OAKLAND — Mark Canha was back in the starting lineup Wednesday for the first time since hip surgery prematurely ended his 2016 season.
Canha, who flied out in a pinch-hitting appearance in Tuesday night’s 7-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, was hitting just .232 in AAA Nashville before being recalled, but had five home runs and 16 RBIs.
“What we wanted to accomplish was basically after a year off, is letting him go down there, get a bunch of games,” A’s manger Bob Melvin said. “He had almost an RBI a game when he was there, now it’s about getting him in the lineup consistently or semi-consistently to keep him productive like we’ve seen in the past.