Friday, March 29, 2024
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MLB Preview: Oakland Athletics (8-29) at New York Yankees (20-17)

OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:

ABOUT THE A’S: Have lost three straight after winning two in a row for the first time this year on Friday and Saturday…are now 8-29 (.216), which is the worst record in the majors (Royals, 10-27/.270)…it is the worst record in Athletics history after 37 games and tied for the ninth worst by an AL, NL or FL team since 1901…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 .247 (127-for-515) with 69 runs scored over the last 15 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 fifth lowest batting average in the majors (.233), ninth lowest OPS (.692), eighth lowest slugging percentage (.378) and 10th lowest on-base percentage (.313)…have the fourth most strikeouts (346), the fifth fewest runs scored (144), are tied for the sixth fewest doubles (51) and have the eighth fewest extra base hits (96)…have the most hit by pitches (24) and sacrifice hits (9)…A’s pinch hitters are 9-for-30 (.300) with eight walks (.447 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 5.32 ERA (52 er in 88.0 ip) over the last 10 games after logging an 8.05 ERA over the first 27 contests…have a 7.31 ERA for the season, which is more than 1½ earned runs higher than the next closest team (White Sox, 5.60)…have allowed 278 runs which are the most by an A’s team over any 37-game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s allowed 270 from Sept. 24, 1940-May 16, 1941…have the highest opponents OPS (.889), batting average (.288), on-base percentage (.384) and slugging percentage (.505) in the majors…lead the majors in most walks (186), home runs (64), tied for first in wild pitches (21), are tied for the most hit batters (28) and have the second fewest strikeouts (266)…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 2-19 with a 7.76 ERA…the ERA is the highest in the majors (Reds, 6.39) and no other team has fewer than five wins from its starters…have the fifth fewest innings pitched (178.2)…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 snapped a seven-game stolen base streak last night (10 stolen bases total), which was 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 37 games since 1992 (39)…defensively, have thrown out 12 attempted base stealers over the last 21 games and have 14 caught stealings for the season, which is tied for the most in the majors (Rockies, 14)…however, opponents have 31 stolen bases, which is tied for sixth most.

HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 2-3 on this six-game road trip to Kansas City (2- 1) and New York-AL (0-2)…went 2-5 on the last road trip to Texas (1-2) and Los Angeles-AL (1-3) and are 5-14 (.263) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Reds, 4-12/.250)…return home following the game today 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 8.54 (150 er in 158.0 ip) on the road…are hitting .213 with 56 runs in 18 home games (3.1 runs per game) compared to .251 (163-for650) with 88 runs in 19 road games (4.6 runs per game).

NIGHT AND DAY: The A’s are 7-15 (.318) 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.

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 -134, which is the lowest by an AL, NL or FL team over the first 37 games of the season since 1901…it is the lowest by an A’s team over any 37-game stretch since the Philadelphia A’s posted a mark of -131 from Sept. 15, 1940- May 3, 1941.

THE INJURED LIST: The A’s currently have nine players on the injured list, including six pitchers…have used the IL 12 times this year, including eight times by pitchers…have added seven 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.

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 25 errors, which is third 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 seven games at Yankee Stadium, which is 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 24-25 against the Yankees dating back to 2015, which includes 8-15 at New York and 16-10 in Oakland.

Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-2 0-2
2022 2-2 0-3 2-5
Oakland History: 259-294
at the Coliseum: 145-132
at Yankee Stadium: 17-31
All-Time: 800-1160

TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.412) and walks (25) and fifth in OPS (.855) and runs (21)…Brent Rooker leads the majors in OPS (1.087) and slugging percentage (.657), ranks seventh in on-base percentage (.431), tied for sixth in home runs (10) and 15th in batting average (.313)…Esteury Ruiz leads the Majors in stolen bases (17) and leads Major League rookies in hits (39) and hit by pitches (9), is tied for the lead in doubles (9) and ranks tied for fifth in RBI (16).

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Kyle Muller (1-2, 6.62 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his eighth start of the season, his first on four days rest…his seven starts are tied for the most in the majors among rookies and he ranks fifth in innings pitched (34.0)…had just 11 career starts entering the season…was the A’s Opening Day starter and made the first Opening Day roster of his three-year career…was acquired from Atlanta in the three-team, nine-player trade on Dec. 12, 2022 that sent Sean Murphy to the Braves.

