DETROIT — A’s manager Bob Melvin scratched Jharel Cotton from his scheduled start against the Tigers 15 minutes before first pitch at Comerica Park on Monday night, sending Raul Alcantara to the bullpen to get warm.
Cotton was scratched with a right groin strain he suffered while warming up.
Melvin will have to piece together tonight’s game on the fly, as Cotton’s amassed a 3-0 record in his last five starts.
Alcantara has appeared in five games this year, piling up an ERA of 12.27. He hasn’t started a game since early April when he lasted just two innings against the Rangers, surrendering eight runs.