OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s won two of three at Detroit after taking two of three from Chicago (AL) and have won back-to-back series for just the second time this year (June 5-11 at Pittsburgh and Milwaukee)…are now 5-5-1 over the last 11 series after going 1-16 over the first 17…have swept one series but have been swept 11 times…have won four of the last six games, five of the last eight and are 13-24 over the last 27 games dating back to June 6…however, are 25-64 (.281) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Royals (25-63, .284)…the last two Major League teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290 are the 2003 Tigers (43-119, .265) and 1962 Mets (40-120, .250).
BEFORE THE BREAK: The A’s are 25-64 (.281) entering this final three-game series before the All-Star Break…have clinched the second lowest winning percentage before the break in Oakland history and with one more loss will clinch the second lowest in Athletics history…the 1979 Oakland A’s were 25- 69 (.266) and the 1965 Kansas City A’s were 23-54 (.299)…currently trail first place Texas by 26½ games…trailed Houston by 28 games at the break last year, which were the A’s most games back at the break since 1979 (30½)… have a 6.00 ERA…the highest pre-break ERA in Oakland history is 5.67 in 1997 and the highest in Athletics history is 6.29 in 1936…have set an Athletics record for most home runs allowed before the break (126, previous 114 in 1997) and have issued 390 walks, which is third most in Oakland history (412 in 1979, 405 in 1994)…are hitting .220 and the only time in Athletics history the A’s hit under .225 before the break was last year (.211)…have 89 stolen bases, which is eighth most in Oakland history before the break (7th is 94 in 1974) and is the most since 1984 (97).
OFFENSE: The A’s were shutout for the 10th time yesterday, which is tied for second most in the majors (Tigers, 11)…were held scoreless 14 times last year…over the last six games, the A’s have four games with 10 or more hits and two games with four hits or fewer…are batting .245 (51-for-207) with 34 runs scored over that span (5.7 runs per game)…overall, the A’s rank last in the majors in batting (.220), slugging (.350), OPS (.649), runs scored (320) and extra base hits (209)…are tied for the fewest doubles (116), have the third lowest on-base percentage (.298), the fifth most strikeouts (819) and are tied for the sixth fewest home runs (81)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (18) and are tied for fourth in hit by pitches (48).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters are 23-for-85 (.271) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks…lead the majors in hits, rank third in plate appearances (96), tied for fifth in doubles, tied for sixth in walks, tied for eighth in extra base hits (5) and home runs and tied for ninth in RBI.
PITCHING: The A’s had a 7.43 ERA over the first 38 games through May 10 but have a 4.95 ERA (249 er in 453.0 ip) in 51 games since then…have a 6.00 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…have the second highest opponents OPS (.826), on-base percentage (.360) and slugging percentage (.465) and the third highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors in most walks (390) and hit batters (56), are tied for the most wild pitches (41), rank second in most home runs (126) and have the fifth fewest strikeouts (700).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-10 with a 4.93 ERA (54 er in 98.2 ip) over the last 20 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-42 with a 6.27 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.60) and the wins are the fewest… have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game this year and have the fourth fewest innings pitched (415.0).
FOR OPENERS: Sam Long is scheduled to start today, which will mark the 10th time the A’s have used an “opener” this year (all since May 24)…openers are 0-3 with a 5.56 ERA (11.1 ip, 16 h, 7 r, 7 er, 10 so) and the “main” pitchers are 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA (43.1 ip, 39 h, 22 r, 22 er, 18 bb, 43 so)…are 3-6 in the nine 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 the highest ERA in the majors (5.69), the second most losses (22) and the second most innings pitched (370.0)…is 4-for-4 in save opportunities over the last 12 games but is 14-for-29 (48.3%) for the season, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors…has the third fewest saves and is tied for the 10th most blown saves (15)…has allowed 66-of-161 (41.0%) inherited runners to score, which is the second highest percentage…has the fourth most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts over the last seven games and are 89-for-107 (83.2%) for the season…rank third in the majors in steals, fourth in attempts and sixth in percentage…the 89 stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2012 (122)…A’s opponents are 63- for-95 (66.3%) 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 tied for second most (Yankees, 13).
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 13 of their 25 victories (52.0%)…had their sixth extra inning win of the season Tuesday night, which matches their total from last year…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games…are tied for third in the majors in extra inning games (12), tied for fourth in losses and rank fifth in wins…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors…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 25 games, 13 have been decided by one run and Oakland is 7-6 in those games…six of the A’s last eight wins and 15 of 25 overall have been by one run…are 15-17 (.469) in one-run games…rank third in the majors in one-run games (32) and losses and tied for fifth in wins…however, are 10-47 (.175) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-18 in games decided by six runs or more…have a run differential of -236, which is the lowest in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-1 on this six-game road trip to Detroit (2-1) and Boston (three games), which takes them into the All-Star Break…went 1-5 on the last road trip to Cleveland (0-3) and Toronto (1-2) and are 13- 32 (.289) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, 12-32/.273)…begin post All-Star Break play with their first of two 10-0 game homestands…will face Minnesota (three games), Boston (three games) and Houston (four games)…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…have compiled a 5.29 ERA at home compared to 6.76 (283 er in 377.0 ip) on the road.
