TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays broke a scoreless draw in the 7th inning last night in Oakland, plating six runs in the frame on their way to a 7-1 victory…Are now a season-high 15 games over .500…Improved to 26-17-2 in series play this year (14-9-1 on the road)…Have allowed one run or fewer on 37 occasions this season, four more than any other MLB club (LAD – 33). Toronto has won five of its last six games, 10 of its last 16, and is 23-17 across its last 40…Enters today a half game up on Texas (76-62) for the 3rd AL Wild Card spot, and trails Seattle (77-61) by a half game for the 2nd AL Wild Card position.
WHO LET THE DAWG OUT?: Chris Bassitt earned his AL-leading 14th win of the season last night, tossing 8.0 innings of one-run ball, scattering seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts…Became the first Blue Jay with back-to-back starts of at least 8.0 innings since Aaron Sanchez (2G from June 29-July 4, 2016)…Was his 4th start of 8.0+ frames this year, trailing only Jordan Lyles (5) for the most among AL hurlers. The 34-year old has racked up 18 quality starts this year, behind only Gerrit Cole (21) for the most in the AL (T-4th in MLB)…His 173.1 innings pitched are 3rd most among AL pitchers while his .234 opponent’s average ranks 7th.
SPRINGING UP: George Springer recorded RBI singles in both the 7th and 8th innings on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a trio of RBI’s and a walk…Marked his 37th multi-hit effort and his 3rd game with three RBI this season (also 3RBI on July 7 at DET & May 20 vs. BAL)…Over his last 27 games, is batting .327 (34-for-104) with 19 runs scored, eight doubles, four homers, 17 RBI, and a 16BB/20K ratio (.929 OPS).
KEVIN!!: Kevin Kiermaier plated the game’s opening run last night with a bases-loaded single in the 7th…Also singled in the 1st and doubled in the 8th, finishing the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored… Was his 4th game with at least three hits this season. The Fort Wayne, IN, native has racked up 74 hits while batting 9th this season, 2nd most in the AL (1st: Leody Taveras – 75) and the most by a Blue Jay since Homer Bush’s 78 knocks in 1999…Over his last 38 games, has batted .291 (30-for-103) with 16 runs scored, five doubles, three home runs, and 15 RBI (.772 OPS).
KIRK CONNECTING: Alejandro Kirk doubled twice and walked twice on Tuesday, finishing the game 2-for-3 with a run scored, his 18th multi-hit effort of the year…Recorded multiple doubles in a game for the 2nd time in his career, with both instances coming in his last six games (Aug. 30 vs. WAS). The Tijuana, MX, native has gone 31-for-99 (.313) over his last 31 games, recording nine doubles, three homers, and 14 RBI for an .895 OPS…His .313 AVG since July 20 is the best mark among MLB catchers, min. 100 PA (2nd: Yainer Diaz – .307).
RISP-Y BUSINESS: The Blue Jays went 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position last night, and have notched at least four hits in that situation in each of the last six games…Since the calendar flipped to August, the Blue Jays sport an MLB-best .330 batting average (90-for-273) with RISP…Have raised their season RISP average to .260, 6th best among AL clubs, and two points higher than last season’s mark (.258 in 2022).
ROAD WORK: The Blue Jays are at the end of a six-game, six-day road trip out west, with a trio of stops each in Colorado and Oakland (4-1 so far)…Own a 42-32 road record this season for a .568 win%, 3rd best in the AL (4th in MLB)…Have gone 22-10 over their last 32 road games for a .688 win%, the best road record in the Majors since June 20 (2nd: BAL – .676%). Blue Jays rank 2nd among AL clubs with a .266 road batting average, 2nd in road OBP (.336), 3rd in road SLG (.433), and 3rd in road OPS (.769)…The pitching staff ranks 3rd in the AL in road ERA (3.94), 8th in road opponents’ AVG (.251), and 10th in road WHIP (1.28).
WALK IT OUT: Blue Jays batters racked up nine walks on Tuesday, one shy of their season high (10 on April 1 at STL)… Six of those nine free passes were issued in the 7th inning alone, tied for their most in a single frame in team history (6 on April 18, 1997 at TEX & 6 on June 19, 1987 vs. MIL)…Cavan Biggio and Alejandro Kirk became the first pair of teammates in franchise history to each work multiple walks in the same inning.
