Lowrie continues to sit with injured foot

HOUSTON -- A's infielder Jed Lowrie was held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game on Friday while still experiencing discomfort in his contused right foot.

"It's a lot better," said Lowrie, hit by a Yu Darvish pitch on Tuesday. "It's not better to play, but the swelling has gone down. There's a lot more bruising, but I feel like I'm getting around on it a lot better and waiting for all the swelling to go away."

Lowrie said he did not want to speculate on when he'll return, noting "it's a day-by-day thing," but neither he nor manager Bob Melvin ruled out Saturday, when the A's are scheduled to play the second of a three-game set in Houston, as a possibility.

"If I wake up tomorrow and feel ready to go, I'm playing," he said. "My mentality is that once that inflammation is out of there, I'm ready to go, I'm playing.

"It's never quick enough, but I'm happy with how over the last two days really progress. I can finally put a shoe on."

"Maybe a potential start tomorrow, but I don't know," said Melvin. "It's kind of tough to forecast it. Certainly not a [disabled list] situation, though."