MINNEAPOLIS — The A’s set an Oakland franchise record on Tuesday night by losing their 109th game of the season, but with five games remaining there’s still one record chase that can help the team head into the winter on a positive note. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz is on the brink of tying Kenny Lofton’s American League single-season record for stolen bases by a rookie. Ruiz remained at 65 stolen bases after grounding into a double play, striking out and fouling out in the A’s 11-3 loss to the Twins on a rainy night at Target Field.
The entire A’s offense had a rough night against Twins starter Bailey Ober and three relievers. Former Twin Brent Rooker and Nick Allen had two hits each for the A’s, who were held to eight hits and struck out 15 times. Every A’s starter except Allen struck out as the A’s fell to 22-54 on the road and 48-109 overall.
They entered the game tied with the 1979 team for the most losses in a season since the franchise moved to Oakland 55 seasons ago. Oakland has five games remaining – two more against the Twins and then a three-game series in Anaheim — to conclude the season, which should provide Ruiz enough opportunities to catch Lofton. Ruiz, 24, led the minor leagues with 85 stolen bases last season between Double-A and Triple-A, and raced to the brink of the record books with two steals on Sunday against the Detroit Tigers in the A’s final home game of the regular season.
He was acquired over the winter from the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the three-team, nine-player deal that sent catcher Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves. Ruiz was the starting center fielder on opening night and despite reaching base in each of his first six games with the A’s, didn’t have his first stolen base attempt until Game 7, but once he got going, only a mid-season shoulder injury could slow him down. Ruiz was successful on his first 11 attempts of the season and has only been thrown out 12 times this season.
Ruiz will win the A. L. stolen base crown easily – Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr.
is a distance second with 48 – and has a chance to catch Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. for the major league lead. Acuna has stolen 68 bases and could get some rest in the final days of the regular season as the N.
L. East-leading Braves prepare for the playoffs. Ruiz, who has a slash line of .
256/. 309/. 350 with five home runs and 24 doubles, has been a steady threat to run all season.
He’s swiped at least 10 bases in every month except July, when he played in just four games (but stole two bases) because of a right shoulder subluxation that landed him on the IL. Lofton stole 66 bases in 1992 with Cleveland in 148 games. Ruiz has played in 126 games this season.
Former A’s star Rickey Henderson, who set the MLB single-season record with 130 in 1982, is the last Oakland player to reach 66 steals in a season, reaching the mark in 1998 at the age of 39. Mitchell Page had held the A’s rookie record with 42 stolen bases in 1977, but Ruiz surpassed that mark in early July. — The A’s have lost 100 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in Oakland history.
They went 60-102 last season. Before last season, 1979 had been the franchise’s only 100-loss season since it moved from Kansas City. — The Twins capitalized on A’s starter Paul Blackburn’s wildness to put the game away with a five-run first inning.
Blackburn (4-7) went three innings, but barely got out of the first after strikeout out the first two batters he faced. After Donovan Solano singled, Blackburn walked the next three batters — forcing in the first run of the game — and then gave up a grand slam to Twins rookie outfielder Matt Wallner. .
From: mercurynews
URL: https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/09/26/oakland-as-lose-franchise-record-109th-game-of-season-but-esteury-ruizs-pursuit-of-stolen-base-mark-on-the-horizon/