Designated hitter Mitch Moreland is in a splint for at least two-to-three weeks and could miss the rest of the regular season, manager Bob Melvin said. He was placed on the IL on Aug. 31 with left wrist tendinitis.
“We’ll see where that takes us, certainly the rest of the regular season is in jeopardy at this point,” Melvin said, adding Moreland is seeking a third opinion on the source of his wrist pain.
Jed Lowrie will be used primarily as the designated hitter against right-handed pitching, though he is dealing with some pain in his hand and calf.
Khris Davis should get at-bats as a DH against left-handed pitching. He made his anticipated return as a pinch hitter in Thursday’s game, where he collected two hits — an RBI double and a single — in three at-bats.
Moreland, who shared time with Lowrie out of the DH spot before his injury, is batting .227 with 10 home runs and a .701 OPS.
Oakland versus Toronto
Because of a clerical issue, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas switched places in the A’s rotation with Montas pitching the series finale victory in Detroit on Thursday and Manaea the series opener in Toronto on Friday.
Due to a backlog, Montas could not get his visa in time to cross the Canadian border for his scheduled start against the Blue Jays. After logging a win against the Tigers, Montas returned to the Bay Area while the rest of the A’s team departed for Toronto that night. On Friday morning, Montas was placed on the restricted list and left-handed pitcher Sam Moll was recalled from the taxi squad.
Moll could be used for multiple innings and returns to the big league club with a 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings with the Las Vegas Aviators since he was optioned at the end of July. Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in early July, Moll pitched three scoreless innings during his first stint back with the A’s.
“He was here for a while before he got an appearance, he got three and they were all fairly clean innings. Never hurts to have another left-hander. This team is predominantly right-handed, but he has the ability to get some right out so it’s going to be a short period of time, but well deserved for him based on what we saw recently.”
Manaea gets the ball to open a crucial series against a tough Blue Jays offense hoping not only to set the tone, but put a disastrous August behind him.
Manaea went 0-3 with a 9.90 ERA and .344 opponents average in five August starts — in no start last month was Manaea able to get out of the fifth inning, either. No A’s pitcher since Carl Scheib put up a 9.99 ERA in July of 1947 has had worse month than Manaea this August.
Perhaps running out of steam, Manaea and the rest of a taxed rotation will need to kick it back into gear down two games of the Boston Red Sox for the second wild card spot heading into Friday’s games. In 21 starts before his August slip, Manaea’s 3.01 ERA, 137 strikeouts and 14 home runs allowed had him ranked among the American League leaders.
The Blue Jays have some of their best lined up in the rotation for this series and a gauntlet of powerful right-handed hitters that includes AL MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Bo Bichette and old friend Marcus Semien — group of A’s players met with their old teammate Semien for a dinner out on Thursday night.
Manaea and Irvin, the two left handed pitchers on the A’s staff, will have a hard task in tamping this offense down. Here’s how the pitching match-ups shake out.
LHP Manaea (8-9, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Manoah (5-2, 3.15 ERA)
Manoah is a rookie making a strong impression with a mid-90s mph fastball, slider and changeup.
RHP Paul Blackburn (0-1, 2.81 ERA) vs. RHP José Berrios (9-7, 3.53 ERA)
Blackburn, slotted into the rotation for an injured Chris Bassitt, is gaining steam and confidence after pitching a scoreless outing against the New York Yankees last Sunday. Berrios is having a career year with Toronto by keeping hitters off balance — his .188 expected opponents average and 35% strikeout rate are among the top in the league.
LHP Cole Irvin (9-12, 3.74 ERA) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (10-5, 2.71 ERA)
Like Manaea, Irvin will have the tall task of navigating the right-handed hitters that make up Toronto’s best lineup. He’s managed right-handers fairly well this year, keeping them to a .253 opponents average and .684 OPS.
Ray is having a career year with the Blue Jays, generating plenty of swings-and-misses with a 32% strikeout rate.
Seth Brown, COVID-19 positive
Brown tested positive for COVID-19 with symptoms on Aug. 27, which would mean he is eligible to be activated on Sept. 6 at the earliest. Melvin said Brown is still feeling symptoms and may require more time to get back to baseball activities.
“Not quite there yet in terms of how he feels,” Melvin said. “He’s feeling a lot better, but he’s not to the point where he’s doing any physical activity. We’re going to have to get him ramped back up again and it could take a little bit of time.”
