Athletics Rookie Wins Historic 17-Pitch Duel With Washington Nationals Veteran

Jacob Lopez had never lasted longer than seven innings prior to Thursday afternoon, but the southpaw finally got over the hump against Nathaniel Lowe.

Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Athletics starting pitcher Jacob Lopez (57) pitches Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Sitting at 90 pitches through 7.0 innings, Jacob Lopez was finally given the green light to come back out for the eighth Thursday afternoon.

The new challenge proved to be a tall one for the Athletics' 27-year-old southpaw, but not one he couldn't handle.

Nathaniel Lowe led off the eighth inning for the Washington Nationals, initially keeping his bat on his shoulder as Lopez delivered one ball and two strikes. Lowe fouled off three pitches before taking ball two, fouling away another, then taking ball three. Lowe swung at each of the next seven pitches he saw, fighting them all off for foul balls.

On pitch No. 17 of the at-bat, Lowe held off on a sinker headed low and away. Lopez snuck it into the zone for strike three, winning the marathon and notching the first out of the frame.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, the Lopez-Lowe showdown marked the most pitches in a single plate appearance since Game 4 of the 2021 ALDS. It was the longest plate appearance in the regular season since Sept. 8, 2020.

No Nationals batter or Athletics pitcher has been part of an at-bat that long, per Langs, since pitch counts started getting tracked in 1988.

Jacob Lopez and Nathaniel Lowe took part in a SEVENTEEN-pitch at-bat! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/KjPEEfIxAv

— MLB (@MLB) August 7, 2025

Lopez followed up that bout by striking out Daylen Lile on seven pitches, bringing him up to 10 punchouts on the afternoon, before he got the hook. After never lasting more than 7.0 innings in his career, Lopez wound up tossing 7.2 scoreless.

Since becoming a full-time member of the A's starting rotation on June 8, Lopez is 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA, 1.075 WHIP and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. His team improved to 9-2 in that span following their 6-0 win Thursday.

Lopez got dealt to the Athletics alongside fellow left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs last December, bringing an end to his five-plus years in the Tampa Bay Rays' organization. The Rays gave Lopez eight appearances between 2023 and 2024, but he still had his rookie eligibility intact when he joined the A's.

The Athletics, now 9-4 over their last 13, are set to open up a road series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday. Lopez won't take the mound again until next week, though, when the Rays visit West Sacramento.

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