OAKLAND -- Ryon Healy has quickly overcome a sluggish start at the plate -- no thanks to mechanical adjustments. Turns out all the A's hitter needed was some time.
"The game was going fast for a couple weeks there," Healy said. "I think it happens to everybody over the course of the season. Unfortunately for me, that's how I started my season."
Healy had just six hits in his first 40 at-bats, but he's since collected nine in his last 15, including a two-run homer and a double in Saturday's 4-3 victory over the Mariners -- buoyed by a pair of days that began on the bench.
Sensing the young infielder needed a break earlier this week, A's manager Bob Melvin didn't start Healy on Monday or Tuesday, instead watching him come off the bench and deliver a key hit in each instance.
"Just give him a breath," Melvin said. "It's the first time he really kind of struggled at the big league level, and give him some time to work on some things and put that in the past. He had those two big pinch-hits, and that adds to the confidence, but the guy's a hitter. He's an impactful guy every time he steps to the plate."

Healy showed exactly why in the first inning Saturday, following up Adam Rosales' game-tying leadoff homer with a two-run shot of his own. He has six RBIs in this six-game stretch, looking more like the rookie who burst onto the scene in July of last year.
The 25-year-old, who began the 2016 season at Double-A, finished with 13 home runs and 37 RBIs in just 72 games with the A's, batting .305 over that span.
"To get those two days to really just re-evaluate and slow things back down has helped me be more successful here recently," he said. "I swung a lot less. I spent two weeks in the cage I felt like searching for a mechanical issue, when realistically it wasn't. It was more mental and just approach.
"So being able to slow my body down, slow my mind down and slow my eyes down has given me the ability to swing at better pitches and give myself a better opportunity."