A's co-closer Joey Devine visited Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday to get answers about what is causing recurring pain in his right elbow, and Andrews recommended a bone scan and a CT scan on the elbow.
Devine already has had an MRI and a contrast MRI on the elbow. The A's did not announce if those tests revealed any damage to the elbow, and even if they did not, that would not be any guarantee that there is no structural problem with the elbow. If further testing does not reveal the cause of Devine's elbow discomfort, exploratory surgery is likely to be considered. That was the case with A's starter Justin Duchscherer last month; he is expected back in May following a minor cleanup of his right elbow via arthroscopic surgery.
Devine has been bothered by the same elbow problem three times in less than a year despite lengthy stretches of rest, rehab and strengthening programs.
Brad Ziegler, who was expected to close along with Devine, is handling the chores himself, and he has saves in two of Oakland's first three games.
A'S 6, ANGELS 4: Oakland stranded 10 men through the first seven innings and didn't push a man across until the eighth. The A's cut what had been a 4-0 deficit to one that inning, then scored three more in the ninth, all with two outs. Nomar Garciaparra, pinch-hitting for Travis Buck, singled in the tying run on a 2-2 pitch from Brian Fuentes, and Mark Ellis' infield hit scored the go-ahead run.
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