Chapman riding inside wave during A's up-and-down season

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Matt Chapman’s 2-for-5 night was solidified with two home runs in the A's 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. It also was the A's third win in a row. 

It was the top of the A’s “Ride the Wave” mantra starter Chris Bassitt coined earlier in the season, and at the moment, Oakland, and Chapman are inside of the swells. 

“It’s been some rocky seas, that’s for sure,” Chapman told NBC Sports California after Tuesday’s game. “Life on deck, ride the wave, and when you’re on a pirate ship, anything can happen. The morale’s pretty good, so I think that’s a big attribute for our team and why we’re able to bounce back. It’s just been one of those years -- some years where you kind of just play good baseball the whole year or you get hot at the end. For us, it’s been really hot, really cold, really hot, really cold, so hopefully, we can stay hot here and carry this into the postseason.”

Both home runs (third and fourth in his last fives games), and Chapman’s flyout in the top of the fifth inning, measured at 108 mph exit velocity. 

“He looks great, driving the ball -- and defensively too, it’s just as noticeable defensively some of the balls he’s getting to,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “For me, it was probably just getting comfortable with the hip, not thinking about it anymore, getting his mechanics right, and just playing.” 

Chapman underwent season-ending hip surgery in 2020 and said many times that he hasn't been able to get his hips under him and used to the fact that he was healed.

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A’s outfielder Mark Canha had a homer of his own but noticed Chapman’s approach was working for him. 

“Great,” Canha said. “When you hit three balls at 108 miles an hour in one night, that’s pretty, I would advise him to not change anything tomorrow, do the exact same thing that he’s working on. That’s about as good as you can do.”

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