OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Lost two of three to both the Angels and Guardians to start the season…it marks just the second time over the last 12 years the A’s have lost the first two series of the season (2021)…this is the A’s 56th season in Oakland where they have won 17 American League West titles, four AL Wild Cards, six AL pennants and four World Championships…only the Atlanta Braves (22), New York Yankees (20) and Los Angeles Dodgers (20) have more division titles than the A’s…since the A’s moved to Oakland in 1968, only the Yankees (11), Cardinals (8) and Dodgers (8) have more league championships and only the Yankees have more world championships (7)…have a 4495-4182 (.518) record over the previous 55 seasons in Oakland…only four teams have won more games over that span (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston, St. Louis)…this is the Athletics franchise 123rd season in the American League…since 1901, the A’s have 17 AL West titles plus 15 AL pennants and nine World Championships…only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11) have won more World Championships…the A’s are 9210-9654 (.488) in their previous 122 seasons…that includes a 3886-4248 record from 1901-54 in Philadelphia and 829-1224 from 1955-67 in Kansas City.
OFFENSE: The A’s have been held to six hits or fewer in five of the first six games and are batting .201, which is third lowest in the majors…have the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.283) and OPS (.624) and sixth lowest slugging percentage (.342)…scored 19 runs in the three-game series against Cleveland after scoring just three runs in three games against Los Angeles (AL)…the 22 runs scored are seventh fewest in the majors…are a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts and are one of 10 teams without a caught stealing.
PITCHING: The A’s pitching staff has the fourth highest ERA in the majors (5.79)…has the fifth fewest strikeouts (47) and is tied for the fifth most walks (27)…has issued six wild pitches, which is second most to the Guardians (7)… led the majors with 36 wild pitches this spring…the A’s ERA breaks down to 7.94 by the starting pitchers and 3.58 by the bullpen…the starters ERA is second highest in the majors to the Red Sox (8.01)…the A’s are one of three teams without a win by their starting pitchers (Phillies, Diamondbacks).
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have committed an error in each of the first six games, which matches the second longest season-opening streak in Oakland history (1970)…the longest is a 10-game streak in 1976…have eight errors for the season, which is the most in the majors…have two outfield assists, which is tied for fourth most.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin their first road trip of the season tonight, a seven-game trip to Tampa Bay (three games) and Baltimore (four games)… went 31-51 (.378) on the road in 2022, which was the third worst road record in the American League…went 2-4 on the season-opening six-game homestand against Los Angeles-AL (1-2) and Cleveland (1-2)…were 29-51 (.362) at home last year, which set an Oakland record for lowest home winning percentage…had the second worst home record in the majors to Washington (26-55, .321).
THIS AND THAT: Two of the A’s three games against Cleveland went extra innings and the A’s lost both of those games…the A’s have been involved in two of the four extra inning games in the majors (Guardians, 3)…are 2-1 in one-run games and the three games are tied with five other teams for the most in the majors…are 2-2 in games decided in the last at bat…the A’s average time of game is 2 hours and 44 minutes…the last time the A’s averaged under 2:50 per game was in 2010 (2:43).
DURING THE SPRING: The A’s went 11-17-3 (.355) this spring, which was the worst record in the Cactus League and third worst in the majors ahead of Pittsburgh (9-18-4) and Miami (7-16-4)…it was the fifth lowest spring winning percentage in Oakland history…went 5-10-3 last spring and have back-to-back losing springs for the first time since 2016-18 when they had three straight…the A’s led majors in on-base percentage (.367), walks (153), hit by pitches (26) and lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.83)…the walks were second most by an A’s team during the spring since 1990, the earliest year spring stats are available (had 154 in 1997)…the hit by pitches were the most since 2009 (28) and the on-base percentage was the best since 2013 (.367)… tied for second in the CL in triples (9), ranked fourth in OPS (.783) and plate appearances per strikeout (4.45) and tied for fourth in runs (171) and doubles (64)…had the most grounded into double plays in the majors (32)…had the second fewest home runs in the CL (27) and the fifth lowest slugging percentage (.416)…the pitching staff had the highest ERA (6.35), opponents OPS (.849) and on-base percentage (.385) in the majors, the third highest batting average (.283) and fifth highest slugging percentage (.465)…the ERA was the highest by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990 (previous: 6.22 in 1999)…also led the majors in runs (209), walks (171) and wild pitches (36)…the walks are the most by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990…tied for the second most home runs allowed in the CL (40)…were one of two teams in the majors without a balk (Cardinals)…the A’s defense had the fourth fewest errors in the CL (23) and tied for fifth in outfield assists (4)…had the most passed balls (7).
