‘Everything was great,’ Joyce says of Angels fans

ANAHEIM — The last time the A’s were in Anaheim, at the start of August, outfielder Matt Joyce yelled an anti-gay slur at a fan who had directed vulgar heckling at Joyce; Joyce delivered a heartfelt apology the following day and was suspended for two games.

Monday night was Joyce’s first game back in front of fans in Anaheim, and he said that there were no issues whatsoever, even after he made a throwing error in the seventh. Joyce played for the Angels in 2015 and had a rough season, batting .174 with five homers, so he often gets an earful at Anaheim.

“You never really know what you’re going to get,” Joyce said Tuesday. “But, honestly, they were awesome last night. Some nights are worse than others, some nights they’re going to let you know how they feel, but everything was great” Monday.

Joyce hit his career-high 20th homer in the second inning Tuesday night.

Arizona-bound: The A’s will send minor-league pitchers Logan Shore and Miguel Romero to the Arizona Fall League, along with catcher Sean Murphy, infielder Sheldon Neuse and outfielder Tyler Ramirez.

Shore was the A’s secondround pick out of Florida last year, and Neuse was obtained in the Sean Doolittle-Ryan Madson deal with Washington in July.

Neuse hit .386 in 22 games at Class A Stockton and is batting .357 in 12 games at Double-A Midland. Ramirez hit .301 at Stockton and is batting .330 at Midland, and Murphy, who was in big-league camp, hit .297 at Stockton before being promoted to Midland, where his average stands at .208.

Briefly: Manager Bob Melvin said that there is no timetable yet for right-hander Paul Blackburn’s return from a bruised right hand. Blackburn has missed one start so far . ... Former A’s infielder Nick Punto stopped by to say hi to coaches and players; Melvin said he believes Punto could be a successful coach or manager someday. Punto said he’s not ready for that yet; he’s enjoying being home with three kids. He does have an investment in a Bay Area business: Kevin Youkilis’ Loma Brewing Company in Los Gatos.