Dallas Lee Braden was originally signed by A's scout Blake Davis...graduated from A.A. Stagg High
School (Stockton, CA) where he earned league Pitcher of the Year honors and was named team MVP as
a senior...graduated from American River College where he twice earned all-conference honors...attended
Texas Tech University...was inducted into the Stockton Athletic Hall of Fame, Nov. 17, 2010...
has spent the past four Thanksgiving holidays soliciting, matching and serving food donations at St.
Mary's Interfaith Community Services in his home town of Stockton...from 2009-11, has sponsored
children of a single-parent family from his former Hoover Tyler Little League in Stockton...has purchased
and donated A's tickets to the Hoover Tyler Little League...was the co-recipient of the 2009
Dave Stewart Community Service Award which is given annually to an A's player for outstanding work
in the community...has served as a guest analyst on MLB Network during the past two postseasons.
2011
Made just three starts before undergoing season-ending surgery on his left shoulder in mid-May...
was 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA when he was placed on the disabled list April 18, retroactive to April 17,
with stiffness in his left shoulder...it was his third career stint on the DL...Dr. David Altchek, medical director of the New York Mets, performed surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder May 17...
allowed a .265 opponents batting average, including .176 to batters leading off an inning and .083 with
runners in scoring position...opponents are batting .228 (38 for 167) with RISP over the last two years
after hitting .315 over his first three seasons...issued all five of his walks to right-handed hitters...
opponents were 0-for-3 in stolen base attempts and they are 4-for-14 (28.6%) in his career...has 19
career pickoffs...the A's were 2-1 in his starting assignments and are 35-44 (.443) in his 79 career
starts...is 2-32 in 46 career starts with run support of two runs or fewer, compared to 23-4 in 33 starts
with support of three or more...has 39 runs of support in his 36 career losses (199.0 ip, 1.76 RSA)...his
career RSA as a starter is 3.60 (187 rs in 468.0 ip)...allowed five runs on 10 hits in 7.0 innings in his first
start, a 5-3 loss at Toronto April 6...then surrendered just one run in 6.0 innings April 11 at Chicago but
received a no decision in the A's 2-1, 10-inning win...registered his only win of the season in his final
start April 16 against Detroit...yielded one unearned run in 5.0 innings.
2010
Had one of the most memorable performances in Oakland history with his Mother's Day Perfect Game
yet finished the season with an 11-14 record despite a 3.50 ERA...the ERA was sixth lowest in Oakland
history among pitchers with a losing record and was the lowest since 1978 when Matt Keough went 8-15
with a 3.24 ERA and Rick Langford posted a 7-13 mark and a 3.43 ERA...the last Major Leaguer with
an ERA of 3.50 or lower and a winning percentage of .440 or worse was Omar Daal, who was 8-12 with
a 2.88 ERA for Arizona in 1998...had the fourth-lowest run support in the American League (3.60)...
ranked fifth in the AL in fewest walks per nine innings (2.01) and had the eighth lowest opponents onbase
percentage (.294)...also tied for the league lead in shutouts (2), tied for second in pickoffs (8) and
ranked fourth in complete games (5)...now has 19 career pickoffs...since 2007, only Mark Buehrle
(31) and Andy Pettitte (23) have more pickoffs...opponents were successful in just 1 of 3 (33.3%) stolen
base attempts, which tied for the lowest percentage in the AL...has yielded just one stolen base over the
last two years, while opponents are 4 for 11 (36.4%) off him in his career...tied for fifth in the AL in
losses (14), becoming just the second A's pitcher over the last 12 years to lose at least 14 games (Greg
Smith, 16 in 2008)...averaged 14.8 pitches per inning, which was third fewest in the AL...had career
bests in nearly every category, including ERA, opponents batting (.249), opponents on-base percentage
and opponents slugging (.373)...is now 19-23 with a 3.66 ERA over the last two seasons, with his ERA
ninth lowest among AL pitchers with 300 or more innings over that span...opponents hit .249 in 2010,
including .242 by right-handed hitters and .271 by left-handers...entered the season with a .295 mark
against righties and .236 against lefties...yielded a .239 mark with runners in scoring position after
entering the season with a .315 career mark with RISP...was 6-11 with a 4.15 ERA in 18 starts on four
days rest and 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 12 starts on five days rest or more...yielded 48 of his 83 runs in the
fifth through seventh innings...had a 2.18 ERA over the first four innings of a game and 5.70 from the
fifth inning on...received run support of two runs or fewer in 17 of his 30 starts...had 17 runs of support
in his 14 losses (83.1 ip, 1.84 RSA) and now has 36 runs of support in his 35 career losses (192.0 ip, 1.69
RSA)...is 2-32 in 45 career starts with support of two runs or fewer, compared to 22-3 in 31 starts with
run support of three or more...has career run support of 3.62 (181 rs in 450.0 ip) as a starter...made 10
starts with Landon Powell as his catcher, a pairing that produced a 4-6 record with four complete games,
two shutouts and a 2.75 ERA (22 er in 72.0 ip) in those starts, including the perfect game...was 7-8 with
a 3.95 ERA (53 er in 120.2 ip) in his other 20 starts....was part of four double plays on defense, which
tied for second among AL pitchers...the A's were 13-17 (.433) in his starting assignments and are 33-43
(.434) in his 76 career starts...tossed six or more innings in 22 of his 30 starts, allowed two runs or fewer
14 times and walked two batters or fewer 27 times.
