Alika

Williams

Both of Williams’ hits likely would have been caught if the Twins had Byron Buxton patrolling center field tonight. Or if they had Walker Jenkins there. Instead, though, it was Luke Keaschall, and he came up short of a running grab on the two-run triple and badly misplayed the double by coming in on the ball initially. That was great for Williams, who is now batting .268/.304/.416 in 161 plate appearances. That .720 OPS is 200 points better than his .519 mark from his 208 career major league plate appearances coming into the season.

There’s been no indication that Wilson will require a trip to the injured list after being scratched from Monday’s lineup with left shoulder soreness. It’ll be Darell Hernaiz taking over at shortstop with Alika Williams at second base in his absence. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Alika Williams takes over at shortstop. It’s somewhat encouraging that Wilson’s absence isn’t related to a finger issue that cost him time over the weekend. It’s also not his throwing shoulder. There should be some additional clarity on his status at some point later this week. The Athletics have been ravaged by injuries to key contributors and they’ll likely proceed with an abundance of caution here.

He’ll presumably head for X-rays to see if he sustained any fractures. Expect the Athletics to provide more information as soon as they get the results of those exams. Alika Williams replaced him at shortstop on Friday and would be in line for extended action there if Wilson is forced to miss any time.

Athletics’ manager Mark Kotsay called the issue manageable and said that they expect Wilson to return to manning the shortstop position on Tuesday. Alika Williams will start there in his place on Sunday and will bat seventh against Keider Montero and the Tigers as the A’s look to avoid a three-game series sweep.

It’s the fourth consecutive game that Wilson has missed due to a left shoulder injury, though he is improving and is once again expected to be available off the bench on Sunday. Ailka Williams will once again start in his place at shortstop and will bat ninth against Angels’ left-hander Sam Aldegheri.

Wilson left Wednesday’s game against San Francisco while dealing with an issue in his left shoulder, and the 24-year-old will be out of action for at least one game while recovering. Recently-promoted Alika Williams will handle shortstop duties while Wilson recovers.

Williams was just optioned back to Triple-A by the A’s on Sunday, but the injury to Zack Gelof (hand) makes it possible for him to rejoin the roster earlier than the normal requirement of 15 games. He’ll likely operate as a backup to Jacob Wilson and Max Muncy now that he’s back with the big-league club.

There simply isn’t room for Williams in a reserve role with Jacob Wilson back as the club’s everyday shortstop and Max Muncy also in a bench role behind a red-hot Zack Gelof. The light-hitting utility infielder proved to be a viable stopgap solution while all three were on the shelf with injuries.

Williams did have a hard-hit ball tonight, with one of his doubles leaving his bat at 95.1 mph. Combined, the three hits had an xBA of .730. But, hey, as every former player in a broadcast booth says at least twice per game, if you put the ball into play, sometimes good things will happen. Williams, who was acquired from the Pirates last month, is hitting .288/.316/.472 in 39 plate appearances for the A’s. He’ll probably be mostly limited to facing lefties with Jacob Wilson is back.