RANKINGS: Based on a minimum of 30.0 innings pitched, he has the highest opponents batting average (.343) and on-base percentage (.414) in the majors, the eighth highest OPS (.914) and the seventh highest ERA (6.62)…has struck out just 21 in 34.0 innings and his average of 5.56 strikeouts per nine innings is fifth lowest…has walked 18 and has the second lowest strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.17)…has allowed 48 hits, which is tied for sixth most

THIS AND THAT: Has allowed one run in the first inning (7.0 ip, 1.29 ERA), seven in the second and third (14.0 ip, 4.50 ERA) and 17 from the fourth inning on (13.0 ip, 11.77 ERA)…has a .241 (14-for-58) opponents batting average and .671 OPS the first time through the order, .327 (17-for-52) with a .935 OPS the second time and .567 (17-for-30) with a 1.305 OPS after that…has surrendered one home run in each of his last five starts…has struck out three batters or fewer in six of his seven starts…has tossed five innings or fewer in five times…the A’s are 2-5 in his starting assignments.

2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Was the A’s Opening Day starting pitcher and had a no decision in the A’s 2-1 win over Los Angeles (AL) on March 30 in Oakland…became the first rookie pitcher in Oakland history to make a start on Opening Day…prior to that, the last Athletic rookie to start an opener was Eddie Smith on April 19, 1937 for the Philadelphia A’s…had just 11 career starts entering the opener and the only Opening Day starting pitchers in Oakland history with fewer career starts entering the game are Sonny Gray (2014), Carlos Reyes (1996) and Vida Blue (1971), who all had 10 career starts…tossed a career-high tying 5.2 innings and struck out a season-high five on April 5 against Cleveland…allowed a season-high six runs in a season-low 4.0 innings on April 11 at Baltimore but had his third straight no decision in the A’s 12-8 loss…was charged with his first loss of the season on April 17 against Chicago (NL) when he allowed a season-high tying six runs on a career- high 13 hits in a season-low tying 4.0 innings in a 10-1 loss…also logged a season-high 98 pitches…the hits were second most in Oakland history by a pitcher with 4.0 innings pitched or fewer (Adrian Martinez had 14 in 3.2 innings on Sept. 10, 2022 vs. Chicago-AL)…walked a season-high four batters on April 23 at Texas and lost his second consecutive start…left his start on April 29 against Cincinnati with a 2-1 lead but Familia allowed two runs in the ninth for the blown save in a 3-2 A’s loss…finished April with an 0-2 record, a 7.23 ERA and .976 opponents OPS in five starts.

LAST START: He picked up his first win of the season in the A’s 12-8 victory at Kansas City last Friday, despite allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks in 5.1 innings…had a 5-0 lead when he allowed a two-run home run to Pratto in the fourth…led 10-2 when Pasquantino had a sacrifice fly in the fifth…was charged with two more runs in the sixth.

NEW YORK YANKEES NOTES:

AT A GLANCE: The Yankees continue their seven-game homestand today with the final game of a three-game set vs. Oakland (2-0 thus far)…will also play a four-game set vs. Tampa Bay (Thurs.-Sun.).

Have won five of their last seven games.

Including their current series, have won or split eight of their 12 series this season (going 7-4-1).

Are six days into in a 17-day stretch (5/5-21) without an off day (3-2 so far)…are also in a 34-day stretch with just one off day (4/18-5/21).

Four of the Yankees’ last five wins have been come-from-behind wins.

YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Yankees defeated the Athletics, 10-5, on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium to clinch a series win… RHP Clarke Schmidt (6.0IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K, 1HR, 1WP) started and earned his first win of the season, throwing a career-high 6.0IP…2B Gleyber Torres (2-for-5, 2R, 1HR, 3RBI) hit an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run home run in the fifth inning…DH Jake Bauers (1-for-2, 1R, 1HR, 3RBI, 1BB) drove in three runs, hitting a sac fly in the third inning and a two-run home run in the seventh inning…has 2HR in his last five games…CF Harrison Bader (3-for-4, 1R, 1RBI) recorded a season-high-tying 3H…1B Anthony Rizzo (2- for-5, 2R, 1RBI) extended his hitting streak to a season-high tying seven games…RF Aaron Judge (0-for-3, 1R, 2RBI, 1BB) was reinstated from the injured list and drove in two runs… LF Aaron Hicks (0-for-0, 1R, 1BB) exited the game with left hip tightness…Yankees relievers combined to allow 3ER in 3.0IP (5H, 4BB, 6K, 2HR).

BRONX BOMBERS: Yankees batters scored 10R on Tuesday, marking their third game with double-digit runs this season (also 12R on 4/26 at Minnesota and 11R on 4/11 at Cleveland).

Have scored at least 7R in three straight games for the first time this season and for the first time since 9/18-21/22 (also 3G).

