Morales (4-3) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out five over 4.2 innings to take the loss versus the Royals on Saturday.
Morales needed 101 pitches (59 strikes) in this outing, which was far from his best work of the year. Over his 10 appearances (nine starts) in the majors, the rookie right-hander maintained a 3.14 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB across 48.2 innings. Morales' body of work in 2025 was decent -- he also had a 10.3 K/9 over 47 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas despite a 4.40 ERA. He should be in contention for a rotation spot from the get-go in 2026.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Logs quality start in loss
Rotowire
Morales (4-2) took the loss against the Pirates on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts over six innings.
Morales threw just 56 of 96 pitches for strikes and generated only eight whiffs but still managed his first quality start since Aug. 27. The 22-year-old has now held opponents to two earned runs or fewer in six of his eight major-league starts. He owns a 3.07 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 38:16 K:BB across 44 innings with the Athletics and will look to finish the year strong in a home matchup with the Royals next weekend.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Notches fourth win
Rotowire
Morales (4-1) earned the win over the Reds on Sunday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two over five innings.
Morales got off to a shaky start, surrendering a solo homer to Noelvi Marte in the first and a two-run shot to Will Benson in the second. The right-hander managed to regroup from there, working around traffic in his final three frames -- including a bases-loaded jam in the fourth -- to keep Cincinnati from adding on. While it wasn't his sharpest outing, the 22-year-old did enough to secure his fourth win of the year. Morales will take a 3.08 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 34:14 K:BB through 38 innings into his next scheduled start against Pittsburgh, a favorable matchup given the Pirates' league-worst OPS since the beginning of September.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Takes first loss
Rotowire
Morales (3-1) allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out two over 4.2 innings to take the loss versus the Red Sox on Monday.
Morales had his first setback in the majors, as he allowed as many runs in this start as he did across his first six appearances combined. The Red Sox were also able to get to him for two home runs to send him to his first loss. Morales has a 2.73 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 32:12 K:BB over 33 innings so far. He'll look to bounce back this weekend in a start projected to be at home against the Reds.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Dominates Detroit in win
Rotowire
Morales (2-0) earned the win over the Tigers on Wednesday, tossing seven scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and two walks while striking out seven batters.
Morales got stronger as the game progressed -- he allowed three baserunners over his first three innings but only one across his final three frames. The right-hander notched 11 whiffs among his 91 pitches and recorded his third straight quality start. Morales made his MLB debut out of the bullpen Aug. 1 and has started in each of his four outings since. He's been a revelation for the Athletics, compiling a 1.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 22:10 K:BB through 22.2 total innings. Morales will try to keep rolling in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to be on the road in St. Louis.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Steady in third start
Rotowire
Morales allowed a run on two hits and struck out six without walking a batter over six innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Friday.
Morales retired the first 13 batters he faced before Eugenio Suarez hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. Through four appearances (three starts), Morales is looking major-league ready, posting a 1.72 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB over 15.2 innings, with Friday's outing being against his toughest opponent yet. It's not yet clear when he'll start again, but the Athletics are at home versus the Tigers and Rangers in a pair of three-game series next week.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Collects first big-league win
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Morales (1-0) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings to earn the win over the Angels on Saturday.
Morales had mixed results in his first start last Sunday versus the Orioles, but he was steady after a shaky first inning in his second start. This was a good enough effort for Morales to come away with his first big-league win in just his third appearance. He's pitched to a 1.86 ERA despite a 1.66 WHIP and 9:8 K:BB through 9.2 innings since he was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Morales is tentatively projected for a somewhat tough road start versus the Mariners next week.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Wild in first start
Rotowire
Morales did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing no hits and five walks over 2.2 scoreless innings against the Orioles. He struck out four.
Morales didn't allow a hit in his first MLB start Sunday, but five walks and just 25 strikes on 57 pitches limited him to recording only eight outs. The rookie debuted Aug. 1 against the Diamondbacks, giving up one run over two innings in relief, before earning his first start. Earlier this year, he regularly worked deep into games for Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas from mid-April to mid-June, but the right-hander hasn't gone beyond three innings in an outing since the start of July. With the pitching staff in flux and Luis Severino (oblique) now on the injured list, it remains to be seen what role Morales will fill moving forward.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Set for first big-league start
Rotowire
Morales will start Sunday's game against the Orioles.
Morales most recently logged two innings in his big-league debut Aug. 1, and prior to that, he had been logging between one and three innings per outing at Triple-A Las Vegas. With that in mind, Morales' first big-league start will likely be a short one. Morales has big-time stuff, with his fastball having touched triple digits in the past, but his control has been much better since he started pitching in shorter stints after giving up six runs in 2.1 innings in a June 21 start. After that, he had a 2.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB in 18 innings over nine appearances before getting the call to the majors. Osvaldo Bido could be an option to log multiple innings after Morales exits Sunday.
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Athletics' Luis Morales: Promotion expected
Rotowire
The Athletics are expected to select Morales' contract Friday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.
Morales has pitched at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season. He began the year as a starter but has more recently shifted to a multi-inning relief role, posting a 22:11 K:BB across 20.1 innings. Morales' fit with the big-league club is unclear, and no starter has been announced for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks.
