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The Guardians, now 2.0 games out of first place, return home from their west coast trip to take on the Oakland A’s, owners of a 19-55 record and on pace to win 42 games this season, which would be among the worst of all time. The A’s are a staggering -203 in run differential, meaning they are being outscored by an average of 2.7 runs per game. The next worst team is -112 (KC). The A’s are not just bad, they are historically bad.
The Guardians won two of three in Oakland in early April.
The A’s started 12-50 and out of nowhere won seven in a row against Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Tampa - three good (or great) teams. But since then they’ve lost five straight to Tampa and Philadelphia, scoring just 11 runs.
If you take out that weird seven-game win streak they are 12-55.
The A’s are last in scoring at 3.6 runs per game. However, the A’s ballpark is ranked 27th in park factor, meaning it’s the 4th toughest park to score in. At home the A’s average 3.1 runs per game but on the road they’re at 4.1, so they’re a better offensive team than they appear. In fact, they’re averaging more runs on the road than the Guardians are at home (4.1 to 3.4).
On the road the A’s rank between 17th to 21st in OBP, slugging percentage, batting average, and home runs per game. They’re below average offensively away from home, but not among the worst.
The pitching is the problem. They rank 30th in ERA by a long way at a staggering 6.05. They are helped by their home ballpark where their staff ERA is 5.20. On the road their ERA is a mind boggling 7.05. The next worst road ERA belongs to the Dodgers (really?) at 5.70. The A’s also rank last in WHIP (1.7 base runners per inning!) and home runs allowed. The A’s have one of the worst pitching staffs of all time.
According to Statmuse, the worst team ERA since 1947 was the 1996 Tigers at 6.38. If the A’s finish this season where they are now they will rank 2nd. If they weren’t playing half their games in an extreme pitcher’s ballpark they would almost surely have the worst ERA in the last 75 years if not more.
The Guardians are hitting .292 as a team over their last 19 games and are 7th in the majors in runs per game over that stretch. We could finally start to see some Guardians crossing home plate at Progressive Field this week. This 3.4 runs per game at home nonsense has got to stop.
The A’s bullpen ranks last in ERA, FIP, WAR, and is 2nd highest in innings pitched.
Defensively the A’s are ranked 27th by Fangraphs. They don’t do anything well.
Aaron Civale starts tonight against RHP Luis Medina, a 24-year-old rookie. Medina is 1-6 with a 7.55 ERA. In his last four starts he has allowed 17 earned runs in 17 innings. His road ERA is 9.35. In June opponents are hitting .370 against him. For the season opponents are hitting .365 with runners on and .361 with RISP. They brought him up in late April so he did not face the Guardians in the first series.
Civale has a 2.67 ERA in five starts. He did not pitch against the A’s in April. Civale has been very effective except for the third time through the batting order where opponents are hitting .318/.939 against him.
Civale struggled against the Padres in his last start, allowing five hits and four walks in just 3.2 innings, throwing 95 pitches. He managed to hold them to just two runs, however.
On Wednesday the A’s will start Paul Blackburn (3.48 ERA in four starts). The Guardians have not named a starter as that is McKenzie’s slot and they no longer have Touki Toussaint.
Logan Allen goes against lefty J.P. Sears (1-4, 4.24) in the finale on Thursday afternoon. Sears has a 5.23 ERA on the road.
The A’s had a fire sale after last season, getting rid of starters Cole Irvin (3.98 ERA) and Frankie Montas (3.18) and reliever A.J. Puk. They also got rid of All-Star catcher Sean Murphy. They don't have a closer as seven different pitchers have at least one save, but nobody has more than three.
LF Brent Rooker leads the team with 13 home runs (nobody else has more than 8) and an .846 OPS. 1B Ryan Noda has an OPS of .818. None of their other every day players are over .664.
