Hahn sent to Triple-A
A’s pitcher Jesse Hahn said he was surprised and disappointed that he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.
“It’s a little frustrating,” Hahn said. “I thought I’d been having a really good season up until these last two starts. I don’t want to say it’s unfair because I understand it’s a business thing, but I don’t like that I was kind of judged off of two starts there.”
Hahn was one of Oakland’s most reliable starters in his first 12 games (11 starts), posting a 3.56 ERA while striking out 54, walking 24 and yielding just one home run in 652⁄3 innings.
However, his latest two starts were against the Astros, the team with the league’s best record, and he got rocked for 15 earned runs in four innings, giving up three homers.
Manager Bob Melvin said Hahn’s demotion was more about getting another look at Paul Blackburn, who pitched six innings in his major-league debut Saturday, allowing one unearned run in six innings.
To fill Hahn’s roster spot, the A’s recalled reliever Zach Neal.
Hahn conceded to having “that dead arm feeling” and being a bit tired, which might be a reason for his velocity dip.
“Taking a step back and getting my body right again and making sure I’m 100 percent healthy,” said Hahn, who spent time on the disabled list in late May and early June with a triceps strain. “I think maybe these last couple of starts, my stuff hasn’t been as good. The ball’s been up in the zone a little bit, and I think I’ve been behind in the count a little bit.
“So I have to do a better job managing the damage when I don’t feel good in terms of throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters, putting guys away when I have two strikes on them.” Briefly: Ryon Healy exited with upper back spasms after grounding out in the second inning. He was listed as day to day . ... Khris Davis hit his 23rd homer, the most by an A’s hitter before an All-Star break since Mark McGwire’s 31 in 1997 . ... Santiago Casilla channeled his inner Johnny Cueto (his 2016 Giants teammate), doing a shimmy while facing Matt Kemp and striking him out with a quick pitch.