UPDATE!: Brad Kilby made a successful Major League Baseball debut in relief for the Oakland Athletics in a 10-4 home defeat of the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon, September 2. Kilby, 26, entered the game in relief of rookie starter Trevor Cahill to begin the sixth inning, with the A's already sporting a comfortable 10-3 advantage. He proceeded to induce a pair of flyouts before allowing a single to shallow right. Kilby retired the next batter on a popout, and produced a 1-2-3 seventh with another flyout, a called third strike for his first MLB strikeout, and then a strikeout swinging to complete his afternoon. Please click here to read the MLB.com game recap, with quotes from both Kilby and A's manager Bob Geren. Oakland begins a four-game home series with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night, September 3. First pitch at the Oakland Coliseum is set for 7:05 p.m.

Oakland, Calif. - Benefitting from Major League Baseball's annual September roster expansion and getting rewarded for a spectacular season for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, former San Jose State University left-handed pitcher Brad Kilby has received his first call-up to the Oakland Athletics.

Kilby, a native of Elk Grove, Calif., and graduate of Laguna Creek High School who played four seasons for the Spartans from 2002-05, will be in uniform for the Athletics for game two of their three game-series with the Kansas City Royals at the Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday night, September 1. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.

Kilby was a 29th-round pick of the A's in the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He has been a bullpen standout in his second year for the River Cats, the defending Triple-A and Pacific Coast League champions. In 45 appearances, he has posted a won-loss record of 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA and two saves. Over 63.1 innings, Kilby has struck out 77 against 24 walks, holding opposing hitters to a miniscule .179 batting average. He has fanned at least one batter in each of his last 10 outings, with a total of 22 over 14.0 frames during that span. His most recent appearance was a clean one-inning stint on Monday, August 31.

Should Kilby enter a game for Oakland following his call-up, he would be the fourth former San Jose State player to take part in a Major League Baseball contest during this 2009 season. Kevin Frandsen (2001-04), a teammate of Kilby's on the 2002, 2003 and 2004 Spartan squads for current head coach Sam Piraro, has had three separate stints with the San Francisco Giants in 2009, appearing 16 times in all for the big club. For his four-year MLB career, Frandsen has played 167 games in a Giants uniform, hitting .242 with seven home runs.

Two former Spartans who concluded their collegiate playing days at other programs, first baseman Aaron Bates and right-handed pitcher Carlos Torres, earned their first major-league promotions earlier in the year for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, respectively.

Bates was called up on July 6 and made his debut at Fenway Park against Oakland that night as the starting first baseman in the ninth spot in the batting order. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. His first major-league hit came at home against Kansas City five days later in the form of a two-out RBI single in the eighth. In five games, Bates was 4-for-11 (.364) with two runs, two doubles, two RBI and a walk. He was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket on July 17.

Torres was moved up on July 22 to replace former University of San Francisco standout left-hander Aaron Poreda (now in Padres organization) on the White Sox roster and start at home against the Tampa Bay Rays that night. He went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits, including a pair of home runs, and three walks. Torres struck out three and did not earn a decision, with the White Sox coming back late for a 4-3 triumph. He was optioned back to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on July 24. Torres received a second promotion for a home start against Cleveland on August 8, giving up four runs, all earned, on three hits and six walks over 3.1 frames, with five strikeouts. That start did not result in a decision either. Chicago won, 8-5.

Bates and Torres also played with Frandsen and Kilby on the 2003 Spartans. Bates finished at North Carolina State and was drafted by Boston in the third round of the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Torres moved on to Kansas State and earned a 15th-round selection by the White Sox in the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft.