Marcus Semien was back in the A¡¯s starting lineup for the first game of Tuesday¡¯s doubleheader against the Astros in Oakland. The shortstop had missed the A's previous five games due to left side soreness that kept him out since the second game of a twin bill against the Astros in Houston on Aug. 29.

After taking batting practice on the field at the Oakland Coliseum prior to Monday¡¯s 6-0 win over Houston, Semien was given the green light by A¡¯s trainers to return to game action. Though he is feeling better, the club still plans to take a cautious approach with Semien, who is expected to sit for Tuesday's nightcap.

¡°I think what we¡¯re talking about now is playing it day to day to see how he feels,¡± A¡¯s manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°See what kind of residual soreness he has in there. I think we probably look at the next doubleheader as maybe [playing] only one game as well. I think, more than anything, it depends on how he feels day to day.¡±

Semien¡¯s late scratch on Aug. 29 snapped a streak of 276 consecutive games started, which was the second-longest streak in Oakland history (347 by Alfredo Griffin, April 9, 1985-April 30, 1987). He entered that game 7-for-13 with a double, a home run and two RBIs over his previous three contests, and he entered Tuesday slashing .229/.285/.379 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 33 games this season.

Chapman wants 'to come back as soon as I can'
Matt Chapman was held out of any throwing or hitting on Tuesday as he deals with right hip tendinitis that forced him to leave Sunday¡¯s 5-3 loss to the Padres. The third baseman is giving his body time to recover, though he is expected to resume baseball activities on Wednesday.

¡°Once you start doing baseball activity, there¡¯s no telling how fast I can come back,¡± Chapman said. ¡°I¡¯m taking every day like I¡¯m going to come back. I¡¯m gonna work out and do what I can so I don¡¯t lose too many days. My plan is to come back as soon as I can.¡±

While a return in this series is considered a long shot, the A¡¯s still don¡¯t plan on Chapman requiring a stint on the injured list.

¡°I know today we¡¯re gonna give it another day and hopefully tomorrow we¡¯ll have some more answers and more of a plan of attack on how to go about things,¡± Chapman said. ¡°It¡¯s definitely sore and still stiff, but it feels better than it did two days ago.¡±