OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost two straight after winning two in a row for the first time this year on Friday and Saturday…are now 8-28 (.222), which is the worst record in the majors (Royals, 10-26/.278)…it is the worst record in Athletics history after 36 games and tied for the ninth worst by an AL, NL or FL team since 1901…it is the worst since the 2003 Tigers also started the year 8-28… won two of three at Kansas City to start the road trip for their first series win of the season…the season-opening streak of 10 consecutive series losses was the longest in Athletics history (previous: 5 in 1935, 1946 and 1951) and second longest at any point of the season in Oakland history to the record of 11 (July 11-August 20, 2008).
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .244 (117-for-479) with 64 runs scored over the last 14 games (4.6 runs per game) after hitting .223 with 75 runs scored over the first 22 contests (3.4 runs per game)…overall, have the sixth lowest batting average in the majors (.231), seventh lowest OPS (.684) and slugging percentage (.373) and 10th lowest on-base percentage (.311)…have the fifth most strikeouts (333), the fifth fewest runs scored (139), are tied for the seventh fewest doubles (50) and have the eighth fewest extra base hits (92)… have the most hit by pitches (24) and sacrifice hits (9)…A’s pinch hitters are 9-for-29 (.310) with eight walks (.459 on-base percentage)…lead the majors in pinch walks and are tied for the lead in pinch hits.
PITCHING: The A’s have compiled a 4.95 ERA (44 er in 80.0 ip) over the last nine games after logging an 8.05 ERA over the first 27 contests…have a 7.26 ERA for the season, which is more than 1½ earned runs higher than the next closest team (White Sox, 5.70)…have allowed 268 runs, which is fifth most by any AL, NL or FL team over its first 36 games since 1901 and the most since the 1996 Tigers allowed 269…they are the most by an A’s team over any 36- game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s allowed 270 from Sept. 24, 1940-May 16, 1941…have the highest opponents OPS (.888), batting average (.287), on-base percentage (.385) and slugging percentage (.503) in the majors…lead the majors in most walks (182), home runs (62) and wild pitches (21), are tied for the most hit batters (27) and have the third fewest strikeouts (264)… opponents are 20-for-44 (.455) with eight walks, two hit by pitches and four grand slams with the bases loaded…the walks and grand slams are the most in the majors and the hit by pitches are tied for the most.
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 2-18 with a 7.72 ERA…the ERA is the highest in the majors (Reds, 6.40) and no other team has fewer than five wins from its starters…have the fifth fewest innings pitched (173.2)…the two wins came on Friday and Saturday at Kansas City and were the first wins by an A’s starting pitcher this year…went 0-16 over the first 32 games, which was the longest season-opening streak of consecutive games without a win by a starting pitcher in Major League history according to the Elias Sports Bureau (previous: Pirates, 27 in 2022)…it was the longest at any point in a season in Athletics history.
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has compiled a 6.70 ERA, which is the highest in the majors (White Sox, 6.22)…picked up the save on Saturday after blowing each of its previous four save opportunities…is 4-for-13 (30.8%) for the season…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and is tied with the Cardinals for the most blown saves (9)…has allowed 33-of-72 (45.8%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…has 142.1 innings pitched, which is third most.
ON THE BASES: The A’s have stolen a base in each of the last seven games (10 stolen bases total), which is the longest streak by an A’s team since July 18-25, 2012 when they also had a seven-game streak…the last longer single-season streak is an eight-game streak from June 15-23, 2011…are 39-for-46 (84.8%) in stolen base attempts for the season…rank second in the majors in stolen bases and attempts (Pirates, 48-for-61), and fourth in stolen base percentage…the 39 steals are the most by an A’s team over the first 36 games since 1992 (39)…defensively, have thrown out 11 attempted base stealers over the last 20 games and have 13 caught stealings for the season, which is second most in the majors (Rockies, 14)…however, opponents have 31 stolen bases, which is fifth most.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-2 on this six-game road trip to Kansas City (2-1) and New York-AL (0-1)…went 2-5 on the last road trip to Texas (1-2) and Los Angeles-AL (1-3) and are 5-13 (.278) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Reds, 4-12/.250)…return home following the game tomorrow for a seven-game homestand against Texas (four games) and Arizona (three games)…went 1-5 on the last homestand against Cincinnati (1-2) and Seattle (0-3) and are 3-15 (.167) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 4-16/.200)…have compiled a 6.13 ERA at home compared to 8.52 (142 er in 150.0 ip) on the road…are hitting .213 with 56 runs in 18 home games (3.1 runs per game) compared to .249 (153- for-614) with 83 runs in 18 road games (4.6 runs per game).
NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 7-14 (.333) in night games and 1-14 (.067) during the day…lost each of their first 12 day games, which fell one short of the Oakland record for consecutive losses in day games…are batting .265 (193-for-728) with 100 runs in 21 night games (4.8 runs per game), .180 (86-for478) with 39 runs in 15 day games (2.6 runs per game)…have the lowest day batting average in the majors and the fifth best night batting average.
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Six of the A’s eight wins have been by one run (the other two were by four) and Oakland is 6-7 (.462) in one-run games…are tied for fourth in the majors in one-run games (13), tied for fifth in losses and tied for seventh in wins…however, 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 -129, which is the lowest by an AL, NL or FL team over the first 36 games of the season since 1901 (previous: -110 by the 1988 Orioles)…it is the lowest by an A’s team over any 36-game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s posted a mark of -131 from Sept. 15, 1940-May 3, 1941.
NO-HITTER SEASON: Today marks the 13th anniversary of Dallas Braden’s Mother’s Day perfect game on May 9, 2010…it followed the 55th anniversary of Catfish Hunter’s perfect game on May 8, 1968 and the fourth anniversary of Mike Fiers’ lights-out no-hitter on May 7, 2019…the A’s have not been no-hit since July 13, 1991 for a streak of 4,965 games with one or more hits… that is the longest active streak in the majors and is third longest in American League history…the second longest streak belongs to the Yankees (5026, Sept. 21, 1958-July 8, 1990) and the streak would need to last another three years before breaking the record set of 5,550 set by the Royals from May 16, 1973 to May 18, 2008.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in five of their eight victories…are 1-4 in extra inning games…have the second most extra inning losses and are tied for fourth in games (5)…have committed 23 errors, which is tied for sixth most in the majors…have eight outfield assists, which is second most in the majors (Royals, 9)…currently have nine players on the injured list, including six pitchers…have used the IL 12 times overall, including eight times by pitchers…have an average time of game of 2:49, which is the longest in the majors by three minutes…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43)…went 5-23 (.179) in April and set a Major League record for most losses in April…the 23 losses are second most in any month in Oakland history (24 in June, 1979).
A’S VS. YANKEES
• The A’s have lost each of their last six games at Yankee Stadium, which matches their longest losing streak in this ballpark (July 26, 2009-July 22, 2011)…have not lost more than six straight games in the Bronx since July 18, 2008-July 24, 2009 when they dropped seven in a row.
• The A’s lost the season series last year for the second consecutive season…it is the first time the A’s have lost back-to-back season series to New York since dropping four straight from 2008-11.
• Are 24-24 against the Yankees dating back to 2015, which includes 8-14 at New York and 16-10 in Oakland.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-1 0-1
2022 2-2 0-3 2-5
Oakland History: 259-293
at the Coliseum: 145-132
at Yankee Stadium: 17-30 All-Time: 800-1159
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.404), ranks second in walks (21) and fifth in OPS (.857) and runs (21)…Brent Rooker leads the majors in OPS (1.122) and slugging percentage (.681), ranks second in on-base percentage (.441), tied for fifth in home runs (10) and 10th in batting average (.319)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in stolen bases (17), hits (38) and hit by pitches (9), is tied for the lead in doubles (9) and ranks fourth in RBI (16).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Drew Rucinski (0-2, 7.71 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his third start of the season and the fourth of his Major League career…was reinstated from the 15-day injured list April 28 and made his A’s debut that night against Cincinnati…was placed on the IL to start the season with a strained left hamstring…began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Las Vegas on April 12 and went 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA in three starts…was signed by the A’s as a free agent on Dec. 22, 2022 after pitching four seasons in Korea for the NC Dinos…this is his fifth season in the majors with his fourth team Angels, 2014-15; Twins, 2017; Marlins, 2018)… enters the season with 40 career relief appearances and one start…this is his 13th season as a professional…in addition to four seasons in the majors and four in Korea, he also pitched in the minors (2011, 13-18) and independent leagues (2011-13).
LAST MAJOR LEAGUE WIN: His last Major League victory came on July 4, 2018 with Miami against Tampa Bay…tossed 2.0 scoreless innings of relief in the Mariners 3-0 win (1 h, 2 so).
FIRST START: He was the losing pitcher in the A’s 11-7 loss to Cincinnati on April 28 in Oakland…it was his first Major League appearance since Sept. 28, 2018 and his first start since April 14, 2015…allowed a career-high five runs on a career-high 11 hits in a career-high 5.2 innings…tossed a career-high 89 pitches…allowed a two-run double to Barrera in the Reds three-run second inning and a two-run home run to Fraley in the third.
LAST START: He lost his second consecutive start in the A’s 5-3 loss to Seattle last Thursday in Oakland…walked a career-high five batters and allowed a career-high tying five runs…the A’s scored a run in the second but he allowed a two-run home run to Trammell in the third…Oakland scored two in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead but he allowed three runs in the fourth on a walk to Trammell with the bases loaded and a two-run single by Wong.
NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:
AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their seven-game homestand tonight with the second game of a three-game set vs. Oakland (1-0 thus far)…will also play a four-game set vs. Tampa Bay (Thurs.-Sun.)…went 1-2 on their three-game road trip this past weekend at Tampa Bay.
Have won four of their last six games.
Have won or split seven of their 11 completed series this season (going 6-4-1).
Are in a 17-day stretch without an off day (5/5-21)…are also in a 34-day stretch with just one off day (4/18- 5/21).
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees defeated the Athletics, 7-2, in their series opener on Monday at Yankee Stadium… Yankees batters hit a season-high 4HR…LHP Nestor Cortes (5.0IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 4K, 0HR) made his seventh start of the season and did not record a decision…RF Oswaldo Cabrera (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI) hit a go-ahead two-run HR in the fifth inning…2B Gleyber Torres (2-for-4, 1R, 1 double, 1HR, 1RBI) hit a go-ahead solo HR in the sixth inning…DH DJ LeMahieu (1-for-4, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI) hit a two-run HR in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to seven games… LF Aaron Hicks (1-for-3, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI) hit his first HR of the season with a two-run HR in the seventh inning…1B Anthony Rizzo (2-for-3, 1R, 1BB) reached base three times…RHP Ron Marinaccio (1.0IP, 2H, 2BB, 1K) earned his second win of the season…RHP Ian Hamilton (1.0IP, 2K) tossed a scoreless seventh inning and stranded two inherited runners…LHP Nick Ramirez (2.0IP, 2H, 1BB, 1K) tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in relief.
NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo reached base three times on Monday…has reached base at least three times in back-to-back games for a third time this season (also 4/1-2 and 4/19-20)…has reached base in 7-of-10 plate appearances over his last two games (3H, 4BB).
Has reached base in 11 of his last 12 games and 30 of his 35 games this season.
Owns a six-game hitting streak (since 5/2)…is batting .375/.464/.500 (9-for-24) with 4R, 1HR and 2RBI in that span.
Is batting .302 (32-for-106) with 15R, 4 doubles, 5HR, 11RBI, 10BB and 4HP in his last 28 games (since 4/9).
Has reached base in 18-of-19 games at home this season, hitting .358/.450/.627 (24-for-67) with 10R, 3 doubles, 5HR, 10RBI, 9BB and 3HP in those games.
LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning on Monday to extend his hitting streak to seven games…is batting .370/.414/.519 (10-for-27) with 4R, 1 double, 1HR, 5RBI and 2BB over that span (since 5/1)… his current seven-game hit streak matches his season high (also 7G from 3/30-4/8)…his last longer streak was an eight-game streak from 7/15-24/22.
Has reached base safely in each of his last eight games, reaching base in 13-of-32 plate appearances (10H, 3BB) over that span (.406 OBP).
Is hitting .306/.368/.548 (19-for-62) with 10R, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 3HR, 11RBI, 4BB and 2HP in 17 games at home this season.
ON A ROLL: RHP Ian Hamilton tossed a scoreless seventh inning on Monday, stranding two inherited runners…has gone 1-0 with one save, a 0.63 ERA (14.1IP, 1ER) and 16K in his last 10 games (since 4/13)…has held opponents to a .089/.163/.111 (4-for-45) slash line over that span.
