Callaspo may start at second base in Game 5
OAKLAND -- If A's manager Bob Melvin makes a change to his postseason lineup -- a matter he's discussed but mainly elected to avoid through the first four games of the American League Division Series -- the change will come at second base.
The lone difference between Tuesday's Game 4 lineup and the lineup for Game 5, airing at 5 p.m. PT Thursday on TBS, would be whether Alberto Callaspo gets the nod instead of Eric Sogard.
Sogard has started every game of the postseason, going 0-for-9 with one walk, and has been pinch-hit for by Callaspo in three of those games. In his role as pinch-hitter, Callaspo has gone 1-for-3 with a leadoff double in the eighth inning of Game 2 and a hard-hit flyout against Max Scherzer with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning of Game 4.
"The balance always with him is can you pick a spot in a game where it's a leverage situation and you know you're going to get your matchup with him," Melvin said on Wednesday. "He hits well both left- and right-handed, so that's what we weigh because we typically make in-game moves and he's a big part of those.
"There is definitely a chance that he could start. If not, you may look at him the same as we always do, looking to put him in in a big spot. I don't look to any other changes."