A’s take umbrage at Speier’s inside moves

OAKLAND -- Nary an eyebrow was raised in the Athletics’ dugout when Angels reliever Justin Speier hit Mark Ellis in the back with a first-pitch fastball in the fourth inning Friday night.

But three batters later, when Speier drilled Donnie Murphy in the back one pitch after Jack Hannahan’s two-run home run, most of the A’s bolted to the top step of the dugout and fumed.

“That was pretty ironic that it happens right after the home run,” Murphy, the A’s shortstop, said Saturday. “It looks really bad.”

Speier admitted as much but claimed he wasn’t trying to hit Ellis or Murphy -- he was trying to back them off the plate.

“I always pitch inside, and when their hitters are leaning out over the plate . . . I mean, the timing is not right, but I felt it was important to pitch inside right there,” said Speier, who has a 1-4 record and 5.26 earned-run average in 37 games.

“I was definitely trying to come up and in on both of them. I was not trying to hit either one. But if their hitters are going to continue to lean over the plate, we’re going to continue to pitch them in.”

Murphy wasn’t buying any of it.

“I don’t believe that, but if he wants to say that, he can,” he said. “I think that’s pretty pathetic.”

Dive bombers

Oakland pounded 15 hits in Friday night’s 9-2 win. Speier, who replaced starter Jon Garland in the third, thought the A’s were “diving” into pitches to better cover the outside corner. The way to combat that? Pitch aggressively inside.

“They’re all diving. Their whole team dives,” Speier said. “I consider [pitching inside] good baseball. It didn’t look good that I hit the second guy, but that’s the way the game should be played.”

Whether there was intent or not, could Speier’s actions leave his teammates vulnerable to retaliation?

“They shouldn’t retaliate, because it wasn’t done intentionally,” Speier said. “I’ve played with a lot of those guys. They know I’m not a dirty pitcher.”

Special delivery

Joe Saunders was scratched from today’s scheduled start against the A’s after the All-Star left-hander’s wife, Shanel, went into labor early Saturday morning and gave birth to an 8-pound, 21-inch girl, Matea, in Orange County during Saturday night’s game.

Saunders will be replaced by Dustin Moseley, who will be called up from triple-A Salt Lake. He will be starting on three days’ rest after giving up three runs and six hits in six innings and throwing 90 pitches against Tacoma on Wednesday.

Jered Weaver will be available to pitch, but Saunders will fly to New York today for Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

“Joe’s been up for close to 20 hours, so we want to let him rest,” Manager Mike Scioscia said after Saturday night’s game. “It doesn’t make much sense to fly him up [today] and have him pitch.”

Leave of absence

Leadoff batter Chone Figgins, who flew to Florida on Saturday to be with his ailing father, Charles, who is suffering from the effects of a stroke, was placed on the bereavement list. The move allowed the Angels to temporarily replace Figgins on the roster with infielder Sean Rodriguez. Scioscia said he expected Figgins to return in time for Friday night’s game against Boston at Angel Stadium.

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mike.digiovanna@latimes.com