TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
No team release available.
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: Have won each of the last seven games and are now 7-4 (.636) in June, which is tied for the ninth best record in the majors…had just six wins in May and five in April…are now 19-50 (.275) overall, which is the second worst record in the majors ahead of the Royals (18-49, .269)…it is the worst record by an A’s team over the first 69 games since the 1920 Philadelphia A’s 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.
SEVEN-GAME WINNING STREAK: The A’s have a seven-game winning streak, which is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by an A’s team since Aug. 4-12, 2021 when they won seven in a row…have not won more than seven straight since winning 13 straight from April 9-24, 2021… according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the streak matches the longest winning streak in Major League history by a team with a sub-.200 winning percentage entering the streak (min. 25 games)…both the 1885 Detroit Wolverines and 1895 Louisville Colonels also had seven-game streaks…have outscored the opposition 41-20 during the streak…have a 2.67 ERA (19 er in 64.0 ip) and are batting .272 (63-for-232) with 41 runs scored (5.9 per game).
WINNING LATE: The A’s scored once in the bottom of the eighth last night to defeat Tampa Bay 2-1…have now scored the winning run in their final at bat in 10 of their 19 victories…have five walk-off wins, which is tied for second most in the majors (White Sox, 6)…are 10-46 when tied or trailing after seven innings compared to 9-4 when leading after seven innings…rank fourth in the majors in wins when tied or trailing after seven innings but 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).
OFFENSE: The A’s are hitting .248 (90-for-363) with 51 runs scored in 11 games in June (4.6 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 (43), are tied for the lead in sacrifice hits (14) and tied for eighth in walks (234)…however, have the lowest batting average (.223), the second lowest OPS (.662) and slugging percentage (.356) and the fifth lowest on-base percentage (.306)…rank second in fewest extra base hits (166), tied for second in fewest runs (251), fifth in most strikeouts (631) and fewest doubles (94) and 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 (68).
PITCHING: The A’s have a 4.31 ERA (46 er in 96.0 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 6.26 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors… the last team to finish the year with an ERA above 6.00 is the 1999 Rockies (6.03)…also have the highest opponents OPS (.836), on-base percentage (.364) and slugging percentage (.472) and the second highest batting average (.272)…lead the majors in most walks (315), home runs (105) and hit batters (45), have the second most wild pitches (33) and the fifth fewest strikeouts (517)…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 2.60 ERA (10 er in 34.2 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 6.69 ERA for the season…the ERA is the highest in the majors and the wins and 316.1 innings pitched are the 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 used an “opener” for the sixth time this year yesterday (all since May 24)…A’s openers are 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA (6.0 ip, 10 h, 5 r, 5 er, 7 so) and the “main” pitchers are 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA (30.0 ip, 28 h, 15 r, 15 er, 10 bb, 30 so)…are 2-4 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 six straight games, which matches the longest streak in Oakland history (fourth time, last: June 25-30, 2018)…it is the longest streak in the majors this year…the current streak follows a 29-game stretch 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 10-for-22 (45.5%) in save opportunities for the season…has the lowest save percentage in the majors, the third fewest saves and is tied for the eighth most blown saves (12)…has the highest ERA in the majors (5.80) and the second most innings pitched (288.2) to the Rays (292.2)…has allowed 52-of-127 (40.9%) inherited runners to score, which is the fourth highest percentage…has the fourth most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s are 66-for-83 (79.5%) in stolen base attempts…rank fourth in the majors in stolen bases and attempts…A’s opponents are 54- for-76 (71.1%), which is the sixth lowest success rate in the majors…the 22 caught stealings are the most in the majors…A’s pitchers are tied for second in the majors in pickoffs (7).
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s have won the first two games of the homestand and the two-game home winning streak matches the season high (May 29-
30)…the longest home winning streak last year was three games…are 2-0 on this seven-game homestand against Tampa Bay (2-0) and Philadelphia
(three games)…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Houston (0-3) and Atlanta (2-1) and are 9-24 (.273) at home, which is the second lowest home winning percentage in the majors (Royals, 9-25/.265)…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 5.49 ERA (186 er in 305.0 ip) at home compared to 7.05 on the road.
RUN DIFFERENTIAL: Each of the A’s last two wins, three of the last four and 11 of 19 overall have been by one run…are now 11-11 (.500) in one-run games… are tied for fifth in the majors in one-run games (22) and tied for ninth in wins (11)…however, are 8-39 (.170) in games decided by two or more runs, including 1-14 in games decided by six or more runs…have a run differential of +3 in June after posting a mark of -78 in May and -118 in April…are -192 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).
