Aaron

Civale

Civale was bumped from the rotation to both help acquiesce Jacob Lopez’s return and also because of his own struggles lately. Coming in after Lopez retired the first five batters of the game on 12 pitches, Civale had a few easy innings before being hit hard in a four-run fifth. He hasn’t been effective in over a month, doesn’t miss many bats, and should not be considered a serious option in even the deepest of leagues. Pay attention to Lopez’s workload though, as he went from 63 pitches in his first start off the injured list to again, just 12 in this one.

Civale gave up a solo homer to Joe Mack, and a two-run shot to Otto Lopez. Outside of that he was mostly fine, but obviously that’s enough damage — along with an RBI double form Lopez — to make a start mediocre. Civale has had plenty of mediocre offerings since his excellent first month, and his ERA has now ballooned to 5.10. He doesn’t appear to be in danger of losing his role with the A’s, but he should have lost his role with a fantasy team a while ago. He’ll face the White Sox on Friday before the 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.

Civale tossed a scoreless first inning, then gave up a solo homer to Jung Hoo Lee in the second, followed by a double and a base hit to plate a second run in the second inning. Civale gave the A’s two more scoreless frames before departing at 84 pitches after four innings. He scattered six hits in all and struck out five. The 31-year-old right-hander will take a 4.88 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and a 46/19 K/BB ratio across 62 2/3 innings into a start against the Angels in Anaheim on Sunday.

For some reason, the A’s chose to bring Civale back out for the fourth, only to pull him following a leadoff walk to Brandon Lowe. Civale, who was activated from the injured list before the game, has given up 18 runs over 12 innings in his last three starts, talking his ERA from 2.70 to 4.91. Perhaps he’ll go back to being serviceable, but there just isn’t any reason to expect more than that. He’ll face the Giants next week.

Civale takes the ball against the Pirates in West Sacramento on Wednesday night following a three-week absence with a shoulder issue. The 31-year-old holds a serviceable 4.20 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 39/17 K/BB ratio across 55 2/3 innings over 11 starts this season. It’s a decent matchup right out of the chute, but it’s tough to trust any pitcher in the hitter’s paradise that is Sutter Health Park.

Civale, who has been sidelined with shoulder tendonitis since May 26th, struck out seven batters and threw 38 of his 56 pitches for strikes. He will likely need two more rehab appearances and then he can return to the Athletics’ rotation and to the streaming radar in deeper formats.

Civale heads to the shelf with top pitching prospect Gage Jump ascending to the big leagues. The 30-year-old righty is almost certainly facing an extended absence given the nature of the injury. He’s posted a pedestrian 4.20 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 39/17 K/BB ratio across 55 2/3 innings over 11 starts in his Athletics debut this season.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay couldn’t report what was wrong with Civale, saying after the game: “Let’s just call it either... I can’t even comment on it right now.” The IL stint would obviously open up a spot for Jack Perkins if the A’s want to put him into the rotation after he threw 4 2/3 innings in relief on Monday.

Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford all homered off Civale, who was taken deep three times for the second start in a row. His ERA has jumped from 2.70 to 4.20 over the last week. The A’s will probably have him make his next start Sunday against the Yankees, though that seems dangerous. With off days Thursday and next Monday, they do have the option of moving things around and maybe letting Tuesday’s scheduled starter, Luis Severino, come back on four days’ rest against his former team.