OAKLAND ATHELTICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Are 2-2 over the last four games but have lost nine of the last 11 and 15 of the last 18…are 5-18 (.217) overall, which is tied with the Royals for the lowest winning percentage in the majors…it matches the 1919 Philadelphia A’s and 1965 Kansas City A’s for the worst record after 23 games in Athletics history…both of those clubs lost game 24 to fall to 5-19…lost two of three at Texas to start the road trip and have now lost each of the first seven series of the season for the first time in Athletics history (previous: 5 in 1935, 1946 and 1951)…the A’s won the opener this year and spent the first two days of the season in a tie for first in the American League West…were in fourth place after the April 6 off day but have spent each day since then in fifth place…are 9½ games behind first place Texas, which is one short of the season-high of 10½ on April 23…the A’s largest deficit in the West at the end of April is 12 games in 2001.
ONE-RUN GAMES AND OTHERWISE: The A’s defeated the Angels last night in 10 innings by a score of 11-10…it was the A’s fifth win of the season and their fourth by one run…are 4-4 in one-run games…are tied for sixth in the majors in one-run games (8) and tied for seventh in wins and losses…however, the A’s have lost six games by 10 or more runs, which matches the A’s combined total from the previous four seasons and is the most since 2008 when they had eight such games…have a run differential of -102, which is the lowest by an AL, NL or FL team over the first 23 games of the season since 1901 (previous: -91 by the 1951 St. Louis Browns)…it matches the lowest by an A’s team over any 23-game stretch.
OFFENSE: The A’s hit a season-high five home runs last night and matched their best with 11 runs scored…had four home runs and 13 runs scored over their previous six games…for the season, the A’s rank fifth in the majors in fewest runs scored (86), tied for fifth in fewest extra base hits (57), sixth lowest OPS (.677) and slugging percentage (.369), tied for sixth in fewest doubles (31), seventh lowest batting average (.229) and 10th lowest on-base percentage (.308)…have been hit by a pitch 13 times which is tied for sixth most…have been shut out four times, which is tied for second most (Royals, 5).
PITCHING: The A’s have allowed 63 runs over the last seven games (61 er in 62.0 ip, 8.85 ERA) and have 188 for the season, which is the most in the majors and the most by any AL or NL team over the first 23 games of the season since the 1936 St. Louis Browns had 201…the 188 runs are the most by an A’s team over any 23-game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s allowed 189 from August 4-26, 1939…have the highest ERA (7.98), opponents OPS (.903), batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.391) and slugging percentage (.511) in the majors…lead the majors in most walks (120), hit batters (21), home runs (43) and wild pitches (19) and have the second fewest strikeouts (165).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-11 with an 8.86 ERA over the first 23 games…the streak of 23 consecutive games without a win from the starting pitcher in the longest streak in Athletics history…A’s starters have the highest ERA in the majors by more than two earned runs (Red Sox, 6.71) and Oakland is the only team without a win from their starting pitchers… have tossed fewer than five innings in 11 of the 23 games and are tied with the Tigers the fewest innings pitched (105.2).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 9.35 ERA (44 er in 42.1 ip) over the last 10 games and has allowed 10 or more runs three times over that stretch…had no games with 10 or more runs over the previous three seasons…now has a 7.03 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors (Royals, 6.30)… has tossed at least 2.2 innings in every game this year and has 97.1 innings pitched, which is the most ahead of the Red Sox (97.0)…is 3-for-8 (37.5%) in save opportunities…has the lowest save percentage in the majors and is tied for second in fewest saves and most blown saves (5)…has allowed 22- of-44 (50.0%) inherited runners to score, which is tied for the third highest percentage.
DEFENSIVE DOINGS: The A’s have made six errors over the last 17 games after making eight miscues over the first six contests…have 14 errors overall, which are tied for seventh most in the majors…have five outfield assists, which are fifth most…have two passed balls, which are tied for fourth most… had just three passed balls all last year.
ON THE BASES: A’s opponents have been successful in just 3 of their last 8 stolen base attempts (37.5%) and are 23-for-31 (74.2%) for the season…the eight caught stealings are tied with the Rockies and Phillies for the most in the majors but the 23 stolen bases are tied for third most…offensively, the A’s have been successful in 22-of-26 (84.6%) stolen base attempts, which is the 10th best percentage in the majors…rank sixth in steals and tied for sixth in attempts.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-2 on the second road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Texas (1-2) and Los Angeles-AL (1-0)…went 1-6 on their first road trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (1-3) and are 3-8 (.273) on the road, which is the second worst record in the majors (Reds, 1-9/.100)…return home following the game Thursday for a six-game homestand against Cincinnati (three games) and Seattle (three games)…went 0-6 on the last homestand against New York-NL (0-3) and Chicago-NL (0-3)…had no winless homestands of six or more games in the first 54 years in Oakland but now have two in the last two years (0-6 from April 29-May 4, 2022 against Cleveland and Tampa Bay)…have a season-high seven-game home losing streak and are now 2-10 (.167) in the Coliseum, which is the second lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 1-12/.077).
