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OAKLAND – Sean Doolittle gave up two runs on three hits in one inning’s work for Single-A Stockton on Sunday, the second rehab outing for the A’s closer.
So far the numbers have been rough for the lefty – two innings, five hits, four earned runs and two homers. Doolittle said after his first outing Thursday that he was less concerned with his numbers right now and more how his shoulder feels as he comes back from a slightly torn rotator cuff. He took the loss Sunday against Modesto and threw 18 pitches, 12 for strikes.
Doolittle’s second outing came after three days’ rest, and if he continues to feel well physically, it figures that the A’s will want to see him pitch on two days’ rest, then in back-to-back games before coming off the disabled list.
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Another Athletic on the mend, second baseman Ben Zobrist, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Stockton on Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin said. Zobrist ran the bases at the Coliseum on Sunday morning to test his left knee after arthroscopic surgery, and came out of the session OK. Melvin said he would like Zobrist to get starts in the minors both in the outfield and infield before he returns.
