"There's some light [at the end of the tunnel]," Macha said. "Hopefully it's not a train coming."

Melhuse on the move: A day after making his first big-league appearance at third base since August 2004, backup catcher Adam Melhuse was on the other corner of the infield, working out at first base with infield coach Ron Washington.

Macha said Melhuse playing first base could end up being another avenue through which he can pick up more playing time, but the unspoken message could be that the club is losing patience with starting first baseman Dan Johnson, who went 3-for-19 (.158) on the seven-game road trip that ended on Sunday.

Johnson entered the Royals series batting .186 with two homers and eight RBIs in 129 at-bats. Melhuse was hitting .255 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 55 at-bats.

Melhuse is the club's only backup to starting catcher Jason Kendall, so if he's going to see any time at first base, it stands to reason that Johnson would be sent to Triple-A to make room for a third catcher.

Dribblers ... : Macha noted that the return of Harden and Loaiza will have the dual benefit of strengthening the rotation and the bullpen, but when asked if it's safe to assume that fill-in starters Brad Halsey and Kirk Saarloos will return to relief work, he was elusive. "I'm hoping that's the case," he said. Translation: The A's are hoping struggling second-year starter Joe Blanton (4-5, 6.02 ERA) gets his act together in a hurry. ... Noteworthy: Unlike Triple-A infielder Keith Ginter, who is on a "one-way" contract that will pay him more than $1 million this season, whether he makes his way back to the big leagues or not, Blanton is on a "split" contract, meaning he won't make big-league money in the Minors. ... Kendall's father Fred, who caught in the big leagues for 12 years, is in his first season as Kansas City's bullpen coach. "I'm thinking when they have their pre-series pitchers meeting, he'll provide the scouting report on me," Jason said. ... Ginter went 5-for-6 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs for the River Cats in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, raising his batting average on the year to .309 with a team-high 31 RBIs in 40 games. The Cats won the game 19-8, and every Sacramento starter had at least two hits with the exception of Nathan Espy, who leads the team with a .320 batting average. In the first game, righty Jason Windsor, a 2004 draftee, improved to 4-0 with a 2.01 ERA since being promoted from Double-A Midland.

Coming up: Halsey (1-2, 3.60 ERA) squares off against Royals righty Denny Bautista (0-2, 4.55 ERA) in the second game of the series. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT on Tuesday night.