Griffin leaves A's short-handed

The bad news is that A.J. Griffin had to leave Saturday's game with tightness in his right shoulder in the second inning and may be headed for the 15-day disabled list. The good news is that an MRI taken after the game was clear, so there doesn't appear to be any structural damage.

Because the Oakland Athletics were forced to use six pitchers in what ended up being an 11-inning loss the day after they needed seven arms to get through a 15-inning marathon win on Friday, Griffin could be caught in a numbers game. He might get a two-week rest simply because the team needs the roster space to call up some fresh players in the bullpen.

Expect Brandon McCarthy to take Griffin's next turn in the rotation after he recorded nine strikeouts over six shutout innings for Triple-A Sacramento in a rehab start on Saturday night.