TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
FALTERED IN THE FIFTH — The Rays opened their seven-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to the host Athletics last night in Oakland…Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the third inning but was unable to cash in…Rays starter RHP Zach Eflin (4.2IP, 5H, 4ER, 2BB, 6SO) held the Athletics scoreless through 4.0 frames, but back-to-back walks to open the fifth led to four Oakland runs, including a bases-clearing three-run double by C Shea Langeliers…CF Jose Siri cut the deficit to 4-3 with a three-run homer in the sixth, but the Rays were unable to push across the tying run over the final three innings.
The loss snapped a club-record-tying six-game winning streak against Oakland dating back to 5/2/22…it marked the Rays first defeat at Oakland Coliseum since 5/8/21, snapping a four-game winning streak at the ballpark.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ — The Rays continue their first of three West Coast road trips this season tonight at Oakland Coliseum (also: 6/27-7/2 & 8/14-20)…following the current four-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 8-3 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 of their last four road games…on the season, their 17-14 (.548) road record ranks fifth in the AL/seventh in the majors.
CLOSE SHAVES — Last night’s loss dropped the Rays to 12-11 in one-run games; their 23 one-run contests are tied with St. Louis for third most in the majors, trailing Cleveland (30G) and Cincinnati (26G)…overall, 17 of Tampa Bay’s 21 losses have come by three or fewer runs, including 13 by two or fewer runs…the Rays four losses by 4+ runs are the fewest in MLB, ahead of Atlanta (6).
Since 5/10, the Rays are 7-9 on the road, with eight of those nine losses being one-run defeats.
After winning seven of their first nine one-run games to open the season, the Rays are just 5-9 over their last 14 one-run contests dating back to 5/10…Tampa Bay is 9-3 in one-run games at home compared to 3-8 on the road.
SIRI-OUS POWER — After entering the season with 11 career homers in 125 games, Jose Siri has recorded 12 homers in 40 appearances in 2023…since 5/7, his 10 homers are tied for third most in the AL, behind only NYY Aaron Judge and LAA Shohei Ohtani (13HR each)…his .593 slugging pct. in that span ranks sixth in the AL (min. 90PA).
Eight of his 11 homers this season have come against fastballs…his .629 slugging pct. against heaters ranks eighth in the AL (min. 75PA ending with fastballs).
Siri has increased his barrel rate from 6.2 pct. in 2022 to a career-best 18.6 pct. this season, the ninth-highest mark in the majors (min. 100PA).
EL PATRÓN — Wander Franco is slashing .361/.420/.508 (22-for-61) with six extra-base hits, 9 RBI, seven walks and eight stolen bases over his last 17 games since 5/24…during that span, he ranks among AL leaders (min. 60PA) in stolen bases (1st), strikeout rate (1st, 7.2%), average (2nd), OBP (4th), OPS (7th, .928) and hits (T7th, 22).
Franco has not struck out in his last 31 plate appearances dating back to the third inning on 6/5 at Boston, the longest active streak in the majors, ahead of TOR Santiago Espinal (26PA)…since 6/5, he has lowered his strikeout rate from 12.9 pct. to 11.8 pct…on the season, he ranks among AL leaders in both strikeout rate (4th) and contact rate (2nd, 87.7%), trailing only CLE Steven Kwan (88.4%) in the latter.
EAGLE EYE — Since 5/8, Randy Arozarena’s 27 walks lead the AL and trail only PHI Kyle Schwarber (29BB) in all of major league baseball…his 20.5 pct. walk rate in that span is second among MLB qualifiers to Schwarber’s 21.1 pct…on the season, Arozarena’s 13.7 pct. walk rate is up 6.6 pct. from 2022 (7.1%), the second-largest year-to-year increase in the majors behind CHC Ian Happ (+7.5%).
His .406 OBP ranks second in the AL behind OAK Ryan Noda (.407)…no qualified Rays hitter has ever paced the AL in OBP over the course of a full season.
