Athletics' Split DH in Texas, but Lose Third Basemen Chapman, Pinder to Injury

The Oakland Athletics have the best record in the American League West after splitting a doubleheader with the Texas Rangers Saturday, but the losses to injury of third basemen Matt Olson and Chad Pinder create some chaos.

Third basemen took a beating Saturday, at least from the Oakland A’s point of view.

Before the split of a doubleheader with the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, the club learned that All-Star Matt Chapman was lost to the team for the season. He’ll undergo surgery Monday in Vail., Colo.

Then Chad Pinder, a right-handed hitter who should have been in the Game 2 lineup against lefty Nick Goody, was on the bench. After the game, the A’s said that Pinder, the only right-handed option at third base behind Chapman had suffered a hamstring injury while playing defense after coming into Game 1 and a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning.

The A’s, who won nightcap 10-1 after taking a 5-2 loss in the opener behind rookie right-hander Daulton Jefferies’ shaky debut, won’t know Pinder’s status until Sunday at the earliest, but it seems likely that he will land on the 10-day disabled list with just two weeks left in the season.

That may lead the A’s to promote Sheldon Neuse, who has spent the entire season at the A’s alternate site, simply for Melvin to have a right-handed option at third. Vimael Machin, a Rule 5 player who has blossomed in the last week, is the left-handed option, although second baseman Tommy La Stella could and has moved over when needed. Machin played in both ends of the doubleheader, going 3-for-6 and since Tuesday is 7-for-20 (.350) with a couple of doubles and three walks.

Talking about Chapman, Game 2 starter Chris Bassitt admitted it was a blow to lose “our leader on and off the field.”

At the same time, Bassitt has been won over by Machin, saying he doesn’t know what Machin’s batting average is (.204), “but I know it should be about 100 points higher because he’s hitting absolute line drives right at people. It’s going to equal itself out.”

“We’re not going to make up for losing Matt Chapman; he’s a world-class player,” Bassitt said. “But we have enough guys to hopefully fill the voice, good enough to at least give us a chance win in every single game.”

The A’s are in the driver’s seat in the American League West with a 29-16 record and a 6½-game lead in a division where no other team is over .500.

Part of that is due to Bassitt, who threw seven scoreless innings his last time out in beating the Astros and threw five scoreless Saturday in the Game 2 before allowing a solo homer to Joey Gallo in the sixth.

Perhaps the best thing about Bassitt’s showing was a scoreless second inning. It came after the Oakland starter sat on the bench for 40 minutes while the A’s sent 13 batters to the plate in the top of the second. They had their choice of 67 pitches en route to scoring seven times.

For Bassitt to get off the bench and go strikeout, walk, strikeout, groundout for a clean bottom of the second inning was exceptional after all that time sitting and having his arm tighten up.

“(Marcus) Semien and Tony (Kemp) we giving me some crap like, `Well we scored a lot of runs for you,’” Bassitt said. “I said `Yeah, I don’t like having them all score in one inning because of sitting there. But I won’t ever complain about that many runs.”

The seven-run inning was built around an RBI double by Ramón Laureano and a two-run Sean Murphy single and included a Rangers’ error and a couple of bases-loaded walks. Later in the game, Semien hit a three-run homer, his first bomb since returning earlier this week from a left rib injury. Melvin wanted to take Semien out after the game got to 10-0, but Semien stayed in until the final inning.

“You’re working back from the injury and just trying to find a rhythm,” Semien explained in giving his rationale to stay in for an extra at-bat.

Melvin’s plan had been to give Semien occasional time off – if Semien would permit it – but with the A’s having lost both Olson and Pinder to deplete their infield ranks, that plan may be on hold.

Semien will miss Chapman, who he’s played alongside for more than three years. But he has a plan.

“We’ve just got to keep playing,” Semien said. “We knew this year would be tough with injuries. This is a tough part of our schedule, so it’s tough to lose some guys, but I know we have the depth in the organization.

“It seems like people are stepping up when they need to.”

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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