OAKLAND — A’s pitcher Sean Manaea was scratched from his scheduled start against the Texas Rangers on Saturday night due to a back injury.
The back issues have returned for Manaea, who dealt with a similar situation earlier in the year when tightness forced him to the disabled list. Raul Alcantara was given the spot start in place of Manaea, his second start this week after starting for Jharel Cotton on Monday after the rookie was scratched due to a groin strain before his scheduled start against the Detroit Tigers.
With just over a week remaining in the season and the A’s no longer in contention, manager Bob Melvin saw no reason to risk throwing Manaea out there with the potential to aggravate the injury.