OAKLAND: Struck out a career-high 10 batters in his first start of the season, April 6 against
Seattle, but had a no decision in a 2-1, 10-inning
loss...then won each of his next three starts
to give him a career-high four-game winning
streak dating back to July 31, 2009...allowed a
career-high 11 hits in a 4-2 loss to Texas May
3...matched that hit total May 30 at Detroit
and June 9 against Los Angeles...pitched the
19th of the 20 perfect games in Major League
history May 9 against Tampa Bay (including
Don Larsen's in the 1956 World Series)...it was
the second by an Athletic and came 42 years
and one day after Catfish Hunter did it against
Minnesota May 8, 1968...according to the Elias
Sports Bureau, he is the first pitcher to throw
a perfect game against a team entering the day
with the best record in the majors...it came in
his 68th career appearance, which is third fewest
among the 20 pitchers with a perfect game...was
named American League Player of the Week for his effort...it was the sixth no-hitter by an Oakland
Athletic, the first since Dave Stewart on June 29, 1990 against Toronto...Braden's came at the age of
26 years, 269 days, making him the second oldest pitcher to toss a no-hitter in Oakland history (Stewart
was 33 years, 130 days)...it was the 11th nine-inning no-hitter in Athletics history...tossed 109 pitches,
77 for strikes...it was the first complete game of his career, snapping a career-opening streak of 52
consecutive starts without going the distance...that is an Oakland record, topping the previous mark
of 51 by Todd Van Poppel from Sept. 11, 1991-Sept. 12, 1995...it was the fourth longest streak at any
point in Oakland history...in fact, had tossed fewer than eight innings in each of his first 52 starts,
which was the longest streak of consecutive starts of fewer than eight innings in Oakland history...
in his first start following the perfect game, May 14 at Los Angeles, he retired the first two batters he
faced to extend his consecutive batters retired streak to an Oakland record-tying 29 (also Hunter, May
3-8, 1968)...the streak ended on a two-out double by Abreu in the first inning but he retired 11 straight
after that for a stretch where he retired 40 of 41 hitters...blanked the Angels on three hits over the
first five innings to extend his scoreless streak to a career-high 16.0 innings...finished with a complete
game seven-hitter, but was the losing pitcher in the A's 4-0 loss...of the 16 perfect games since 1922,
only Len Barker followed with another complete game and he also lost...is the first A's pitcher to toss
back-to-back complete games since Mark Mulder had three straight from May 9-21, 2004...the loss to
the Angels began a five-game losing streak as he went nine starts following his complete game without
a win...would not win again until July 25 against Chicago...according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the
nine consecutive starts without a win following a no-hitter or perfect game is the longest streak in major
league history...the previous was eight by Mark Buehrle following his perfect game in 2009...posted a
4.10 ERA and allowed a .319 opponents batting average over the nine starts but received just 12 runs of
support (2.05 RSA)...left consecutive starts early May 19 against Detroit (flu-like symptoms) and May
25 at Baltimore (sprained left ankle)...both times the problems were pre-existing conditions...went 1-4
despite a 3.15 ERA in six starts in May, tying for the AL lead in losses...the Twins' Danny Valencia stole
second base in the second inning June 4, the first stolen base he allowed since Aug. 20, 2008, also against
Minnesota (Punto)...had gone 229.2 innings without allowing a stolen base...was placed on the 15-day
disabled list July 3, retroactive to June 23, with left elbow stiffness...it was his second career stint on
the DL...made one rehab start for Single-A Stockton July 15, a no decision in the Ports' 10-9 win over
Visalia (4.0 ip, 7 h, 3 r, 3 er, 1 bb, 4 so)...was 4-7 with a 3.83 ERA in 15 starts before the injury, then
went 7-7 with a 3.19 ERA in 15 starts after he was reinstated July 20...logged a 3-2 record and a 2.19
ERA in five starts in August, ranking eighth in AL in ERA for the month...fired his second shutout of
the season Aug. 28 at Texas, a four-hitter in a 5-0 A's win...tossed a career-high 120 pitches, becoming
just the second Athletic pitcher with a shutout (or complete game) at Rangers Ballpark (Brett Tomko,
Sept. 14, 2009)...then went 1-5 with a 4.42 ERA in six starts in September...became just the second A's
pitcher since 1999 to lose five games in one month (Joe Kennedy, Sept., 2005)...tied for the AL lead in
losses (Vargas, SEA)...lost his first four starts in September, including Sept. 12 against Boston when he
issued a season-high four walks...that snapped a 20-start streak with two walks or fewer from May 3 to Sept. 7, which tied for the third longest such streak by a starting pitcher in Oakland history...finished the
season by going 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA over his final three starts.
