NEW YORK (AP) — Athletics right fielder Brent Rooker exited Thursday’s game against the Yankees with back pain after a swing in the first inning.
With Nick Kurtz on first base, Rooker fouled off an 84.2 mph changeup from Ryan Weathers, took a step toward home plate and winced after feeling discomfort in his “right flank,” the A's announced.
He was checked out by a trainer and manager Mark Kotsay and then replaced by Lawrence Butler. Butler took a called third strike on the next pitch and the at-bat was charged to Rooker.
Rooker hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning off David Bednar to give the A’s a 3-2 win on Wednesday night.
Rooker is hitting .146 this season with two homers and seven of his eight RBIs in the previous three games before Thursday. Last season, Rooker hit .262 with 30 homers and 89 RBIs when he appeared in every game.
He has played in 214 straight games, the fourth-longest streak in A’s history since 2000.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Athletics' Brent Rooker interviews with media after he hit a walk-off three-run home run during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Sunday, April 5, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)
NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum is set to play at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night for the first time since rupturing his Achilles tendon there in last season's playoffs.
He'll be without teammate Jaylen Brown, though, as the Celtics ruled him out of their showdown against the New York Knicks with left Achilles tendinitis.
The Celtics will lock up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a victory, a position that many thought was unrealistic because they would be playing for at least most of the season without Tatum.
He was hurt last May 12 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals when he fell to the court in the fourth quarter of a Knicks victory. New York went on to win the series, ending the Celtics’ championship reign.
Tatum went through the Celtics' morning shootaround at MSG on Thursday and told reporters afterward that he felt “nervousness, anxiousness. All the things you probably would expect.”
Asked how he would get through it, he added: “I think it's just deciding to face the challenge head-on and put my uniform on.”
Tatum returned March 6 and has played in 15 games, averaging 21.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. He said after the Celtics' home victory over Charlotte on Tuesday that he wasn't “thrilled to go back and play” at Madison Square Garden.
“Last time I played there, obviously, it was a traumatic experience for me,” he added.
Brown helped carry the Celtics through Tatum's absence with a superb season. The All-Star is averaging 28.8 points in 70 games.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives with the ball in front of Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
