A's move on against Orioles without injured Manaea
BALTIMORE -- The Oakland A's received more bad pitching news Tuesday but kept marching merrily on and increased their winning streak to five. They will try to move that to six Wednesday when they take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.
Oakland lost top starter Sean Manaea as the team confirmed that "Manaea will have arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder on Sept. 19... in Los Angeles." Manager Bob Melvin told the media before Tuesday's game that they're not expecting to see the pitcher in 2019.
"I think the specifics we'll talk about more so after the surgery, so we know exactly what was repaired," Melvin told the media. "But unfortunately, it's another one we're going to have to wait basically a year for, and we really and truly feel for him."
Manaea ends the season with a 12-9 record plus a 3.59 ERA and is part of a large number of Oakland pitchers who've had surgery or gone to the disabled list for a long stretch.
Still, the A's keep winning. Their offense has stepped up and made the A's a dangerous team. For example, Stephen Piscotty, who had an RBI single in Tuesday's win, now has a 12-game hitting streak plus a six-game RBI streak after going 3-for-4 with an RBI in the 3-2 victory over the Orioles on Tuesday.
As for Wednesday's game, the A's might turn to their bullpen. The team now has 21 pitchers on board thanks to the September roster expansion, and there has been no official announcement yet, various media reports have Liam Hendriks (0-1, 6.32) will start, likely as part of a bullpen effort.
Hendriks has made 17 appearances this season, with 14 coming in relief. The Australian is 0-0 with a 6.10 career ERA in 16 games (one start) against the Orioles.
Baltimore will start Andrew Cashner (4-14, 4.89). The right-hander has run into the same problem as many Oriole pitchers -- too many homers allowed. He's given up a career-high 24 home runs this season.
Cashner has pitched well several times but also like other Oriole pitchers, just hasn't always gotten the needed run support.
The veteran has a 1-0 record with a 4.30 ERA in five games (four starts) versus the A's.
Also regarding pitching, Baltimore starter Alex Cobb's blister problems got him again Tuesday. He had to leave after just two innings as the blister issue came up once more, and the Orioles needed to take him out.
"It's been a challenge for him," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after Tuesday's game. "He was really frustrated, and we'll look at it again, see how it manages."
The Orioles, meanwhile, have dropped five in a row. They are struggling at the plate and also on defense, where several mistakes have helped opponents score in recent games.
Baltimore made several moves before the series opener. The Orioles selected the contract of outfielder DJ Stewart from Triple-A Norfolk and recalled right-hander Cody Carroll from the same team.
They also reinstated catcher Andrew Susac from the restricted list and moved Mark Trumbo and pitcher Pedro Araujo to the 60-day disabled list.
