Donaldson fitting right in at two-spot for A's

OAKLAND -- Josh Donaldson has been the A's most consistent bat this season, and manager Bob Melvin has utilized his effective third baseman by moving him up to the second spot in the lineup.

Donaldson has batted second in each of his past four starts -- his first starts in the two-spot this season -- and hit safely in each game. Additionally, he's hitting .313 with 15 runs scored and 16 RBIs over his past 22 games after failing to drive in a run in his previous 17 contests.

"On a day when we have our lefties in there, it splits my righties up a little bit more," Melvin said of the move. "It's a key spot in the lineup, so whether he's hitting two, three, four or five, all of those spots are potential run-producing spots, and he's shown that he can acclimate to a certain spot in the lineup.

"I don't think he thinks any differently, but at times you make some tweaks for the lineup just depending on how you're doing, and so far he's been pretty good in that two-hole."