Chapman reaches over tarp for spectacular grab

OAKLAND -- The A's resident defensive wizard made terrific use of the tarp for his latest trick Tuesday.
Third baseman Matt Chapman, who has made a nightly habit out of igniting oohs and aahs, raced through the Coliseum's expansive foul territory for a remarkable reaching catch over the tarp.
His defensive doings, which sent the Mariners' Robinson Canó back to the visiting dugout, capped a scoreless eighth inning for Fernando Rodney in a 3-2 A's win that brought them within just one game of the first-place Astros in the American League West.
"Just out there expecting the ball to be hit in my direction, and as soon as I saw it off the bat I thought it had a good chance of staying in fair territory, so I just kind of went after it," Chapman said. "I was thinking that if it was going to go even in the rows in the stands I was gonna go for it."
"That's a will to catch the baseball," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He wasn't going to be denied. If he had to go through the tarp … I think that was his mindset. He's got quite the will to win, to have a good at-bat, make a nice play, all of the above. He's quite a competitor."

Chapman led off the bottom of the inning with a double, reaching base a second time on the night to extend his AL-leading on-base streak to 28 games. His Gold Glove-caliber defense has been with him every step of the way.
The infielder's latest acrobatic act ignited memories of a pair of similar grabs over the tarp made by former A's third baseman Josh Donaldson.
"There's so much room out there, so honestly anything that's hit in the air you kind of just expect to have a chance at it," Chapman said. "So I've just kind of created a habit of just going for it, and you kind of peel off if it's too far, but it gives you a chance to catch balls like that. You don't want to give guys like Robinson Cano any extra strikes or swings. He can hurt you with one swing of the bat, so I definitely wanted to get that out."