HITTING IT: With their 10 hits on Tuesday, Toronto’s offence has now racked up 10+ hits in six of their last seven games and on 55 occasions this year, tied for 4th most among AL teams…Since 2021, have piled up an MLB-high 193 double-digit hit games (2nd: BOS – 179). Toronto batters have notched 1,247 hits this season, 4th most in the AL (5th in MLB)…Are 2nd in the junior circuit in OBP (.333), 3rd in team AVG (.261), 6th in OPS (.754), and 8th in SLG (.421).
PITCHING IN: Toronto pitchers have combined for a Major League-best 3.71 ERA this season (2nd: SEA – 3.72)…The 3.71 ERA is currently 5th best in team history and the club’s best since 2008 (3.49)…Are tied with the Twins for the most strikeouts in MLB (1,301)…Rank 5th in the AL in opponents’ batting average (.239) and 5th in WHIP (1.24)…The rotation has recorded 61 quality starts, 4th most in the AL (T-6th in MLB).
VS. THE ATHLETICS: All-Time: 213-230
2023: 4-1 Road: 107-116
Road: 2-0 Oakland Coliseum: 105-116
The Blue Jays took two of three from the A’s when the teams met at Rogers Centre in June…Have won eight of their last 12 visits to Oakland, averaging 5.25 runs and 9.5 hits per game…Have gone 18-6 in their last 24 games overall against the Athletics, dating back to 2019.
George Springer notched a pair of hits in two of the three meetings with Oakland at Rogers Centre this year, going 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run and two RBI…Leads all current Blue Jays with 115 career games against his former division rivals, hitting .256 (114-for-444) with 22 doubles, two triples, 20 home runs, and 59 RBI (.787 OPS).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has recorded multiple hits in four of the five games against the A’s this year, going 9-for-19 (.474) with two doubles, two homers, and seven RBI (1.478 OPS)…Over 21 career games vs. OAK, has hit .341 (28-for-82) with six doubles, three homers, and 12 RBI for a .931 OPS.
Matt Chapman spent the first five seasons of his MLB career with Oakland, hitting .243 over 573 games while racking up 125 doubles, 16 triples, 111 home runs, and 296 RBI with one All-Star nod, a trio of Gold Gloves, and a pair of Platinum Gloves…Over nine games against his former club, has gone 10-for-32 (.313) with three homers and seven RBI (.999 OPS).
STARTING PITCHER – Hyun Jin Ryu, LHP #99
TODAY’S GAME: Making his 7th start of the season and his 4th on the road…Took a no-decision his last time out, on 9/1 at COL, giving up 2 runs over 5.0 innings of work (4H, 2BB, 3K)…Has pitched at least 5.0 frames in 5 of his 6 big league starts this season. Over his last 5 starts, has posted a 3-0 record and a 1.50 ERA (4 ER/24.0 IP) with a 0.83 WHIP while holding hitters to a .161 average…His 1.50 ERA since 8/7 is tied for the 2nd-best mark in the Majors (min. 24.0IP), trailing only Charlie Morton’s 0.96 ERA. His 3.10 ERA since the start of 2018 is the 11th-best mark in the Majors (min. 500 IP)…Among active pitchers with 1000+ IP, his career 3.24 ERA is 6th best.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS: Earned his 3rd win of the year on 8/26 vs. CLE, pitching 5.0+ innings while surrendering 3R/2ER on 4 hits with no walks and 5 strikeouts…Induced a season-high 11 swing-and-misses…Recorded double-digit whiffs for the 1st time since racking up 13 on 10/3/21 vs. BAL. Allowed no earned runs in 3 straight starts from 8/7-20, the 2nd time he’s done so in his career (also: 3G from 5/7-19/19)…Became just the 8th player in Blue Jays history to accomplish the feat (excluding openers). Won his 2nd game of the year on 8/20 at CIN, giving up a pair of unearned runs over 5.0 innings (4H, BB, 7K). Picked up his 1st win of the season on 8/13 s. CHC, tossing 5.0 innings of ER-free ball (2 unearned runs) with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts… Was his 1st victory since 5/26/22 at LAA, a span of 444 days. Threw 4.0 no-hit frames on 8/7 at CLE, issuing one walk with a pair of strikeouts…Was removed from the game with a right knee contusion. Made his season debut on 8/1 vs. BAL, giving up 4 runs over 5.0+ frames with 9 hits, a walk, and 3 strikeouts…Was his 50th career start in a Blue Jays uniform. Began