OAKLAND A's manager Bob Geren said right-hander Sean Gallagher will make Saturday's start against the Toronto Blue Jays in place of rookie Brett Anderson, who had to leave Monday's 5-2 loss against the Los Angeles Angels after 4 2/3 innings with a blister on his left index finger.
Geren said there was no thought of putting Anderson on the 15-day disabled list or bringing up someone from Triple-A Sacramento, simply because the A's have two days off next week, and Anderson will have plenty of time to recover from the blister. Anderson said his finger felt better Wednesday than it did last Thursday, two days after the problem first cropped up this season in Texas. He has made five starts this season and is 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA.
Gallagher entered in relief of Anderson on Monday, the day Gallagher was recalled from Sacramento, and threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings. His fastball was between 93 and 94 mph.
Mental approach
Outfielder Ben Copeland, who was activated from the DL on Tuesday, missed six weeks with a sprained left shoulder before he began a rehab assignment with Single-A Stockton on Saturday. But he put his time away from the field to good use.
As he recovered from the injury, which occurred March 16 when he ran into a wall making a catch in a spring training game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Copeland thought about how he wanted to approach each at-bat to improve his timing and patience.
It must have worked. Copeland, an offseason Rule 5 draft choice from the Giants, went a combined 6-for-13 in two games with Stockton and one with Triple-A Sacramento.
"I couldn't play, and sometimes when I'm playing, I'll press," he said. "I'll go in the cage and get swings in, but they're kind of pointless. There's no thought behind them, there's no plan. When I couldn't take swings, I was just working everything through in my head and as far as what I wanted to do with my hands and my head."
Short hops
Third baseman Jack Hannahan got his first start of the season Wednesday since he was recalled from Sacramento on April 24. "... Reliever Santiago Casilla (sprained right knee) was supposed to throw off a mound Wednesday but had that pushed back at least a day after feeling some discomfort while jogging Tuesday. He threw off flat ground Wednesday. "... Infielder Nomar Garciaparra said his visit with a specialist in Boston on Monday regarding his strained right calf, went well. He said he can "tell it feels better just by walking around." He's eligible to come off the DL on May 14.
Curtis Pashelka