THE RULE CHANGES: The A’s stole 40 bases this spring, which was third most in the Cactus League…it was the most by an A’s team during the spring since at least 1990 (previous: 39 with the 1995 replacement players)…tied for the fourth fewest caught stealings (6) and had the fifth best stolen base percentage (87.0)…the A’s average time of game was 2:46, compared to 3:07 from last spring…however, had the highest average time of game in the majors (Phillies, 2:43)…league-wide, the average time of game was 2:35 compared to 3:01 last spring.
THE INJURED LIST: The A’s begin the season with five players (Blackburn, Piña, Rucinski, Snead, Tarnok) on the injured list after starting the season with three last year…used the IL 31 times last year, which broke the Oakland record of 27 set in 2016 and matched in 2021…however, used the IL nine times for Covid in 2022 and three times in 2021.
A’S VS. RAYS
• The A’s lost the season series last year for the first time since 2018.
• Were swept in a three-game series in Oakland last year, marking the first time the A’s went winless in the season series in the Coliseum…are 62-36 (.633) against the Rays at home, which is the A’s best record against any AL team in the Coliseum.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-0 0-0
2022 0-3 3-1 3-4
Oakland History: 116-83
at the Coliseum: 62-36
at Tropicana Field: 54-47
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Jesús Aguilar has reached base safely in each of his five games…Trevor May picked up his second win of the season Tuesday night and is one of seven two-game winners in the majors…Esteury Ruiz is the only player to reach base safely in each of the A’s first six games.
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his second start of the season…begins his second season in the majors and is on his first Opening Day roster…made his Major League debut with Oakland last September.
LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 6-0 loss to Los Angeles (AL) last Sunday in Oakland…allowed a career-high six runs on a career-high nine hits in 5.2 innings and all of the runs which scored on a career-high three home runs…O’Hoppe hit a three-run home run in the fourth and Trout and Ohtani hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth, with Trout’s being a two-run shot…the O’Hoppe home run snapped a career-high 14.0-inning scoreless streak dating back to last year.
SPRING TRAINING RECAP: Was 0-4 with a 10.54 ERA and 1.057 OPS in five games, including four starts…opponents hit .328 and he walked 12 in 13.2
innings…allowed at least two runs in all five appearances…his four losses tied for the most in the majors and match the most by an A’s pitcher since 1991, the first year spring stats are available (Eveland, 2009)…tied for the second most walks in the Cactus League…also pitched in a minor league game on March 21.
2022 RECAP: Made both his Triple-A and Major League debuts in 2022…began the season in the New York Yankees organization, was dealt to the A’s
at the trading deadline and joined Oakland in September for his big league debut…went 2-2 with a 4.93 ERA and .781 opponents OPS in seven games, all starts…struck out 33 batters in 34.2 innings and walked 10 for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.30.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Allowed a .244 opponents batting average, which broke down to .138 (4-for-29) with a .366 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .275 (28-for-102) with an .897 OPS against right-handers…surrendered 17 of his 18 extra base hits and issued nine of his 10 walks to righthanded hitters…yielded a .288 batting average and .843 OPS the first time through the order, .196 with a .650 OPS the second time and .238 with a .923 OPS after that…the first two hitters in the batting order combined for a .371 batting average against him but he held the three through nine hitters to a .198 average…opponents were 0-for-12 on an 0-2 count.
THIS AND THAT: Was 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and .653 opponents OPS in three starts in the Coliseum, 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA and .884 OPS in four starts on the road…however, surrendered four of his five home runs in Oakland…had a 7.52 ERA and .962 opponents OPS in odd numbered innings, a 1.26 ERA and .523 OPS in even numbered innings…did not allow a run in the fourth inning (6.0 ip)…tossed five innings or fewer in five of his seven starts
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
BLOOMING IN D.C.—Four Rays collected multiple hits as Tampa Bay cruised to a 7-2 win on Wednesday afternoon to polish off a three-game sweep of Washington in the nation’s capital…Wander Franco (2-for-4, R, BB, HR, 2RBI) hit his second homer of the season in the third inning before Harold Ramírez (2-for-4, R, HR, RBI) launched his first home run in the sixth…Jose Siri (1-for-3, 2RBI), Taylor Walls (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI) and Randy Arozarena (2-for-4, R, RBI) also drove in runs for the Rays.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan (6.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 6SO) spun 6.0 innings of two-run ball to pick up his second win…has earned the win in back-to-back starts for the first time since 6/26-7/2, 2022.
