A’s recall A.J. Puk, who’s ‘feeling good’ with new arm angle

CLEVELAND — Left-hander A.J. Puk, the A's pitcher who has dealt with a series of injuries, was recalled Tuesday to join the Oakland bullpen after a run of strong outings at Triple-a. Reliever J.B. Wendelken was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Puk worked one inning in the A's 4-3 win in Cleveland and was sharp. He retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the sixth.

Ten of his 11 pitches were 96-98 mph fastballs and he froze Owen Miller on a backdoor slider for one of his strikeouts.

“Pretty good,” A's manager Bob Melvin said. “It's the arm angle, I think, that looks a lot freer for him. It just doesn't look like he has to work as hard to get it straight over the top. I know he says he feels better with it and for a first look, I can understand why he feels good with it.”

Puk, who did not pitch last season because of shoulder injuries that required surgery and spent time on the injured list this season with a biceps strain, said Tuesday he decided to change his arm angle in Triple-a in late May. Puk said he dropped his angle 4-6 inches before a game in Albuquerque and “since then, all of, like, the little nerve symptoms I was getting went away and I'm feeling good.

“I was playing catch before a game. I kind of just dropped down early in the catch session and I felt pretty good. And then that day I got called in to come into the game and I was just pitching normal, my normal arm slot, normal mechanics, and I wasn't feeling good at all,” Puk said before Tuesday's game.

“I just said, `I've got nothing to lose right now,' so I dropped it down right there like the last four pitches before I went in the game and stayed there ever since. As soon as I dropped it, I didn't feel anything, felt good, free and easy again.”

Puk had a 1.89 ERA in his last 11 games with Triple-a Las Vegas with 20 strikeouts in 19 innings.