2009
Was the A's Opening Day starter and went 8-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 22 starts before a rash led to nerve
damage in his left foot, ending his season in August...his wins, ERA, opponents batting average (.268),
starts, innings pitched (136.2) and strikeouts (81) were the best of his three seasons in the majors...the
opponents batting average included a .203 (27 for 133) mark against left-handed hitters and .290 (117
for 404) against right-handers...now has a .236 (61 for 258) career mark against lefties and .295 (251
for 850) against righties...allowed just nine home runs in 136.2 innings, an average of 0.59 per nine
innings...that was the fourth lowest mark in the American League among pitchers with 100 or more
innings pitched...was 7-7 with a 3.12 ERA and .255 opponents batting average in 18 starts before the
All-Star Break and had the seventh lowest ERA in the AL...then went 1-2 with a 7.40 ERA and .324
opponents batting average in four starts after the break before he was placed on the 15-day disabled
list Aug. 8 retroactive to Aug. 1 with a rash on his left foot...the rash led to nerve damage and he was
transferred to the 60-day DL Sept. 11...received run support of one run or less in 10 of his 22 starts...his
season run support of 3.95 was fifth lowest among AL pitchers with 100 or more innings...was 1-8 in
his 10 starts with run support of one run or less and 7-1 in his other 12 starts...is now 1-17 in 22 career
starts with zero or one run of support and 12-4 in 24 starts with run support of two or more...has career
run support of 3.64 (104 rs in 257.1 ip) as a starter...has received 19 runs of support in his 21 career
losses (108.2 ip, 1.57 RSA)...did not allow a stolen base and his 136.2 innings pitched were the most
in the majors among pitchers who did not allow a steal...has not allowed a stolen base since Aug. 20,
2008 against Minnesota (Punto)...opponents have been successful in just 3 of 8 (37.5%) career stolen
base attempts and he has nine career pickoffs...had a roller coaster season with his ERA as he posted
a 2.10 ERA in April, 4.86 in May, 2.51 in June and 5.54 in July...his opponents average increased to
.306 with runners in scoring position and he has allowed a .315 (85 for 270) average with RISP in his
career...allowed a .227 average to batters leading off an inning...opponents batted .240 with three home
runs in 325 at bats over his first 60 pitches in a game and .311 with six home runs in 212 at bats after
that...allowed a .323 batting average to the first three hitters in the order and .236 to the four through
nine hitters...compiled a 3.18 ERA in nine starts during the day compared to 4.39 in 13 starts at night...
went 6-4 in 12 starts in Oakland and 2-5 in 10 starts on the road...his career numbers entering the season
were 1-7 at home and 5-5 on the road...went 0-2 in three interleague starts despite a 2.95 ERA and .211
opponents batting average...committed three errors, which led the A's pitching staff and tied for fifth
in the AL...the A's were 9-13 (.409) in his starting assignments and are 20-26 (.435) in his 46 career
starts...tossed six or more innings in 16 of his 22 starts, allowed two runs or fewer 12 times and walked
two batters or fewer 17 times...was named as having the third best pickoff move in the AL in Baseball
America's best tools survey.
