 with a 7.30 ERA (12.1 ip, 19 h, 10 r, 10 er, 1 bb, 12 so) and the “main” pitchers are 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA (49.1 ip, 46 h, 26 r, 26 er, 19 bb, 52 so)…are 3-7 in the 10 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 has compiled a 6.88 ERA (52 er in 68.0 ip) over the last 16 games dating back to June 22 but is 4-1 with four saves and one blown save over that span…overall, has the highest ERA in the majors (5.75), the second most losses (23) and the second most innings pitched (386.1)…has converted 14-of-30 (46.7%) save opportunities, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors…has the third fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (15)…has allowed 70-of-166 (42.2%) inherited runners to score, which is the second highest percentage…has the fourth most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 91-for-110 (82.7%) in stolen base attempts…are tied for third in the majors in attempts, rank fourth in steals and sixth in percentage…the stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2012 (122)…A’s opponents are 67-for-99 (67.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the lowest success rate in the majors…the 32 caught stealings are eight more than any other team…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is third most.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 25 victories (52.0%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches the A’s total from last year…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning games (12), tied for fourth in losses and tied for fifth in wins… have six walk-off wins, which is tied for second most…have 12 wins when tied or trailing after seven innings, which is fifth most.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: Of the A’s last 28 games, 14 have been decided by one run and Oakland is 7-7 in those games…six of the A’s last eight wins and 15 of 25 overall have been by one run…are 15-18 (.455) in one-run games…rank third in the majors in one-run games (33) and losses and eighth in wins…however, are 10-49 (.169) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-19 in games decided by six runs or more…have a run differential of -248, which is the lowest in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin post All-Star Break play with their first of two 10-game homestands…will face Minnesota (three games), Boston (three games) and Houston (four games)…the homestand begins a 27-day stretch where the A’s will leave the state of California once (July 28-30 at Colorado)…went 3-3 on the last homestand against New York-AL (1-2) and Chicago-AL (2-1) and are 12-32 (.273) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…went 2-4 on the last road trip to Detroit (2-1) and Boston (0-3) and are 13-35 (.271) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors (Royals, 12-32/.273)…have compiled a 5.29 ERA
(240 er in 408.0 ip) at home compared to 6.80 on the road.
PLAYERS USED: Today, the A’s selected Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom and recalled Freddy Tarnok from Triple-A Las Vegas…Gelof and Soderstrom will be making their Major League debuts and Tarnok will be making his A’s debut… Oakland has currently used 49 players, which is fourth most in the majors (Reds, Angels and Brewers have 51 each)…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 31 pitchers, which is tied for third most…tied an Athletics record with 34 pitchers last year…27 of the 31 pitchers have appeared in relief, which ties the Athletics record (2018, 2022)…14 have started a game, which is tied for third most in Oakland history (16 in 1983, 15 in 2018)…14 of the 49 players are rookies after using an Oakland-record 34 rookies last year…eight have made their Major League debuts (had 23 do that last year).
BEFORE THE BREAK: The A’s had a 25-67 (.272) record at the All-Star Break, which was the second lowest winning percentage in Athletics history before the break (25-69/.266 in 1979)…trailed first place Texas by 27½ games, which are the third most games back at the break in Oakland history (30½ in 1979, 28 in 2022)…had a 6.04 ERA, which was the highest in Oakland history and second highest in Athletics history (6.29 in 1936)…set an Athletics record for most home runs allowed before the break (130, previous 114 in 1997) and had the third most walks in Oakland history (397)…the offense hit .221, which was second lowest in Athletics history (.211 in 2022), and had a .299 on-base percentage, which was second lowest in Oakland history (.272 in 2022)…stole 91 bases, which was eighth most in Oakland history before
the break and the most since 1984 (97).
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have used the injured list 24 times, including 15 times for pitchers…currently have 12 players on the IL, including seven pitchers… are 20-31 (.392) in night games, 5-36 (.122) during the day…are 7-7 (.500) on Tuesday, 6-8 (.429) on Friday and 12-52 (.188) on all other days of the week… have an average time of game of 2:45, which is third longest in the majors… however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:44).
A’S VS. TWINS
- The A’s lost the season series last year for the first time since 2015 as they went 1-5… that was the A’s second worst record ever against the Twins (1-8 in 2003).
