ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ted Lilly, who has made just two starts for the Oakland Athletics since being acquired in a trade from the New York Yankees, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday because of an inflamed left shoulder.

	Lilly

The move is retroactive to July 21. Lilly underwent an MRI Wednesday. The results were not immediately available.

"The preliminary reports from the medical people are that he just needs strengthening and conditioning in that shoulder, but we'll know more after the MRI is diagnosed,'' manager Art Howe said.

Lilly, 26, pitched six scoreless innings on July 15 in his Athletics debut, a 4-0 victory at Tampa Bay. Last Saturday, he gave up four runs over five innings with no decision in Oakland's 6-5 victory over Texas. His combined record this season is 4-6, with a 3.39 ERA.

"He had a little difficuly in the start before the last one at Tampa Bay,'' Howe said. "He said he didn't really experience any problem when he was pitching in his last start at home, but the next day is when he felt it.

"He went to play catch yesterday and shut it down right away, so we want to err on the side of safety, really. This is the time to get that thing rehabbed. He needs the trainers to start working on his shoulder and get it going in the right direction.''

Replacing Lilly on the roster is right-hander Aaron Harang, who spent a day with Triple-A Sacramento before getting recalled. Harang was optioned to Sacramento on Tuesday when reliever Jeff Tam was recalled from Triple-A.

Harang was supposed to pitch at Tucson Wednesday night, and spent the previous night charting the pitches for Mike Fyhrie and two relievers. Harang's next start will be Saturday for the Athletics at Texas.

Harang was 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA in eight starts with Oakland, striking out 42 batters in 44 1/3 innings. He was moved to the bullpen at the All-Star break when the team acquired Lilly, but was not used in relief. His last outing was on July 6.

"It's been a while since he's been out there, but he's got great poise and he's got the stuff to get people out,'' Howe said. "He was our ace in the hole in case something happened, and I just said that yesterday. But things can change quickly. It's a luxury we didn't have before.''