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The Oakland A’s pitching staff is having accuracy issues to start the season.
The A’s walked an Oakland-record 17 batters Friday night in a 17-6 loss to the New York Mets to drop to 3-11 on the season.
Manager Mark Kotsay signals the bullpen to make a pitching change against the New York Mets in the top of the fourth inning at RingCentral Coliseum on April 14, 2023, in Oakland, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The 17 free passes are the second most in franchise history, behind only the 18 walks surrendered by the 1916 Philadelphia A’s.
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“We’ve been continually sending the message to these guys that they’ve got to throw strikes,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said, according to The Mercury News.
“Throw strikes in the middle of the plate right now. Don’t walk anybody. If you get hit, you get hit. We’ll go from there. So that’s the continued message that we’re gonna pound.
“It’s killed us all season, and we’ve got to address it, and we’ve got to get better.”
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A’s pitchers issued four bases-loaded walks, also tying an Oakland record.
Mark Kotsay, manager of the Oakland Athletics, takes the ball from starting pitcher James Kaprielian, #32, taking him out of the game against the New York Mets in the top of the fourth inning at RingCentral Coliseum on April 14, 2023, in Oakland, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“Walks nowadays are like hits. It was huge,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “We passed the baton. No one was trying to be the hero. We really focused on trying to get a good pitch, and if it wasn’t there, we’ll take it.”
Lindor matched a career-high Friday night, driving in seven runs with a grand slam and a three-run double as New York improved to 8-6 on the season.
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Francisco Lindor, #12 of the New York Mets, hits a grand slam home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the second inning at RingCentral Coliseum on April 14, 2023, in Oakland, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
“There’s not too many days that my body aligns and feels good from both sides,” Lindor said, according to MLB.com, “and today was one of those days.”
A’s pitchers have now walked 77 batters through 14 games, the most in Major League Baseball.
“We out-hit them tonight – 13 hits,” Kotsay said. “You don’t see a lot of times when you out-hit a team that they outscore you by 11. So that’s the frustrating part tonight.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