Have scored 24R over their last three games after scoring 19R over their previous seven games.

Have hit 14HR in their last eight 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 34HR in 21 games at home this year, the second-most HR by a team at home this season.

Have recorded a triple in three consecutive games for the first time since 5/28-30/11 (also 3G)…have not tripled in at least four consecutive games since a six-game streak from 8/25(G2)-29(G2)/72.

NOBODY BEATS THE RIZZ: INF Anthony Rizzo owns a season-high-tying seven-game hitting streak (since 5/2), is batting .379 (11-for-29) with 6R, 1HR, 3RBI and 4BB over that span…also recorded a seven-game streak from 4/13-20.

Has multiple hits in each of his last two games and four of his last seven games…has reached base multiple times in five of his last seven games.

Is batting .306 (34-for-111) with 17R, 4 doubles, 5HR, 12RBI, 10BB and 4HP in his last 29 games (since 4/9).

Has reached base in 12 of his last 13 games and 31 of his 36 games this season.

Has reached base via H/BB/HP in 9-of-15 plate appearances over his last three games (5H, 4BB).

Has reached base in 19-of-20 games at home this season, hitting .361/.447/.611 (26-for-72) with 12R, 3 doubles, 5HR, 11RBI, 9BB and 3HP in those games.

Has hit .367/.472/.500 (11-for-30) with 1 double, 1HR, 1HP and 5BB vs. left-handed pitchers this season.

MATCHING UP: Since 2022, the Yankees are 7-2 vs. Oakland…are 13-5 in their last 18 games vs. the A’s since 8/31/19…have won each of their last seven games vs. the Athletics at Yankee Stadium (since 6/19/21) and 13 of their last 16 games in the Bronx (since 5/27/17)…have won each of their last six series vs. Oakland at Yankee Stadium (since 2017).

GLEYBER DAY: INF Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single in the third inning and a two-run home run in the fifth inning on Tuesday…has homered in back-to-back games for the 10th time in his career and for the second time this season (also 4/26-27)…has homered in three straight games twice in his career: 4G from 5/21-25/18 and 3G from 6/19-21/19.

The Yankees have gone 71-20 in games that he has homered in his career, including 59-13 since September 2018…the Yankees are 6-0 in games he has homered in this season and have won each of the last 10 games he has homered in since 9/7/22.

Six of his last nine hits and nine of his last 14 hits have gone for extra bases (5 doubles, 4HR).

Has reached base safely in 15 of his last 18 games…has hit safely in eight of his last nine games.

Has recorded multiple hits in three straight games, tied for the second-longest such streak of his career (4G from 7/5-8/22).

His 3RBI on Tuesday marked a season high and his most in a game since 9/27/22 at Toronto (also 3RBI).

Has hit safely in each of his last five games, batting .348 (8-for-23) with 5R, 3 doubles, 2HR, 6RBI and 1BB (since 5/5).

Has 5RBI in his last three games and 6RBI in his last five games.

DARTH BADER: OF Harrison Bader recorded a season-high-tying 3H on Tuesday (also recorded 3H on Sunday at Tampa Bay)…matched his second-most hits in a game in his career, trailing only a career-high 4H on 9/25/21 at Chicago-NL with St. Louis.

Has batted .440/.462/.840 (11-for-25) with 6R, 2 triples, 2HR, 8RBI and 1BB in his first seven games of the season.

Has reached base multiple times in each of his last four games…has multiple hits in three of his last four games.

Has 8RBI in his last five games.

HOME SWEET HOME: Including their current series, the Yankees have won or split six of their seven series at home this season (going 5-1-1)…are 9-4 in their last 13 home games (since 4/15).

JAKE RAKES: INF/OF Jake Bauers drove in three runs on Tuesday, hitting a sac fly in the third inning and a two-run home run in the seventh inning…has 2HR in his last five games…his 3RBI on Tuesday marked his most in a game since 7/2/19 at Kansas City with Cleveland (also 3RBI).

GET THE BROOMS OUT: The Yankees look to complete their first sweep of the season today…with a win today, would mark their first series sweep since sweeping Boston in a four-game set from 9/22-25/22…it would also mark the second straight year they swept Oakland at home (also 3G from 6/27-29/22).

LEMACHINE: INF DJ LeMahieu owns a season-high-tying seven-game hitting streak since 5/1 (also had a seven-game streak from 3/30-4/8)…is batting .370/.414/.519 (10-for-27) with 4R, 1 double, 1HR, 5RBI and 2BB over that span…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.

TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: RHP JHONY BRITO (2-3, 6.08 ERA)

RHP Jhony Brito will make his eighth start of the season today vs. Oakland…the 25-year-old will pitch on regular four days’ rest…made his seventh start of the season on Friday at Tampa Bay, allowing 4ER in 4.0IP (6H, 1BB, 2K, 2HR, 1HP) without recording a decision…is just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 4H-or-fewer in five of his first seven career starts, joining Dave Righetti (five such starts from 1979-81) and Luis Gil (five such starts in 2021)…became the first pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in four of his first five career starts…became the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least 5.0IP, allow 3H-or-fewer and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career Major League starts…was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on 3/30 and made his first career Opening Day roster…over parts of five minor league seasons in the Yankees organization (2016-17, ’19, ’21-22), has gone 26-21 with two saves and a 3.71 ERA (392.2IP, 375H, 196R/162ER, 81BB, 344K, 28HR) in 86 career appearances (70 starts)…was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 11/9/15.

LAST TIME OUT: Made his seventh start of the season on Friday at Tampa Bay, allowing 4ER in 4.0IP (6H, 1BB, 2K, 2HR, 1HP) without recording a decision…surrendered solo HRs to Randy Arozarena (first inning) and Yandy Díaz (third inning)…marked his first career start allowing multiple HRs. 2023: Is 2-3 with a 6.08 ERA (26.2IP, 18ER) and 19K in seven starts this season…has allowed 1R-or-fewer in three of his seven starts…has allowed 3H-orfewer in four of his seven starts.

Took his third loss of the season on 4/29 at Texas despite allowing just 2ER over 5.0IP (4H, 1BB, 5K, 1HR)…became just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 4H-or-fewer in five of his first six career starts, joining Dave Righetti (five such starts from 1979-81) and Luis Gil (five such starts in 2021).

Took the loss on 4/24 at Minnesota after allowing 3ER over 2.2IP (3H, 3BB, 1K)…marked his fourth start this season with 3H-or-fewer allowed… became the first pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in four of their first five career starts.

Did not record a decision in the Yankees’ 3-2, extra-innings victory vs. Los Angeles-AL on 4/19 (4.1IP, 3H, 1ER, 3BB, 3K)…marked his third start this season with 1R allowed-or-fewer…became just the third pitcher in Yankees history to allow 1R-or-fewer in three of his first four career starts, joining Chase Whitley (three such starts in 2014) and Luis Gil (three such starts in 2021)…marked his third start this season with 3H allowed-or-fewer…becoming just the second Yankees pitcher in franchise history to allow 3H-or-fewer in three of their first four career starts (Luis Gil, three such starts in 2021).

Took his first career loss in the Yankees’ 11-2 defeat on 4/13 vs. Minnesota, allowing 7ER in 0.2IP (6H, 1BB, 0K, 1HR)…marked the shortest outing by a Yankees starter (not including openers) since Jameson Taillon on 6/12/21 at Philadelphia (0.1IP)…were the most runs allowed by a Yankees starter who didn’t make it out of the first inning since Nathan Eovaldi on 6/16/15 at Miami (8R/ER in 0.2IP).

Earned his second career win in the Yankees’ 4-1 victory on 4/8 at Baltimore, allowing just 1ER over 5.0IP (3H, 2BB, 2K)…retired 14 of his final 17BF after surrendering two singles and a sacrifice fly to his first 3BF…became the first pitcher in Yankees history to throw at least 5.0IP, allow 3H-or-fewer and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career Major League starts (also 5.0IP, 2H, 0R in his Major League debut on 4/2 vs. San Francisco).

Is just the seventh pitcher in Yankees history to toss at least 5.0IP and allow 1R-or-fewer in each of his first two career appearances, joining Cliff Markle (first five appearances from 1915-16), Luis Gil (first two in 2021), Orlando Hernández (first two in 1998), Rich Beck (first two in 1965), Jack Quinn (first two in 1909) and Slow Joe Doyle (first two in 1906)…is just the sixth to do so as a starter (Markle made his first career appearance as a reliever).

Became the 15th pitcher in franchise history to win each of his first two career starts and the first since Orlando Hernández in 1998.

HOME SWEET HOME: Is 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA (10.0IP, 8ER) and 9K in three career Major League starts at home.

Earned the win in his Major League debut on 4/2 vs. San Francisco at home (5.0IP, 2H, 0R, 1BB, 6K)…became just the third starting pitcher in
franchise history to record a win in his Major League debut at the current Yankee Stadium (Luis Gil on 8/3/21 and Jonathan Loáisiga on 6/15/18).

In 13 home games (12 starts) with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2022, went 6-1 with a 1.95 ERA (60.0IP, 13ER) and
43K.

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