NEW YORK – About the only thing that went wrong for Kendall Graveman on Wednesday night was his bat selection.
Considering he hadn’t stepped into the batter’s box in seven years, the A’s right-hander can be forgiven.
When the A’s lost their designated hitter following a series of lineup changes resulting from Danny Valencia’s hamstring injury, Graveman grabbed one of Josh Phegley’s bats and walked to the plate with two runners aboard in the fifth inning to face Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.
Graveman, the A’s first starter to hit in an American League game since Ken Holtzman in 1975, actually fouled off a pitch but went down swinging on three pitches.