Matt attack: Chapman, Olson lead A's to win

OAKLAND -- Among the glaring struggles that Matt Chapman was enduring at the plate to begin the season, the lack of power was what really stood out. It was only a couple of years ago that he was recognized as one of the game’s elite power bats with his inclusion in the Home Run Derby during 2019 All-Star Week.

After flashing signs of a resurgence with three hits in Friday’s win, Chapman once again led the charge on offense with another three-hit performance that included his first home run in over a month in Saturday’s 11-2 win over the Royals at the Coliseum.

Chapman was mired in a career-high stretch of 32 consecutive games without a homer (his last one coming on May 5) prior to his solo blast off right-hander Carlos Hernández in the sixth. The homer was Chapman’s sixth of the year and came on a 99.9 mph sinker he turned on to drive the other way for a laser shot to right-center. The ball was tagged 107.1 mph off the bat and traveled an estimated 388 feet, according to Statcast.

“It felt great, especially off a guy that has really good stuff,” Chapman said. “To drive a ball to right field, something I feel is a strength of mine, feels great.”

On a day multiple A’s hitters crushed the ball off Royals pitching with three homers, including Skye Bolt’s first career homer and a two-run shot by Matt Olson (who was 4-for-5 on the day himself) in the eighth inning, Chapman hit the ball just about harder than anyone from either side. Two of his three hits registered among the top five hardest hits of the game, with his double in the second also smashed with an exit velocity of 109.2 mph.

For a long while, the timing of Chapman’s swing was off. He was late on a lot of fastballs, battling through a rough 13-game stretch that saw him hit .071 (3-for-41). Since that cold streak, the third baseman has flipped a switch and is now 11-for-31 (.355) over his last nine games.

Chapman attributed the sharp turnaround to a mechanical fix. Working his way back from hip surgery last September, Chapman said he discovered that his surgically repaired right hip was causing a delay in his ability to fire his bat into the zone, leading to his persistent lateness on pitches. Through extra work in batting practice, he’s found a way to better position his hip during his setup at the plate, which in turn has improved his timing.

“Coming off surgery, it always takes time to get that trust and feel back,” Chapman said. “Everybody I’ve talked to that had that surgery said it took some time to get back to feeling the way they’re accustomed to [feeling]. I’m still getting that strength and trust back. It’s only been eight months since surgery, so I have to keep that in perspective.

“The last couple days, we’ve been finding ways to get my back hip to fire a little better. That way, I don’t have to work as hard to get to the baseball. I was able to start catching balls in front instead of being so late.”

Chapman realizes it might be too late to make a run at an All-Star appearance this year. Instead, he’s advocating for Olson to get his first career All-Star nod. The first baseman upped his batting average to .285 on the year after a season-high four-hit game on Saturday, which in addition to his team-leading 16th homer included a double and four RBIs.

“He’s amazing,” Chapman said of Olson. “It shows how hard he’s worked to become a better player every single year. He’s always underappreciated. But he’s a very smart baseball player and understands how guys are trying to pitch him.

“All I can hope for is that he keeps it going and he’s in [the All-Star Game] in July. He deserves that. He’s a stud.”

Pitching without his best command, rookie James Kaprielian escaped a couple of bases-loaded jams to complete six scoreless innings. The right-hander picked up his third win of the year and lowered his ERA to 2.51.

For as impactful as the bats were on Saturday with a season-high 14 hits, a strong run of pitching by the starters that was continued by Kaprielian can’t go unnoticed. Oakland’s starting pitchers have not allowed a run over the first six innings of each of the last four games. Over the last 15 contests, starters are 8-4 with a 2.20 ERA.

“We’ve got five guys who are extremely competitive,” Kaprielian said. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be the ace of the staff. I’m sure the four guys around me feel the same way.

“That’s what builds good baseball teams. You have enough guys pulling the same rope, working to get each other better and competing with each other. We have that here.”