Another injury hit the Athletics on Friday night, and this one landed right in the middle of the infield.
Jacob Wilson left the A’s series opener against the Rangers at Sutter Health Park in the second inning with a left hand contusion after taking a 95 mph sinker from Texas starter Kumar Rocker in the first. Wilson stayed in long enough to get examined by head athletic trainer Jeff Collins and manager Mark Kotsay, then even found a way to contribute offensively, scoring on Carlos Cortes’ three-run double later in the inning.
He also opened the second inning on defense and handled a couple of plays, including a strong grab up the middle on a grounder by Elias Díaz. But when his turn in the lineup came back around in the bottom half, the A’s turned to pinch-hitter Alika Williams instead.
For a club already battered by injuries, it was another tough break. The Athletics are already missing offensive stars Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker, and Wilson has spent much of the season fighting through problems of his own.
The 24-year-old entered Friday with a 113-game errorless streak, which remains the Major League record for consecutive errorless games by a shortstop. He’s also been dealing with a left shoulder issue from a subluxation in May that will likely need surgery after the season, along with patellar tendinitis in his right knee that has forced Kotsay to monitor his workload over the last couple of weeks.
If Wilson’s absence stretches beyond the short term, the A’s would likely piece together the shortstop job with Williams and Donovan Walton. Darell Hernaiz would also be a candidate to come up from Triple-A Las Vegas, thanks to his ability to handle multiple infield spots.
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Oakland has shown flashes in spots, but the larger pattern keeps coming back around in the same frustrating way. The Rangers leaned on MacKenzie Gore to get into the sixth inning, then turned it over to a bullpen that finished with 3 1/3 scoreless frames, and now the series heads to its finale with Jacob Lopez lined up for the Athletics against Cody Bradford for Texas. [Read more 🡒]