OAKLAND -- Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has seen his power decline in the second half and was moved down in the order to hit fifth for the first time this season on Wednesday. The move didn't pay immediate dividends, as Ohtani went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in a 4-0

OAKLAND -- Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani has seen his power decline in the second half and was moved down in the order to hit fifth for the first time this season on Wednesday. The move didn't pay immediate dividends, as Ohtani went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in a 4-0 loss to the A's.

Ohtani had previously hit third in all 84 of his starts at DH this season, but right fielder Brian Goodwin hit third instead in the middle game of the series against the A’s. Ohtani had been scuffling over his last 10 games, hitting .118 (4-for-34) with two doubles, no homers and one RBI. He’s hit two homers in 46 games in the second half.

"He's been struggling a little bit," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "Brian Goodwin has been swinging the bat well. So just kind of flip-flopped where they'd be in the lineup."

Ohtani met with hitting coaches Jeremy Reed, Shawn Wooten and Paul Sorrento after Tuesday’s game that saw him go 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts. It came after he was held out of the lineup the previous two games in an effort to clear his head. Ohtani worked in the cages with the hitting coaches before Wednesday’s game to try to get his swing back on track.

“I just think with the work that they’re doing today, it takes a bit of pressure off,” Ausmus said. “Shohei is a pretty strong mental player. I don’t know if that would affect him either way. It’s twofold. Goodwin has been swinging the bat well, Shohei has been struggling a little bit. From a production standpoint, we feel like we can get more production with this lineup and also it’s probably a little easier for Shohei to hit there and not be so concerned with the results.”

Ohtani batted in several spots in the lineup last year, starting at DH in every spot but first and ninth. He made 23 starts as the fifth hitter, 22 hitting cleanup and 12 hitting third. But this season, Ausmus has stuck with Ohtani at third ever since he made his return from Tommy John surgery on May 7. Ohtani, 25, entered Wednesday batting .289/.347/.496 with 16 homers, 18 doubles and 55 RBIs in 99 games.

“Some guys don’t care where they hit,” Ausmus said. “Some guys are more comfortable in certain spots. For me, I think we want the mentality of don’t worry about where you’re hitting, just hit the way you hit.”

Ohtani’s move to the fifth spot in the order could be temporary, however, especially if Ausmus decides not to hit right fielder Kole Calhoun third when he’s in the lineup. Goodwin started in Calhoun’s place Wednesday and has been one of the club’s hottest hitters, batting .307/.368/.667 with eight homers and 18 RBIs in 39 games (24 starts) in the second half.

Goodwin has proved to be a valuable acquisition for the Angels, who claimed him off waivers from the Royals the day before the start of the season with Justin Upton out at the time with turf toe.

"You could make the argument he should play more," Ausmus said. "He's been tremendous. His attitude has been extremely professional. When Upton came back we didn't know what would happen. Probably back when we signed Brian we thought that he might not be with us. Clearly that wasn't the case with the way he's played."