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 5-8 in night games and 0-10 during the day… are the only team in the majors without a win in day games…the 10-game losing streak in day games is tied for second longest in Oakland history… the longest is a 13-game streak from July 17-Aug. 21, 1977…are batting .276 (125-for-453) with 65 runs in 13 night games (5.0 runs per game), .161 (51- for-316) with 21 runs in 10 day games (2.1 runs per game)…have the fourth best night batting average in the majors and the lowest day batting average.
A’S IN APRIL: The A’s are 4-18 (.182) in April and have set an Athletics record for most losses in April (previous: 17 in 1994 and 2001)…there have been just two months of five or more games in Oakland history with a winning percentage under .200: June of 1979 (5-24, .172) and June of 2022 (5-21, .192)…have an 8.30 ERA this April and the highest single-month ERA in Oakland history (min. 5 games) is 6.73 in Sept. of 2015…have allowed 187 runs, which is third most in a month in Oakland history (206 in May, 1997; 188 in Sept., 2015)…have set an Athletics record for hit batters in any month (21) and an Athletics record for home runs allowed in April (43)…the Oakland record for home runs allowed in any month is 48 in Sept. of 2015…have 17 wild pitches, which ties the Oakland record for April (2018)…have stolen 21 bases this month, which are the A’s most in April since 2013 (25).
THE INJURED LIST: The A’s placed Adrián Martínez on the injured list yesterday and have now used the IL 11 times this year, including eight times by pitchers…the 11 IL placements are tied for fourth most in the majors…have added six players to the IL since the start of the season after beginning the year with five players on the IL…used the IL 31 times last year, which broke the Oakland record of 27 set in 2016 and matched in 2021.
A’S VS. ANGELS
• The A’s scored 11 runs on 14 hits last night after tallying three runs on 16 hits in the three-game series against the Angels to start the season.
• The 11 runs last night were the A’s most against the Angels since June 30, 2019 when they had 12.
• Last year, the A’s scored one run or fewer in eight of the 19 games and tallied 47 runs (2.47 per game) while batting .188 with eight home runs…the batting average was second lowest in Oakland history against the Angels (.187 in 2006), the runs were the fewest since 1981 (46) and the home runs were the fewest since 1983 (6).
• Lost the season series last year for the first time since 2018.
• The 12 losses in 2022 match the most in Oakland history against the Angels (2009, 16, 17).
Year Home Road Totals
2023 1-2 1-0 2-2
2022 4-6 3-6 7-12
Oakland History: 480-404
at the Coliseum: 252-192
at Angel Stadium: 228-212
All-Time: 529-481
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Brent Rooker and Jesús Aguilar hit back-to-back home runs in the first and third innings last night…it marked the first time in Athletics history the same two players hit back-to-back home runs twice in the same game… Esteury Ruiz leads American League rookies in doubles (5), ranks second in hits (22) and stolen bases (5), fourth in RBI (9), tied for fourth in extra base hits (5) and fifth in batting (.272).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Mason Miller (0-0 4.15 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas last Wednesday and made his Major League debut that day against the Cubs…became the 58th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the second this year (Fujinami on April 1)…has made just 11 appearances, including 10 starts, as a minor leaguer and has just 28.2 innings pitched…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut with fewer games pitched as a professional is Kirk Dressendorfer, who made the A’s Opening Day roster in 1991 and started on April 13 after pitching in just seven games, including four starts, in 19.1 innings with Short-Season Southern Oregon in his professional debut in 1990.
LAST START: He had a no decision in the A’s 12-2 loss at Chicago (NL) last Wednesday in Oakland in his Major League debut…blanked the Cubs on one hit and one walk over his first three innings…struck out the side in the second, including Cody Bellinger for his first strikeout…allowed a RBI double to Happ in the fourth and a sacrifice fly to Barnhart in the fifth…was relieved by Smith with one out in the fifth and the A’s trailing 2-1…Oakland came back to tie the game but the pen allowed 10 runs over the final four innings.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the fifth (2-2) of seven games on a homestand against the Kansas City Royals (2-1) and Oakland Athletics (0-1; April 24-27)… Halos went 2-5 on last road trip against the Boston Red Sox (1-3) and New York Yankees (1-2)…LAA was 3-3 on opening homestand of the year vs. Toronto (1-2) and Washington (2-1).
VS. OAKLAND: The 2023 season series between the Angels and A’s is tied 2-2…Halos won two of three in the opening series of the regular season at the Coliseum…The teams will meet a total of 13 times this season…Last year, LAA won season series 12-7.
MOST CAREER HOME RUNS VS. OAKLAND ATHLETICS
(since A’s moved to Oakland in 1968)
T1. Rafael Palmeiro – 43
T1. Alex Rodriguez – 43
- Mike Trout – 42
T3. Adrian Beltre – 41 - Dwight Evans – 39
WINS AND LOSSES: With an 11-12 record, Halos are looking to get back to the .500 mark for an eighth time this season (1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11)… Halos have held leads in 20 of 23 games played this year and have scored first in 14 of the 23 games.
NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by six pitches across his 10 career games, which is tied for the most in MLB history…The only other player with six HBP through 10 career games was Ed Fitzpatrick for the 1915 Boston Braves…Neto also was the first player in Angels history to be hit a pitch in four consecutive games (April 18-21).
ANOTHER NEW RECORD FOR SHOHEI: Shohei Ohtani has held opponents to an .092 (8/87) average this season…According to ELIAS, it’s the lowest batting average in a pitcher’s first five games of a season (min. 20 IP) since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893.
OHTANI EXPRESS: Shohei Ohtani has a franchise record streak of 12 consecutive pitching starts allowing two-or-fewer runs (Nolan Ryan held the previous record with a nine game streak across the 1972-73 seasons)…Ohtani’s 12-game streak is also the longest active streak in the Majors.
LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.092), ranks second in ERA (0.64), is sixth in strikeouts (38) and seventh in WHIP (0.82).
SPICY TIME: José Quijada leads the Angels staff with four saves this season…He worked 1.0 scoreless inning in each of his first eight appearances of the year before suffering first blown save and loss Saturday night vs. Kansas City.
BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: Sunday vs. Kansas City, Taylor Ward, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani connected for back-to-back-to-back home runs in the 6th inning… It was the Angels first time hitting three straight homers since June 8, 2019 vs. Seattle (La Stella, Trout, Ohtani in the 4th inning).
CANNING DAY: Tonight, Griffin Canning is set to make his third start of the season…His season debut on April 12 vs. Washington was his first Major league appearance July 2, 2021…Missed Angels first 11 games of the season on injured list with a left groin strain… Spent entire 2022 season and final two months of 2021 season on IL with a low back stress reaction.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Friday, the Angels selected the contracts of C Chad Wallach and RHP Austin Warren…In corresponding moves, RHP Jimmy Herget was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake, C Logan O’Hoppe (left shoulder inflammation) was been placed on the 10-day IL and RHP Justin Garza was designated for assignment.
ALL OVER THE INFIELD: Gio Urshela is one of four players in the Majors to appear at all four infield positions this season…He has totaled nine games at third base, six games at shortstop, six games at first base and one game at second base…Oakland’s Aledmys Diaz, Cleveland’s Gabriel Arias and St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan are the only other players to play all four infield positions this year.
LEGENDARY COMPANY: Mike Trout recorded his 300th and 301st career doubles last Saturday at Boston and became the fourth player in MLB history with 300+ doubles, 300+ home runs and 200+ stolen bases by his age-31 season, joining Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.
NETO IN THE SHOW: Zach Neto is ranked by Baseball America as the Angels #2 overall prospect (behind Logan O’Hoppe)…In seven games this season for Double-A Rocket City, Neto batted .444 (12/27) with 10 runs scored, one double, three HR, 10 RBI, six walks, three stolen bases and a 1.374 OPS…At the time of his promotion, he led the Southern League in average, OPS, hits and runs, while reaching base 19 times across seven games.
BREWERS ON DECK: Following the current series against the A’s, the Angels will head to Milwaukee and open a three-game series with the Brewers on Friday night…Teams last met in the regular season in 2019, with Angels sweeping a three game set at Angel Stadium…Will mark Halos first visit to American Family Field since May 2-4, 2016…Angels have won four straight games against Brewers and eight of last 10 overall.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP GRIFFIN CANNING
0-0, 3.48 ERA
Holding right-handers to a .158 (3/19) average this season
• TODAY’S GAME: Making third start of the season and second at home…Is in fourth Major League season with Angels.
• LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor in decision in last start on Wednesday at New York (A.L.) after tossing 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
• HE’S BACK: Made season debut on April 12 vs. Washington; first Major league appearance July 2, 2021…Missed Angels first 11 games of the season on injured list with a left groin strain…Spent entire 2022 season and final two months of 2021 season on IL with a low back stress reaction.
• THAT’S RIGHT: Through two starts this year, has held righties to a .158 average (3/19) compared with a .333 (6/18) opponent average against left-handers.
• GETTING AHEAD: Recorded a first pitch strike on 63.4% (26/41) of his batter faced this season.
• ON REHAB: Made one rehab appearance on with Low-A Inland Empire on April 6 in the 66ers season opener…Took the loss after tossing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
• UNFAMILIAR FOES: In his career as a starter, has held opponents to a .207 average (69/333) in opposing batter’s first plate appearances of a game.
• VS. OAKLAND: In seven career starts vs. Oakland, is 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA (36.1 IP – 19 ER) and 33 strikeouts (most starts, innings pitched and strikeouts against any opponent)…Today marks first appearance vs. A’s since June 16, 2021 at the Coliseum.
• AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 25 career games (23 starts) at Angel Stadium, is 9-5 with a 4.65 ERA (120.0 IP – 62 ER)…This season, is 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA (5 IP – 2 ER) following first start on April 12 vs. Washington…As a starter, is 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA (115.2 IP – 55 ER) at home…Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in 17 of 23 home starts (nine are quality starts).