Former Indians prospect Conner Capel is with the A’s, platooning against RHP’s, so we should see him. He’s hitting .273/.667 on the road. In 66 at-bats he has 17 hits; 13 singles, 4 doubles, and no home runs. Hey, can we get him back? He’d fit right in.
The Guardians won two of three in Oakland in early April.
The A’s started 12-50 and out of nowhere won seven in a row against Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Tampa - three good (or great) teams. But since then they’ve lost five straight to Tampa and Philadelphia, scoring just 11 runs.
If you take out that weird seven-game win streak they are 12-55.
The A’s are last in scoring at 3.6 runs per game. However, the A’s ballpark is ranked 27th in park factor, meaning it’s the 4th toughest park to score in. At home the A’s average 3.1 runs per game but on the road they’re at 4.1, so they’re a better offensive team than they appear. In fact, they’re averaging more runs on the road than the Guardians are at home (4.1 to 3.4).
On the road the A’s rank between 17th to 21st in OBP, slugging percentage, batting average, and home runs per game. They’re below average offensively away from home, but not among the worst.
The pitching is the problem. They rank 30th in ERA by a long way at a staggering 6.05. They are helped by their home ballpark where their staff ERA is 5.20. On the road their ERA is a mind boggling 7.05. The next worst road ERA belongs to the Dodgers (really?) at 5.70. The A’s also rank last in WHIP (1.7 base runners per inning!) and home runs allowed. The A’s have one of the worst pitching staffs of all time.
According to Statmuse, the worst team ERA since 1947 was the 1996 Tigers at 6.38. If the A’s finish this season where they are now they will rank 2nd. If they weren’t playing half their games in an extreme pitcher’s ballpark they would almost surely have the worst ERA in the last 75 years if not more.
The Guardians are hitting .292 as a team over their last 19 games and are 7th in the majors in runs per game over that stretch. We could finally start to see some Guardians crossing home plate at Progressive Field this week. This 3.4 runs per game at home nonsense has got to stop.
The A’s bullpen ranks last in ERA, FIP, WAR, and is 2nd highest in innings pitched.
Defensively the A’s are ranked 27th by Fangraphs. They don’t do anything well.
Aaron Civale starts tonight against RHP Luis Medina, a 24-year-old rookie. Medina is 1-6 with a 7.55 ERA. In his last four starts he has allowed 17 earned runs in 17 innings. His road ERA is 9.35. In June opponents are hitting .370 against him. For the season opponents are hitting .365 with runners on and .361 with RISP. They brought him up in late April so he did not face the Guardians in the first series.
Civale has a 2.67 ERA in five starts. He did not pitch against the A’s in April. Civale has been very effective except for the third time through the batting order where opponents are hitting .318/.939 against him.
Civale struggled against the Padres in his last start, allowing five hits and four walks in just 3.2 innings, throwing 95 pitches. He managed to hold them to just two runs, however.
On Wednesday the A’s will start Paul Blackburn (3.48 ERA in four starts). The Guardians have not named a starter as that is McKenzie’s slot and they no longer have Touki Toussaint.
Logan Allen goes against lefty J.P. Sears (1-4, 4.24) in the finale on Thursday afternoon. Sears has a 5.23 ERA on the road.
The A’s had a fire sale after last season, getting rid of starters Cole Irvin (3.98 ERA) and Frankie Montas (3.18) and reliever A.J. Puk. They also got rid of All-Star catcher Sean Murphy. They don't have a closer as seven different pitchers have at least one save, but nobody has more than three.
LF Brent Rooker leads the team with 13 home runs (nobody else has more than 8) and an .846 OPS. 1B Ryan Noda has an OPS of .818. None of their other every day players are over .664.
Former Indians prospect Conner Capel is with the A’s, platooning against RHP’s, so we should see him. He’s hitting .273/.667 on the road. In 66 at-bats he has 17 hits; 13 singles, 4 doubles, and no home runs. Hey, can we get him back? He’d fit right in.
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