TJ Rumfield hits three-run homer in comeback try

Adames told reporters that he’s been dealing with spasms in his back for the past week or so, and it became too much during Sunday’s win over Atlanta. The 30-year-old should be considered day-to-day for now, but he’s going to undergo an MRI, and those results will play a large part in determining whether Adames will be able to play in the coming days.

14 hard-hit balls with just two strikeouts would typically make for a miserable day on the mound, but Robbie Ray channeled Kirk Reuter and made it work today. Most of the hardest contact against him came in the form of grounders, and he got a bunch of routine flies. He ended up allowing just four hits: three singles and a double. This makes four really strong outings in the six starts since Ray started turning to a sinker. He threw it a season-high 38 percent of the time today, and while he gave up all four hits on the pitch, it’s helping him turn in some of the longest outings of his career of late. He’ll probably go to it even more in Coors Field next weekend.

Pitching with a two-run lead, Kilian gave up a leadoff double to Matt Olson, who came around to score on consecutive groundouts. Dominic Smith then singled and Jorge Mateo swiped second as a pinch-runner, but Kilian struck out Mike Yastrzemski to end it. Kilian was making his first appearance since a rather unlucky four-run blown save against the A’s on Thursday. He’s the Giants’ closer, but he’s not especially secure in the role.

Sale took the loss, leaving him 8-6 despite him sporting a 2.10 ERA for a Braves team with one of the league’s best records. He’s 0-3 with a 2.35 ERA in four starts this month. The loss today saw him give up just two hard-hit balls but eight hits. Opposing starter Robbie Ray allowed 14 hard-hit balls yet only four hits in his eight innings. Sale will face the Mets next weekend.

Olson has been in something of a rut, but this was a really nice effort. Two his hits today were 110-mph liners and the other was a 96-mph groundball single. Olson has now played in 82 games on the year. He hit .296/.377/.654 in the first 41 of those. He’s at .256/.310/.406 in the last 41.

Lowe’s blast to right was the only extra-base hit either team collected today. He’s started four straight games since being recalled when Jose Siri went on the paternity list on Thursday, including both since Siri returned on Saturday. He’ll probably keep playing versus righties until Mike Trout returns, at which time the Angels can decide whether it’ll be worth playing him in a corner.

Benefitting from Nick Kurtz getting a day off and Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom being out with injuries, Aldegheri had one of his best showings to date. He gave up eight hard-hit balls, but none of them turned into more than singles, and he walked only one. He struck out four, so his K/BB improved to 20/13 through 29 2/3 innings. Grayson Rodriguez should be back to replace either Ryan Johnson or Aldegheri in the Angels rotation next weekend. Today’s showing makes it more likely that Aldegheri will stick around to face the Red Sox.

Natera came in with two on and Nick Kurtz pinch-hitting in the eighth and got a mile-high, 109.9 mph fly to end the Athletics’ threat. He then stayed in with more lefties up in the ninth and retired three in a row after Lawrence Butler’s single to start the inning. The 26-year-old Natera has opened his big-league career by allowing one run in 9 1/3 innings. He probably won’t become the Angels’ closer, but he could continue to be mixed in when lefties are due up in the ninth.

Rodriguez allowed five hits and a walk and struck out four. The right-hander will assuredly need at least one more rehab outings before coming back, but assuming all checked out well Sunday and there’s no setbacks after that next outing, he could be back with the Angels around the All-Star break.

All of the runs came on Josh Lowe’s grand slam. Civale has given up 12 runs in 12 innings and lost all three of his starts since coming off the injured list. Throw in his last two starts before his absence due to shoulder tendinitis, and he’s 0-4 with a 10.29 ERA in his last five starts. That’s after opening up a surprising 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He’ll probably stay in the rotation for now and face the Marlins next weekend, but the A’s can’t expect overly much from him.