This at-bat was ... how long? Inside Lopez and Lowe's historic duel
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WASHINGTON -- Having never tossed a complete game at any level of professional baseball, Athletics starter Jacob Lopez had his sights set on going the distance for the first time in his career after completing seven scoreless innings on 90 pitches against the Nationals on Thursday.
Then, Nathaniel Lowe stepped into the box and decided to get pesky.
The eighth inning of a 6-0 victory for the A’s at Nationals Park branched out into a game within the game between Lopez and Lowe, who engaged in a grueling battle for 17 pitches.
The showdown got off to a rather pedestrian start. Lopez quickly got ahead for a 1-2 count, with two of his first three pitches to Lowe going for called strikes.
From there, it was war.
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The fourth pitch was an 89.3 mph cutter from Lopez that was fouled off by Lowe. Lopez then went to a 77.7 mph slider, which Lowe also fouled off. Then came a 91.8 mph fastball. Lowe fouled that off, too.
The seventh pitch was a changeup that went for a ball to even the count at 2-2. Pitches eight, nine and 10? A fastball that was fouled, a cutter for a ball and a slider that was fouled. Full count.
“I was back there like, ‘When is this guy going to just put it in play already, dude?’” said A’s catcher Willie MacIver. “I’ve seen a lot of guys get about 10 pitches in and just throw one out of the zone.”
Lopez was 10 pitches in, but there was no backing down. Not when he was already this far.
From here, Lopez threw the kitchen sink at Lowe, with two fastballs, a sinker, a cutter, a slider and a changeup for his next six pitches. All six were fouled off.
"Just keep going, man,” Lowe said when asked what was going through his mind with each foul ball. “Just keep going. Get my swing off and hopefully he misses somewhere in the middle."
Lopez, meanwhile, was having all the fun in the world.
“It was awesome,” Lopez said. “I was cracking a couple of smiles throughout that at-bat. Willie helped out a lot. We were getting pretty creative.”
Finally, on the 17th pitch, Lopez spotted a 91.1 mph sinker low and away that froze Lowe for a called strike three.
“What was that, 17 pitches?” MacIver asked. “Woof. … It’s a testament to Lopez’s mentality out there. He kept coming after him, no matter how many foul balls, no matter what pitch. It was impressive. The fact that Lopez was hitting his spot every time and not getting frustrated but staying locked in … he stayed in the moment.”
"That at-bat right there just showed the momentum that Lopey had and the feel he had to throw the baseball over the plate and in the strike zone," A's manager Mark Kotsay added.
The longest regular-season at-bat since pitch counts have been tracked in 1988 is Brandon Belt's 21-pitch battle against Jaime Barria in 2018, when he hit 16 foul balls. Luis Guillorme also worked a 22-pitch walk during a Spring Training game vs. Jordan Hicks in 2021.
Nonetheless, the battle between Lopez and Lowe will go down as a historic encounter. It was the most pitches by an A’s pitcher in a plate appearance ending in a strikeout since pitch counts have been tracked, and that’s only one of many impressive facts from this epic matchup:
• 17 pitches are tied for the second most in a plate appearance ending in a strikeout across MLB since pitch counts have been tracked, trailing only a 20-pitch battle between Bartolo Colon and Ricky Gutierrez on June 26, 1998. The other 17-pitch at-bat was Asher Wojciechowski vs. Tommy La Stella on Sept. 30, 2017.
• The previous plate appearance of at least 17 pitches in MLB occurred on Sept. 8, 2020, when Matt Wieters flied out against Caleb Thielbar on 19 pitches.
• The 17 pitches are the most by a Nationals/Expos batter in a plate appearance since pitch counts have been tracked and tied for the most by an A’s pitcher in that span.
That plate appearance encapsulated why Lopez, whose 3.59 ERA following Thursday’s 10-strikeout scoreless gem now ranks sixth lowest among qualified Major League rookies, has been so effective. He can mix in five different pitches, including a fastball that carries a bit more deception than its average of around 90 mph lets on.
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"Big crossfire and good angle,” Lowe said of Lopez’s delivery. “I saw everything in his arsenal, and I’m disappointed it ended the way it did."
Lowe did manage to spoil Lopez’s complete-game bid. With his pitch count rising from 90 to 107 in the aftermath, Lopez was pulled at 114 pitches after striking out Daylen Lile for the second out of the eighth.
Still, Lopez got the win, both for the A’s and against Lowe in a duel for the ages.
“I played with his brother [Josh] in Tampa,” Lopez said. “It was fun to get after it. That was a good, professional at-bat.”