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Oakland Athletics’ wild card Game 3 lineup features Khris Davis at DH

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Oakland Athletics’ wild card Game 3 lineup features Khris Davis at DH

Tommy La Stella is back in the leadoff spot and Ramón Laureano will be hitting eighth in the decisive Game 3 of the A’s first-round playoff series with the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

Khris Davis remains the designated hitter for the A’s and is hitting sixth, even though the White Sox are starting right-hander Dane Dunning.

Davis has primarily been used this season against left-handed starters. In the A’s 5-3 win in Game 2 over the White Sox lefty starter Dallas Keuchel, Davis hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. In 11 games in September, Davis hit .296 with an .894 OPS, including two home runs and five doubles.

“It wasn’t hard for me to put him in there today, either,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of Davis. “You have to go, on certain games, with what you consider to be your top guys.”

Melvin said he expects the A’s to see a variety of White Sox pitchers today, as both teams figure to extensively use their bullpens.

“(Davis has) been working really hard, he’s had a good month,” Melvin said. “He was extremely fired up for yesterday’s game. There was a look in his eyes of real determination yesterday. It wasn’t that tough today.”

In the outfield, the A’s have Robbie Grossman in left, Laureano in center and Mark Canha in right. Melvin decided against starting Stephen Piscotty, who was 0-for-3 on Wednesday with a strikeout.

With Jake Lamb at third base, Chad Pinder, who spent time on the injured list in September with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, is on the bench.

“He’s going to be managing it for a while,” Melvin said of Pinder’s injury. “But it’s good enough to where he can play. It’s not affecting his swings, it’s not affecting balls hit right to him, maybe the first step. But we’ve told him to take it easy down the line. That’s the hardest part, is running and taking off. But he’s learned how to manage it.”

Laureano went 2-for-4 and scored a run in Game 2. For the series, Laureano is 2-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored.

La Stella, a left-handed hitter, batted second in Game 2 behind right-hander Marcus Semien. But La Stella has mashed righties all year, hitting .303 with a .903 OPS. That includes 18 extra-base hits and 21 walks in 54 games.

Melvin added that the A’s will wait for Liam Hendriks to play catch prior to the game before they determine if he’s available to pitch today. Hendriks threw 49 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in Game 2.

The White Sox, as of 10 a.m., had not yet posted their lineup. Manager Rick Renteria said he was waiting on the status of left fielder Eloy Jimenez. who has missed five straight games with a mid-right foot sprain he suffered last week. Renteria said he was going to watch Jimenez go through his pregame workout before he determines his availability.

Regardless, the White Sox are a confident bunch as well.

“We have the guys to do it with and we think today is going to show how good we can be,” White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson said. “We have to come out and be dominant. We have to get this win today. We have to get it.”

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