Strained Forearm Muscles Put Salmon on Bench

Right fielder Tim Salmon did not start Saturday because of strained muscles in his left forearm, an injury that occurred Wednesday when he was diving back to first base. He aggravated the injury Friday. Salmon hopes to play today, but won’t push it.

“I could feel it all day [Friday],” said Salmon, who noted the pain extends into his wrist. “I don’t have any grip strength. The more I swung the bat in batting practice, the more it hurt. With each at-bat it got worse.”

Then how did he hit a bases-empty home run that traveled 391 feet in the third inning?

“I was concerned on my first at-bat, so I didn’t really extend,” Salmon said of flying out. “I told myself, ‘Don’t hurt yourself,’ then I hit a home run. I was running around the bases, saying, ‘I can’t believe it.’ ”

Orlando Palmeiro replaced Salmon in right field Saturday. Salmon entered the game as a pinch runner in the 10th inning. He has played in all 87 games this year.

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Perhaps the only positive development in Friday’s 16-8 loss was the continued improvement of struggling left-hander Jim Abbott, who made his third relief appearance.

“It’s a step,” Manager Marcel Lachemann said. “From a throwing standpoint it was a big improvement. He looked more comfortable. He wasn’t as apprehensive. It didn’t look like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.”

Abbott’s five innings of work weren’t without flaws, however. He gave up six walks and seven hits in making 113 pitches.

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Since hitting a first-inning home run in the Athletics’ 18-2 victory over the Angels June 27 at Anaheim Stadium, Mark McGwire has been walked by Angel pitchers 14 times in 27 plate appearances. . . . Oakland’s Matt Stairs became the 12th major leaguer to drive in six runs in an inning, but he’s believed to be the first Canadian. Stairs was born in St. John, Canada, and was a member of the 1988 Canadian Olympic team.