PLAYERS USED: The A’s recalled Angel Felipe and selected Cody Thomas today and both players will be making their 2023 debut…the A’s currently have used 47 players, which is fourth most in the majors…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 30 pitchers, which is also fourth most…tied an Athletics record with 34 pitchers last year…today, Sam Long will become the 14th pitcher to start a game for the A’s this year, which will tie for second most in the majors…used 12 starting pitchers last year…12 of the 47 players are rookies after using an Oakland-record 34 rookies last year…seven have made their Major League debuts…had 23 do that last year.
A’S VS. RED SOX
- The A’s have lost two of the last three season series and four of the last seven.
- Are 17-27 (.386) against the Red Sox dating back to 2015, which includes 11-12 in Oakland and 6-15 in Boston.
- Went 0-3 in Oakland last year marking just the third time the A’s went winless in the season series in the Coliseum (were also 0-3 in 2002 and 2004).
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-0 0-0
2022 0-3 1-2 1-5
Oakland History: 251-308
at the Coliseum: 151-128
at Fenway Park (since 1968): 99-179
All-Time: 893-1089
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and is tied for third in the majors in walks (58)…ranks 11th in the majors in on-base percentage (.383)…leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.383) and walks (58)…Esteury Ruiz was placed on the injured list today…his 43 stolen bases are an Athletics rookie record and the most in the majors.
TODAY’S MAIN PITCHER: Luis Medina (2-7, 6.37 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his 12th appearance of the season…is 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA (5 er in 14.1 ip) and .222 (12-for-54) opponents batting average over his last three games after going 1-6 with a 7.55 ERA and .288 opponents average over his first eight contests…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 11 for his second stint with the A’s this year…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… was 0-1 with a 7.42 ERA in five games, four starts, with the Aviators.
STARTING AND RELIEVING: Is 1-6 with a 6.92 ERA (30 er in 39.0 ip) in eight starts and is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA (8 er in 14.2 ip) in three games where he pitched in relief in a game started by an opener (Waldichuk on May 28 vs. Houston, Moll on June 9 at Milwaukee, Waldichuk on June 20 at Cleveland)… has tossed at least 4.1 innings in 10 of his 11 games, with the exception being a start of 2.0 innings in a 12-1 loss at Miami on June 3…his season high is 6.0 innings in starts on May 11 and 17.
THIS AND THAT: Has allowed just one home in his last six games and 26.0 innings after surrendering 10 home runs in his first five games and 27.2 innings…walked five batters in his last start after issuing a career-high seven free passes in his previous start…walked 21 batters in 26.0 innings in June (7.27 per nine innings) after combining for 10 walks in 27.2 innings in April and May (3.25 per nine innings)…is tied for 10th in the majors in losses (7)… has allowed nine home runs in 130 at bats against right-handed hitters (14.4 at bats per home run) compared to two in 80 against left-handers (40.0 at bats per home run)…has allowed 14 of his 40 runs in the second inning for an 11.32 ERA (13 er in 10.1 ip)…picked up his first win of the season June 9 after starting the season 0-5…is one of four OakLand pitchers this year to start the season 0-4 or worse…Rucinski and Fujinami also started the year 0-4 and Kaprielian was 0-6…the A’s are 1-7 in his starting assignments and 2-9 when he pitches.
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 career highs in hits (8) and strikeouts (6)…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…equaled his career high with six strikeouts against the Diamondbacks…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…matched his career high with six strikeouts…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).
LAST START: He picked up his second win of the season in the A’s 7-4 victory over Chicago (AL) a week ago today in Oakland…allowed just one run on four hits in 5.0 innings but walked five and logged a career-high 100 pitches… loaded the bases in each of the first two innings but allowed just one run on a Jimenez RBI single in the first…was relieved by Garcia to start the sixth inning with the A’s leading 5-1.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have won 5 of their last 6 games…They’re 12-8 in their last 20 games. The Sox are 17-16 since the start of June, tied with HOU for the AL’s 5th-best record during that span. At 45-43 (.511), Boston entered today tied with MIN for MLB’s 15th-best record.
HANG TEN: The Red Sox have recorded at least 10 hits in a season-high 5 consecutive games, their longest single-season streak since April 2021 (6 games, 4/5-11). Last night was the Sox’ 37th game with 10+ hits, tied with TB for 3rd most in MLB (TEX-48, ATL-39).
I GOT FIVE ON IT: Boston scored 10 runs last night, snapping a season-long streak of 6 consecutive home games with fewer than 5 runs scored (13 total runs). The Red Sox are 36-6 (.857) this season when they score 5+ runs, the 2nd-best record in the AL (5th in MLB).
