Melvin confident Young will get going with bat

CHICAGO -- Chris Young, out of Saturday's lineup because of a stomach illness, was back in the mix for the A's in Sunday's series finale.

Young entered the game well under the Mendoza Line at .177, and, outside of one game in late May when he found himself batting .207, hasn't hit above .200 since April 11.

The veteran outfielder, no longer in an everyday role he had with the D-backs for so long, is adjusting to his new duties with the A's, and he was also sidelined for two weeks because of a strained left quad. Still, his performance hasn't dictated his talent level, manager Bob Melvin said Sunday.

"He's had a little bit of a tougher transition," Melvin said. "This is different than anything he's had to do before, but he continues to work, and we're all optimistic that his talent level is going to take over and he's going to put up the type of numbers he has in the past."

Young has never been one to post a high average, having exited Arizona with a .239 clip in seven seasons, but he tallied at least 20 home runs in four of those years, collecting 32 in 2007. In '10, he had 27. This year, he has five homers and 22 RBIs in 39 games.

"He's gone on stretches where he's been hot, and obviously with the average, some where he hasn't," Melvin said. "He hasn't really gotten into a groove yet and put up the type of numbers he's capable.

"You look at his numbers, he still has a decent amount of home runs at this point in time for his at-bats. He's got some RBIs, too. It's the average that hasn't been consistent, so he continually works to try to improve on that."