CLEVELAND -- Kurt Suzuki hardly was alone in struggling against Cleveland Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia on Wednesday in the A's 2-0 defeat.

But getting their young catcher back on course in the batter's box ranks high on the A's to-do list.

Suzuki is hitless in his past 23 at-bats after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the eighth spot in the order Wednesday. He was dropped from the leadoff spot. Manager Bob Geren installed center fielder Rajai Davis atop the order and is likely to do so again today.

Though Suzuki, who's hitting .243, stressed that his swing feels fine, he admitted he's been pressing.

Geren agreed Suzuki is putting too much pressure on himself.

"A lot of it is just mental," Geren said. "He's a young player. You go a few days without getting hits, you're probably trying too hard."

The bigger question might be whether Suzuki's heavy workload is taking a toll. He's started 37 of the A's 41 games. He leads major-league catchers both in games started and innings caught.

Suzuki, 24, shrugged off the innings he's logging, saying he feels fine physically.

"I'm young," he said.

Geren said he talked to Suzuki when he decided to change the batting order.

"He feels great physically," Geren said.

Geren had been planning to rest Suzuki on Sunday against Atlanta but said he might instead give him today off. Both are day games after night games.

Ellis update

Second baseman Mark Ellis jogged on his strained left

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hamstring and took swings in the batting cage before the game. He said the hamstring is feeling better, but that he would sit out today's series finale with Cleveland.

He called Friday's game against the Braves a "best-case scenario" for his return.

There's been no talk of Ellis going on the 15-day disabled list, but it doesn't seem out of the question. The A's need all the healthy position players they can get for the interleague series, where substitutions and double switches are sure to happen.

Grab a bat

A's pitchers have been taking their swings to prepare for the Atlanta series, when no designated hitter will be used. Dana Eveland, Rich Harden and Justin Duchscherer are the scheduled starters against the Braves.

Eveland, who pitched for Milwaukee and Arizona before getting traded to the A's in the offseason, is 0-for-8 in the major leagues.

"I was a decent hitter in the minors; my big-league at-bats haven't been that great," he said.

Eveland added it's unfortunate for the A's that Greg Smith, today's starter, won't pitch in Atlanta.

"We already know who the best (hitting pitcher) is on the team. That's Greg," said Eveland, a teammate of Smith's in Arizona's farm system. "When he does get a chance to bat, I'd expect good swings from him."

Short hop

Third baseman Eric Chavez will begin his rehab stint with Triple-A Sacramento today, but Geren said he wasn't sure Chavez would be ready May 27, when he can be activated from the 60-day disabled list. "He'd only have 24 or 25 at-bats at that point," Geren said, adding that how Chavez felt playing defense would be an even bigger factor.

-- Joe Stiglich