Athletics pitcher McCarthy still serious after surgery

Oakland pitcher Brandon McCarthy is improving after brain surgery but Athletics team officials said on Friday he remained in danger days after he was struck in the head by a line drive. McCarthy, who was hit during a game on Wednesday and had surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from an epidural hemorrhage on Thursday, got out of bed three times on Friday. He can eat solid food and is able to speak, but team head trainer Nick Paparesta said McCarthy’s health remains precarious. “He had brain surgery, it’s life-threatening,” Paparesta said. “At any possible moment something could go wrong. He could have a complication.” The 29-year-old McCarthy was hit on the right side of the head by a line drive struck by the Los Angeles Angels’ Erick Aybar.