Has not allowed a HR in 20.0IP this season, tied for the third-most innings among Major League relievers who have not surrendered a HR this year…is also tied for fourth in innings pitched among all Major League pitchers who have not allowed a HR.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Yankees have won or split five of their six completed series at home this season (going 4-1- 1)…are 8-4 in their last 12 home games (since 4/15).
MATCHING UP: Since 2022, the Yankees are 6-2 vs. Oakland…are 12-5 vs. the A’s since 8/31/19…have won each of their last six games vs. the Athletics at Yankee Stadium (since 6/19/21) and 12 of their last 15 games in the Bronx (since 5/27/17).
DARTH BADER: OF Harrison Bader has batted .381/.409/.857 (8-for-21) with 5R, 2 triples, 2HR, 7RBI and 1BB in his first six games of the season…has reached base multiple times in each of his last three games.
Four of his eight hits this season have been extra-base hits (2 triples, 2HR).
Has recorded a triple in back-to-back games for the second time in his career (also 6/15-17/22 with St. Louis)…is just the second Yankee in the last 12 years (since 2012) to record a triple in consecutive games (also Clint Frazier from 7/7-8/17)…the last Yankee to triple in three straight games was Gil McDougald (3G from 6/19- G1-21/55).
Has 7RBI in his last four games.
GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres hit a go-ahead solo HR in the sixth inning on Monday…according to Statcast, his HR had an exit velocity of 111.7 mph, marking the hardest hit of his career (previous: a 111.6 mph double on 10/1/21 vs. Tampa Bay).
The Yankees have gone 70-20 in games that he has homered in his career, including 58-13 since September 2018…the Yankees are 5-0 in games he has homered this season and have won each of the last nine games he has homered in since 9/7/22.
Five of his last seven hits and eight of his last 12 hits have gone for extra bases (5 doubles, 3HR).
Has reached base safely in 14 of his last 17 games…has hit safely in seven of his last eight games.
Is 6-for-18 (.333) with 3R, 3 doubles, 1HR, 3RBI and 1BB over his last four games (since 5/5).
WHAT A RELIEF: Yankees relievers have posted a 2.57 ERA (133.1IP, 38ER) this season, the lowest bullpen ERA in the Majors (next: Seattle-2.90)…have also posted a Major League-best .202 opponents’ BA, rank third in opponents’ OPS (.615) and fourth in WHIP (1.16), HR/9.0IP (0.61) and opponents’ SLG (.316).
Have posted a 1.05 ERA (25.2IP, 3ER) and 26K in their last seven games (since 5/1).
Have not allowed a HR in their last seven games (25.2IP) since 5/1 and have allowed just 1HR in their last 12 games (40.1IP) since 4/26.
BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters hit a season-high 4HR on Monday vs. Oakland…marked their most HR in a game since 9/18/22 at Milwaukee (5HR)…have hit 12HR in their last seven games (since 5/1) after hitting just 4HR in their previous seven games (4/24-30) and 8HR in their previous 13 games (4/18-30).
Have hit 32HR in 20 games at home this year, the second-most by a team at home this season.
Have scored 14R over their last two games after scoring just 19R in their previous seven games.
Twelve of their 20 hits over their last two games have gone for extra bases (4 doubles, 2 triples, 6HR).
WHERE’S OSWALDO?: INF/OF Oswaldo Cabrera hit a go-ahead two-run HR in the fifth inning on Monday…five of his last eight hits have gone for extra bases (3 doubles, 2HR).
PITCH PERFECT: Yankees pitchers have allowed 2ER-orfewer in five of their last seven games, posting a 2.70 ERA (63.1IP, 19ER) over that stretch (since 5/1).