THE BIG INNING: The Red Sox scored 6 runs on 7 hits in the 7th inning last night, sending 12 batters to hit in the frame. The inning tied the Sox’ season highs in hits (also 4/20 vs. MIN-3rd inning) and plate appearances also 4/23 at MIL-8th inning). They tied their 2nd-most runs in an inning this season (7th time with 6; season-high 9, 4/23 at MIL-8th inning). The Sox have scored at least 6 runs in 8 innings this season, 2nd most in MLB behind TEX (9).
SERIES BUSINESS: Boston won the 3-game series vs. TEX from Tuesday-Thursday to improve to 15-11-2 in series play, including 8-6-0 at home…They’re 4-3-1 in their last 8 series. The Sox have won 2 of their last 3 home series, beginning 6/16-18 vs. NYY, after losing 4 of their previous 5 from 5/12-6/14. Boston last night improved to 7-3 in rubber games.
SOX & A’S: The Red Sox will play the Athletics in 6 of their next 9 games, playing a 3-game series at Fenway Park this weekend and a 3-game set in Oakland from 7/17-19. The Sox have won 6 of their last 7 games vs. OAK, dating back to 7/4/21, outscoring the A’s 40-10 in that span.
BEST WESTERN: The Red Sox are 7-6 against AL West teams this season and 32-14 since the beginning of 2022, the best record of any AL team over the last 2 seasons. The Sox have won their 3 home series against AL West opponents and lost their only road series (home: 3-1 vs. LAA, 2-1 vs. SEA, 2-1 vs. TEX; away: 0-3 at LAA).
HOME COOKING: The Red Sox complete the season’s 1st half with a 6-game homestand vs. TEX (2-1) and OAK (3 games). The Red Sox have recorded at least 8 hits in 11 of their last 12 home games, batting .289 with a .347 OBP in that span (118-for-409, 30 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 35 BB). The Sox have recorded at least 8 hits in 35 of their 45 home games, most in MLB (2nd: TEX-32).
BIG MAPLE: Tomorrow’s Red Sox starter James Paxton was voted the American League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA (6 ER/31.0 IP) in five starts. It is Paxton’s 2nd career Pitcher of the Month Award (also July 2017 with SEA)…He’s the 1st Red Sox pitcher to take home a monthly honor since Chris Sale won in back-to-back months in June and July 2018.
IT’S GO TIME: Starting tonight, the Red Sox play 12-straight games against teams that currently own a sub-.500 record (3-game series vs. OAK, at CHC, at OAK, vs. NYM). 8 of their next 11 series, through 8/17, are against teams that entered today with record of .500 or lower.
TOUGH TEST: Boston faced opponents with a record above .500 in 16 of their last 19 games, from 6/16-7/6, going 11-8 (.579) during that span…Each of their last 9
games have been against teams with a winning record (5-4 record; 0-3 vs. MIA, 3-0 at TOR, 2-1 vs. TEX). The Red Sox have played 64 games against teams that entered today with a record of .500 or better, 3rd most in MLB (NYY and OAK-65 each). The Sox are 35-29 (.547) in those games, the 2nd-best record in the AL (4th in MLB)…Their 35 wins lead MLB.
PITCHING IN: In their last 7 games, Red Sox pitchers have posted a 3.57 ERA (25 ER/63.0 IP)…During that span, Red Sox starting pitchers (including openers) are 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA and .208 opponent AVG (10 ER/33.2 IP, 25-for-120).
SLUGGING SOX: In 5 July games, the Red Sox own an MLB-best .320 AVG, along with a .378 OBP and .842 OPS (58-for-202, 15 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 16 BB). Over their last 20 games, beginning 6/14, the Red Sox are batting .273 with a .758 OPS (190-for-695, 48 2B, 5 3B, 16 HR, 54 BB).
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates Record AVG OPS Runs/G
3/30-5/6 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/13 12-21 .243 .704 3.8
6/14-pres. 12-8 .273 .758 4.9
RISPY BUSINESS: The Red Sox went 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position last night…They’re 12-for-35 (.343) with RISP in their last 3 games. Overall with RISP, BOS ranks 2nd in MLB in SO% (19.0) and 4th in AVG (.278) and OBP (.356).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 83 BRENNAN BERNARDINO – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 1-0 2.70 24 1 26.2 8 2 7 26 1.09 .227
CAREER 1-1 2.79 26 1 29.0 9 2 9 26 1.17 .234
Is facing the Athletics for the 1st time in his career. Tossed a perfect 1st inning, then allowed a run in the 2nd inning in his last start on Tuesday vs. TEX (1.1 IP, H, ER, 2 SO). Has issued 1 or fewer BB in each of his 24 outings. In his last 13 outings, has allowed 3 runs in 14.1 IP (8 H, 4 BB, 16 SO). 16 of his 24 outings have been scoreless. Left-handed hitters are 6-for-40 (.150) with 1 BB and 13 SO and a .365 OPS against him, while right-handers are 16-for-57 (.281) with 6 BB and 13 SO.
