CLEVELAND – Not only was Chad Pinder back in the lineup Thursday for the A’s finale in Cleveland, but he was batting sixth rather than ninth.
And rather than playing shortstop, Pinder moved over to play second base with Jed Lowrie getting the day off.
Neither of those changes occurred in a vacuum. Pinder is likely to become the semi-regular shortstop over Adam Rosales until Marcus Semien returns from the disabled list later this month. And as he’s becoming one of the A’s most impactful home run hitters, the A’s would like to put him in a position where he’s more likely to come to the plate with men on base.