OAKLAND — Following the success the Tampa Bay Rays found employing the same strategy, the A’s are taking their goal of shortening games with their dominant bullpen to a new level.
Liam Hendriks, the right-handed reliver who returned to Oakland from Triple-A with rosters expanding for September, was called up and named the starting pitcher for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Mariners.
The Rays were the talk of the baseball world back in May when they announced they would be starting out games with a reliever in the first inning before inserting their actual “starter” into the game.