...to HARDEN UNOFFICIAL, the first-ever fanpage dedicated to the easy-throwing fireballer lurking in the Oakland A's organization. Rich is regarded as the next Hudson/Mulder/Zito and he might very well make the A's Big Three into the Big Four in the near future. Feel free to browse around and I update frequently so come back often!

What's New?!

August 10th, 2004: Two more starts updated... I guess I'm doing better now. I'm not quite slacking as much. Relatively speaking. I think I need some new pictures.

August 3rd, 2004: Updated with the wrap-ups of Rich's starts for the last month and I finally have the most recent stats and standings.

June 23rd, 2004: Updated for Rich's last two starts. This is going to be my last update for a month or so; I'm going to be in London through the month of July and won't have regular internet access, so please bear with me.

Harden Updates
archived updates

August 9th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 8: Minnesota Twins 2.

Rich helped the A's end the roadtrip on a positive note and after the 18-inning marathon the day before, Oakland needed him to go deep in the game, which he delievered. He allowed the Twins to strike early with a two-out Jose Offerman triple and an RBI-single by Justin Morneau, but the run support he received from his teammates, as well as the performance from the 'pen (including the 2-inning ML debut of Jairo Garcia), propelled him to the win to improve his record to 6-5. Rich gave up 2 runs on 7 hits, walked 4 and struck out 2, in 6.2 innings pitched. Wrap up.

August 4th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 6: New York Yankees 8 (11).

Rich left the game in the seventh inning with a 2-run lead, but ended the day with yet another no-decision. With the score at 6-4, he was pulled after allowing two men to reach base while retiring only one in the frame. Before Gary Sheffield tied the game off Octavio Dotel and Alex Rodriguez walked-off in the 11th, Rich gave up 4 runs on 10 hits, walked 1 and struck out 4, in 6.1 innings pitched. Wrap up.

July 30th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 5: Texas Rangers 7.

Rich, who was on a strict pitch count after throwing 244 pitches in his last two starts, was effective most of the night and pitched himself out of trouble in the sixth. With runners on second and third and two outs, he struck out Gerald Laird with a 97mph fastball. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 and walking 2, in 6.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

July 25th, 2004: Texas Rangers 2: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 9.

Though Rich did not give up a hit until the there were two outs in the 4th inning, he ran up his pitch count with a total of six walks on the day. Nevertheless, he picked up the win, his fifth of the year, to even his record. He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, walking 5 and striking out 4, in 5.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

July 20th, 2004: Toronto Blue Jays 0: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 1.

After setting a new career-high in innings pitched in his last outing, Rich turned right around and extended that by going 0.2 inning longer. This time, however, there was no homerun off of the Oakland starter. In fact, there were no runs scored off him, or any other As pitchers, period. Rich gave up 0 runs on 2 hits, walking 3 and striking out 8, in 8.2 innings of work, but he did not pick up the win as Dave Bush, the Toronto starter was equally as tough. The As won the game on a bases-loaded single from Damian Miller in the 14th inning. Wrap up.

July 15th, 2004: Chicago White Sox 2: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 6.

In the longest outing of his young career to date, Rich was efficient and able to bounce back from mistakes. Pitch count and damage control had often been Richs persistent problems, but tonight, he was able to clear both obstacles by going 8 strong innings with a pitch count of 95 and regain his composure even after a 7th-inning homerun by Magglio Ordonez. Rich did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and faced the minimum through 18 batters. In the end, he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 1 and striking out 3, in 8.0 innings pitched to pick up the win in the 2nd half opener. Wrap up.

July 8th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 8: Boston Red Sox 7.

Facing Curt Schilling and an always-tough Boston team, Rich got knocked around a little bit at Fenway Park. The Red Sox scored six of their seven runs off the Oakland starter with 2 outs in the innings. In the end, he gave up 7 runs on 7 hits, walking 6 and striking out 7, in 5.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

July 3rd, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 6: San Francisco Giants 2.

