OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Lost yesterday’s series opener to the Cardinals and have now lost four straight games…shut out the Rangers at home on Wednesday 2-0 for 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…after being swept by Washington to begin this road trip, have now been swept 16 times this year, which are the most times the A’s have been swept in a season since 1997 (15)…the only time in Oakland history the A’s have been swept more than 16 times was in 1978 (17)…have lost 10 of the last 13 games and are 8-19 (.296) since the All-Star Break, which is the second lowest winning percentage in the majors…are 21-36 (.368) over the last 57 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are a season-high 53 games under .500 at 33-86 (.277)…have not been more than 53 games under .500 since finishing the 1979 season 54 under at 54-108… have the lowest winning percentage in the majors behind the Royals (39-81, .325)…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 Washington series, are 8-12-1 over the last 20 series after going 1-16 over the first 17.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .210 (87-for-414) with 38 runs scored over the last 13 games (2.92 runs per game)…overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.222), slugging (.363), OPS (.663), runs (425) and extra base hits (297), tied for second in most times shut out (12), third in fewest doubles (162), fourth in lowest on-base percentage (.300), tied for fifth in fewest home runs (117) and eighth in most strikeouts (1082)…lead the majors in sacrifice hits (24) and rank tied for seventh in hit by pitches (61).
IN THE PINCH: A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (31), rank third in plate appearances (136), tied for fourth in doubles (5), tied for eighth in walks (12), and tied for eighth in extra base hits (7).
PITCHING: The A’s compiled a 7.02 ERA over the first 49 games through May 22 but have a 4.93 ERA (335 er in 611.2 ip) in 70 games since then…have a 5.79 ERA overall, which is the highest in the majors…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage (.357), the second highest slugging percentage (.458) and OPS (.816), and third highest batting average (.269)…lead the majors with 75 hit batters, which is the second highest total in Athletics history (81 in 1911)…also lead the majors in most walks (513), are third in most wild pitches (49) and tied for first in fewest shutouts (3), rank fifth in most home runs (160) and sixth in fewest strikeouts (959).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-6 with a 5.28 ERA (34 er in 58.0 ip) over the last 12 games and 11-53 with a 6.02 ERA overall…have the fewest wins in the majors, the second 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 (544.0) behind just the Giants (539.1).
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, four losses, two saves and five blown saves over the last nine games…has 16 saves over the last 56 games after tallying just four over the first 63…is 20-for-43 (46.5%) in save opportunities for the season, which is the lowest percentage in the majors…has the second fewest saves and is tied for the fifth most blown saves (23)…has the highest ERA in the majors (5.54), the most losses (33) and the third most innings pitched (498.2)…the 33 losses are an Oakland record for losses by relievers (31 in 1993 and 2015)…has allowed 93-of-234 (39.7) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 111-for-133 (83.5%) 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 83-for-119 (69.7%) in stolen base attempts, which is the second lowest success rate in the majors…the 36 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 six errors in the last 10 games and have 71 for the season, which is tied for fourth most in the majors…are second in fewest double plays (82), tied for eighth in outfield assists (20) and tied for fifth in most passed balls (8).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s continue a six-game road trip to Washington (0- 3) and St. Louis (0-1)…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 15-45 (.250) 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 6.68 (371 er in 499.2 ip) on the road.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND THE REST: The A’s are 17-24 (.415) in one-run games and 16-64 (.200) in games decided by two or more runs…17 of the A’s 33 wins (51.5%) are by one run…have a run differential of -286, 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…have six walk-off wins, which is tied for fifth most.
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s have used 56 players, which is third most in the majors…LHP Francisco Pérez made his A’s debut Saturday night as the 56th player used…RHP Spenser Watkisn will be the 57th player used…employed a franchise record 64 players last year…have used 35 pitchers, which is an Athletics record (34 in 2018 & 2022)…have used 31 relievers, which is an on-going franchise record…16 different pitchers have started a game, which ties the Oakland record set in 1983…Watkins will be the 17th with his start tonight…have used the injured list 27 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 6-32 (.158) in the final game of a series…are 24-45 (.348) in night games, 9-41 (.180) during the day…are 8-10 (.444) on Tuesday, 7-11 (.389) on Friday and 17-66 (.205) on all other days of the week.