Tampa Bay totaled nine homers in the series, tied for third most in a three-game set in franchise history…marked the Rays’ most home runs in a three-game series since 5/18-20, 2021 at Baltimore (11HR).
SIXTH SENSE —The Rays are the first team to open a season with six consecutive wins since the 2016 Baltimore Orioles started 7-0, a streak Tampa Bay will look to match this evening…since 2004, the Rays are one of five clubs to open a season with six straight victories (2016 BAL, 7-0; 2015 KC, 7-0; 2015 DET, 6-0; 2011 TEX, 6-0)…the 6-0 mark is Tampa Bay’s best start to a season in club history, ahead of a 5-1 run to begin 2019.
Tampa Bay’s overall six-game winning streak matches its longest run from 2022 (2x, last: 8/20-25, 2022)…the Rays have not strung together a winning streak of seven games since an 11-game streak from 5/13-24, 2021.
The Rays’ three-game winning streak at Tropicana Field matches their longest to open a home slate in club history (also: 2002, 2012, 2022).
The club’s three-game road winning streak is their longest to begin a season since a seven-game road streak to kick off the 2010 season.
NEVER IN DOUBT — Per STATS LLC, the Rays are the first major league team to win each of their first six games of a season by 4+ runs since the 1884 St. Louis Maroons…no other clubs in MLB history have begun a season with a streak of more than four such wins.
Tampa Bay’s +31 run differential (44-13) is tied for seventh-best in the majors since 1901 through a club’s first six games of a season…marks the best run differential through six games since the 2021 Cincinnati Reds (also +31).
The Rays have yielded only 13 runs, second-fewest through six games in club history, behind the 2019 team (10 runs)…the franchise record for fewest runs allowed through seven games is 11, also done in 2019.
Offensively, Tampa Bay’s 44 runs are its most through six games of a season, ahead of the 1998 Rays (41)…the 2009 squad currently holds the record for most runs through seven games (44).
BATTLE OF THE BAYS — The Rays host the Athletics this evening for the first of seven matchups between the two clubs in 2023…Tampa Bay won four of seven meetings with Oakland in 2022, including all three games at Oakland Coliseum to close the season series…since the beginning of 2021, the head-to-head series is tied, 7-7, with the Athletics narrowly outscoring the Rays, 58-52 (-7), in that span.
A win tonight would give the Rays their first four-game winning streak over Oakland since a five-game streak from 8/24/07-5/20/08.
IT’S A WANDER-FUL LIFE — Wander Franco (5XBH, 7RBI) is just the second player in Rays history with 5+ extra-base hits and 7+ RBI in the team’s first six games of a season, joining Evan Longoria in 2009 (9XBH, 10RBI)…Franco has tallied four multi-hit games, tied with 13 other players for most in MLB…since the beginning of 2022, Tampa Bay is 17-8 (.680) when he collects multiple hits, including 4-0 this season…this, compared to the Rays’ 31-33 (.484) mark when he appears in a game and records one or zero hits in that span.
BRINGING THE LUMBER — The Rays have hit 13 home runs, most in the AL and third most in the majors behind the San Francisco (15HR) and Los Angeles-NL (14)…the 13 homers are tied with the 2009 Rays for most through six games in club history…Tampa Bay would need 2 HR today to match the 2009 squad for the most homers through seven games in franchise history (15 HR).
Eight different Rays have homered this season, tied for third most in MLB behind San Francisco (10) and Los Angeles-NL (9)…Tampa Bay has four hitters with multiple homers: Luke Raley (3HR), Yandy Díaz (2HR), Wander Franco (2HR) and Jose Siri (2HR) — only San Francisco (5) has more such players.
NO FLY ZONE — Rays pitchers have allowed just two home runs across 54.0 innings, tied with Los Angeles-NL for fewest in the majors…marks the fewest homers allowed through six games in club history, surpassing the 1998, 2011 and 2012 Rays (3 HR each)…the fewest home runs allowed through the first seven games of a season in Tampa Bay history is three, accomplished by the 1998 and 2012 Rays.