After leaving the game early the week before with a dislocated shoulder, Rich returned to the mound only to dominate Bonds and the Giants. Other than two runs as results of walks, Rich gave up nothing else. He yielded 2 runs on 2 hits, walking 4 and striking out 3, in 6.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

June 26th, 2004: San Francisco Giants 7: OAKLAND ATHLETICS 8.

In a wild Battle of the Bay, Rich injured his shoulder while trying to retire a runner at first base and left the game having faced 10 batters. He gave up 1 run on 1 hit, striking out 3 and walking 1, in 2.1 innings pitched. Wrap up.

June 21st, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 3: Anaheim Angels, 10.

Back in the American League after two weeks of interleague match-ups, Rich meets the As division rival Angels, against whom he picked up his first Major League win last year. In this meeting, Rich was as sharp as any pitcher could be through the first four innings, allowing only a single to Vladimir Guerrero. He enjoyed a 2-0 lead over John Lackey and the Angels thanks to doubles by Durazo and Crosby, and a 2-RBI single by Scutaro, in the top of the 5th. In the bottom of the inning, however, the Angels tied the game with a 2-RBI single of their own, off the bat of David Eckstein and took the lead with RBI hits from Guerrero and Anderson. Rich was chased from the game by Molinas RBI single in the sixth inning with one out. He gave up 5 runs on 8 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4, in 5.1 innings pitched to pick up his second consecutive loss. Wrap up.

June 16th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 2: St. Louis Cardinals, 6.

Rich breezed through the first inning and struck out the first batter of the second before giving up a homerun to the Cardinals Jim Edmunds. It looked like he wouldve escaped further damage when the pitcher Jason Marquis came to the plate with two outs. However, with two men on base, Marquis delivered a two-run double over Mark Kotsays reach, which proved to be the game-winner, handing Rich his 4th loss of the year. He did keep the As close though, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, walked 2 and struck out 7, in 6.1 innings pitched.

In his first major league start in a National League ballpark, Rich went 0-for-3 at the plate with 1 strike out. Wrap up.

June 9th, 2004: Cincinnati Reds, 8: OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 17

Richs average performance in his first Major League interleague start did not cost the As the game as the offense raked up 22 hits and 17 runs, both season-highs, en route to the three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. He looked stellar over the first five innings, holding the Reds scoreless. However, in the sixth inning, Cincy scored five runs on the Oakland starter and chased him from the mound. In addition, he picked up his first error of the season, dropping the flip from Hatteberg when covering first base. Regardless, Rich picked up his third win of the season to even his record at 3-3. He gave up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 8, over 5.1 innings pitched. Wrap up.

June 4th, 2004: Toronto Blue Jays, 6: OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 1.

Despite seven strong innings, in which Rich apparently found the command that was missing from his last start in Cleveland, Rich picked up a no-decision, the 7th consecutive ND picked up by Oakland starters. The offense failed to give him run support, scoring only one run off Toronto's starter Josh Towers. Rich gave up 1 run on 4 hits, walking 3 and striking out 7, over 7.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

May 29th, 2004: OAKLAND ATHLETICS, 6: Cleveland Indians, 8.

Weak defense and problems locating pitches accounted for the A's loss in Cleveland. Rich started the contest by walking three of the first four hitters he faced and allowed the Indians to tie the game in the bottom of the first inning, giving up two runs on no hits. Though he walked six batters over the course of the game, Rich held Cleveland hitless through 4.2 innings. When Rich was lifted in the sixth inning before getting his first out of the frame, he was in line to pick up the win with his club leading 6-5. However, at the end, Rich picked up the no-decision as the A's bullpen gave up the remainder of Cleveland's eight runs. Rich gave up 5 runs, 3 earned, on 2 hits, walking 6 and striking out 4, over 5.0 innings pitched. Wrap up.

