Oakland Athletics: 5 Surprising Facts about the Hottest Team in Baseball

The Oakland Athletics have the best record in baseball since June 16th, winning 26 of their last 33 games. They now sit 17 games over .500 and are within reach of the Wild Card.

With the lowest payroll in baseball, the Oakland Athletics are having a surprising, even thrilling season.  But what actually makes this team so surprising, and so good?

After beginning the season 10-25 against Al West opponents, the A’s are now within reach of the Wild Card. At their furthest back on June 14th, the team was 10 games behind Seattle in the race. But with their incredible comeback wins in the last two nights against the Rangers, they have now climbed within 1.5 games of the Wild Card. They have gone 10-0-1 in their last eleven series and have not lost back to back games in well over a month.

2018 Oakland Athletics Fact #1: They Don’t Lose (Literally, Not Once) When Leading After the 7th or 8th Inning

When the Oakland Athletics are up late in the game, they hold on — every single time. They are undefeated when leading after the 7th inning at 40-0.

This fact no doubt is owed largely to the A’s bullpen, which has a 75% save percentage (3rd best in the AL). In particular, the duo of rookie pitcher Lou Trivino and All-Star closer Blake Treinen have together bolstered the bullpen to one of the league’s best. Trivino, promoted to the bigs on April 7th, has 7 wins, the second-most wins in relief in the American League, and an ERA of 1.36. Blake Treinen, acquired from the Nationals in 2017,  has a (tied-for) AL 3rd-best 26 saves on the season and a 1.06 ERA.

With the recent addition of relief pitcher Jeurys Familia from the Mets and rumors that the A’s are potentially looking to add an additional relief pitcher to the roster by the trade deadline, the A’s have seemingly decided to strengthen their bullpen rather than attempt to acquire a costly starter.

A’s fans are likely overjoyed to see these moves as Oakland’s commitment to this group of players and what they can do, as they proceed as buyers, not sellers as the deadline approaches.

2018 Oakland Athletics Fact #2: Call Them the Comeback Kids

The Oakland Athletics have scored an MLB-high of 185 runs in the seventh through ninth innings, including the most runs scored in the eighth (76) and the most runs in the ninth (53). They average a league-high 1.8 runs in the 7th inning or later.

As of Tuesday, A’s beat writer Susan Slusser reports, the team had earned 16 of their last 25 wins in comeback games, and in a miraculous 11 of the games, they scored the winning run in the eighth inning or later. Last night’s 9th inning win boosts this number to 12.

Two back-to-back comeback wins against the Texas Rangers were an incredible testament of this team’s perseverance . Down 10-2 to start the 7th on Tuesday, the A’s roared back in a series of improbable plays and opposing pitching breakdowns to tie the game in the ninth with a Stephen Piscotty solo home run. Khris Davis would hit the game winning 3-run blast to give the A’s a 13-10 win.

In case you missed it: that’s a whopping 11-run comeback after the 7th inning, the most ever by an A’s team this late in the game since they have been in Oakland (the last time was in 1939). Last night Davis would repeat his performance with a ninth inning blast to lift the A’s from a 5-4 game (they were down 5-1 to start the seventh) to another comeback win.

This is a team that simply will not let any deficit damper their will to win.

2018 Oakland Athletics Fact #3: They Lead the Majors in Home Runs and Slugging on the Road

The Oakland Athletics score an average of 5.72 runs per game on the road, that is tied for most in MLB with the Houston Astros. Compare that to their 3.7ish run average at home, and one can see that this team really thrives in opponent’s parks.

They also surprisingly lead the league in home runs on the road by a mile, with 95 so far. On June 23rd, Oakland set a new MLB record by hitting a home run in their 25th consecutive road game. The team also leads the majors in RBI’s (307) and in team slugging percentage (.472) in away games.

This is a team that many clubs will continue to fear facing in their own home ballparks.

2018 Oakland Athletics Fact #4: They Have Used a (Tied for) League-High 12 Starting Pitchers This Season

The Oakland Athletics have only one of their expected starting five pitchers still in the lineup: Sean Manaea. At one point just a couple of weeks ago, they had six of their starters on the disabled list, and over the course of the season they have sent 12 different pitchers to the mound to start, tied for most in the league.

At 17 games above .500, this should seem like a pretty remarkable fact. In a league that has been generally committed to the importance of starting pitching, the A’s have cobbled together a constantly changing rotation that currently consists of their dependable ace Sean Manaea, two veteran returning A’s from years past, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill, Frankie Montas, and (now on his 13th team) Edwin Jackson.

Their opening day pitcher, Kendall Graveman, announced yesterday he would undergo Tommy John surgery, keeping company with starters Jharel Cotton (also recovering from Tommy John), Paul Blackburn, Daniel Mengden, and Andrew Triggs.

One might speculate as to changing tides in the MLB regarding the importance of a starting rotation that can give you a solid 6-7 innings of work. The A’s are a case-in-point, with pitchers that regularly give no more than 4-5 innings before turning it over to the relief. For now, it’s working for the A’s, as they continue to look to improve their bullpen.