the season on the injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June 2022. Was sent on a rehab assignment to the FCL Blue Jays and made one start on 7/4, pitching 3.0 innings of one-run ball on 4 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. Made one start with Single-A Dunedin on 7/9, tossing 4.0 shutout innings with 3 hits, no walks, and a strikeout. Started for Triple-A Buffalo on 7/15, going 5.0 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits while walking none and recording 5 strikeouts. On 7/21, made a 2nd start with Buffalo, tossing 6.0 innings of 2-run ball, scattering 3 hits and a walk with 5 punchouts.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers on 12/12/12 after 7 seasons with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization (98-52, 2.98 ERA, 190 G, 180 GS, 27 CG, 8 SHO, 1269.0 IP, 383 BB, 1,238 K). Led all Major League pitchers in 2019 with a 2.32 ERA and finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting…Set a career mark with 163 strikeouts. Finished 3rd in 2020 AL Cy Young voting and was named to the All-MLB Second Team in his 1st season as a Blue Jay.
VS. THE ATHLETICS: Facing the Athletics for the 1st time this season and the 4th time in his career…Last met the A’s on 4/16/22 at Rogers Centre, giving up 5 runs over 4.0 innings (6H, 0BB, 1K)…His only trip to Oakland came on 5/6/21, allowing 4 runs over 5.0 frames of work (6H, 1BB, 6K).
OAKLAND ATHLETICS NOTES:
ABOUT THE A’S: The A’s have lost the first two games of this series after sweeping a three-game series from the Angels to start the homestand…the sweep was the A’s third of the season (June 9-11 at Milwaukee, Aug. 5-6 vs. San Francisco)…have been swept 17 times, which ties the Oakland record set in 1978… have not been swept more than 17 times since 1960 Kansas City A’s were swept 19 times…are now 8-7 over the last 15 games…are 30-47 (.390) over the last 77 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests…are 42-97 (.302) overall, which is the lowest winning percentage in the majors…are 1½ games behind the Royals (44-96, .314)…the 97 losses are tied with the 1997 club for fourth most in Oakland history (108 in 1979, 102 in 2022, 98 in 1977)…with 42 wins, the worst the A’s can do is tie the 1962 Mets for the most losses in modern Major League history (120)…have a run differential of -303, which is the lowest in the majors…the lowest in Oakland history is -287 in 1979 and the lowest in Athletics history is -344 in 1915.
ALL OR NOTHING: The A’s have a tragic number of two to clinch their second consecutive last place finish in the American League West…it would be the 36th last place finish in Athletics history (24 in the American League, 12 in the AL West), which would break a tie with the Phillies for the most last place finishes in Major League history…have 97 losses and are on pace for the 18th season with 100 or more losses (3 in Oakland, 4 in Kansas City, 11 in Philadelphia), which is also the most 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.
AGAINST THE EAST: The A’s wrap up play against American League East competition today…are 7-24 (.226) against AL East teams and will finish with the lowest winning percentage against the East in Athletics history (previous: 10-23, .303 in 2015)…have the second lowest winning percentage against the East in the majors this year (Detroit, 6-24/.200)…have a 6.94 ERA (206 er in 267.0 ip).
OFFENSE: The A’s are batting .241 (96-for-398) with 20 doubles, one triple, 18 home runs and 57 runs scored over the last 12 games (4.8 runs per game)… overall, rank last in the majors in batting (.224), slugging (.370), OPS (.671) and runs (510), are tied for the most times shut out (14), rank second in fewest extra base hits (358), third in lowest on-base percentage (.301) and fewest doubles (194), seventh in most strikeouts (1264), eighth in most grounded into double plays (107) and ninth in fewest home runs (145)…are second in sacrifice hits (27) and sixth in hit batters (78)…the hit batters are fourth most in Oakland history (98 in 2021, 88 in 2001, 87 in 2019) and the sacrifice hits are the most since 2012 (27…had 34 in 2011).
