Sean Manaea has dealt with a long rehab this season after undergoing shoulder surgery last September, but the left-hander is starting to look like the ace the A's need in their push for the playoffs.
Manaea's latest rehab start in Triple-A with the Las Vegas Aviators couldn't have gone any better. The lefty tossed seven scoreless innings where he struck out 12 batters while only allowing two hits and one walk.
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As he inches closer to returning to Oakland, Manaea enjoyed his longest outing this season while rehabbing. The 27-year-old threw 99 pitches with 67 being called strikes, good for a 68 percent strike rate.
Manaea didn't begin his rehab until July and started off shaky. He went 0-2 with a 9.72 ERA over three starts for the Stockton Ports in Advanced Class A and then had a 6.10 ERA later in the month with Las Vegas.
In August, however, Manaea has looked like a completely different pitcher.
The lefty is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in August. He also has 28 strikeouts to just four walks in 17 2/3 innings this month.
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Oakland acquired pitchers Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark before the MLB trade deadline. While Roark continues to be a steadying presence on the hill, Bailey has been much better this month, allowing one earned run over his last two starts. Adding Manaea would be another big boost to a rotation that already boasts the fourth-best team ERA for starting pitchers at 4.04.
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Entering Saturday, the A's are just a half-game behind the Rays for the top spot in the AL wild-card race, and Manaea could be the arm that gives them at least one playoff game in Oakland.