2008
Had four stints with the A's in 2008...made nine relief appearances to start the season, then finished the year with
10 consecutive starts before a strained groin ended his season on September 11...was 5-4 with a 4.14 ERA in 19
games, 10 starts...went 1-0 with a 4.80 ERA in his nine relief appearances and was 4-4 with a 3.97 ERA in his 10
starts...now has a 3.86 ERA (10 er in 23.1 ip) in 15 career relief appearances and is 5-12 with a 5.74 ERA (77 er
in 120.2 ip) in 24 starts...tied for third in the American League with seven pickoffs despite spending two months of
the season in the minors...since pickoffs were tracked beginning in 1987, that is tied for the fifth best single season
total in Oakland history...allowed a .284 opponents batting average, which included a .272 (55 for 202) mark against
right-handed hitters and .319 (22 for 69) against left-handers...allowed four home runs against righties and four
against lefties...his opponents average increased to .315 with runners in scoring position but dropped to .200 with
RISP and two outs...has allowed a .322 (47 for 146) career average with RISP...yielded a .363 opponents batting
average the first time through the lineup, .244 the second time through and .148 after that...was 3-1 with a 2.35
ERA in five starts on four days rest or less and 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA in five starts on five days rest or more...is now
3-4 with a 4.58 ERA (30 er in 59.0 ip) in 11 career starts on four days rest or less and 2-8 with a 6.86 ERA (47 er
in 61.2 ip) in his other 13 starts...the A's were 6-4 (.600) in his 10 starting assignments and are 11-13 (.458) in his
24 career starts...tossed seven or more innings three times, allowed two runs or fewer five times and walked two
batters or fewer seven times...had run support of two runs or fewer in seven of his 10 starts and his run support
average as a starter was 2.70...had two runs of support in his four losses (0.92 RSA) and 12 in his four wins (4.50
RSA)...has received run support of two runs or fewer in 17 of his 24 career starts for an average of 3.28 (44 rs in
120.2 ip) as a starter...first batters faced were 1 for 9 (.111) and he allowed 1 of 3 (33.3%) inherited runners to
score...first batters faced are now 1 for 14 (.071) in his career...tossed at least one inning in each of his nine relief
appearances, including two or more five times.
2007
Was one of nine players to make their Major League debut with the A's in
2007 and he had five stints with Oakland...was the winning pitcher in his
debut on April 24 at Baltimore but then lost each of his final eight decisions
to finish 1-8 with a 6.72 ERA in 20 games, 14 starts...based upon a
minimum of 70 innings pitched, his ERA was third highest in the American
League and third highest in Oakland history behind Dave Stewart (6.89
in 1995) and Omar Olivares (6.75 in 2000)...his .111 winning percentage
was the lowest in the AL and third lowest in the Majors based on a minimum
of seven decisions...using the same minimum, it was fourth lowest
in Oakland history and the lowest since Mike Mohler went 1-10 in
1997...the eight-game losing streak tied for the longest in the AL in 2007
and it equaled the seventh longest in Oakland history...it was the longest
by an Oakland pitcher since Mohler lost eight straight from April 5 to May
28, 1997...was 1-8 with a 7.31 ERA and .315 opponents batting average in
his 14 starting assignments and 0-0 with a 2.16 ERA and .200 opponents
batting average in six relief appearances...allowed a .303 opponents batting
average, which included .214 (12 for 56) against left-handed hitters
and .324 (79 for 244) against right-handers...the mark against righties was
fourth highest in the AL...allowed just one of his nine home runs against
lefties...six of the home runs were solo shots...opponents hit .326 with
runners in scoring position, including .341 with RISP and two outs...was
0-5 with a 5.65 ERA and .281 opponents batting average in 10 games,
eight starts, in Oakland compared to 1-3 with an 8.28 ERA and .331 opponents
batting average in 10 games, six starts on the road...allowed a .230
opponents batting average over his first 30 pitches in a game, .301 over
pitches 31 through 75 and .471 after that...had a 1.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts
in 14.0 innings in the first inning of a game and a 7.87 ERA and 35 strikeouts
in 58.1 innings after that.
Received run support of two runs or fewer in 10
of his 14 starts and he had season run support of 3.80 in his starting
assignments...the A's scored just nine runs in his eight losses (35.2 ip, 2.27
run support)...the A's were 5-9 in his starting assignments...tossed six or
more innings in just three of his 14 starts and pitched fewer than five innings
in eight of his starts...allowed two runs or fewer four times and
walked two batters or fewer 12 times....first batters faced were 0 for 5
with a walk in his six relief appearances and he allowed 1 of his 4 inherited
runners to score...was selected from Triple-A Sacramento on April 23 and
made his Major League debut the next day at Baltimore...became the 33rd
pitcher in Oakland history to start in his debut and the 10th to win as he defeated the Orioles, 4-2 (6.0 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 6 so)...lost his next
start on April 29 to Tampa Bay and was optioned back to Sacramento
following the game...went 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in two starts during his
second stint from May 12 to 17...pitched exclusively in relief during his
third stint from June 25 to July 6 and had a 4.50 ERA in three
appearances...returned to the rotation during his fourth stint from July 16
to August 12 and was 0-4 with a 6.52 ERA in six starts...struck out a
career high seven batters on July 16 against Texas, a figure he matched
against the Rangers on August 6...tossed a career high seven innings and
allowed just one run on July 22 against Baltimore, but the A's were shutout
2-0 and he took the loss...was 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA in his two starts against
the Orioles and 0-7 with a 7.89 ERA against everyone else.
Left with the
lead in consecutive starts on August 1 against Detroit and August 6 at
Texas only to have the bullpen blow the save both times...allowed a career
high eight runs in 1.2 innings on August 12 at Detroit, his shortest outing
as a starter...returned to Oakland for a fifth time on September 1 when
rosters expanded and was 0-1 with a 7.78 ERA in seven games, four
starts...did not allow a run in his three relief appearances (4.1 ip)...allowed
a career high nine hits in 4.2 innings on September 2 against
Detroit...allowed six runs in 3.1 innings on September 23 at Cleveland to
extend his losing streak to eight games...was 3-3 with a 2.84 ERA in 13
combined starts with Sacramento and Double-A Midland...walked just 21
and struck out 87 in 76.0 innings...allowed a .201 opponents batting average,
which included .196 (36 for 184) against right-handed hitters and
.213 (20 for 94) against left-handers...five of the six home runs he allowed
were hit by right-handers...opponents were 9 for 47 (.191) with runners in
scoring position...his teams were 7-6 in his starting assignments...tossed
six or more innings in nine of his 13 starts, allowed two runs or fewer nine
times and walked two batters or fewer 11 times...began the season at Midland
and went 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two starts before he was promoted to
Sacramento on April 19...ended up going 2-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 11 starts
with the River Cats...had two complete games, which tied for third in the
Pacific Coast League...made his first career start at the Triple-A level on
April 19 at Portland and tossed 6.0 shutout innings...ended up with a no
decision in the River Cats 6-5, 10-inning win and was promoted to
Oakland...made his second Triple-A start on May 4 against Tucson and
had another no decision, despite allowing just one run in 6.0 innings...went
0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in four starts in June...picked up his first win at
Sacramento on July 7 against Fresno when he struck out 10 and allowed
just one run on three hits and a walk in 6.2 innings...tossed back-to-back
complete games in his final two minor league starts...had a five-hitter in a
4-1 loss to Fresno on August 22...then tossed a three-hit shutout on August
27 against Colorado Springs in a 3-0 Sacramento win...did not walk a
batter and struck out a River Cats record 17 to earn Pacific Coast League
Pitcher of the Week honors...threw 81 of his 106 pitches for strikes.
2006
Was limited to just 10 appearances, all starts, after recovering from a humoral defect in his left
shoulder...was a combined 4-0 with a 4.10 ERA at Double-A Midland, Single-A Stockton and the A's
affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League...threw two scoreless innings his first start of the season July 4 at
the Cubs in the AZL...did not allow a run in three starts (9.0 ip) in rookie ball before being promoted to
Single-A Stockton...made his first start with the Ports July 19 at Rancho Cucamonga and was roughed
up for six runs on seven hits, including two home runs, but received a no decision...made three more
starts for the A's in the AZL from Aug. 16-27 and was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 12.0
innings...was then promoted to Double-A Midland and made one start vs. Frisco Sept. 1...was 3-1 with
a 1.34 ERA in nine games, six starts, for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
2005
Was named the A's Organizational Pitcher of the Year after combining for a 15-5 record and a
3.52 ERA in 23 appearances, all starts, for Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland...the 15 wins were
tops among A's minor league pitchers...posted a 6-0 record with a 2.68 ERA in seven starts for Stockton,
limiting hitters to a .201 batting average...tossed a complete game, five-hitter with 11 strikeouts vs. San Jose May 11th...was promoted to Double-A Midland where he went 9-5 with a 3.90 ERA in 16 starts
for the RockHounds...won five of his first six starts for Midland from May 17-June 12 (1.87 ERA)...
was 1-2 over his next four starts before winning three straight from July 8 to 18 in which he allowed just
four earned runs in 18.1 ip (1.96 ERA).
2004
Began the season at Single-A Vancouver and was 2-0 with two saves in seven appearances...
allowed three earned runs on four hits in his first appearance of the year vs. Tri-City...did not allow a
run over his next four appearances (8.0 ip)...finished the season at Single-A Kane County where he went
2-1 with a 4.70 ERA in five appearances, all starts...did not receive a decision in his first two starts and
was 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA over his last three outings.