EASY AS 1-2-3 — The first three spots in Tampa Bay’s batting order lead the majors in average (.307), OBP (.386), hits (252) and stolen bases (T1st, 39) while ranking highly in SLG (2nd, .520), OPS (2nd, .906) and RBI (3rd, 132)…the group has also recorded the lowest infield-fly pct. (5.2%) in MLB.
ON THE CLOCK — Rays pitchers have commited 21 pitch timer violations, tied with New York-AL for most in the majors…paired with the 10 violations by Tampa Bay hitters, the Rays have commited a total of 31 timer violations, second most in MLB behind Miami (32)…meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s opponents have commited 12 violations; only San Francisco (11) has benefitted from fewer timer violations.
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 on 6/11 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 51 of their last 54 stolen base attempts (94.4%) overall since 5/14 after opening the season 38-for-52 (73.1%).
Tampa Bay’s 89 stolen bases are the most by any major league club through 69 games since the 2009 Rays (110SB).
Three Rays have recorded 15+ SB (Wander Franco – 22SB, Josh Lowe -15 SB, Taylor Walls – 15SB) — no other team in MLB has multiple players with 15+ steals.
HOMER HAPPY — The Rays have hit 113 home runs, tied with Los Angeles-NL for most in the majors…marks the ninth-most long balls through a club’s first 69 games in MLB history (since 1901)…after going homerless in a season-high four straight games from 6/3-5, the Rays have clubbed 10 homers over their last seven games since 6/6, tied for second most in the AL in that span behind Los Angeles-AL (14HR).
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.
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… Tampa Bay has won six of its last seven games against Oakland, outscoring the Athletics, 53-17 (+36) in that span.
The Rays are 11-7 at Oakland Coliseum since 2017; however, their .364 (36-63) all-time winning pct. in this venue is their lowest at any current AL ballpark.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: LHP JALEN BEEKS (2-3, 6.12)
BEEKS ON THE BUMP — Left-hander Jalen Beeks makes his sixth start of the season and his 24th appearance overall…in three road starts this year, Beeks is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA (7.0IP, 1ER) and five strikeouts against two walks while holding opponents to a .125 average (3-for-24)…in his last road start on 5/16 at New York-NL, he threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and two strikeouts.
LET’S GET IT STARTED — Beeks has made 17 career starts, pitching to a 6.05 ERA (41.2IP, 28ER)…after posting an 11.57 ERA (16.1IP, 21ER) in his first four career starts, he has turned in a 2.49 ERA (25.2IP, 7ER) over his previous 12, including a 2.13 ERA (12.2IP, 3ER) in six starts this season.
Beeks’ longest career start came on 8/14/19 at San Diego (5.0IP)… his shortest was 1.0 IP on 8/3/22 vs. Toronto.
WEST COAST VIBES — Beeks has made three career relief appearances against Oakland, pitching to a 2.25 ERA (8.0IP, 2ER) with six strikeouts against one walk while holding opponents to a .185 average (5-for-27).
In 23 appearances (one start) against AL West opponents, Beeks is 1-1 with a 3.62 ERA (49.2IP, 20ER)…in his lone start on 8/9/19 at Seattle, he threw 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
MAY FLOWERS — After going 0-2 with a 7.43 ERA (13.1IP, 11ER), eight walks and eight strikeouts over 10 games during April, Beeks went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA (15.0IP, 3ER) and one save while striking out 19 batters against six walks and posting a .179 (10-for-56) opponent batting average.
JUNE SWOON — In three appearances this month, Beeks is 0-1 with a 18.00 ERA (4.0IP, 8ER)…on 6/3 at Boston, he surrendered a season-high six runs over 0.2 innings…the six earned runs were the most he has allowed since giving up seven runs on 8/25/19 at Baltimore.
NIGHT OWL — In 13 appearances (5 starts) this season at night, Beeks is 0-1 with a 2.75 ERA (19.2IP, 6ER) with 15 strikeouts and a .171 (12-for-70) opponent batting average.
In 11 appearances (one start) during the day, he is 2-1 with one save while pitching to a 11.37 ERA (12.2IP, 16ER).