A’S VS. CARDINALS
- The A’s have won each of the last three season series dating back to 2013…are 8-2 against St. Louis over that span, outscoring the Cardinals 46-30.
- Lost the first three season series from 2004- 2010, going 2-7.
- Are 5-7 on the road all-time against the Cardinals but had won each of the last four games at Busch Stadium prior to last night’s loss.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-1 0-1
2019 2-0 2-0 4-0
Oakland History: 10-10
at the Coliseum: 5-3
at Busch Stadium: 5-7
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has homered seven times in his last 15 games and has eight homer over the first 26 games of his career which is the most in A’s history…the next-highest is Mitchell Page’s six homers in 1977…in the last month since his debut, he is one of just five players in the Majors with eight or more homers and six or more stolen bases (Shohei Ohtani-LAA, Kyle Tucker-HOU, Cody Bellinger-CHC, Bobby Witt Jr-KC)…Seth Brown is hitting .341 (15-for-44) with a .920 OPS over his last 14 games dating back to July 29 with one homer and eight RBI, raising his batting average for the season to .223
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Spenser Watkins (0-0, — ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas yesterday and will be making his A’s debut…was claimed off waivers from Houston on Aug. 8 and optioned to Las Vegas…had not appeared for the Aviators before being recalled…this is his third season in the majors with his second team (Orioles, 2021-22)…is 6-13 with a 5.30 ERA (83 er in 141.0 ip) in 30 career Major League starts…has also made nine relief appearances.
LAST MAJOR LEAGUE APPEARANCE: Allowed one run over 3.1 innings for Baltimore in a 1-5 loss to Toronto on Oct. 5, 2022.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Oakland Athletics continue with the second game of a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium … The New York Mets make their annual visit to St. Louis with a four-game weekend series beginning Thursday (Aug. 17-20) … The current seven-game homestand features teams with lowest ($56.8 million) and highest ($330.6 million) Opening Day payrolls … The Cardinals ended a six-game losing streak to the Athletics with last night’s come-from-behind 7-5 win as Paul Goldschmidt reached base all five times and Jordan Walker delivered a game-winning, bases-clearing triple in the 7th inning.
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter the day tied with Pittsburgh in 4th place in the NL Central, 12.0 games out of first place and 9.5 games back in the NL Wild Card chase … St. Louis has spent 99 of 135 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19, May 29-July 7 & July 28-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 50-69 (.420) after 119 games … St. Louis needs to go 28-15 (.651) over the remaining 43 games to finish at .500.
CARDINALS SELECT LAWRENCE: The Cardinals announced today that they selected the contract of RHP Casey Lawrence from Memphis (AAA), who signed as a minor league free agent on July 19 … The 35-year-old Lawrence has gone 4-8 with a 4.76 ERA (104.0 IP) and 90 strikeouts in 21 starts between Buffalo (AAA-Blue Jays) and Memphis this season … Lawrence has pitched parts of three Major League seasons with Toronto (2017, ‘22) and Seattle (2017-18) … Lawrence will wear uniform #72.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’: Wednesday’s series finale against the Athletics is scheduled for an irregular 5:45 p.m. first pitch start time to accommodate Oakland’s travel schedule … Thursday’s series opener with the New York Mets will be televised nationally on FOX and is scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m.
FIVE ALIVE: The Cardinals have score five or more runs in their last five games (4-1 record) … This season, St. Louis has plated five or more runs in 52 games this season (39-13 record).
INTERLEAGUE ACTION: The Cardinals are playing a current stretch of eight straight against American League opponents (4-2 record) … St. Louis is 239-235 all-time in Interleague play, with a .504 win pct. that ranks 14th in MLB and only trails Los Angeles (.533) among NL clubs … The Cardinals are 20-21 in Interleague games this season (9-12 at home) … After this series with Oakland, the Cardinals only remaining Interleague games are from September 11-13 at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles.
UNDER THE LIGHTS: Tonight is the 7th of 11 straight night games for St. Louis (Aug. 8-19) … The Cardinals are 30-46 in night games this season … The last time St. Louis sported a losing night record was back-to-back seasons in 2006 (46-59) and 2007 (52-60).
CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL: The Cardinals and Braves are the only two MLB teams with 9 players sporting double-digit home run totals … The franchise record stands at 11 by the 2019 Redbirds (Bader, Carpenter, DeJong, Edman, Fowler, Goldschmidt, Martinez, Molina, Ozuna, Wieters, Wong), while the 2000 and 2016 teams each had nine with 10+ home runs … Redbirds nearing 10 home runs this season include Andrew Knizner (9 HR), Alec Burleson (8 HR) and Tyler O’Neill (6 HR).
WALK THE LINE: Two Cardinals have drawn 3+ walks in the same game only 43 times since 1901 as Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill did so in last night’s 7-5 win … The franchise record of most Cardinals drawing 3+ walks is three, established by Don Blasingame (3), Stan Musial (3), and Alex Grammas (4) on July 11, 1959 at Connie Mack Std. as the Phillies issued 14 free passes in the 4-3 Cards win.
INTERLEAGUE INSTIGATOR: Nolan Arenado leads MLB lead in Interleague RBI (33) this season … With the expanded Interleague schedule in 2023, Arenado already ranks tops for single-season RBI in Interleague games, breaking his existing single-season record of 29 Interleague RBI in 20 games during the 2019 season with Colorado. 1,500 CAREER GAMES: Arenado, who plays in his 1,498th career game tonight, will become only the 8th player in MLB history to have 320+ home runs, 350+ doubles, 1,000+ RBI, and 3,000+ total bases in their first 1,500 career games, last achieved by Albert Pujols from 2001-10 with St. Louis (chart left)
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP DAKOTA HUDSON (3-0, 4.31)
- Makes his 4th start of the season and 10th appearance since his promotion from Memphis (AAA) at the beginning of July.
- Is facing the Oakland Athletics for the 2nd time, previously starting at the Oakland Coliseum in 2019, a year which he made four starts against A.L. West opponents.
- He’s 19-5 (.792 win pct.) in 52 career games (35 starts) at Busch Stadium, and ranks 3rd in ERA (2.71) all-time at Busch III among pitchers with a minimum 200.0 IP.
- Of pitchers with 24 or more home decisions, his .792 winning pct., ranks 5th among starting pitchers in MLB history trailing Jose Fernandez (29-2, .935), Howie Krist (20-4, .833), Emil Yde (27-6, .818) and Tony Gonsolin (20-5, .800).
- Won his last two starts, first time since April 23-28, 2022; last won three straight starts Aug. 31-Sept. 12, 2020.
- Had spent the bulk of 2023 season at Memphis (AAA) where he was 5-4, 6.00 ERA in 11 starts.
- Has appeared in 105 career MLB games, going 35-17, 3.66 ERA , including team-leading 16 wins in 2019 when he finished 5th in NL ROY voting.
- Was 8-7, 4.45 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) for Cardinals last season. Tied for MLB lead with 25 GIDPs induced.
- Was brought up as the 27th player for the DH vs. NYY (7/1) in Game 2 and pitched 2.2 innings.
- Was recalled on 7/5 from Memphis (AAA) and was thrust into action that night allowing two runs in 2.2 relief innings at MIA.
- Earned his 1st win of season with 3.1 scoreless IP on 7/15 vs. WSH, matching STL season high for IP by a reliever. It came in his 100th career appearance.
- Made first start of the season on 7/19 vs. MIA (3.0 IP), throwing 66 pitches.
- Made his longest relief app. (4.1 IP) this season on 7/27 vs. CHI after Mikolas was ejected in the 1st inning. Threw a then season-high 93 pitches.
- Dating to last season, has allowed just 9 HR’s in his last 28 games (140.2 IP). Had a career-best 46.1 homerless IP streak from 5/8-6/23/22. It was longest for the Cardinals since Trevor Rosenthal’s 54.0 IP in 2015.
- The Cardinals are 43-27 (.614 win pct.) in his 70 career games started and 26-9 (.743) in his 35 career games started at Busch Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
- Held the Rays to three runs on seven hits as the Cardinals won 6-4. Departed with a 5-3 lead allowed all three runs on home runs to Jose Siri. Was his third straight winning decision and second in as many starts.
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
8/9 @TB W 6-4 W-3 5.0 7 3 3 1 2 2 73-45