IN THE PINCH: The A’s have 37 pinch hits, which are the most in the majors and second most by an A’s team over the last 32 years (had 57 in 1997)…the last time the A’s led the majors in pinch hits was in 1927 when they had 50…have 170 plate appearances, which is second most in the majors and second most by an A’s team over the last 26 years (189 in 2014)…also rank tied for fifth in the majors in extra base hits (9), tied for sixth in doubles (5), tied for seventh in walks (14) and home runs (4) and tied for eighth in RBI (18).
PITCHING: The A’s have 4.23 ERA (62 er in 132.0 ip) over the last 15 games but have a 5.64 ERA for the season, which is the highest in the majors, the highest in Oakland history (5.48 in 1997) and third highest in Athletics history (6.07 in 1936, 5.79 in 1939)…also have the highest opponents on-base percentage in the majors (.357), the second highest slugging percentage (.460) and OPS (.816) and fourth highest batting average (.269)…have hit 83 batters, which is the most in the majors, an Athletics record and 12 short of the American League record (95, 2003 Devil Rays)…have a ML leading 594 walks, which are the most by an A’s team since 2000 (615)…have the most wild pitches in the majors (63), are tied for third in fewest shutouts (4) and rank fifth in most home runs (186) and fewest strikeouts (1116).
STARTING PITCHING: A’s starting pitchers have allowed one run or fewer in four of the last seven games and are 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA (11 er in 34.2 ip) over that
span…are 15-60 with a 5.89 ERA for the season…have the fewest wins and highest ERA in the majors and are tied for the second most losses…the fewest wins from starting pitchers in Major League history is 21 by the Pirates last year…the highest ERA in Athletics history is 5.94 in 1997…have tossed five innings or fewer in six of the last eight games and 7.1 innings or fewer in each game this year…have the second fewest innings pitched in the majors (636.0).
THE BULLPEN: The A’s bullpen has a 5.37 ERA, which is the highest in the majors and the highest in Oakland history (5.22 in 1980)…also has the most losses in the majors (37) and the second most innings pitched (583.2)…has set Athletics single-season records for most losses, walks (319) and runs allowed (377) by relievers…is 25-for-50 (50.0%) in save opportunities…has the third fewest saves in the majors and the fifth lowest save percentage…has allowed 101-of-258 (39.1%) inherited runners to score, which is the third highest percentage…has the second most inherited runners.
ON THE BASES: The A’s have been successful in each of their last 10 stolen base attempts and are 127-for-151 (84.1%) for the season…rank fifth in the majors in steals, attempts and percentage…the stolen bases are the most by an A’s team since 2010 (156) and the only time in Athletics history the A’s had a stolen base percentage above 81.5 was in 2020 (89.7%)…A’s opponents are 96-for-139 (69.1%) in stolen base attempts, which is the lowest success rate in the majors…the 43 caught stealings are the most…A’s pitchers have 13 pickoffs, which is fourth most.
HOME AND AWAY: The A’s are 3-2 on this six-game homestand against Los Angeles-AL (3-0) and Toronto (0-2)…went 2-4 on the last homestand against Baltimore (0-3) and Kansas City (2-1) and are 23-47 (.329) at home, which is the lowest home winning percentage in the majors…the 47 home losses are tied for third most in Oakland history (51 in 2022, 50 in 1979)…have back-to-back losing seasons at home for the first time since 2015-16…leave following the game today for a six-game road trip to Texas (three games) and Houston (three games) that begins on Friday…went 3-4 on the last road trip to Chicago-AL (2-2) and Seattle (1-2) and are 19-50 (.261) on the road, which is second the worst road record in the majors (Royals, 18-51/.261).
ONE-RUN GAMES AND OTHER CLOSE CALLS: The A’s are 19-26 (.422) in one-run games and 23-71 (.2245) in games decided by two or more runs…have the most one-run losses in the majors and the fourth most games (45)…are 6-8 (.429) in extra inning games…are tied for fifth in the majors in extra inning losses and tied for eighth in games (14)…have seven walk-off wins, which is tied for eighth…have 15 last at bat wins.
