Graveman looks to Gray for Opening Night tips
Kendall Graveman puts everything in motion Monday night at the Coliseum, but the A’s starter will be trying not to get too amped up.
“I think it’s about keeping the adrenaline down, not throwing through the sink, being about to locate, breathe and get the first out, the first inning, first pitch, whatever under your belt,” Graveman said. “And, hey, the 2017 season will start on my first pitch.”
Sonny Gray would have pitched in this slot were it not for a lat strain that will keep him out until late April, but Graveman had the better season of the two last year. He planned to talk to Gray on Sunday about how he handled pitching Opening Night each of the two previous seasons.
“Two years ago, I was able to see him go (eight) innings, and he dominated,” Graveman said of Gray’s one-hit outing against Texas in 2015, the A’s only win in an opener in the past 12 years. “It is a big night. It’s Opening Night. There’s going to be a lot of hoopla, but you have to go out with the same mind-set every time.”
Graveman had a cold last week, but he said Saturday that he has fully recovered and is feeling good.
The Angels are coming off a fourth-place finish, and their starting pitching is something of a question mark, but the A’s haven’t won a season series against them since 2013 and know what they’re facing.
“You’d like to get off to a good start in your division, and the Angels present many challenges,” manager Bob Melvin said. “They have some very high-profile guys, they like to hit and run, create some action, so we have to be ready for that kind of thing. They always have the potential to be a very good team with guys like Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.” Opener in Oakland: The A’s are expecting a sellout to open the 2017 season, and there are two pregame ceremonies.
At 6:20 p.m., radio broadcaster Ken Korach and members of Bill King’s family will unveil a plaque commemorating the late A’s play-by-play man that will be placed on the plaza level above home plate. The Frick Award will go to King during the Hall of Fame induction weekend in July.
After that, a field named for Rickey Henderson will be dedicated; the scout who signed him, James Guinn, will be among those on hand.
Joshua Henry, who plays Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” will sing the national anthem, and “Hamilton” cast members will sing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.