LIVING IN THE FAST LANE — Beeks utilizes his four-seam fastball 42.2 pct. of the time and is holding opponents to a .185 (10-for-54) batting average on the offering.
He throws his changeup 45.0 pct. of the time and allows opponents to hit .262 (16-for-61) on the offering.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Extended their winning streak to six games last night, which matches the Diamondbacks for the longest active winning streak in the majors…it is the longest by an A’s team since Aug. 4-12, 2021 when they won seven in a row…are now 6-4 (.600) in June, which matches their win total from May (6-23) and is one more than April (5-23)…are 18-50 (.265) overall… the 18 wins match Kansas City for the fewest in the majors but the .265 winning percentage is tied for 12th worst after 68 games by an AL, NL or FL team since 1900…it is the worst since the 2003 Tigers started the year 17-51…have won three of the last four series after after winning just one of the first 17… swept Milwaukee over the weekend for their first sweep of the season…have been swept nine times.
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .279 (57-for-204) with 39 runs scored during the current winning streak (6.5 runs per game)…are now hitting .251 (84- for-335) with 49 runs scored in 10 games in June (4.9 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 (231)…however, have the lowest batting average (.223), the second lowest OPS (.664) and slugging percentage (.358) and the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.306)…rank third in fewest runs (249), tied for third in fewest extra base hits (165), fourth in most strikeouts (624), tied for fourth in fewest doubles (93) and tied for eighth 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 2.95 ERA (18 er in 55.0 ip) during the current winning streak and now have a 4.66 ERA (45 er in 87.0 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 6.34 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 (.841), on-base percentage (.366) and slugging percentage (.475) and the second highest batting average (.273)…lead the majors in most walks (313), home runs (105) and hit batters (45), have the second most wild pitches (33) and the fifth fewest strikeouts (513)…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 are the most by an A’s team since 2011 (18).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers are 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA (10 er in 33.2 ip) over the last seven games after going 2-32 with a 7.19 ERA over the first 61 games…are 6-32 with a 6.71 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors, the wins are the fewest and the 315.1 innings by starters are second fewest…the fewest wins from a starting rotation in a full season in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year.
FOR OPENERS: The A’s are scheduled to use an “opener” for the sixth time this year today (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 five 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 9-for-21 (42.9%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage in the majors, is tied for the fewest saves and is tied for the eighth most blown saves (12)…has the highest ERA in the majors (5.93) and the second most innings pitched (280.2)…has allowed 52-of-127 (40.9%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…is tied for the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 65-for-81 (80.2%) in stolen base attempts…rank fourth in the majors in stolen bases and attempts…A’s opponents are 54- for-75 (72.0%), which is the sixth lowest success rate in the majors…the 21 caught stealings are tied with the Rockies for the most but the A’s are tied for the ninth most stolen bases allowed…A’s pitchers are tied for second in the majors in pickoffs (7).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 1-0 on this seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay (1-0) and Philadelphia (three games)…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 8-24 (.250) 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…are 10-26 (.278) on the road, which is the second worst road record in the majors (Royals, 9-24/.273)…have compiled a 5.63 ERA (185 er in 296.0 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 18 victories…have five walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors (White Sox, 6)…are 9-46 when tied or trailing after seven innings compared to 9-4 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 seventh in games (8).
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: The A’s defeated the Rays 4-3 last night and 10 of their 18 wins have been by one run…are 10-11 (.476) in one-run games and 8-39 (.170) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs…are tied for sixth in the majors in one-run games (21) and tied for ninth in losses…have a run differential of +2 in June after posting a mark of -78 in May and -118 in April…are -193 for the season, which is the lowest in the majors…had a run differential of -202 all last year, which was second lowest in Oakland history (-287 in 1979).
ALL OR NOTHING: In 2022, the A’s had their 17th season with 100 or more losses (2 in Oakland, 4 in Kansas City, 11 in Philadelphia), which is the most in Major League history…it was also the A’s 35th last place finish (24 in the American League, 11 in the AL West), which matches the Phillies for the most last place finishes in ML history…however, the A’s have 10 seasons with 100 or more wins, a total which is surpassed only by the Yankees (21), and nine World Championships, which trails only the Yankees (27) and Cardinals (11)… more recently, over the previous 11 seasons (2012-22) the A’s have either made the playoffs (6 times) or finished last (4 times) in 10 of the 11 seasons.