THIS AND THAT: The A’s are 15-25 (.375) in night games, 4-25 (.138) in day games…are 15-11 when scoring four or more runs, 4-39 when scoring fewer than four runs…have committed just three errors in the last 15 games…are tied for fourth in the majors in outfield assists (13)…have used 45 players, which is tied with the Reds for the most in the majors…that includes 29 pitchers, which is second most to the Rays (32)…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)…have allowed at least one run in each of their last 96 games, which is the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by an A’s team since an Athletics record 198-game streak from April 7, 1997- May 17, 1998…the A’s last shutout was on Sept. 4, 2022 at Baltimore (5-0).
A’S VS. RAYS
- The A’s snapped their six-game losing streak against the Rays Monday 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 64-36 (.640) 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 2-0 0-3 2-3
2022 0-3 3-1 3-4
Oakland History: 118-86
at the Coliseum: 64-36
at Tropicana Field: 54-50
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Ryan Noda leads the American League and ranks fourth in the majors with a .409 on-base percentage…is tied for fifth in the majors in walks (45).… leads Major League rookies in on-base percentage (.409) and walks (45) and tops AL rookies in OPS (.858)…Esteury Ruiz leads the majors in stolen bases (31) and hit by pitches (12)…leads ML rookies in stolen bases (31) and hit by pitches (12) and ranks fourth in hits (68).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: Luis Medina (1-5, 7.53 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his eighth appearance and sixth start of the season…his two relief appearances came in games started by an opener (Waldichuk on May 28 vs. Houston, Moll on June 9 at Milwaukee)…was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas May 11 for his second stint with the A’s this year and is 1-4 with a 6.67 ERA (29.2 ip, 29 h, 22 r, 22 er, 14 bb, 26 so, 8 hr) in six games, including four starts, since his return…was called up for the first time on April 25, started and lost the next day at Los Angeles (AL) in his Major League debut, and was optioned back to Las Vegas on April 27…was 0-1 with a 7.42 ERA in five games, four starts, with the Aviators.
THE LONG BALL: Has gone back-to-back appearances without allowing a home run after yielding at least one in each of his first five outings…15 of the 30 runs he has allowed this year have scored on home runs…has yielded at least one home run five times, including two or more four times…has surrendered 10 home runs in 34.2 innings for the season, an average of 2.60 per nine innings.
THIS AND THAT: Picked up his first win of the season in his last outing after starting the season 0-5…is one of four Oakland pitchers this year to start the season 0-4 or worse…Rucinski and Fujinami also started the year 0-4 and Kaprielian was 0-6…opponents are batting .218 (18-for-83) with the bases empty, .345 (19-for-55) with runners on…has not allowed a run in the first inning (5.0 ip)…the A’s are 0-5 in his starting assignments.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Began the season at Triple-A Las Vegas and was 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA in three starts when he was recalled by Oakland on April 25…made his Major League debut the next day with a start at Los Angeles (AL) and was the losing pitcher in the A’s 11-3 loss…became the 59th pitcher in Oakland history to start in his ML debut, the third this year (Fujinami on April 1, Miller on April 19)…allowed eight runs in 5.0 innings, which match the most runs in Oakland history by a pitcher in his debut…the first pitcher to do it was Fujinami earlier this year on April 1…it matches the most runs by an Athletics pitcher in his debut over the last 103 years (fifth time)…in addition to runs, he also had career highs in hits (8) and strikeouts (6)…was optioned back to Las Vegas on April 27 and went 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA in two starts before he was recalled by Oakland a second time on May 11…matched his career high with 6.0 innings pitched on May 11 against Texas and May 17 against Arizona…tossed a career-high 96 pitches in the start against the Diamondbacks when he also equaled his career high with six starts…his fifth career appearance on May 28 against Houston came in relief of opener Ken Waldichuk…allowed a career high three home runs and took the loss in a 10-1 decision…started in his next outing on June 3 at Miami but took the loss after walking a career-high four and yielded six runs on six hits in 2.0 innings…it was the shortest start of his career…it gave him a career-opening streak of six consecutive games with three or more runs allowed, which matched the longest such streak in Oakland history…joins Mike Morgan (June 11, 1978- July 7, 1979) and Dillon Overton (June 25-Sept. 15, 2016).
LAST APPEARANCE: He pitched in relief of opener Sam Moll last Friday at Milwaukee and picked up his first Major League win in the A’s 5-2 victory… matched his career high with six strikeouts…had a 4-0 lead when he relieved Moll to start the second inning…allowed two runs in the second on RBI doubles by Perkins and Urias but those were the only runs he would allow in five innings of work…blanked the Brewers on two walks over his final four innings.
