Oakland Athletics’ Jesus Aguilar watches his three-run home run against the Cleveland Guardians during the eighth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Apr 5, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s have won two and lost four in the first six games of the season. Oakland played a competitive and entertaining three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians. The A’s could have won all three games but lost two in extra innings. Here are some facts about the team’s performance so far this season.

The A’s pitching staff has the fourth-highest ERA in Major League baseball. They have thrown six wild pitches, which is the second-worst. The A’s defense has committed one or more errors in the first six games. It is the longest season-opening streak by an A’s team in the last 47 years.

The offense could have done more in the series against the Angels. The A’s did score eleven runs last Monday against Cleveland. They beat Cleveland Tuesday night 4-3 but lost on Wednesday 6-4. In that game, Oakland managed four hits. Fortunately for the A’s, two of the hits left the yard.

The A’s are on the road for the first time in 2023. Oakland will face the Tampa Bay Rays for three and then play four with the resurgent Baltimore Orioles.

The Rays have won all six games to start the season. The Rays finished third in the tough American League East Division with a record of 86-76. It will be challenging for Oakland this weekend. On Friday, the A’s will send lefty Ken Waldichuk to the hill to face the Rays.

Waldichuk lost his first start against the LA Angels last week. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 9.53. His opponent will be Zach Elfin. Elfin was with the Philadelphia Phillies last year. Elfin won his first start, and his ERA is 1.80. He went five innings and allowed three hits and one run.

On Saturday, Shintaro Fukinami pitches for the Green and Gold. Fujinami had a nightmarish outing against the Angels last Saturday. Fujinami made it through the first two innings unscathed. In the third inning, the roof caved in as the Angels scored 11 runs in the frame.

Fujinami was charged with nine runs. His ERA is an astounding 30.86. Lefty Jeffrey Springs pitches for Tampa Bay. Springs had a great first start. The 30-year-old lefty went six innings and allowed no runs and no hits.

Sunday’s game will feature James Kaprielian against the Rays’ Drew Rasmussen. Kaprielian lost his first game, and his ERA is 9.00. Rasmussen pitched well last week as he went six innings and allowed two hits and no runs.

The Rays have some young players that are doing well right now. The Infield features Yandy Diaz at first base, Brandow Lowe at second, Wander Franco at shortstop, and Isaac Paredes at third base. Diaz has two homers and six RBIs so far this year. Wander Franco is 22 years old. Franco is hitting .417 and has two dingers and seven ribbies. Left Fielder Randy Arozarena is also hot. Arozarena is hitting .364 with one homer and six RBIs. Center fielder Jose Siri is hitting.333 with two homers and eight RBIs.

The A’s would like to take two out of three from the Rays. The A’s must improve in all three areas to accomplish their goal. The starting pitchers must go deeper into the game. The bullpen must not be overworked so early in the season. The A’s offense must get going, and the defense must stop making errors. It will be a very long season if the A’s cannot improve.