Oakland A’s bit by the injury bug to start 2021 season

Ramón Laureano, Sean Murphy will miss the third game of the season.

Just three games into the season, the Oakland A’s injuries are piling up. It’s forced manager Bob Melvin to piece together an out-of-the-ordinary lineup for Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros.

Ramón Laureano is out for at least the next few days after jamming his wrist sliding into first base in Friday’s game. It wasn’t uncharacteristic of Laureano to instinctually hustle — sometimes to his own detriment. Laureano was removed from their 9-5 loss to the Astros and had X-rays, which revealed no structural damage.

“Sliding headfirst in those situations, it’s pretty instinctive,” Melvin said. “I think he probably regrets sliding into first headfirst like that, but he’s a pretty aggressive player and sometimes it’s tough to tell your internal clock to play a little bit differently.”

Out, too, is Sean Murphy for a second straight game after suffering a wrist contusion on a hit-by-pitch on Opening Night. The A’s are in no rush getting Murphy healthy enough to return. They have Aramis Garcia as a back-up, who has demonstrated excellent pitch framing abilities so far in his short A’s career.

Murphy and Laureano are day-to-day.

“It’s early in the season,” Melvin said. “We want these things to completely heal before they come back.”

Melvin trotted out a funky lineup on Saturday against right-hander Lance McCullers Jr., including putting Matt Olson in the second spot.

Mark Canha CF

Matt Olson 1B

Matt Chapman 3B

Mitch Moreland DH

Chad Pinder LF

Stephen Piscotty RF

Elvis Andrus SS

Tony Kemp 2B

Aramis Garcia C

Jed Lowrie will get a day off to manage his health. Lowrie was spectacular defensively at second base in the first two games, and also make consistent contact at the plate that resulted in two hits. He also has two walks. Piscotty will make his 2021 debut in right field.

The Astros sat Alex Bregman, who was dealing with a hamstring injury in spring, against left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin. Lucky for the A’s, because Bregman has a .732 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers since the 2019 season. That includes a three-run home run against Jesús Luzardo on Friday.

Mike Fiers, who has not pitched in a game or in spring training, will pitch on Monday in the A’s minor leaguers at the alternate site in Stockton as he rebounds from a lumbar injury that has him in the 10-day injured list, Melvin said.