Jacob Wilson entered Friday's game nursing a couple of injuries already, with a shoulder that will need to be taken care of during the offseason after he dislocated it back in May, while also managing patellar tendinitis which has A's manager Mark Kotsay looking for ways to keep him off his feet as much as possible.
In the bottom of the first inning on Friday night, Texas Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker hit Wilson on the right hand with a 95 mph sinker. The A's shortstop stayed in the game initially and came around to score on a Carlos Cortes bases-loaded double that put the A's up 3-0.
Wilson was removed in the bottom of the second inning when his turn to bat came up again, with Alika Williams taking over at short.
The team is calling it a left hand contusion and X-rays were negative. Wilson is considered day-to-day.
The A's would win the game 8-3 over the Rangers with Jeff McNeil going 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI on the night. Lawrence Butler would also notch his 10th homer of the season with a solo shot in the seventh.
The A's will be looking to win their first series in Sacramento since April 28-30 when they took two of three from the visiting Kansas City Royals. The last home series the A's won was back on June 12-14 against the Colorado Rockies, but those games were played in Las Vegas.
Springs Begins Rehab in Stockton
Veteran left-hander Jeffrey Springs hasn't pitched for the A's since July 31, but was in Stockton for his first rehab start on Friday night, starting for a Ports team that also boasts recent draftees Drew Burress, Roman Martin, and Alex Sosa.
Springs ended up tossing three innings, giving up five hits and three runs (one earned), striking out four and walking none.
While the runs allowed may seem alarming for a pitcher with this much big-league experience in the lower levels of the minors, the goal of these rehab outings isn't the results, but instead building up the pitch count and getting game action in against live batters in a competitive setting.
The first batter he faced reached on an error by shortstop Edgar Montero, 19. The second batter singled to right, and the third batter belted a ground-rule double. The Rawhide would score a second run on a sac fly before the end of the inning.
In the second inning, Springs allowed a leadoff single yet again before notching a pair of outs. A double from Brayden Dowd put runners on second and third, while a second error, this time from Roman Martin, allowed the third run to score.
Springs ended up throwing 59 pitches (41 strikes), which is a good sign as he filled up the zone and pitched into and out of trouble. The immediate next step is making sure he's feeling ok after that rehab appearance.
If he's doing well, then the A's could send him on another rehab start next week with a return to the rotation after that at close to a full workload of between 90-100 pitches. The club could also decide to put him back into the rotation next week on a limited pitch count of around 70-75 pitches if they choose.
The reason that would make sense is that the A's will be in Kansas City for four games to begin next week, and Kauffman Stadium is one of the parks that suppress home runs the most. Springs is tied for the second-most home runs allowed this season with 28, and providing him a softer landing spot in his return from the IL could be an option to consider.