Piscotty returns to team after skin cancer surgery

Merely by his presence at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, Stephen Piscotty provided a boost to the A’s and their fans.

“Everybody’s been a little bit worried about him,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s nice to see him back as quickly as we have.”

Piscotty, a 28-year-old outfielder, had a melanoma removed from his right ear Thursday and was resting at home Friday during Oakland’s 9-2 loss to the Mariners.

Piscotty understandably chose not to speak to the media Saturday. Melvin said the ear was still bothering Piscotty, but that he remained in good spirits.

“He never really wants it to be a burden on anybody else,” Melvin said. “He just wants to kind of fly under the radar and hopefully get back as soon as he can. It’s just kind

of the way Stephen is.”

The A’s haven’t made a roster move regarding Piscotty, a strong indication they believe he can play fairly soon, though Melvin just about ruled out Piscotty returning Sunday.

If Oakland does put Piscotty on the 10-day injured list, it would be retroactive to Thursday. He is batting .250 with eight homers and 29 RBIs this season.

For Saturday’s game against Seattle, Melvin had a two-man bench: catcher Beau Taylor and outfielder Robbie Grossman.

Anderson’s encore: Righthander Tanner Anderson will start against the Mariners

in Sunday’s series finale.

Anderson earned a second look after he held Tampa Bay to two runs on three hits in 52⁄3 innings in a 6-2 loss Monday night in his first majorleague start.

“I did not expect that,” Melvin said of Anderson’s outing. “He went through a really good lineup and a lot of left-handed hitters who were swinging the bat really well at the time.

“It certainly didn’t look like there was any trepidation.”

Anderson is a Tampa, Fla., native whom the A’s acquired from Pittsburgh in the offseason, with minor-league pitcher Wilkin Ramos going to the Pirates.

No matter how long Anderson’s

pitching career lasts, you figure he’ll have a good chance at a successful postpitching career: He graduated from Harvard in 2015.

Briefly: Melvin said catcher Nick Hundley, who’s dealing with back spasms, is not close to coming off the injured list. … The A’s have five players with double-digit home run totals: Matt Chapman with 16, Khris Davis 14, Matt Olson 11 and Mark Canha and Marcus Semien each with 10. Two others have nine: Ramon Laureano and Jurickson Profar.