"A new A's lineup was on display at the Coliseum. Not a permanent lineup, manager Bob Melvin said. Just a temporary arrangement with Josh Willingham missing a couple of games because of a sore Achilles tendon.

But after the A's came alive in the fifth inning of their 4-2 victory over the Giants on Saturday night, Melvin might want to reconsider.

Coco Crisp third? Daric Barton ninth? Adam Rosales in left?

And, yes, Hideki Matsui hitting fourth. If we were still on Bob Geren's watch, Matsui would have been on the bench, as he usually was against left-handed pitchers. But thanks to Melvin's confidence in Matsui, the designated hitter faced lefty Jonathan Sanchez in the decisive rally and broke a 2-2 tie with a two-run grounder to right field.

"They got a two-out, seeing-eye base hit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "It was a crushing blow. But they got it, and we didn't."

That's for sure. The Giants stranded 10 runners and were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, making them hitless in 22 runners-in-scoring-position at-bats during a three-game skid.

Asked if he'd take a "seeing-eye base hit" now and then, Bochy said, "Sure, I'll take one. He put the ball in play. Good piece of hitting. He hit it where we couldn't get to it."

Sanchez credited Matsui by saying, "I threw a slider down, where it was supposed to go. I guess he was looking for it. He found a hole. It was his day. You've got to be careful with him. That's why he's still in the big leagues."

The Giants stranded multiple runners in the second, fourth and sixth innings. Nate Schierholtz doubled to open the sixth but mistakenly tried to advance on a grounder to short and was thrown out."