Oakland.Athletics.MLB.com

By Mychael Urban / MLB.com

A's lefty Arthur Rhodes leads the American League with five blown saves. (Mark Duncan/AP)

They'll get it Thursday afternoon when Justin Lehr, a hard-throwing right-hander who's been lighting it up at Triple-A Sacramento, arrives for his first stint in the big leagues.

Hammond has been unavailable for the past two nights with tightness in his throwing shoulder. Rhodes, it was announced shortly after he was ejected from Wednesday's game, is leaving the team for two days for what the club called undisclosed "personal reasons." And Duchscherer, whose ERA was barely above 1.00 a couple of weeks ago, has an 11.74 ERA in his past four outings.

So in steps Lehr, who will fill the roster spot opened up when the team placed outfielder Billy McMillon on the 15-day disabled list. McMillon was sent back to the Bay Area after Wednesday's game so team doctors can determine what's been causing the sharp pains in his back and upper legs.

Lehr, who struck out the side in the ninth inning Tuesday night to improve to 4-1 for the River Cats, has a 1.97 ERA in 27 appearances as Sacramento's closer. With 38 strikeouts and 10 walks in 32 innings, he appears to be the power righty that Oakland's bullpen has been missing all year.

His fastball ranges in the low- to mid-90s, according to A's backup catcher Adam Melhuse.

"He throws hard," said Melhuse, who caught Lehr at Triple-A last season and again worked with him in Spring Training. "He's a fastball-slider-change guy, and he's got that aggressive, I'm-coming-at-you attitude that I think you need up here. I think he'll be fine."

Rich Harden, who also played with Lehr last season in Sacramento before being called up to the big club, agreed.

"He likes to battle out there," Harden said. "He's got a good fastball, good slider -- two 'plus' pitches -- and I think he'll do well up here."

A's manager Ken Macha said Lehr was "a little pumped up" while with the A's at Spring Training, where Lehr posted a 4.32 ERA with six walks and six strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings.

Barry Zito has known Lehr longer than anyone on the A's. Lehr was Zito's catcher when they played together at UC Santa Barbara, and after Zito transferred to USC, Lehr followed and started pitching himself.

"I'm pumped he's going to be here," Zito said. "Walks have always been the thing that's hurt him, but he's got a great arm, and it sounds like his command is a lot better now. I'm excited to see him. I think he can definitely help us out."

How long he's going to be around is unknown. McMillon, who said he had a similar problem 12 years ago while at Clemson University, was placed on the DL retroactive to June 10 and won't be eligible to return until June 25.

"It's been bothering me since the middle of the last homestand, but it was manageable until yesterday," McMillon said. "They just want to be cautious with it and either rule some things out or confirm the diagnosis."

Mychael Urban is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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