PLAYER NOTES: The A’s added two players to the roster today that have not pitched for Oakland this year (Sweet, Lucas)…have already set Athletics records for most pitchers (37) and most relievers (33) in a season and an Oakland record for most starting pitchers (21)…the starting pitchers match the 2019 Blue Jays for second most in Major League history to the 1915 Philadelphia A’s (24)…have employed 58 players overall, which is second highest in Athletics history to the record of 64 set last year…the 58 players are tied for third most in the majors this year (Reds 64, Angels 62) and the 37 pitchers are fourth most (Reds and Rays 40, Dodgers 38)…have set an Oakland record for most non-Covid IL placements (30)…used the IL an Athletics record 31 times last year (including nine times for Covid).
A’S VS. BLUE JAYS
- The A’s have lost the season series for the third time in the last four years as they trail 1-4 entering the final game today.
- Are now 1-5-2 over the last eight season series dating back to 2015.
- Have lost 18 of the last 24 games and are 19-31 (.380) dating back to 2015.
- Have lost 10 of the last 12 games at Rogers Centre and are 7-22 in Toronto dating back to 2014.
Year Home Road Totals
2023 0-2 1-2 1-4
2022 2-1 1-2 3-3
Oakland History: 230-213
at the Coliseum: 116-105
at Rogers Centre: 73-74
TODAY’S TIDBITS
Zack Gelof has 26 extra base hits, which are the most in Athletics history by a player over the first 46 games of his career…is tied for the second most doubles (15) and home runs (10)…Esteury Ruiz has 56 stolen bases, which are the most in the American League and second most in the majors (Acuña, ATL 63)…is 10 short of the AL rookie record for steals (66, Kenny Lofton, 1992).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER: JP Sears (3-11, 4.60 ERA)
FOR STARTERS: Is scheduled to make his team-leading 28th start of the season…is the only A’s pitcher to spend the entire season in the starting rotation…tossed six scoreless innings in his last start after allowing 13 runs in his previous two starts…is now 2-5 with a 5.94 ERA (31 er in 47.0 ip) and .945 opponents OPS over his last nine starts dating back to July 16…went 0-3 with a 5.54 ERA and .819 OPS over his first seven starts through May 8 and was 1-3 with a 3.03 ERA and .635 OPS in 11 starts in between.
HIT BATTERS: Hit his 15th batter of the season in his last start, which is the most in the majors, an on-going Oakland single-season record and tied for 14th most in Athletics history…however, has the most hit batters by an A’s pitcher over the last 112 years…the last time an A’s pitcher had 15 or more hit batters was in 1911 when Cy Morgan had 21 and Jack Coombs had 16.
HOME AND AWAY: Picked up his first home win of the season in his last start to snap a six-game home losing streak dating back to last year…it was his first win in the Coliseum since Sept. 20, 2022 against Seattle…is now 1-5 with a 4.98 ERA (36 er in 65.0 ip) and .820 opponents OPS in 12 starts in Oakland and 2-6 with a 4.30 ERA (39 er in 81.2 ip) and .762 OPS in 15 starts on the road…11 of his 15 hit batters have come on the road.
DECISIONS: Has 13 no decisions, which is tied for sixth most in the majors among starters…it is also tied for fourth most in Oakland history…only Ron Darling (15 in 1993), Ken Waldichuk (15 in 2023) and Mike Fiers (14 in 2019) have more…has left with the lead and was in position to win in four of his no decisions…has a 2.82 ERA (23 er in 73.1 ip) in his no decisions.
WINNING PERCENTAGE: Is 3-11 and his .214 winning percentage is fourth lowest in the majors…the only qualifying pitchers in Oakland history to finish the season with a winning percentage under .250 are Matt Keough (2-17, .105 in 1979) and Steve Karsay (3-12, .200 in 1997).
THE LONG BALL: Has allowed six home runs in his last four starts, 12 in his last nine and 31 for the season, which is fifth most in the majors…is the 14th player (16th time) in Athletics history to allow 30 or more home runs in a season…is one of two left-handers to do it (Curt Young, 38 in 1987)…his 31 home runs are tied for 10th most in Athletics history and are the most since A.J. Griffin had 36 in 2013…19 of the 31 home runs are solo shots.
