TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
BEST OF THE BEST — In a matchup between the clubs with the top two records in the majors, Tampa Bay defeated Texas, 7-3, in a rubber match at Tropicana Field on Sunday afternoon…the Rays opened the game with four straight singles, including an RBIknock by LF Randy Arozarena (1-for-4, RBI)…2B Taylor Walls (1-for-3, 2B, RBI, 2R, BB) extended the lead to 3-0 with a run-scoring double in the second inning before DH Harold Ramírez (3-for-3, RBI, SB) added an RBI-single as part of his career-high-tying three-hit game…Texas responded with three runs in the third frame to cut Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-3, but SS Wander Franco (2-for-4, HR, 3RBI, 2R) sealed the win with a three-run homer in the fourth, his first long ball since 5/9.
LHP Shane McClanahan (7.0IP, 4H, 3ER, BB, 5SO) earned his MLB-best 10th win of the season, becoming the first pitcher in Rays history to start a season 10-1 — Charlie Morton (2019) and David Price (2010) held the previous best records through 11 decisions (both 9-2).
Tampa Bay improved to 31-7 at Tropicana Field, becoming the seventh club in MLB history (since 1901) to win 31 of its first 38 home games in a season (excl. ties).
The Rays have now played five series against opponents who were leading or tied for first in their division at the beginning of the series (5/2-4 vs. PIT; 5/19-21 vs. MIL; 5/26-28 vs. LAD; 6/6-8 vs. MIN; 6/9-11 vs. TEX)…they have won all five of those sets, going 12-3 overall.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’—The Rays open their first of three West Coast road trips this season tonight at Oakland Coliseum (also: 6/27-7/2 & 8/14-20)…following the three-game series vs. the Athletics, Tampa Bay will travel to San Diego for a three-game set against the Padres…the Rays are in the midst of a stretch of 17 games in 16 days with no off days — they are 8-2 since that stretch began on 6/3 at Boston.
Tampa Bay embarked on one West Coast road trip in 2022 (5/2-11), going 7-3 through Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles-AL.
Since posting a 4-9 mark on the road from 5/9-6/3 (G1), the Rays have won three straight games as visitors, their longest run since a season-high five-game road winning streak from 4/18-29 (5G)…on the season, Tampa Bay’s 17-13 (.567) road record ranks fourth in the AL/sixth in the majors.
ROUNDING INTO FORM — Since dropping four of six games from 5/27-6/3 (G1), the Rays have won eight of their last nine contests, outscoring opponents, 46-22 (+24) in that stretch…Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has produced a 2.22 ERA (81.0IP, 20ER) in that span, holding opponents to a .174/.270/.320 (50-for-287) line…this includes a 1.47 ERA (33.2IP, 7ER) and 10.20 SO/9.0 IP from the club’s bullpen.
Rays starters rank third in the majors with a 2.36 ERA (49.2IP, 13ER) in June…on the season, the Rays rotation leads MLB in ERA (3.01), strikeout rate (26.1%), opp. average (.219), opp. OBP (.278), opp. SLG (.359), opp. OPS (.637) and WHIP (1.11).
EL PATRON — Wander Franco is slashing .374/.433/.525 (22-for-59) with six extra-base hits, 9 RBI, seven walks and eight stolen bases over his last 15 games since 5/24…during that span, he ranks among AL leaders (min. 60PA) in stolen bases (1st), strikeout rate (T1st, 7.5%), average (2nd), OBP (2nd), hits (T3rd, 22) and OPS (6th, .958).
Franco has not struck out in his last 29 plate appearances dating back to the third inning on 6/5 at Boston, the longest active streak in the majors, ahead of CIN Spencer Steer (28PA)…since 6/5, he has lowered his strikeout rate from 12.9 pct. to 11.9 pct.…on the season, he ranks among AL leaders in both strikeout rate (5th) and contact rate (2nd, 87.6%), trailing only CLE Steven Kwan (92.5%) in the latter.
WALKIN’ ON THE SUN — Since 5/8, Randy Arozarena’s 26 walks lead the AL and trail only PHI Kyle Schwarber (28BB) in all of major league baseball…his 20.3 pct. walk rate in that span is second among MLB qualifiers to Schwarber’s 21.1 pct…on the season, Arozarena’s 13.5 pct. walk rate is up 6.4 pct. from 2022 (7.1%), the second-largest year-to-year increase in the majors behind CHC Ian Happ (+7.5%).
His .405 OBP ranks second in the AL behind OAK Ryan Noda (.410)…no qualified Rays hitter has ever paced the AL in OBP over the course of a full season.