- Four of the five losses were by two runs or fewer and the A’s were outscored 26-14.
- Have won seven of the last 10 season series and are 42-26 (.618) against the Twins dating back to 2012, which includes a 24-8 (.750) record in Oakland.
- The A’s 1019 wins against the Twins/Senators are their most against any team.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-0 0-0
2022 1-2 0-3 1-5
Oakland History: 315-311
at the Coliseum: 176-133
at Target Field: 22-23
All-Time: 1019-1016
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and ranks third in the majors in walks (59)…ranks 12th in the majors in on-base percentage (.381)…leads Major League rookies in walks…Brent Rooker went 1-for-2 with a double as a defensive replacement in left field in the All-Star Game on Tuesday at Seattle…became the first Athletic with an extra base hit in the ASG since Terry Steinbach doubled in 1993.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Ken Waldichuk (2-6, 6.63 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 22nd appearance and 12th start of the season…it will be his 10th traditional starts as he also has two appearances as an opener…has also pitched twice in relief of an opener…began the season in the A’s starting rotation and went 1-4 with a 6.85 ERA over his first nine starts through May 19…is 1-3 with a save and a 6.23 ERA (18 er in 26.0 ip) in 12 appearances since then.
RANKINGS: Ranks fourth among Major League rookies in innings pitched (72.0), fifth in strikeouts (68) and games pitched (21) and tied for 10th in games started (11)…has allowed the most runs (57), ranks second in most walks (44), third in most hits (90) and most home runs (15) and tied for third in most losses (6)…among all pitchers with 70 or more innings pitched, he has the highest opponents on-base percentage (.404) and OPS (.950) in the majors, the second highest batting average (.309) and slugging percentage (.546) and the fourth highest ERA (6.63).
HOME AND AWAY: Is 0-2 with a 4.06 ERA (14 er in 31.0 ip) and .823 opponents OPS in nine games at home compared to 2-4 with an 8.56 ERA (39 er in 41.0 ip) and 1.044 OPS in 12 games in the road…has surrendered 10 of his 15 home runs on the road…is now 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA and .770 OPS in 12 career games in the Coliseum, 2-5 with a 7.87 ERA and .996 OPS in 16 games on the road.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed 17 hits to left-handed hitters, 12 of which are for extra bases (seven doubles, one triple, four home runs)…has allowed a .342 (51-for-149) batting average with the bases empty compared to .275 (39-for-142) with runners on base…opponents are hitting .253 (24-for-95) with runners in scoring position and are 2-for-13 (.154) with the bases loaded…as a starter, he has a .250 (19-for-76) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .339 (41-for-121) after that…has allowed a .297 opponents batting average or higher in each spot in the batting order except second (.216) and sixth (.214).
STARTING, RELIEVING AND OPENING: Has pitched in 21 games…that includes nine traditional starts, two starts as an opener (May 28, June 20), two appearances in relief of an opener (May 24, July 5) and eight traditional relief appearances…has tossed five innings or fewer in five of his nine 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 seven of his 10 relief appearances.
THAT’S ODD: Has a 3.66 ERA (16 er in 39.1 ip) and .786 opponents OPS in odd numbered innings, a 10.86 ERA (37 er in 30.2 ip) and 1.146 OPS in even numbered innings…has a 1.64 ERA (2 er in 11.0 ip) in the first inning…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.
THIS AND THAT: Is 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA (6 er in 11.0 ip) and .244 (10-for-41) opponents batting average in three games against American League Central teams, 0-6 with a 6.93 ERA (47 er in 61.0 ip) and .320 (80-for-250) average in 18 games against all other teams…has allowed just one home run over his last 10 games and 22.1 innings after yielding 14 home runs over his first 11 games and 49.2 innings…has left with the lead in three times in position to win only to have the bullpen blow the save (April 12, April 24, April 30).
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: 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…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 ears (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.
LAST APPEARANCE: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 4-3 loss at Boston last Sunday…entered the game to start the seventh inning with the scored tied 3-3 and retired the side in order that inning…then allowed a lead-off home run to Yoshida to start the eighth.
LAST TRADITIONAL START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 5-1 loss at Houston on May 19…allowed a run in the second on a RBI ground out and the A’s tied the game with a run in the top of the third…he then surrendered a RBI double to Tucker in the fourth and a two-run home run to Tucker in the sixth for the loss.