OPPONENTS BATTING: Has a .236 (107-for-454) opponents batting average and .760 OPS against right-handed hitters compared to .303 (33-for-109) with a .910 OPS against left-handers…opponents are 2-for-51 (.039) with on an 0-2 count…they are 0-for-5 with three strikeouts with the bases loaded. AL AND NL: Snapped a nine-game losing streak against American League competition with a win over the Angels in his last start…the losing streak was the longest by an A’s pitcher against the AL since the start of interleague play in 1997…is now 1-9 with a 5.16 ERA (59 er in 103.0 ip) in 19 starts against AL competition compared to 2-2 with a 3.30 ERA (16 er in 43.2 ip) in eight interleague starts.
THIS AND THAT: Has walked two batters or fewer in 22 of his 27 starts, including seven starts with no walks and nine with one…has issued 15 of his 39 walks in the first inning…is 0-4 with an 8.10 ERA (21 er in 23.1 ip) in five starts against American League East teams…has a 5.11 ERA (25 er in 44.0 ip) in eight starts on four days rest, a 4.47 ERA (43 er in 86.2 ip) in 16 starts on five days rest and a 3.18 ERA (4 er in 11.1 ip) in two starts on six or more days rest.
2023 DAY-BY-DAY: Allowed eight hits in his first start on April 4 against Cleveland but then allowed six hits or fewer in each of his next 18 starts through July 16, which was the third longest such streak by a starting pitcher in Oakland history…fell two short of the record of 20 by Trevor Cahill (May 5-Aug. 14, 2010) and Tim Conroy (June 23, 1978-Aug. 31, 1983)…struck out a career-high 11 batters in 6.0 innings on April 21 at Texas but had a no decision in the A’s 5-4 win…finished April with an 0-2 record, a 6.23 ERA and .846 opponents OPS in five starts…then went 0-1 with a 2.94 ERA and .669 opponents OPS in six starts in May…tossed 6.0 scoreless innings on May 3 against Seattle but had a no decision in the A’s 7-2 10-inning loss…left with a 2-0 lead but the pen allowed one run in the seventh and one in the ninth for the blown save…it was the first of four times he left with the lead and was in position to get the win only to have the bullpen blow the save (May 25 at Seattle, July 9 at Boston, July 16 vs. Minnesota)…surrendered a career-high tying three home runs in a 7-2 loss at New York (AL) on May 8…that extended his losing streak to a career-high four games dating back to Sept. 25, 2022… posted a 5.55 ERA and .782 opponents OPS over that stretch, which spanned nine games, including eight starts…had a no decision in an 11-3 loss to Texas on May 14 to start a stretch of five consecutive no decisions from May 14 to June 5…compiled a 2.33 ERA and .609 opponents OPS during the streak, which fell one short of the Oakland record for consecutive starts without a decision…snapped his career-high four-game losing streak in the A’s 8-6 win at Milwaukee on June 11…it was his first win since Sept. 20, 2022 against Seattle…had tossed six innings or fewer in each of the first 24 starts of his career before logging 7.0 innings in back-to-back starts on June 16 vs. Philadelphia and June 22 at Cleveland, both losses…retired the final 10 batters he faced against the Phillies and the first 11 against the Guardians for a streak of 21 consecutive batters retired…tossed a career-high 7.1 scoreless innings, scattered five hits, and did not walk a batter on July 4 at Detroit but had a no decision in the As 1-0, 10-inning win…snapped his career-high tying four-game losing streak in the A’s 8-5 win at Colorado on July 28…then had another four-game losing streak from Aug. 3 to 26…compiled an 8.25 ERA and 1.120 opponents OPS during the streak, which spanned five starts…matched his career highs in hits (9) and home runs (3) in a 6-2 loss at Chicago (AL) on Aug. 26…went 0-4 with an 8.25 ERA and 1.120 opponents OPS in five starts in August…the losses tied for second in the majors this year and matched the most by an Athletic in August over the last 54 years…based on a minimum of 20 innings, he had the second highest August OPS in Athletics history (Troy Herriage, 1.186 in 1956).
LAST START: He snapped his four-game losing streak in the A’s 9-2 win over Los Angeles (AL) on Friday in Oakland…tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits, two walks and a hit batter…had a 5-0 lead when he was relieved by Erceg to start the seventh.
