Can-do attitude: Canha delivers when called

NEW YORK — The conversation proved short, but foretelling: A’s manager Bob Melvin sought out Mark Canha ahead of the club’s series opener in New York on Tuesday afternoon and attempted to give his young slugger — without an at-bat in a week’s time — something of a pep talk.

“He goes, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m fine, I’m going to keep working, and I’ll be ready when my number is called,'” Melvin later recalled. “That’s all you can ask out of a player, and then he comes in and wins the game in extra innings.”

Oakland’s 3-2 victory over the Yankees in 11 innings made a hero out of Canha, who delivered the go-ahead run with a single off New York righty Johnny Barbato with two outs, helping the A’s improve to 5-3 in one-run games.

Last year, their fifth one-run win didn’t come until June 16.

“We know we can win them this year,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “Last year, we got off to such a bad start in close games that it started to become, ‘Well, they’re gonna get us at some point,’ or, ‘Man, we’re really going to have to get lucky to win this close game.’ But I think tonight it showed that we know we can win in these close games.”

It was …

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