Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base twice in debut

McCann started at catcher in his major-league debut Saturday against the Guardians, going 0-for-2 with a bases-loaded walk, another base on balls and a run in the 12-3 loss.

McCann's patience with the bases loaded in the third inning paid off, as his free pass brought home Zack Gelof to snap a 2-2 tie and give Oakland what would be its final run of the day. The rookie backstop will need to curb his bloated strikeout rate significantly to have long-term success against big-league arms, but he did combine those poor contact rates in the minors with double-digit walk rates in all but his 2023 stint at Triple-A Las Vegas (9.8 percent). McCann is slated to spell Shea Langeliers behind the dish on occasion for the foreseeable future after beating out Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job this spring.