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 seven games, five of the last nine and are 13-25 over the last 28 games dating back to June 6… however, are 25-65 (.278) overall, which is the worst record in the majors behind the Royals (25-64, .281)…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 25-65 (.279) with two games to go before the All-Star Break…have clinched the second lowest winning percentage before the break 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 27½ 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 6.02 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 392 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 shut out for the 10th time Thursday, which is tied for third most in the majors (Royals and Tigers, 11)…were held scoreless 14 times last year…over the last seven games, the A’s have four games with 10 or more hits and two games with four hits or fewer…are batting .243 (58- for-239) with 37 runs scored over that span (5.3 runs per game)…overall, the A’s rank last in the majors in batting (.220), slugging (.351), OPS (.649), runs scored (323) and extra base hits (212)…have the second fewest doubles (118), have the third lowest on-base percentage (.298), the fifth most strikeouts (830) and have the seventh fewest home runs (82)…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 24-for-87 (.276) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 10 walks…lead the majors in hits, rank third in plate appearances (98), tied for fifth in doubles, tied for sixth in walks, tied for eighth in extra base hits (5) and tied for ninth in RBI and home runs.
PITCHING: The A’s had a 7.43 ERA over the first 38 games through May 10 but have a 5.00 ERA (256 er in 461.0 ip) in 52 games since then…have a 6.02 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…have the highest on-base percentage (.360), the second highest opponents OPS (.824) and slugging percentage (.464) and the third highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors in most walks (392), hit batters (56) and wild pitches (42), rank second in most home runs (126) and are tied for the sixth fewest strikeouts (712).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-11 with a 5.15 ERA (57 er in 99.2 ip) over the last 21 games after going 4-0 with a 2.60 ERA over the previous eight contests…are 8-43 with a 6.32 ERA for the season…the ERA is second highest in the majors (Rockies, 6.54) and the wins are the fewest…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game this year and are tied for the third fewest innings pitched (416.0).
FOR OPENERS: Sam Long served as an “opener” last night, marking the 10th time the A’s have used one this year (all since May 24)…openers are 0-4 with a 7.30 ERA (12.1 ip, 19 h, 10 r, 10 er, 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 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 (5.68), the second most losses (22) and the second most innings pitched (377.0)…is 4-for-4 in save opportunities over the last 13 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 69-of-164 (42.1%) 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 eight games and are 89-for-107 (83.2%) for the season…rank fourth in the majors in steals and attempts and rank fifth in percentage…the 89 stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2012 (122)…A’s opponents are 64- for-96 (66.7%) 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 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 26 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 sixth in wins…however, are 10-48 (.172) in games decided by two or more runs, including 2-18 in games decided by six runs or more…have a run differential of -240, which is the lowest in the majors.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-2 on this six-game road trip to Detroit (2-1) and Boston (0-1), 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 13-33 (.283) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, 12- 33/.267)…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 6.78 (290 er in 385.0 ip) on the road.
PLAYERS USED: The A’s recalled Angel Felipe and selected Cody Thomas yesterday…Felipe debuted last night and Thomas will be making his 2023 debut…the A’s currently have used 48 players, which is fourth most in the majors…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…last night, Sam Long became the 14th pitcher to start a game for the A’s this year, tied for second most in the majors…used 12 starting pitchers last year…13 of the 48 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.
A’S VS. RED SOX
- The A’s have lost two of the last three season series and four of the last seven.
- Are 17-28 (.378) against the Red Sox dating back to 2015, which includes 11-12 in Oakland and 6-16 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 0-1 0-1
2022 0-3 1-2 1-5
Oakland History: 251-309
at the Coliseum: 151-128
at Fenway Park (since 1968): 99-180
All-Time: 893-1090
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Seth Brown is 8-for-29 (.276) with four home runs and eight RBI over his last 10 games after hitting .165 with one home run and nine RBI over his previous 24 contests…Shea Langeliers is tied for sixth among Major League catchers in RBI (33) and home runs (10)…Tony Kemp is 21-for-68 (.309) with six walks and a hit by pitch over his last 20 games…Jordan Diaz is 8-for-21 (.381) since being recalled on June 30
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Paul Blackburn (1-1, 4.50 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was reinstated from the injured list May 29 and is scheduled to make his eighth start of the season…is 1-1 with a 5.87 ERA (10 er in 15.1 ip) over his last three starts after going 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA over his first four starts…began the year on the 15-day IL with a right middle fingernail avulsion…had no decisions, a 7.50 ERA and 1.012 OPS in six rehab starts with Single-A Stockton and Triple-A Las Vegas.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed three home runs, all to right-handed hitters…has a .241 (14-for-58) opponents batting average the first time through the order, .352 (19-for-54) the second time and .242 (8-for-33) the third time…the opponents two through five hitters are batting a combined .391 (27-for-69) while the six through nine hitters are 10-for-57 (.175)…now has a .298 (157-for-526) career average against the two through five hitters compared to .259 (118-for-455) against the six through nine hitters.
AGAINST THE EAST: Is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA (3 er in 11.0 ip) in two starts against American League East teams…went 3-1 with a 3.74 ERA in seven starts against AL East teams and is now 4-2 with a 3.21 ERA (25 er in 70.0 ip) in 14 career starts against the East.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s are 3-4 in his starting assignments…has allowed one run or fewer in three of his seven starts and has walked two batters or fewer six times…has a win and a loss over his last two starts after beginning the year with five no decisions over his first five starts…the season-opening streak of five consecutive starts without a decisions matches the longest such streak in Oakland history (Mike Oquist, 1998)…has not committed an error in seven starts and eight 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 a season-low 4.0 innings…allowed a season-high five runs in 5.0 innings in a no decision on June 4 at Miami…tossed a season-high 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…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…logged a season-high 104 pitches… allowed a season-high nine hits on June 21 at Cleveland…picked up his first decision of the season in his sixth start, a 2-1 A’s win over New York (AL) on June 27.
