The Predators

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OAKLAND Anthony Miller Jersey , Calif. — The San Diego Padres will attempt to cool down Jed Lowrie and the Oakland Athletics with a pitcher being promoted from the minor leagues when the clubs complete a two-game interleague series Wednesday afternoon.

Right-hander Luis Perdomo (1-2, 8.36 ERA), who has pitched well at Triple-A El Paso after a disastrous April for the Padres, is expected to be added to the 25-man major-league roster in time to duel A’s left-hander Sean Manaea (8-6, 3.3.

Oakland improved to 3-0 in its head-to-head meetings with San Diego this season with a come-from-behind, 6-2 victory Tuesday night in the series opener.

Lowrie had the big blow of the game, a three-run double as part of a five-run sixth inning that allowed the A’s to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead.

The big hit came in Lowrie’s return to his natural position, second base, after he had made 14 starts at third base while Matt Chapman was out with a hand injury.

Chapman was reinstated from the disabled list Tuesday and went 0-for-3.

A’s manager Bob Melvin pushed Lowrie for the American League All-Star team even before Tuesday’s heroics, hoping his time at third base caught the eye of those who will be selecting the club’s reserves.

“In those games, you never know where they go, and versatility could play a part,” Melvin said. “So I think the fact he played so well at third base might even increase his chances to make the All-Star team.”

Lowrie is tied for third in the American League in RBIs with 59 and tied for sixth in doubles with 25.

He had three hits, including two home runs Josh Rosen Cardinals Jersey , and four RBIs when the A’s swept a pair from the Padres in San Diego last month.

The A’s have been on a roll since, winning 13 of their last 16 games to improve to a season-best-tying eight games over .500 (47-39).

Tuesday’s victory raised their interleague record to 6-2 this season.

Perdomo has faced neither Lowrie nor the A’s in his three-year career.

An eight-game winner in 2017, he began the season in the majors, but couldn’t get into the fifth inning in three of his four April starts before being sent to Triple A.

The 25-year-old seemed to regain his form there, going 6-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 11 starts, earning another shot at the bigs.

Perdomo has pitched in nine interleague games (eight starts) and compiled a 4-2 record and 5.63 ERA.

Manaea, meanwhile, is coming off a brilliant June at the big-league level, going 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts.

He won each of his last three starts to finish the month as one of four American Leaguers to go 3-0, joining Toronto’s J.A. Happ, Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy and Cleveland’s Shane Bieber.

Manaea has never faced the Padres, but does have nine starts of interleague experience, having gone 2-5 with a 4.47 ERA.

Collin Sexton isn’t asking for much.

All the point guard wants out of Thursday’s NBA draft at Barclays Center is to be picked by a good team. Then, he wants a long and injury-free career. Playoff and championship runs would be an obvious – and desired – bonus.

”And to just be happy Da'Ron Payne Youth Jersey ,” Sexton said Wednesday. ”Because that’s the main thing. Be happy with what you’re doing because now it’s a job. It’s something that’s going to feed your family. You have to take it seriously.”

This is a 19-year-old speaking.

Opting for the fast lane, Sexton declared for the draft after his freshman season at Alabama, a program that hasn’t had a player drafted in the last decade. He’s only the second Crimson Tide freshman to do so, the first since the one-and-done rule was installed in 2006.

That year was enough.

”It was amazing,” Sexton said. ”I learned a whole lot – good, bad, everything. I feel like just being there and being around the group of guys I was with, I connected pretty well and had a good season.”

Sexton helped the Crimson Tide reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years. He then scored 25 points in a victory over Virginia Tech to send Alabama to the second round, a feat it had not accomplished in 12 years.

The Southeastern Conference named Sexton SEC Co-Freshman of the Year – with Kentucky’s Kevin Knox, who is also in the draft – and The Associated Press awarded him Newcomer of the Year. Sexton finished second in the conference with 19.2 points per game, adding 3.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. He had 29 double-digit scoring games – 16 were 20 or more points, three were 30-plus points.

”A guy who plays extremely hard, he’s an overall great competitor,” said Oklahoma’s Trae Young Cheap Calvin Ridley Jersey , the draft’s other top point guard prospect. ”Whenever you’re a competitor like me, you like playing against people like that.”

The Young Bull – a nickname Sexton plans to keep in the NBA – grew up fast.

”Well, you have to,” he said. ”Because you have to leave.”

But he hasn’t had to say goodbye. Not yet.

Alabama coach Avery Johnson has been keeping up with Sexton and will be at draft. Johnson, a former NBA champion and coach, taught Sexton everything he could as a player and as an adult. He keeps reminding the young star to embrace this opportunity, soak it all in because it only happens once.

”Also, off the court, he just told me to always respect people,” Sexton said. ”You never know what they can do for you, and you never know who’s watching.”

Good advice, considering all the eyes on him this week.

Sexton’s eyes are wide, too. The excitement he feels is obvious. A smile sneaks on his face every time he talks about Thursday’s festivities. It’s a relief knowing all his hard work has paid off, and there’s an eagerness to get back out there.

Since Alabama’s season ended Billy Price Bengals Jersey , Sexton has been working on his individual game. He’s already fast but thinks he can be faster. He went back and watched film to figure out where he can improve – and has done so.

Next time he’s on the court?

”It’ll be a big surprise,” Sexton said.

There’s that excitement.

A year ago, Sexton was fresh out of high school – his days at Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, Georgia, he said `feel like forever ago’ – and had just moved into his dorm at Alabama, where he watched the 2017 draft. Pick after pick, he enjoyed players’ reactions. They were so genuine; that has always been his favorite part.

”I just envisioned myself doing it one day,” Sexton said.

That day is here. It’s his turn to experience that life-changing moment and, as he said, just be happy.

It’ll be both a dream come true and a job for the future.

”You grow up wanting to do this,” Sexton said. ”Everybody knows what’s going to come with it.”

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