Athletics' Kyle Muller: Works in relief Saturday

Muller tossed two innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers, giving up two earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out one.

In his previous outing Sept. 3 versus the Angels, Muller started and kept the Halos off the board through the first three innings, but he melted down in the fourth, giving up three runs before being pulled. Since Muller carried a 7.62 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 15 appearances (13 starts) on the season heading into the weekend, the Athletics opted to move him to the bullpen and gave Sean Newcomb an audition as a starter. Newcomb delivered four scoreless frames Saturday before turning the game over to Muller, though neither pitcher was ultimately stuck with the loss. In any case, with Newcomb making the most of his opportunity, look for him to get at least one more start while Muller sticks in a relief role.