A's Likely to Get Lucas Erceg Back on Wednesday

When talking with Oakland A's right-hander Lucas Erceg before Sunday's game, he sounded pretty confident that he'd be activated from the IL on Wednesday. About an hour after that conversation, Erceg threw a bullpen, and the A's wanted to see how he felt after that throwing session on Monday. Ahead of Tuesday's game, manager Mark Kotsay said that the bridge to closer Mason Miller would most likely be actiavted for the series finale in San Diego.

The 29-year-old infielder-turned-reliever is 2-2 on the year with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 22 innings this season, and not having him as a late-inning option the past couple of weeks has made getting the ball to Miller a little more difficult.

On Sunday, Austin Adams, who has been solid this season, gave up three runs (two earned) in the 10th inning. He was having a difficult time locating his pitches, which led to three walks in the inning. The Jays sent eight players to the plate in the inning, and Adams faced them all.

On Tuesday, Adams recorded an out and gave up two soft singles in the bottom of the eighth, which led to his removal from the game and Scott Alexander taking his place. The lefty got out of the bases loaded jam to keep the score tied in San Diego, but was then tasked with starting the ninth inning. The A's like to reserve Miller for save situations.

Alexander allowed a home run to Kyle Higashioka that ended the game.

Adding Erceg back to the mix will provide Kotsay with another option late in games, and hopefully lead to a few more wins. The A's have lost seven of their last nine and 10 of their last 13. Erceg has been on the IL for 11 of those games.