OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Beat the Rangers on Wednesday by a score of 2-0…was their third shutout of the season…lost their 82nd game of the season Tuesday night to clinch a losing record for the second consecutive season (went 60-102 last year)…it marks the first time the A’s have had back-to-back losing seasons since 2015-17 when they had three straight…lost the first two games of the Texas series but won the finale to avoid the sweep…have been swept 15 times this year, which are the most times the A’s have been swept in a season since 1997 (also 15)…the only time in Oakland history the A’s have been swept more than 15 times was in 1978 (17)…have lost six of the last nine games and are 8-15 (.348) since the All-Star Break, which is the third lowest winning percentage in the majors…are 21-32 (.396) over the last 53 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are 49 games under .500 at 33-82 (.287) which is one shy of their season high of 50…have not been more than 50 games under .500 since finishing the 1979 season 54 under at 54-108…have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (37-80, .316)…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…swept a two-game series from San Francisco over the weekend for their second series sweep of the season (June 9-11 at Milwaukee)…including the Texas series, are 8-11-1 over the last 20 series after going 1-16 over the first 17.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .200 (55-for-275) with 22 runs scored over the last nine games (2.4 runs per game)…overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.222), slugging (.361), OPS (.662), runs (409) and extra base hits (284), tied for second in most times shut out (12), third in fewest doubles (155), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.301), tied for fifth in fewest home runs (111) and eighth in most strikeouts (1050)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (24) and rank seventh in hit by pitches (59).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (31), rank second in plate appearances (133), fourth in doubles (5) and tied for seventh in walks (12) and extra base hits (7).
PITCHING: The A’s compiled a 7.02 ERA over the first 49 games through May 22 but have a 4.85 ERA (312 er in 579.0 ip) in 66 games since then…have a 5.77 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.355), the second highest slugging percentage (.458) and OPS (.813) and fourth highest batting average (.267)…lead the majors with 71 hit batters, which is the fourth highest total in Athletics history (81 in 1911, 72 in 2022, 72 in 1903)…also lead the majors in most walks (489), are second in most wild pitches (48) and fewest shutouts (3), rank fifth in most home runs (155) and sixth in fewest strikeouts (930).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-5 with a 5.87 ERA (25 er in 38.1 ip) over the last eight games and 11-52 with a 6.09 ERA overall…have the fewest wins in the majors, the highest ERA and are tied for the second most losses…the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…have tossed 7.1 innings or fewer in each game and have the second fewest innings pitched in the majors (524.1) behind just the Giants (523.1).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s used an opener on Wednesday for the 14th time this season (last on July 25)…openers are 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA (19.0 ip, 25 h, 15 r, 15 er, 4 bb, 22 so) and the main pitchers are 4-3 with a 4.55 ERA (65.1 ip, 55 h, 34 r, 33 er, 25 bb, 66 so)…are 4-10 over the first 14 games using an opener…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 three wins, a loss, two saves and two blown saves over the last five games…has 16 saves over the last 52 games after tallying just four over the first 63…is 20-for-40 (50.0%) in save opportunities for the season, which is the second lowest percentage in the majors… has the second fewest saves and is tied for the ninth most blown saves (20)… has the highest ERA in the majors (5.43), the most losses (30) and the second most innings pitched (485.2)…the 30 losses are one short of the Oakland record for losses by relievers (31 in 1993 and 2015)…has allowed 85-of-221 (38.5%) inherited runners to score, which is the fifth highest percentage… has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 109-for-131 (83.2%) in stolen base attempts…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 79-for-113 (69.9%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 34 caught stealings are the most in the majors…A’s pitchers have 11 pickoffs, which is tied for fourth most.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have committed five errors in the last six games and have 70 for the season, which is fifth most in the majors…are tied for second in fewest double plays (80), tied for 10th in outfield assists (19) and tied for ninth in most passed balls (7).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin a six-game road trip to Washington (three games) and St. Louis (three games)…went 3-2 on this five-game homestand against San Francisco (2-0) and Texas (1-2)…won the final game against the Rangers to clinch their first winning homestand of the season…went 3-7 on the last homestand against Minnesota (0-3), Boston (2-1) and Houston (1-3) and are 18-41 (.305) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…went 2-6 on the last road trip to San Francisco (0-2), Colorado (2-1) and Los Angeles-NL (0-3) and are 15-41 (.268) on the road, which is the worst road record in the majors…have compiled a 4.97 ERA (300 er in 543.0 ip) at home compared to 6.71 on the road.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: The A’s are 17-22 (.436) in one-run games and 16-62 (.205) in games decided by two or more runs…17 of the A’s 33 wins (51.5%) are by one run…are tied for the second most one-run losses in the majors, rank third in games (39) and tied for ninth in wins…have a run differential of -276, 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.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in 14 of their 33 victories (42.4%)…are 6-6 (.500) in extra inning games and the six wins matches the A’s total from last year…are tied for eighth in the majors in extra inning games (12) and wins and tied for ninth in losses…have six walkoff wins, which is tied for fifth most.
