MESA, Ariz. – Lefty Sean Manaea could have left well enough alone. He’d thrown five innings of one-run ball, that one run being unearned.
He was, after all, the brightest spot in the A’s 10-6 loss to the Diamondbacks Monday.
Instead, when Ryan Madson went out to replace Manaea in the sixth with Oakland holding a 4-1 lead over Arizona, Manaea trotted out to the bullpen. He’d decided to throw an extra inning, a total of another 10 pitches, getting him into the 85-pitch range for the day.
“I just wanted to get my pitch count up,” Manaea said.