We’re used to Matt Chapman coming through in the clutch, or just coming through, period. But this season, he has gotten off to a slow start.
That changed Thursday night.
In the bottom of the sixth inning of the Athletics’ 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers at the Coliseum, Chapman crushed a 106.2-mph double to the left-center gap to push the lead to four.
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“We’ve seen him come through so often,” manager Bob Melvin said after the game. “You get off to a bit of a slow start and at times you’ll do too much and he’s still trying to get his mechanics where they were before. But at that point in time that’s a huge hit over the course of the game for us to drive in a couple runs there.”
It was a small glimpse of the All-Star third basemen A’s fans have grown accustomed to.
“Probably the biggest hit at the time,” Melvin added.
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Oakland Athletics
Chapman currently is hitting .184/.255/.367 with two home runs and eight RBI this season. Hopefully for the A's, this is the beginning of a turnaround where he can match the rest of the lineup, which has started to wake up from its slumber.
“When we needed him, he showed up big,” Melvin said, “and my guess is he’s going to do a lot more of that before the season’s over.”