A's Brent Rooker exits game vs. Yankees in 1st inning with back pain

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.

“There's just a lot of tightness right now," manager Mark Kotsay said after the A’s beat the Yankees 1-0. “So we're hoping for the best but until we get an image, we won't know exactly what's going on.”

He was checked out by a trainer and 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.

“I'm a little tight and a little sore, but we'll get imaging done and see what that says," Rooker said.

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.

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