OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Are 2-3 over the last five games but have lost 10 of the last 12 and 16 of the last 19…are 5-19 (.208) overall, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 6-18/.250)…it matches the 1919 Philadelphia A’s and 1965 Kansas City A’s for the worst record after 24 games in Athletics history…the 1965 club lost game 25 to fall to 5-20…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 ever in the West at the end of April is 12 games in 2001.
A’S IN APRIL: The A’s are 4-19 (.174) in April and have set an Athletics record for most losses in April (previous: 17 in 1994 and 2001)…with one more loss, the A’s will lose 20 games in a month for the 15th time in Oakland history, the third time over the last two years (had 21 losses in May and June last year)…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 8.20 ERA this April and the highest single-month ERA in Oakland history (min. 5 games) is 6.73 in Sept. of 2015…have allowed 192 runs, which is second most in a month in Oakland history (206 in May, 1997)…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 walked 118 batters, which is third most in Oakland history in April (140 in 1996, 120 in 1994)…have stolen 21 bases this month, which matches the second best
total by an A’s team in April over the last 33 years (had 25 in 2013).
OFFENSE: The A’s have the fifth fewest runs scored in the majors (89), the sixth lowest batting average (.227), seventh lowest slugging percentage (.372), seventh fewest extra base hits (62), are tied for the seventh fewest doubles (34), have the eighth lowest OPS (.678) and ninth lowest on-base percentage (306)…are tied for the sixth most hit by pitches (13)…have been shut out four times, which is tied for third most (Padres and Royals, 5).
PITCHING: The A’s have allowed 68 runs over the last eight games (66 er in 70.0 ip, 8.49 ERA) and have 193 for the season, which is the most in the majors and the most by any AL or NL team over the first 24 games of the season since the 1936 St. Louis Browns had 201…the 193 runs are the most by an A’s team over any 24-game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s also allowed 193 from Sept. 28, 1940-May 8, 1941…have the highest ERA (7.89), opponents OPS (.895), batting average (.291), on-base percentage (.389) and slugging percentage (.506) in the majors…lead the majors in most walks (122), hit batters (21), home runs (43) and wild pitches (18) and have the second fewest strikeouts (173).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 0-12 with an 8.86 ERA over the first 24 games…the streak of 24 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, 6.45) and Oakland is the only team without a win from their starting pitchers…have tossed fewer than five innings in 12 of the 24 games and are tied with the Tigers the fewest innings pitched (109.2).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 8.74 ERA (45 er in 46.1 ip) over the last 11 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 6.84 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors (Royals, 6.29)…has tossed more than 4.0 innings 11 times and has 101.1 innings pitched overall, which is the most ahead of the Red Sox (100.0)…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 18 games after making eight miscues over the first six contests…have 14 errors overall, which are tied for eighth most in the majors…rank fifth in outfield assists (5) and tied for fifth in most passed balls (2).
ON THE BASES: The A’s have thrown out six attempted base stealers over the last eight games and have eight caught stealings for the season, which is tied with the Rockies and Phillies for the most in the majors…however, opponents have 27 stolen bases, which is tied with the Padres for the second most stolen bases allowed (Dodgers, 29)…offensively, the A’s have been successful in 22-of-26 (84.6%) stolen base attempts…rank seventh in steals and tied for seventh in attempts.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-3 on the second road trip of the season, a seven-game trip to Texas (1-2) and Los Angeles-AL (1-1)…went 1-6 on their first road trip to Tampa Bay (0-3) and Baltimore (1-3) and are 3-9 (.250) on the road, which is the second worst record in the majors (Reds, 1-9/.100)…return home following the game tomorrow 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).
ONE-RUN GAMES AND OTHERWISE: Four of the A’s five wins this year have been by one run (the other was an 8-4 win) and Oakland is 4-4 (.500) in
one-run games…are tied for seventh in the majors in one-run games (8) and losses and tied for eighth in wins…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 losses…have a run differential of -104, which is the lowest by an AL, NL or FL team over the first 24 games of the season since 1901 (previous: -85 by the 1938 Philadelphia A’s)…it matches the lowest by an A’s team over any 24-game stretch (third time, last: Aug. 3-26, 1939).
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 5-9 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 .270 (131-for-486) with 68 runs in 14 night games (4.9 runs per game), .161 (51-for-316) with 21 runs in 10 day games (2.1 runs per game)…have the fifth best night batting average in the majors and the lowest day batting average.
THE INJURED LIST: The A’s placed Adrián Martínez on the injured list Monday 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 are batting .218 (36-for-165) with 17 runs scored and seven home runs in five games against the Angels this year…11 of the runs and
five of the home runs came on Monday.
• Hit .188 with 47 runs and eight home runs in 19 games last year…scored one run or fewer eight times…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 1-1 2-3
2022 4-6 3-6 7-12
Oakland History: 480-405
at the Coliseum: 252-192
at Angel Stadium: 228-213
All-Time: 529-482
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in walks (16) and is tied for the lead in on-base percentage (.400)…Brent Rooker is batting .386 (17-for-44) with six home runs and 14 RBI over his last 14 games…is tied for 10th in the majors in home runs (6)…Esteury Ruiz leads American League rookies in doubles (5), ranks second in hits (22) and stolen bases (5) and fourth in RBI (9).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Luis Medina (Major League Debut)
FOR STARTERS: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas yesterday and will be making his Major League debut…will become the 59th pitcher in Oakland
history to start in his ML debut, the third this year (Fujinami on April 1, Miller a week ago today)…the last A’s pitcher to start in his debut and win was Adrián Martínez at Detroit last year on May 10…the last to strike out 10 or more batters was Aaron Harang on May 25, 2002 against Tampa Bay…the last to toss at least seven innings was Rich Harden on July 21, 2003 at Kansas City…the last complete game was by Mike Morgan June 11, 1978 against Baltimore and the only shutout is by Mike Norris April 10, 1975 against Chicago…the 58 pitchers to start in their debut have combined for a 16-20 record and a 4.31 ERA.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the sixth (3-2) of seven games on a homestand against the Kansas City Royals (2-1) and Oakland Athletics (1-1; 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).
