TORONTO -- The Athletics added some reinforcements to their bullpen prior to Friday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, recalling right-handers Josh Lucas and Emilio Pagan from Triple-A Nashville.
The move paid immediate dividends, as Lucas was the first man out of the bullpen when Brett Anderson left Friday's game after just one inning with a left shoulder strain.
Oakland placed starter Andrew Triggs on the 10-day disabled list with nerve irritation in his right arm. Triggs left Thursday's series-opening win against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre in the third inning and will undergo further testing in Oakland.
"I've had the worst-case scenario, which is [a] UCL [injury], and I'm optimistic it's nothing related to that," Triggs said after Thursday's game.
The A's also optioned Ryan Dull to Triple-A. On Thursday, Dull was one of four relievers who combined to finish out the game after Triggs was removed, and threw 25 pitches. He allowed one run in 2/3 of an inning to raise his ERA to 6.30.
"This is a guy that we typically give the toughest right-handed matchups to, and that will be the case again at some point," said manager Bob Melvin.
Lucas ended up playing a starring role in Friday's win despite fearing he wouldn't get through Toronto's traffic in time for first pitch. He took over for Anderson in the second and gave the A's 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts.
"He was in uniform, at best, 20 minutes before the game," said Melvin. "Dustin Fowler had a good night, we had a lot of contributions tonight, but none more than Josh Lucas."
Pagan has already made 12 relief appearances with the A's this season and posted a 5.93 ERA. The 27-year-old made Oakland's Opening Day roster and looked strong earlier in the year, but went through a run of six outings in which he allowed at least one earned run and was optioned to Nashville at the end of April.
"The entire trip, we've gone through some guys in the bullpen," Melvin said. "We've had late, late nights. We've had all sorts of stuff. Based on the way we had to use our bullpen last night -- going to the 'pen in the third inning -- it's prudent we have some guys here. Not only guys who are fresh arms, but also guys who can give us multiple innings."
Chapman's first rest
Matt Chapman was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season, which was scheduled in advance by the A's, but he did come in as a defensive replacement late and doubled in his only at-bat.
Part of Melvin's thinking with the off day was to get Chapman off the artificial turf, which he also plans to do with Jed Lowrie over the weekend.