Already owning the worst record in baseball, the Oakland Athletics may not have speedy center fielder Esteury Ruiz in the lineup when they open a three-game road series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
Ruiz, who leads the majors with 43 stolen bases, injured his right shoulder while diving into first base during Wednesday’s 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. He left the game and was replaced in center field by Tyler Wade. Ruiz was scheduled to have an MRI exam and wasn’t in the lineup when the Tigers beat the A’s 9-0 on Thursday.
Ruiz certainly was missed as Oakland was blanked for the 10th time this season.
“It’s his throwing arm and the dive back in, he felt something and wasn’t sure if there was a pop, but we’re going to get it examined,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said.
Ruiz, 24, picked up his 43rd stolen base Wednesday before injuring his shoulder. That set the franchise record for stolen bases by a rookie. Former Oakland outfielder Mitchell Paige stole 42 bases as a rookie in 1977.
The American League record for stolen bases by a rookie is held by Kenny Lofton, who stole 66 bases with Cleveland in 1992.
“(Ruiz is) fearless out there,” Oakland catcher Shea Langeliers said. “He’s going to go. He knows what he’s doing. He’s so fast … it’s a big advantage for us when he’s out there on the bases.”
Ricky Henderson owns the A’s record for stolen bases in a season. Henderson stole 130 bases in 1982, which is also the modern-day major league record for stolen bases in a season.
The Red Sox are coming off Thursday’s 10-6 victory over Texas, which gave Boston two wins in the three-game series and five victories in their last six games overall.
Following Thursday’s win, Boston manager Alex Cora said, “We don’t know yet,” when asked who would start Friday. However, later the club announced that lefty Brennan Bernardino (1-0, 2.70 ERA) would get the nod. He would serve as the opener, as he pitched both Sunday and Tuesday, going 1 1/3 innings in each game. He started Tuesday against the Rangers and came in to start the second inning Sunday in Toronto.
Bernardino has pitched in 24 games this season with the one start, logging a total of 26 2/3 innings thus far.
That fits the Red Sox’s plan as earlier this week Cora said two of Boston’s final three games before the All-Star break would likely be bullpen days for his team. However, he also added that right-hander Nick Pivetta (4-5, 4.92) may get a considerable amount of work in one or both of those games.
Pivetta began the season in Boston’s starting rotation but was moved to the bullpen after he compiled a 6.30 ERA through his first eight starts. He’s recorded 31 strikeouts in 24 innings since May 21, however, and has a 2.63 ERA during that stretch.
“You cannot go five innings, six innings right away with (Pivetta),” Cora said. “You have to be careful because we haven’t stretched him out. … I think physically he can do it (start), but you gotta be careful. And obviously bullpen-wise you have to be careful too.”
Pivetta has made three career appearances against Oakland, all of them starts. He’s 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 22 innings.
Oakland is scheduled to send righty Luis Medina (2-7, 6.37) to the mound. The 24-year-old rookie has yet to pitch against the Red Sox.
Medina earned the win in his last start, a 7-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox last Friday. He limited Chicago to one run on four hits in five innings but also walked five.
–Field Level Media