May 22nd, 2004: Thanks to a pair of KC errors in the second inning, Rich pitched with the lead until Mike Sweeney's solo homer in the fourth cut the lead in half, and Angel Berroa's two-out double in the fifth tied things up. In the sixth inning with one out and the bases loaded, the Royals were presented with a great opportunity to un-tie the game. However, Rich got out of the jam with a shallow fly ball to right and a fly ball to left. He turned things over to the bullpen after that and five relievers 2-hit the Royals to set up a dramatic 10th inning, in which Byrnes drove in Crosby, who stole second after hustling to beat out a double play, for the winning run. Rich gave up 2 runs on 8 hits, struck out 6 and walked 1, in 6.0 innings pitched. Wrapup.

May 18th, 2004: In a rematch between former teammates and roommates, Rich fell on the short end this time around. Having out-dueled Jeremy Bonderman in Detroit just six days before, Rich looked sharp, but Bonderman was tougher, giving up only 1 run, the result of a Durazo homer, on 4 hits in 7.0 innings pitched. Rich slightly unraveled after Omar Infante?s single that led to two runs being scored two batters later. In the end, he gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, walking 3 and striking out 2, in 6.0 innings pitched, to pick up the loss. Wrapup.

May 12th, 2004: In the first ever duel against his former spring training roommate, Jeremy Bonderman, Rich looked stellar as he beat the Tigers for his second win of the season. Bonderman was tough on the A?s hitters, allowing only four hits and two runs in seven innings, but Rich lived up to the challenge: giving up just 7 hits and a single run in 7.0 innings, striking out 8 and walking 3 to improve to 2-2 on the season. Wrapup.

May 6th, 2004: Rich started the game rocky, struggling through the first two innings, allowing four runs on five hits before finally getting an out in the second inning. However, in the fourth inning, he began using his split-finger, which allowed him to mix up the combination of pitches as the Yankees were sitting on his fastball early in the game. En route to picking up his first win of the season, Rich allowed a total of 4 runs on 6 hits, walking 4 and striking out 9, in 7.2 innings pitched. Wrapup.

May 1st, 2004: Without early run support from his teammates, Rich picked up a no-decision instead of the win. He only gave up 1 run: In the 3rd inning, Carl Crawford hit a one-out triple and later scored on a passes ball. Total: Rich gave up 1 run on 6 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4, in 6.0 innings pitched. Recap.

April 25th, 2004: Following a satisfying turn-around in Seattle, where he picked up his first win of the season, Rich began his start against the Anaheim Angels quite effectively. In the first five innings, he kept the dangerous Anaheim bats quiet, giving up only 1 earned run: when David Eckstein scored from 3rd on a balk called on Harden. However, in the sixth inning, Tim Salmon took a slider over the fence for 3 RBIs. Rich gave up a total of 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4, in 5.2 innings pitched. He dropped to 0-2 on the season with the loss. Wrap Up.

April 20th, 2004: Rich's first career start against Seattle, a team he grew up rooting for, went as well as any pitcher could ask for: he gave up 1 ER on 3 hits, walked 4 and K'd 9 Mariners over 7.0 innings pitched. However, Raul Ibanez spoiled the young pitcher's chance at his first win of the season by blasting one out of the park off Jim Mecir in the bottom of the 9th, giving Seattle a 2-1 win. Game Summary. Box Score.

April 15th, 2004: In his first start of the 2004 MLB season, Rich seemed to be in control of the game through the first three innings as he recorded five K's total through those innings. In the fourth, however, things began to unravel as Texas tagged Rich for two runs in the inning and scored four in the fifth before an out was made. Rich gave up 6 earned runs on 11 hits, with 6 K's and 1 walk, in four innings pitched en route to his first loss #1. Wrapup.

April 14th, 2004: Rich had been called up from Sacramento by the A's and will have his 2004 season debut in tomorrow's game against the Texas Rangers.

Next Up:

Detroit Tigers @ Oakland Athletics
August 10th, 7:05PM
August 11th, 12:35PM
August 12th, 12:35PM

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