Oakland Athletics: 2015 Season Almanac

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Game 4 – Thursday, April 9, 2015 @ 12:30 pm

Game Attendance: 16,045
Season Attendance: 86,616
Lowest Attendance: 15,025 (Game 2)
Game Time: 2:32
Season Time: 10:42

Win Record: 2-2
Win Record vs Rangers: 2-2
Streak: L1
AL West Standing: 2nd
Magic Number: 159

Winning Pitcher: Nick Martinez (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Kendall Graveman (0-1)
Pitchers/Pitch Count: Graveman/57, Scribner/59, Alvarez/11, Clippard/16
Total Pitches per game: 143
Total Pitches per season: 509

Game Home Runs: 0
Season Home Runs: 2
Game Runs: 1
Season Runs: 20
Runs Rank: 3rd (Tied with Rockies)
Run Differential: 7
Differential Rank: 6th (Tied with Blue Jays)

Game RBI Leader: Semien (1)
Season RBI Leader: Canha (4)
Most RBI’s in Single Game: 4 (Game 3)

Game RISP: 0 for 5
Game LOB: 6
Season RISP: 12 for 43
Season LOB: 29

Game Batting Average: .194
Lineup Batting Average: .270

Total Players Used in Game: 16
Most Players Used in Game: 16 (Game 4)

Challenged Plays: 1 (Safe call at second/overturned)
Total Challenged Plays: 2
Total Overturned Plays: 2

Special Notes:

Apr 9, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Kendall Graveman (31) pitches against the Texas Rangers in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Kendall Graveman’s first outing as an Oakland Athletic would have been disappointing by any standard but coming off of such an incredible spring makes it an even harder pill to swallow. Graveman walked his first batter on five pitches, gave up a hit to his second, had an error on a pickoff attempt which sent the runners to second and third, had his third batter reach on a fielders choice which brought in a run due to a catching error by Vogt, gives up an RBI single to his fourth batter, loads the bases on his fifth batter, gives up a sac fly to his sixth batter and gets out of the inning with a double play awarded to the A’s after a replay.

It is easy to look at the box score and assume that Graveman had a horrible outing but there were also fielding errors by the Athletics mixed through this game.  For all the defensive woes we mocked the Rangers for in game 3, the Oakland Athletics were exhibiting those same woes in game 4. Graveman was given 3.1 innings on Thursday’s game and will enter his next start with an 18.90 ERA. He later told reporters that he felt like his command was off during warm ups and that he never found it during the game. When he does find it, expect to see a very different outcome.

Ike Davis struck out three times and walked once during the game and is still struggling to find a second hit with a .111 batting average after four games. He leads the Athletics in walks, however, at 4 and is sitting on a .385 OBP. The Oakland Athletics have split their first series with a 2-2 record against the Texas Rangers. The remainder of their home stand will be against the Seattle Mariners who are expected by many to be the best team in the AL West. The Mariners are going into the series with a 1-2 record and a team average of .219.

Relevant Links

A Team of Extremes Kendall Graveman Doesn’t Suck

Next: Game 5 vs. Seattle

Schedule