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s have used 54 players, which is tied for third most in the majors…will be 55 players used this season when OF Lawrence Butler makes his Major League debut…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 34 pitchers, which ties the Athletics record (2018, 2022) and is fourth most in the majors this year…have used 30 relievers, which is an on-going franchise record…16 different pitchers have started a game, which ties the Oakland record set in 1983…have used the injured list 25 times…the only times in Oakland history the A’s used the IL more times for non-Covid reasons were in 2016 (27) and 2018 (26).
THIS AND THAT: Wednesday concluded a 27-day stretch that began July 14 where the A’s left the state of California just once (July 28-30 at Colorado)… went 8-15 over that span…the A’s are 6-31 (.162) in the final game of a series…are 24-42 (.364) in night games, 9-40 (.184) during the day…are 8-10 (.444) on Tuesday, 7-10 (.412) on Friday and 17-63 (.213) on all other days of the week.
A’S VS. NATIONALS
- The A’s have lost each of their last two season series to Washington, dropping two of three in their first ever visit to Nationals Park last year after losing two of three in Oakland in 2017.
- Have faced the Nationals just four times, as they also swept a three-game series in Oakland in 2014 and were swept in a three-game series at RFK Stadium in 2005.
- Swept a three-game series from Montreal in 2003.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-0 0-0
2022 0-0 0-0 1-2
Oakland History: 8-7
at the Coliseum: 4-2
at Nationals Park: 1-2
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has six home runs in 22 games played making him the fastest player in Oakland history to reach six home runs…since Gelof made his debut on July 14, he is one of just four players with six homers, six steals, and an OPS over .800 (Cody Bellinger-CHC, Kyle Tucker-HOU, Bobby Witt Jr.-KC)…Esteury Ruiz has three steals in five games since returning from the injured list on Aug. 5…is tied for second in the Majors in steals over that span…for the season, he has 46 steals which is second only to Ronald Acuña Jr. despite having played 23 fewer games (Ruiz 90 GP, Acuña Jr 113) in 2023
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Paul Blackburn (2-2, 4.35 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was reinstated from the injured list May 29 and is scheduled to make his 13th appearance and 12th start of the season…the relief appearance came in the final game before the All-Star Break after being scratched from his scheduled start a day earlier…is 1-0 with a 1.56 ERA (3 er in 17.1 ip) and .654 opponents OPS over his last three 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 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 five home runs, all to right-handed hitters…four have been solo shots…has allowed a .429 (12-for-28) batting average against the opponents number three hitter and .400 (12-for-30) with three of his five home runs against the clean-up hitter.
INTERLEAGUE PLAY: Is 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA (8 er in 27.0 ip) and .663 opponents OPS in five 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 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA (19 er in 54.2 ip) and .627 OPS in 10 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…tossed 6.0 scoreless innings and had a no decision in his first start in August.
THIS AND THAT: Tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in his last start…it was the fifth time in his 11 starts he allowed one run or fewer but he is 1-0 with four no decisions in those starts, all A’s wins…the A’s are 6-5 in his starting assignments…has walked two batters or fewer in eight of his 11 starts…has tossed six innings or fewer in each start…has not committed an error in 12 games and 14 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 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…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 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…logged a season-high 106 pitches and matched his season highs in innings pitched (6.0) and hits (9) in an 11-3 win at Colorado on July 29.
LAST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 2-1 win over San Francisco last Saturday in Oakland…tossed a season-high tying 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits and three walks…the A’s scored a run in the fifth and he was relieved by Pruitt to start the seventh with the A’s leading 1-0…the bullpen allowed a run in the eighth for the blown save but Oakland came back with a run in the bottom of the eighth for the win.
