Moss keeps up strong production at plate

CLEVELAND -- Brandon Moss continues to make the most of his opportunities.

Moss is the head of the platoon at first base, but he plays and leads like a guy who could, and probably should, be an everyday starter.

Moss ignited the rally that Oakland used to put away the Indians on Friday, leading off the second inning with a double. His hot hitting kept up on Saturday, when he belted a two-run homer and an RBI double in the 6-2 win against the Indians.

In 2013, Moss led the A's with 30 homers and was second on the team with 87 RBIs, and he's leading Oakland with 36 RBIs and is second with nine homers.

Moss broke out in 2012 after joining the A's in the previous offseason, and he finally thrived the way he never did in previous stints with Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Prior to joining Oakland, his career high in RBIs was the 41 he managed in 133 games with the Pirates in 2009. If he continues to hit, Moss may eclipse that number by June.

"We're lucky to have him," manager Bob Melvin said. "What he's done in his time here has been pretty unbelievable, given he's never really done that at the big league level."

Moss has appeared in every game in May, and all but one game this season.

Melvin will still continue to fill out the lineup card based on matchups, but looking at how Moss continues to do what he has done since he became an Athletic makes the skipper smile.

"He got off to a pretty good start when he got here," Melvin said. "It's been off to the races ever since."