Kendall Graveman’s return to the A’s after missing nearly three months coincided with the departure of his close friend Sonny Gray. Gray was traded to the Yankees on Monday, and Graveman stepped right back into the rotation, almost as if it were planned that way. Lose a top starter, gain a top starter.
The transition was not quite that smooth, as things played out Thursday. Graveman was hit hard in the first and lasted just two innings in Oakland’s 11-2 loss. He was outpitched by Giants rookie Ty Blach, who went eight innings and also hit his first big-league gomer, a three-run blast in the fifth to help San Francisco split the four-game home-and-home series.