TODAY’S TRANSACTIONS: Today, the Angels recalled RHP Chase Silseth from Triple-A Salt Lake…The former Arizona Wildcat was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (20 IP – 2 ER) and 20 strikeouts in four starts for the Bees this year…In a corresponding move, RHP Austin Warren (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-day injured list (retro to April 24).
VS. OAKLAND: Angels lead the 2023 season series vs. Oakland 3-2…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 a 12-12 record, Halos are back at the .500 mark for an eighth time this season (also, 1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10 and 11-11)…Halos have held leads in 21 of 24 games played this year and have scored first in 14 of the 24 games.
NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by six pitches this season, which is tied for the MLB lead…His six HBP through his first 10 games tied for the most in MLB history, with 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 is tied for the team lead 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.
CITY CONNECT DAY: The Angels will wear their City Connect uniforms tonight and tomorrow…The Halos unveiled their Nike MLB City Connect Series Uniform in June 2022, which blends the Club’s iconic red with retro Southern California beach and surf style.
SANDY DAY: Tonight, Patrick Sandoval is set to make his fifth start of the season and second against the A’s…He owns a 1.84 ERA (49 IP – 10 ER) for his career against Oakland and ranks fourth in Majors (min. 30 IP) with a 1.87 March/April ERA (33.2 IP – 7 ER) between the 2022-23 seasons.
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, seven games at first base, six games at shortstop 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.
GRAND THEFT: Monday night, Taylor Ward robbed Shea Langeliers of a grand slam in the 9th inning…According to Sports Info Solutions, it was the Angels second grand slam robbery since 2004 (when HR-robbing catches began being tracked)…The previous one was by Mike Trout on Aug. 7, 2016 at Seattle (Leonys Martin).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP PATRICK SANDOVAL
1-1, 3.38 ERA
Owns a 1.87 ERA (33.2 IP – 7 ER) in seven career April starts
• TODAY’S GAME: Making fifth start of the season and second at home…Is in fifth Major League season with Angels…Made third Opening Day roster (also, 2020 & 2022).
• FIRST MONTH FEATS: Ranks fourth in Majors (min. 30 IP) with a 1.87 March/April ERA (33.2 IP – 7 ER) between the 2022-23 seasons.
• LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss in last start on Thursday at New York (A.L.) after tossing 4.0 innings and allowing five earned runs on four hits with six walks and five strikeouts…All five runs allowed came in first inning…Six walks allowed matched career high (also, July 30, 2021 vs. Oakland).
• IN THE ARSENAL: This season, has thrown 4-Seam Fastballs 30.2% of the time, with opponents batting .176 (3/17)…He throws sliders 26.8% of the time and is holding opponents to a .190 (4/21) average with five SO.
• HOME OPENER: Started Angels Home Opener on April 7 vs. Toronto…Tossed 6.0 innings and allowed one earned run…Marked second time starting Angels Home Opener (also, 2020 vs. Seattle).
• VS. OAKLAND: In nine career games (all starts) vs. Athletics, is 3-3 with a 1.84 ERA (49 IP – 10 ER) and 39 strikeouts…This season, is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA (5 IP – 1 ER) following season debut performance at the Coliseum…In last seven starts vs. A’s, has a 1.55 ERA (40.2 IP – 7 ER).
• AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 33 career games (29 starts) at The Big A, is 4-13 with a 3.58 ERA (163.1 IP – 65 ER)…This year, is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA (6 IP – 1 ER) following first home start on April 7 vs. Toronto…Last year, was 3-4 with a 3.31 ERA (70.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts…Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in 24 of 29 career home starts.
• WINNING STREAK SNAPPED: Loss in last start at Yankees, snapped streak of three straight winning decisions, which was longest streak of career.
• SANDY IN THE WBC: Made two starts in the 2023 World Baseball Classic for Mexico, going 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA (7.1 IP – 1 ER) and eight strikeouts…The two starts came against the United States (W; 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) & Japan (ND; 4.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO).
• LEFT IN THE PARK: Has not allowed a home run to a left-handed batter since Aug. 13, 2021 (Kyle Tucker, HOU)…Allowed just eight total home runs last season (all to right-handed batters)…Held opponents homerless through first nine starts of 2022 was the longest streak to begin a season in Angels history and longest overall streak for LAA since John Lackey had a nine game streak in 2005.
• GOOD NIGHT: This year, has a 0.93 ERA (9.2 IP – 1 ER) in night games…Last season, was 4-4 with a 2.50 ERA (72 IP – 20 ER) with 75 strikeouts in his 13 night starts, compared with a 2-5 record and 3.29 ERA (76.2 IP – 28 ER) in his 14 day games…His 14 day game starts ranked T-4th in the American League.