WASHINGTON NATIONALS NOTES:
OPPONENT – OAKLAND ATHLETICS
The Nationals and Athletics will face off three times this season (3 in D.C.)…The A’s were the last team in Major League Baseball to visit Nationals Park when they came to Washington last season on August 30…Kyle Finnegan was drafted by Oakland in 2013 (6th rd.) and spent six seasons in their Minor League system before signing with the Nationals in 2019…Jordan Weems made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2020…Robert Garcia is from Manteca, Calif. and attended Modesto Christian High School before going to UC Davis…Zack Gelof is from Rehoboth, Delaware and attended Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, Delaware before going going to the University of Virginia.
WELCOME HOME
The Washington Nationals open a nine-game homestand that kicks off on Friday night against the Oakland Athletics…The Nationals will close out the homestand next Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2023 Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pa.
- The Nationals have won nine of their last 11 home games dating to July 8 vs. Texas.
STATUS CHECK
The Nationals have won five of eight, seven of their last 12, 12 of their last 20, 16 of their last 28 and are 22-19 (.537) since June 24…This stretch includes series victories over the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.
NEXT ON 20-20: LANE THOMAS
Lane Thomas hit his 20th home run and stole his 15th base on Tuesday…With five more stolen bases, Thomas would record the sixth 20 home run – 20 stolen base season in Nationals History (2005-pres.) and the first since 2016.
- Thomas is 9-for-30 (.300) with three doubles, four home runs, 10 RBI, two walks, three stolen bases and eight runs scored in his last six games.
- Thomas ranks in the National League in hits (4th, 130), doubles (T5th, 29), total bases (T6th, 223) and runs (8th, 78)..He leads the National League (T1st in MLB) with a career-high 11 outfield assists.
BORN TO RUN
CJ Abrams is tied for third in the National League with 28 stolen bases…He has stolen 25 consecutive bases without being caught, the longest streak in Nationals history (2005-pres.) according to the Elias Sports Bureau…It is the longest active streak in MLB… Abrams was last caught stealing on May 3 vs. Chicago (NL).
- Since being moved to the leadoff spot on July 7, Abrams is hitting .319 with six doubles, a triple, four homers, 10 RBI, seven walks, two hit by pitch, 17 stolen bases and 23 runs scored.
OK, KYLE
Kyle Finnegan has seven saves, five holds and has pitched to a 0.71 ERA (2 ER/25.1 IP) with a .146 opponents’ average (12-for-82) in his last 23 appearances.
- He’s set a new career-high and is eighth in the NL with 18 saves this season.
- Finnegan surrendered seven earned runs and three home runs in his first three outings…Since the next outing on April 7 at Colorado, he has pitched to a 1.51 ERA (8 ER/47.2 IP) with 49 strikeouts and three home runs allowed in 45 games.
BACKSTOP BATS
Some notes on Washington’s catchers:
- Riley Adams has produced multi-hit efforts in five of his last seven starts and in six of his last nine… During this nine-game stretch, he is 14-for-34 (.412) with six doubles, a homer, six RBI and three walks.
- Keibert Ruiz is hitting .333/.400/.512 with seven doubles, three homers, 11 RBI, 10 walks, one stolen base and nine runs scored over his last 24 games.
STARTING PITCHER – #60 JOAN ADON
Right-hander climbed to the No. 7 prospect in Washington’s system per Baseball America entering the 2022 season…Began his professional career as a reliever but converted to the starting rotation for the 2019 season…In 2021, became the 21st pitcher drafted/signed and developed by the Nationals (2005-pres.).
LAST START
Retired the first 17 batters and was perfect through 5.2 innings on Aug. 5 at Cincinnati…Allowed three earned runs on three hits, did not walk any hitters and struck out seven in 6.0 innings…He earned his first win of the season in the Nationals’ 7-3 victory.
vs. OAKLAND
Has never faced the Athletics.
2023 IN TRIPLE-A
In his last two start with Triple-A Rochester, Adon was 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA (4 ER/11.0 IP) with 13 strikeouts and five walks…Those starts include a scoreless 6.0-inning outing in which he allowed just two hits and struck out six on July 21 against Durham (TBR)…In all, Adon went 3-5 with a 4.62 ERA (45 ER/87.2 IP) with 80 strikeouts and 40 walks in 17 starts in Triple-A this season.
FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE WIN
Threw 6.1 scoreless innings, allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five on April 19, 2022 against Arizona…It was his fourth Major League start.
