Matt Chapman will hold bragging rights over his best friend James Kaprielian for a long, long time.
With the Athletics clinging to a 1-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning Wednesday, Chapman belted a 3-2 fastball from Kaprielian into the seats in left-center field to tie the game.
Kaprielian appeared to know his buddy got the best of him as soon as it left the bat.
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The dinger ended Kaprielian's day. A's manager Mark Kotsay yanked him from the contest only to watch Domingo Acevedo serve up a go-ahead homer to Bo Bichette the following inning in Oakland's 2-1 loss.
The friendship of Kaprielian and Chapman dates back to their high school days growing up in Southern California. They competed against each other in college, with Kaprielian starring at UCLA and Chapman at Cal State Fullerton. Drafted in the first round one year apart, they ultimately became teammates in the big leagues when Kaprielian was called up to the A's in 2020 and appeared in 21 games last season.
In the offseason, Kaprielian officiated Chapman's wedding and even spun tracks for the dance floor as the event's DJ.
Oakland Athletics
After going 0-for-3 on Monday, his official return to the Oakland Coliseum since getting traded by the A's in March, Chapman collected five hits and two home runs over the final two games of the series, wiping away the A's hopes to clinch their first sweep of the season.
Chapman is now batting .225/.299/.421 with 13 homers in 78 games in his first campaign with the Blue Jays since the blockbuster trade.
Unfortunately for Kaprielian, he won't get a chance to avenge Chapman's homer as the A's won't play Toronto again until next season. On the bright side, Oakland split the six-game season series with the Blue Jays three games apiece.
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The A's return to the field Friday to begin a three-game weekend series against the Houston Astros at the Coliseum.