Melvin gives Crisp breather vs. Rangers

ARLINGTON -- There's no denying the impact of Coco Crisp on the A's lineup when healthy. That's why manager Bob Melvin wants to keep him that way.

Melvin rested Crisp on Tuesday -- despite the outfielder entering the day 3-for-6 against Rangers starter Yu Darvish -- in an effort to keep the injury-plagued veteran off the disabled list.

That's where Crisp was with a strained hamstring up until last Wednesday. He started each of the five games that followed, with Monday's performance resulting in three hits, a walk and a stolen base.

"He ran around a lot last night," Melvin said. "I have to keep him healthy. He wants to play, but he doesn't fight it. He understands."

With the A's scheduled for one more game against the Rangers on Wednesday, before enjoying an off-day Thursday, Crisp will get two out of three days off, "and we feel like that's the right thing to do," said Melvin.

"He does have an injury history because of how hard he plays," Melvin continued, "so it's our job to try to combat that."