YOUTH MOVEMENT — The average age of Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster was 28 years, 112 days old, fifth-youngest in the majors behind Cleveland (27.350), Detroit (28.021), Washington (28.112) and Kansas City (28.117), per STATS LLC.
According to Baseball Reference, the Rays currently have the youngest average batting age (26.9 yrs.) and third-youngest average pitching age (28.1 yrs.) in MLB.
Tampa Bay’s current 26-man roster features only four players over the age of 30: RHP Jason Adam (31), C Christian Bethancourt (31), INF Yandy Díaz (31) and RHP Ryan Thompson (31).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP ZACH EFLIN (1-0, 1.80)
WELCOME TO TAMPA BAY — An Orlando, Fla. native, Eflin joined the Rays during the 2022-23 offseason after signing the largest free-agent contract in club history, a three-year, $40 million deal, surpassing Wilson Álavrez’s five-year, $35 million pact…had spent the entirety of his seven-year career with Philadelphia, spanning 127 games (115 starts)…in 20 appearances (13 starts) last season with the Phillies, Eflin went 3-5 with 4.04 ERA (75.2IP, 34ER), collecting 65 strikeouts against 15 walks.
LAST TIME OUT — Made his Rays debut on 4/1 at Tropicana Field vs. Detroit (5.0IP, 3H, ER, BB, 5SO)…his lone blemish was a fourth-inning RBI single by Miguel Cabrera as Tampa Bay cruised to a 12-2 win…became the first pitcher to toss 5.0+ innings and earn the win in his Rays debut since Shane Baz on 9/20/21 vs. TOR.
UNFAMILIAR FOE — Made his lone career appearance against the Athletics as a member of the Phillies on 4/10/22…Eflin did not factor into the decision after tossing 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
WEST COAST VIBES — Eflin is 1-1 with a 3.91 ERA and one save in five career outings (4 starts) vs. AL West foes.
Recorded his first and only career save on against Houston on 10/3/22, throwing a scoreless ninth frame in a 3-0 win.
In two starts against AL West opponents last season, tossed 12.0 scoreless innings, including an 8.0 inning outing with six strikeouts on 6/3 vs. Los Angeles.
HOME COOKING — In 61 career appearances (55 starts) at home, Eflin is 22-17 with a 3.59 ERA (335.2IP, 134ER)…in 67 career road outings (61 starts) he is 15-28 with a 5.37 ERA (328.2IP, 196ER).
2022 RUNDOWN — Began the season in the Phillies rotation, going 3-5 with a 4.37 ERA (68.0IP, 33ER) over 13 starts before a right knee bruise sidelined him from 6/26-9/12…made seven relief appearances after being reinstated, pitching to a 1.17 ERA (7.2IP, 1ER)…tossed a perfect ninth inning in Philadelphia’s playoff-clinching win on 10/3 at Houston, becoming the third pitcher since saves became an official stat (1969) to record his first career save on the same day his club clinched a playoff berth (also: LAD Orel Hershiser on 9/30/83 vs. SF; BAL Dave Leonhard on 9/13/69 vs. CLE).
Fanned a career-high 12 batters on 5/22 at Los Angeles-NL, the second double-digit strikeout game of his career (also: 10SO on 8/12/20 vs. BAL).
Issued two or fewer walks in 33 straight starts from 8/29/20-6/3/22, the third-longest streak by a Phillie since Baseball Reference data is available (1901), behind Robin Roberts (36GS, 1960-61) and Roy Halladay (35GS, 2010-111)
ON THE BIG STAGE — Pitched in the postseason for the first time in his career during Philadelphia’s run to Game 6 of the 2022 World Series… turned in a 3.38 ERA (10.2IP, 4ER) and did not record a decision over 10 appearances out of the bullpen, including seven straight scoreless outings (7.2IP) to conclude the postseason.
Earned his first career postseason save in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series at STL, working a scoreless 9th inning.
Made 4 scoreless appearances in the World Series against HOU, yielding only 4 hits in 4.1 IP.
NO FREE RIDES — Last season, among NL pitchers with at least 75.0 IP, Eflin‘s 4.8% walk rate ranked sixth…since 2020, his 4.6% walk rate ranks third in the majors (min. 1,000BF):