THIS AND THAT: The A’s have committed 38 errors, which is tied for ninth most in the majors…are tied for second in outfield assists (13)…are 14-25 (.359) in night games, 4-25 (.138) in day games…are 15-11 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 snapped their six-game losing streak against the Rays last night…the streak matched the A’s longest ever against Tampa Bay (May 26-Sept. 4, 1998).
- The win also snapped a four-game losing streak in Oakland…the A’s are now 63-36 (.636) against the Rays at home, which is their best record against any AL team in the Coliseum.
- 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. - Lost the season series last year for the first time since 2018.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 1-0 0-3 1-3
2022 0-3 3-1 3-4
Oakland History: 117-86
at the Coliseum: 63-36
at Tropicana Field: 54-50
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and ranks fourth in the majors with a .407 on-base percentage…is fifth in the majors in walks (45).…leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.407) and walks (45) and tops AL rookies in OPS (.855)…Esteury Ruiz leads ML rookies in stolen bases (31) and hit by pitches (12), ranks fourth in hits (68), tied for fourth in doubles (15) and tied for sixth in RBI (28)
TODAY’S MAIN PITCHER: Hogan Harris (1-0, 6.46 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make the fifth appearance of his career… has one start and this will be his third appearance in a game started by an opener (May 27 vs. Houston, June 2 at Miami)…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 27 for his second stint with the A’s and is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (15.0 ip, 10 h, 5 r, 5 er, 4 bb, 12 so) in three games, including one start, since his return…was recalled for the first time on April 14, made his Major League debut that day in relief against the Mets (0.1 ip, 1 h, 6 r, 6 er, 5 bb, 0 so) and was optioned back to Las Vegas the next day…is 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA and .699 opponents OPS in eight starts with the Aviators.
MAJORS AND MINORS: Went 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA and 1.040 opponents OPS over his first five games this year at the Major League and Minor League level (four with Las Vegas, one with Oakland)…is 1-0 with a 2.34 ERA (13 er in 31.0 ip) and .536 OPS in seven games since then (four with Las Vegas, three with Oakland)…walked 19 batters, struck out 11 and yielded three home runs in 11.2 innings over his first five games…has walked just 10 in 34.2 innings since then (32 so, 2 hr).
MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: Made his Major League debut earlier this year on April 14 against New York (NL)…entered the game to start the fifth inning with the A’s trailing 6-3…retired the first batter he faced (Vogelbach ground out) but his next seven batters were BB, BB, BB, HBP, BB, 2B, BB…walked five batters in 0.1 innings to become the sixth AL, NL or FL pitcher since 1901 to walk five or more his debut while pitching less than an inning (last: Justin Dunn, Sept. 12, 2019 for Seattle)…allowed six runs, which matched the most by A’s pitcher in debut of fewer than one inning (Sam Gray, April 19, 1924 at Boston; James York, Sept. 12, 1919 vs. CWS).
SECOND APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 6-3 loss to Houston on May 27 in Oakland…entered the game to start the second in relief of opener Austin Pruitt…Pruitt allowed two runs in the first and Harris shut out the Astros in five innings of work…walked the second batter he faced (Maldonado) but then retired 12 straight before Bregman singled with one out in the sixth.
THIRD APPEARANCE: He had a no decision in the A’s 4-0 loss at Miami June 2…entered the game to start the second inning in relief of opener Shintaro Fujinami, who allowed two runs in the first…Harris retired each of the first seven batters he faced and did not allow a run until yielding two in the fifth on a Soler RBI double and a De La Cruz RBI single…those were the only two runs he allowed in five innings of work
LAST START: He was the winning pitcher in his first career start, a 9-5 A’s victory at Pittsburgh last Wednesday…Oakland scored seven times in the first inning to give him all the runs he would need…allowed a solo home run to Castro in the second and a two-run double to Castro in the fourth
