When the A's signed Frank Thomas last month after the Blue Jays dumped him, the only real question was how Oakland would manage to juggle three designated hitters.
As it turns out, Jack Cust has been only occasionally inept in left field, and Mike Sweeney has hit over .300 while sharing time at first base with rookie Daric Barton. Now, with Thomas nursing a sore right quadriceps, the DH surplus is handy. Sweeney stepped back into the DH role he was handling before Thomas arrived, and if Thomas is out for a long time, Cust can DH against right-handers on occasion.
Thomas' MRI results Wednesday evening were not encouraging: He said there is major inflammation in the quadriceps tendon, near his knee, and he is probably looking at a disabled-list stay if it doesn't clear up in the next few days.
He said he's been playing with the condition for two weeks and it had been manageable with treatment, but he hadn't realized how bad it had gotten until he saw how swollen the area above the knee was.
The A's also might be looking at a DL situation with outfielder Ryan Sweeney, who fouled a ball off his left foot Wednesday night and was taken for X-rays. It's likely Oakland will call up some help from Class AAA Sacramento on Thursday, possibly outfielder Travis Buck.
BLUE JAYS 2, A'S 1: Rich Harden allowed five hits and one run in seven innings, but he left Wednesday's game with the score tied. Toronto scored the winning run in the ninth against veteran right-hander Keith Foulke when Alex Rios doubled in Shannon Stewart. Rios denied the A's their best chance to score: With men at the corners and two outs in the sixth, Mark Ellis hit a long drive to left-center that Rios chased down just in front of the wall. Stewart drove in the only run off Harden with a hit up the middle in the third that scored Brad Wilkerson from second.