Arozarena has also improved his barrel rate from 7.9 pct. in 2022 to a career-best 15.6 pct. this season; the +7.7 pct. change is the second highest in the majors behind SD Trent Grisham (+9.0%).
BAG BANDITS — The Rays saw their streak of 35 consecutive stolen bases come to an end after Jose Siri was caught stealing in the fifth inning yesterday vs. Texas…per Elias, it marked the third-longest streak in the majors over the last 20 seasons (since 2004), trailing runs by Boston (39SB, 8/9-9/29, 2013) and Cleveland (35SB, 5/22-6/11, 2021)…the Rays have been successful on 49 of their last 52 stolen base attempts (94.2%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).
Tampa Bay’s 87 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 68 games since the 2009 Rays (109SB).
BOMBS AWAY — The Rays have hit 112 home runs, second most in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (113HR)…the 112 HR are tied for the seventh-most long balls through a club’s first 68 games in MLB history (since 1901)…after going homerless in a season-high four straight games from 6/3-5, the Rays have clubbed nine homers over their last six games since 6/6, tied for second most in the AL in that span behind Los Angeles-AL (11HR).
The Rays have 33 multi-HR games, tied for second most in MLB behind Los Angeles-NL (34G); they are 28-5 (.848) in those games…this includes 16 games with 3+ homers, most in the AL and trailing only Los Angeles-NL (19G) in all of MLB.
FLASHING LEATHER — Earlier today, Isaac Paredes and Taylor Walls were selected as winners of MLB’s Electric Play of the Week for their clutch ninth-inning double play on 6/7 vs. Minnesota…it marks the third time the Rays have won the award since its inception in 2019 (also: Wander Franco, May ‘23 & Randy Arozarena, Apr. ‘21).
Per Fielding Bible, Walls’ seven defensive runs saved are third most among AL infielders and 14th among all major league fielders.
BATTLE OF THE BAYS — Tampa Bay and Oakland conclude a seven-game season series with this week’s four-game set…the Rays swept the Athletics from 4/5-7 at Tropicana Field as part of their Modern-Era-record-tying (since 1900) 13-0 start to the campaign… overall, Tampa Bay has won six straight over Oakland dating back to 5/2/2022, matching the longest winning streak over the Athletics in franchise history (also: 5/26-9/4, 1998)… the Rays are outscoring the Athletics, 50-13 (+37), during the streak.
The Rays have a four-game winning streak at Oakland Coliseum since 5/9/21, the longest such winning streak in club history…they are 11-6 at this ballpark since 2017.
Tampa Bay has shut out Oakland in three of the last four meetings between the clubs, including back-to-back 11-0 victories in the last two matchups (4/8-9).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP ZACH EFLIN (8-1, 2.97)
TONIGHT’S START—Right-hander Zach Eflin makes his 12th start of the season, including his fifth on the road…has tossed 5.0+ innings in each of his last 12 starts, matching the longest streak of his career (also 9/18/20- 5/24/21)…his 2.97 ERA is tied for the lowest ERA through his first 11 games of a season in his career (also 2018).
LAST TIME OUT — Eflin improved to 8-1 in Tampa Bay’s 7-0 win over Minnesota on 6/6 (6.2IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 9SO)…it was the second start of his career in which he struck out 9+ batters without allowing a run, both of which have come this year (7.0IP, 10SO on 5/4 vs. PIT).
Eflin has now tossed 5.0+ innings in each of his first 11 starts to begin the season…it is the longest such stretch to start a season by a Rays pitcher since Chris Archer (28GS) in 2017.
TONIGHT’S START — Right-hander Zach Eflin makes his 12th start of the season, including his fifth on the road…has tossed 5.0+ innings in each of his last 12 starts, matching the longest streak of his career (also 9/18/20- 5/24/21)…his 2.97 ERA is tied for the lowest ERA through his first 11 games of a season in his career (also 2018).
LAST TIME OUT — Eflin improved to 8-1 in Tampa Bay’s 7-0 win over Minnesota on 6/6 (6.2IP, 3H, 0R, BB, 9SO)…it was the second start of his career in which he struck out 9+ batters without allowing a run, both of which have come this year (7.0IP, 10SO on 5/4 vs. PIT).
