Cortisone Shot Will Have Athletics Piscotty Out a Bit; Canha Moves to Right Field

Oakland Athletics right fielder Stephen Piscotty, who missed both ends of a doubleheader Tuesday, had a cortisone shot in his left wrist Wednesday and now will wait a couple of days at least before getting back in the lineup. Mark Canha moves to right for the time being.

The A’s will have to go a few more days without the services of right fielder Stephen Piscotty, who was administered a shot by the Oakland medical crew to alleviate pain in his left wrist.

Piscotty was in the original Oakland starting lineup for Game 1 of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Astros, but when his wrist acted up, he was scratched by manager Bob Melvin. The manager had hoped that Piscotty would be available, possibly as a pinch-hitter in Game 2, but that didn’t happen.

And so, the cortisone shot was administered, and typically it takes at least two days, a possibly longer, before a return to the lineup.

“He’ll be down for a couple of days,” Melvin said of Piscotty before Wednesday’s fourth game in the five-game set against the Astros. “We’ve tried to get that thing under control and speed up the healing process.”

Piscotty won't be completely idle, however. He warmed up to pinch-run in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game and actually got into the 3-2 A's win as a pinch-runner in the ninth.

For the time being, Mark Canha, who had been serving as DH, will move to right field, and on Wednesday, Tommy La Stella was moved to DH.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Melvin said that he was expecting third baseman Matt Chapman, who has been dealing with right hip tendinitis, to get on the field before Wednesday’s game to do some baseball-related activities.

Melvin said he knew of no plans to administer a shot to Chapman, then added, “I would think either today or tomorrow he’s going to start some baseball activity.”’

The manager said it was good to get La Stella off his feet a bit on Wednesday after he played both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader, but said there wasn’t any medical need for it. The second baseman seemed to have tweaked something during an at-bat in the first game, but played all 14 innings Tuesday.

“He just gets a little out of line sometimes and his back spasms out a little bit, but he knows how to deal with it,” Melvin said. “I’m going to DH him today, especially after having played both ends of the doubleheader yesterday, but no, there are no lingering effects.”

Marcus Semien, who didn’t play in a game for over a week before playing in Game 1 Tuesday. He sat out Game 2, but was back in the lineup Wednesday.

“He feels good, his at-bats look good,” Melvin said. “He looked really in sync in the field. It’s nice to have him back.”

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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