LAST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 8-7 loss to Chicago (AL) last Sunday in Oakland…walked a season-high four batters and allowed a season-high tying five runs in 5.0 innings…all five runs came in the third inning on an Anderson sacrifice fly, a Jimenez RBI single, a Sheets hit by pitch with the bases loaded and a Remillard two-run single.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have won 6 of their last 7 games…They’re 13-8 in their last 21 games, starting 6/14. The Sox are 18-16 since the start of June, the 4th-best record in the AL during that span. At 46-43 (.517), Boston entered today with MLB’s 15th-best record.
BIG MAPLE: Tonight’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.
HANG TEN: The Red Sox have recorded at least 10 hits in a season-high 6 consecutive games, their longest streak since April 2021 (6 games, 4/5-11). The last time Boston collected 10+ hits in as many as 7 consecutive games was 7/25-8/1/2019 (7 games). Last night was the Sox’ 38th game with 10+ hits, 3rd most in MLB (TEX-49, ATL-39).
I GOT FIVE ON IT: Boston has scored 17 runs in the last 2 games, following a season-long streak of 6 consecutive home games with fewer than 5 runs scored (13 total runs). The Red Sox are 37-6 (.860) this season when they score 5+ runs, the 2nd-best record in the AL (4th in MLB).
THE BIG INNING: The Red Sox scored 5 runs on 5 hits in the 2nd inning last night to take a 5-0 lead. It was their 16th inning this season with 5+ runs scored, 2nd most in MLB behind TEX (19). They also scored 6 runs on 7 hits in the 7th inning on Thursday vs. TEX to take a 10-5 lead.
SERIES BUSINESS: With a win today or tomorrow, Boston would improve to 16-11-2 in series play, including 9-6-0… They’d climb to 5-3-1 in their last 9 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 improved to 16-13 in series openers…The Sox are 11-3-1 in series when they win Game 1.
SOX & A’S: The Red Sox will play the Athletics in 6 of their 9 games from 7/7-19, 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 7 of their last 8 games vs. OAK, dating back to 7/4/21, outscoring the A’s 47-13 in that span.
BEST WESTERN: The Red Sox are 8-6 against AL West teams this season and 33-14 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 (1-0). The Red Sox have recorded at least 8 hits in 12 of their last 13 home games, batting .289 with a .346 OBP in that span (128-for-443, 30 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 37 BB). The Sox have recorded at least 8 hits in 36 of their 46 home games, most in MLB (2nd: MIA-33).
SLUGGING SOX: In 6 July games, the Red Sox own an MLB-best .313 AVG, along with a .371 OBP and .818 OPS (68-for-215, 15 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 18 BB). Over their last 21 games, beginning 6/14, the Red Sox are batting .274 with a .754 OPS (200-for-729, 48 2B, 6 3B, 16 HR, 56 BB).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Red Sox went 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position last night…They’re 17-for-44 (.386) with RISP in their last 4 games. Overall with RISP, BOS ranks 2nd in MLB in OBP (.359), and 3rd in AVG (.281) and SO% (19.1).
PITCHING IN: In their last 8 games, Red Sox pitchers have posted a 3.38 ERA (27 ER/72.0 IP)…During that span, Red Sox starting pitchers (including openers) are 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA and .205 opponent AVG (10 ER/35.2 IP, 26-for-127).
IT’S GO TIME: Last night began the Red Sox’ stretch of 12-straight games against teams that currently own a sub- .500 record (3-game series vs. OAK, at CHC, at OAK, vs. NYM). 7 of their next 11 series, through 8/17, are against teams that entered today with record of .500 or lower.
HELP IS ON THE WAY: Three Red Sox players are on rehab assignments: Richard Bleier, Pablo Reyes, and John Schreiber. Schreiber retired 2 of his 3 batters faced last night for Triple-A Worcester (0.2 IP, BB, 16 pitches, 9 strikes). Reyes is 5-for-11 with 2 HR & 4 RBI in 3 games with WOR.
TODAY’S STARTER: 65 JAMES PAXTON – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 4-1 2.70 9 9 50.0 15 6 13 61 0.96 .193
CAREER 61-34 3.53 146 146 804.2 316 87 244 892 1.20 .236
Was reinstated from the Paternity List prior to last night’s game. 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 during the month. Pitched a season-high 7.2 innings 6/30 at TOR…Allowed 0 R, 3 H and 2 BB with 7 SO. 6/30 at TOR was his 14th career start of 7.0+ IP and 0 R allowed (last: 9/3/19 vs. TEX). In his last 6 starts, has a 1.75 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, .172 opponent AVG, and 6-to-1 SO/BB ratio (36.0 IP, 8 R/7 ER, 22 H, 7 BB, 42 SO). Has allowed 2 runs or fewer in 7 of his 9 starts (1 or 0 runs in 5 of them). Has struck out 31.1% of batters, the 8th-best rate in MLB (4th in the AL; min. 50.0 IP)…32 of his 61 strikeouts have come with the 4-seam fastball.
