Clippard walked a pair of batters, but navigated through a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his first save of the season. Working with the buffer of a three-run lead, Clippard walked Erick Aybar before he struck out C.J. Cron. After Chris Iannetta flew out, Johnny Giavotella drew a walk before Clippard got Kole Calhoun to fly out to left field to end the game. Clippard will hold the closer's role for the A's until Sean Doolittle (shoulder) is ready to return from the disabled list, and he'll likely see more save opportunities in the coming weeks after a number of lopsided games has prevented him from finishing close games in the early weeks of the season.