Eflin has now tossed 5.0+ innings in each of his first 11 starts to begin the season…it is the longest such stretch to start a season by a Rays pitcher since Chris Archer (28GS) in 2017.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s swept the Brewers at Milwaukee for their first sweep of the season…now have a season-high five-game winning streak, which is their longest single-season winning streak over the last two years (won the final four games of 2022 and the first game of 2023)…have not won more than five straight since a seven-game winning streak from Aug. 4-12, 2021…are now 5-4 (.556) in June, which matches their win total from April (5-23) and is one fewer than May (6-23)…are 17-50 (.254) overall, which is tied for the seventh worst record after 67 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…it is the worst since the 2003 Tigers also started the year 17-50…have won three of the last four series after after winning just one of the first 17…have been swept nine times.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .290 (51-for-176) with 35 runs scored during the current winning streak (7.0 runs per game)…are now hitting .254 (78- for-307) with 45 runs scored in nine games in June (5.0 runs per game) after batting .208 with 87 runs in 29 games in May (3.0 runs per game)…lead the majors in hit by pitches (42), are tied for second in sacrifice hits (13) and rank eighth in walks (229)…however, have the second lowest OPS (.666), batting average (.224) and slugging percentage (.359) and the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.307)…rank third in fewest runs (245) and extra base hits (164), fourth in fewest doubles (92), fifth in most strikeouts (616) and ninth in fewest home runs (65)…have been shut out eight times, which is tied for the most…A’s pinch hitters lead the majors in hits (15), are tied for the lead in walks (10) and tied for fourth in plate appearances (67).
PITCHING: The A’s have a 2.93 ERA (15 er in 46.0 ip) during the current winning streak and now have a 4.85 ERA (42 er in 78.0 ip) in June…that follows a 5.54 ERA in May and 7.97 in April, both of which were the highest in the majors…have a 6.39 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors… the two highest single-season ERA’s by an AL or NL team are 6.70 by the 1930 Phillies and 6.38 by the 1996 Tigers…also have the highest opponents OPS (.844), batting average (.274), on-base percentage (.367) and slugging percentage (.477)…lead the majors in most walks (310), home runs (104) and hit batters (45), have the second most wild pitches (33) and the third fewest strikeouts (504)…have surrendered six grand slams, which are the most in the majors and tied for fifth most in a season in Athletics history (8 in 1993 and 1999, 7 in 1954 and 1997)…also lead the majors with 14 walks with the bases loaded, which is the most by an A’s team since 2011 (18).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA (7 er in 27.2 ip) over the last six games after going 2-32 with a 7.19 ERA over the first 61 games…are 5-32 with a 6.75 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and no other team has fewer than nine wins from its starters…the fewest wins from a starting rotation in a full season in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…A’s starters are tied with the Royals for the fewest innings pitched this year (309.1).
FOR OPENERS: The A’s have used an “opener” five times this year (all since May 24)…A’s openers are 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA (5.0 ip, 9 h, 5 r, 5 er, 7 so) and the “main” pitchers are 1-2 with a 5.48 ERA (23.0 ip, 24 h, 14 r, 14 er, 10 bb, 28 so)…are 1-4 in the five games…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 recorded the save in four straight games for the first time since June 25-30, 2018 when they had a six-game streak… that follows a 29-game streak without a save, which was the second longest single-season streak by an A’s team since the save became an official stat in 1969…it fell one short of the record of 30 (June 1-July 2, 1980)…the pen is now 8-for-20 (40.0%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage and fewest saves in the majors and the 12 blown saves are tied for seventh most…has the highest ERA in the majors (6.00) and the second most innings pitched (277.2)…has allowed 52-of-127 (40.9%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…is tied for the most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s have seven stolen bases over the last four games and are 65-for-81 (80.2%) in stolen base attempts for the season…are tied for third in the majors in stolen bases and rank fourth in attempts…A’s opponents are 52-for-73 (71.2%), which is the fifth lowest success rate in the majors…the 21 caught stealings are tied with the Rockies for the most…A’s pitchers are tied for second in the majors in pickoffs (7).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s begin a seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay (four games) and Philadelphia (three games) tonight…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 7-24 (.226) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors… won two of three from Atlanta to close out the last homestand for the first home series win of the season…went 5-4 on the last road trip to Miami (0-3), Pittsburgh (2-1) and Milwaukee (3-0)…it was the A’s first winning road trip since Sept. 14-19, 2021…the three-game sweep of the Brewers
was the A’s first three-game sweep on the road since Sept. 17-19, 2021 at Los Angeles (AL)…now have a five-game road winning streak, which is the A’s longest over the last two years…that follows an Oakland record-tying 15-game road losing streak (May 24-June 23, 1986)…are now 10-26 (.278) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, 9-24/.273)…have compiled a 5.71 ERA (182 er in 287.0 ip) at home compared to 7.05 on the road.
WINNING LATE: The A’s have scored the winning run in their final at bat in nine of their 17 victories…have five walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors (Yankees, 6)…are 9-46 when tied or trailing after seven innings compared to 8-4 when leading after seven innings…are tied for fourth in the majors in wins when tied or trailing after seven innings and no other team has fewer than 14 wins when leading after seven…are 4-4 (.500) in extra inning games…are tied for fourth in the majors in extra inning losses, tied for fifth in wins and rank eighth in games (8).
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s have a run differential of +1 in June after posting a mark of -78 in May and -118 in April…are -194 for the season…had a run differential of -202 all last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history (-287 in 1979)…are 9-11 (.450) in one-run games…are tied for ninth in the majors in one-run losses and games (20)…are 8-39 (.170) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have committed 38 errors, which is tied for seventh most in the majors…rank second in outfield assists (13)…are 13-25
(.342) in night games, 4-25 (.138) in day games…are 14-11 when scoring four or more runs, 3-39 when scoring fewer than four runs…have employed
45 players, which is the most in the majors…have used 29 pitchers, which is second most to the Rays (32)…have used 12 rookies and seven players have made their Major League debuts…have used the injured list 15 times, including 11 times for pitchers…currently have seven players on the IL, including six pitchers…have an average time of game of 2:46, which is the longest in the majors…however, have not averaged under 2:53 per game since 2010 (2:43).
A’S VS. RAYS
- The A’s were swept in a three-game series at Tampa Bay in April to open the season series…it was the first time the A’s were swept at Tampa
Bay since April 19-21, 2013. - Now have a six-game losing streak to the Rays, which matches the A’s longest ever against Tampa Bay (May 26-Sept. 4, 1998).
- Have a four-game losing streak in Oakland.
- Lost the season series last year for the first time since 2018.
- Were swept in a three-game series in Oakland last year, marking the first time the A’s went winless in the season series in the Coliseum… are 62-36 (.633) against the Rays at home, which is the A’s best record against any AL team in the Coliseum.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-0 0-3 0-3
2022 0-3 3-1 3-4
Oakland History: 116-86
at the Coliseum: 62-36
at Tropicana Field: 54-50
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and ranks fourth in the majors with a .410 on-base percentage…is fifth in the majors in walks (45).…leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.410) and walks (45) and tops AL rookies in OPS (.862)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in stolen bases (31) and hit by pitches (12), is tied for second in hits (68), tied for fourth in doubles (15) and tied for sixth in RBI (28).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: James Kaprielian (1-6, 7.21 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 20 for his third stint with the A’s this year…is 1-4 with a 3.90 ERA (27.2 ip, 26 h, 14 r, 12 er, 13 bb, 21 so) in five starts over his last two stints after going 0-2 with a 12.94 ERA in six games, including three starts, over his first stint…was on the A’s Opening Day roster and went 0-2 with a 12.15 ERA in three starts before moving to the bullpen…posted a 16.88 ERA in three relief appearances before he was optioned to Las Vegas on April 25…returned on May 13, started at lost to Texas that day and was optioned back to Triple-A the next day…did not pitch with the Aviators before he was recalled by Oakland on May 20.
SLOW STARTS: Picked up his first win of the season in his last start after beginning the season 0-6…is the first A’s pitcher to start the season 0-6 since Mike Mohler lost each of his first eight decisions in 1997…the six-game losing streak is a career high and his six losses are tied for sixth most in the majors…started last season 0-5 with a 5.98 ERA and .853 opponents OPS over his first 10 starts from May 1-June 21…then went 5-4 with a 3.30 ERA and .669 OPS over his final 16 starts.
SEVEN INNINGS OR FEWER: Has tossed 7.0 innings or fewer in each of his eight starts this year and has now pitched seven innings or fewer in all 55 of his career starts…that is the longest streak of consecutive starts of seven innings or fewer in Athletics history (previous: 47, Montas, Sept. 25, 2019-April 18, 2022).
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has allowed six of his seven home runs to left-handed hitters and has a 1.017 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .743 against right-handers…opponents are 9-for-18 (.500) with a double and three home runs when putting the first pitch in play…they are 4-for-6 (.667) with two walks, a double and two grand slams with the bases loaded
THIS AND THAT: Has a 5.63 ERA (15 er in 24.0 ip) over innings 1-3, a 9.15 ERA (20 er in 19.2 ip) from the fourth inning on…the A’s are 1-7 in his starting assignments and have been shut out three times in his eight starts…left with an 8-5 lead in his first start but the bullpen allowed seven runs for the blown save…left with the lead in five of his starts last year only to have the bullpen blow the save…now has 21 career no decisions as a starter and has left with the lead and was the pitcher of record in 10 of those no decisions.
