ANAHEIM As if making his major league debut weren't going to be special enough, Brett Anderson will pitch the first game of his career in the A's home opener tonight.
Anderson, 21, was scheduled to go Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels, but the postponement of that game because of the death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart pushed back Anderson's start to tonight against the Seattle Mariners. The left-hander is looking forward to it, though he knows it's the result of sad circumstances.
"It'll be exciting, obviously," Anderson said Thursday. "You didn't really know what to expect with today's events. It's obviously a tragic loss for the Angels and the Adenharts. Tomorrow, I know I've got to put it behind me and (give) a strong debut."
The A's announced that left-hander Josh Outman, originally scheduled to pitch tonight, will go Saturday instead. Right-hander Trevor Cahill will start Sunday, with Dallas Braden being pushed back a day to start Monday's series opener against Boston.
The A's provided no explanation for the rotation switch. It could be the A's want the more experienced Braden to pitch against the Red Sox in what's sure to be a rowdy atmosphere at the Oakland Coliseum rather than Cahill, 21.
Solid so far
The A's have gotten steady work from their bullpen through three games. In nine innings, the relief corps has allowed just one earned run. That includes two impressive outings each from Michael Wuertz and rookie Andrew Bailey, who pitched a scoreless inning Wednesday against the Angels for his first career win.
Bailey said he was given the lineup card and a game ball for keepsakes.
"We've pieced together a pretty good group of guys down there," said Wuertz, obtained in a trade from the Chicago Cubs over the winter. "I think we're all on the same page as far as what our role is."
Short hop
Fewer than 1,000 tickets remained for tonight's game as of Thursday afternoon, an A's official said. The team expects a sellout.
Joe Stiglich
