Athletics place RHP Estrada (back) on IL

The Oakland Athletics placed right-hander Marco Estrada on the 10-day injured list due to a lumbar strain on Wednesday, one day after the 35-year-old's second straight subpar outing.

Estrada served up two homers and lasted just 3 1/3 innings Tuesday in Oakland's 9-1 loss to the Houston Astros. He gave up seven runs on five hits and three walks.

In his previous outing against the Baltimore Orioles, Estrada allowed six runs and nine hits in four innings of a 12-4 setback. He gave up two homers in that contest.

"I was kind of hoping for a miracle that it would just go away," Estrada told reporters regarding his back prior to the Athletics' Wednesday game against the Astros. "I don't want to go on the IL, but I know it's the right decision. It's something I need to get taken care of. I'm only going to hurt the team pitching this way."

Estrada, who is 0-2 with a 6.85 ERA in five starts, is scheduled to visit a specialist on Friday. He is hopeful treatment and rest will help so he will miss only one start.

"It's probably going to be a manage thing for him," Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters. "It's something that hasn't gone away. Keeping him as healthy as we possibly can will be important, and when it flares up in the fashion it did after last night's game, it just doesn't make any sense to run him out there."

Oakland recalled right-hander Chris Bassitt from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill the roster opening. Bassitt had a 3.27 ERA in three minor league starts across two levels this season.

Bassitt, 30, went 2-3 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 appearances (seven starts) with the Athletics last season. Overall he is 4-14 with a 3.86 ERA in 40 career appearances (30 starts) since first reaching the majors with the Chicago White Sox in 2014.

--Field Level Media