HICKSY STICKS: OF Aaron Hicks hit his first home run of the season on Monday with a two-run home run in the seventh inning…marked his first HR since 9/23/22 vs. Boston.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP CLARKE SCHMIDT (0-3, 5.83 ERA)
RHP Clarke Schmidt will make his eighth start of the season tonight vs. Oakland…the 27-year-old will make the start on extended five days’ rest due to Thursday’s team off day…made his seventh start of the season on Wednesday vs. Cleveland, allowing 2R/0ER over 4.1IP without recording a decision (6H, 2BB, 4K)…needs 0.1IP to reach 100.0 career innings pitched…has not allowed an earned run in two of his last three starts…has tossed at least 4.1IP in each of his last three starts after throwing 4.0IP-or-fewer in his first four starts this season…struck out Ezequiel Durán (swinging) in the fifth inning on 4/28 at Texas for his 100th career strikeout…made his second career Opening Day roster in 2023 (also 2022)…in 2022, went 5-5 with two saves and a 3.12 ERA (57.2IP, 46H, 23R/20ER, 23BB, 56K, 5HR) in 29 appearances (three starts) over four stints with the Yankees…in three starts, went 0-2 with a 4.63 ERA (11.2IP, 13H, 6ER, 2BB, 14K, 0HR)…as a reliever, went 5-3 with two saves and a 2.74 ERA (46.0IP, 33H, 17R/14ER, 21BB, 42K, 5HR) in 26 games…tossed at least 2.0 innings in 13 of his relief appearances and at least 3.0 innings in five of those relief appearances…was selected by the Yankees in the first round (16th overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of South Carolina.
LAST TIME OUT: Made his seventh start of the season on Wednesday vs. Cleveland, allowing 2R/0ER over 4.1IP without recording a decision (6H, 2BB, 4K)…allowed both of his runs in the first inning…did not allow a hit to 10 of his last 11 batters faced…marked his second start this season in which he did not surrender a HR (also 4/7 at Baltimore).
VS. OAKLAND: Has made one career start vs. the Athletics, allowing 4ER over 4.1IP on 8/28/22 at Oakland (8H, 1BB, 7K, 0HR). Has made five career appearances (three starts) vs. AL West opponents, going 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA (15.2IP, 14ER) and 24K.
Is 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA (8.2IP, 9ER) and 13K in two starts vs. AL West teams this season (4/18 vs. Los Angeles-AL and 4/28 at Texas).
HOME SWEET HOME: Has made 19 appearances (six starts) in his career at Yankee Stadium, going 2-4 with one save and a 3.54 ERA (48.1IP, 44H,
26R/19ER, 20BB, 52K, 8HR) in those games.
Is 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA (17.0IP, 7ER) and 22K in four starts at home this season (4/1 vs. San Francisco, 4/18 vs. Los Angeles-AL, 4/23 vs. Toronto and 5/3 vs. Cleveland).
In 13 games (one start) at home in 2022, went 2-1 with one save and a 2.49 ERA (25.1IP, 16H, 8R/7ER, 12BB, 22K, 3HR)…allowed 1R-or-fewer in 12 of those appearances…tossed at least 2.0 innings in eight appearances and 3.0 innings in four of those games (all of which were scoreless). 2023: Has made seven starts this season, going 0-3 with a 5.83 ERA (29.1IP, 41H, 24R/19ER, 9BB, 36K, 7HR)…has tossed at least 4.1IP in each of his last three starts after throwing 4.0IP-or-fewer in his first four starts this season.
Recorded a career-high-tying 8K in back-to-back starts on 4/23 vs. Toronto and 4/28 at Texas.
Has allowed 1BB-or-fewer in five of his seven starts.
Has surrendered at least 1HR in five of his seven starts.
Made his second career Opening Day roster.
FOR STARTERS: Will be making his 13th career start…over his first 12 career Major League starts (seven in 2023, three in 2022, one in 2021, one in 2020), is 0-6 with a 5.47 ERA (49.1IP, 65H, 38R/30ER, 16BB, 56K, 8HR)…has tossed at least 5.0IP in two of his last three starts after failing to do so in his first nine career starts.
Is 0-3 with a 5.83 ERA (29.1IP, 19ER) and 36K in seven starts in 2023…has tossed at least 4.1IP in each of his last three starts after throwing 4.0IP-or-fewer in his first four starts this season…tossed a career-high 5.2IP on 4/23 vs. Toronto…recorded a career-high-tying 8K on 4/23 vs. Toronto and 4/28 at Texas.
Went 0-2 with a 4.63 ERA (11.2IP, 6ER) and 14K in his three starts in 2022 (6/16 vs. Tampa Bay, 8/28 at Oakland, 9/3 at Tampa Bay).
