The ball off Kurt Suzuki’s bat was chopped sharply to the left-hand side. The A’s third baseman dove to his right to snag it, then quickly rose to his feet and made a strong, one-hop throw to first, in time to nab the runner.

Ah, yes. Matt Chapman is back.

Though Chapman had served as a DH in two previous Cactus League tilts, that second-inning sequence on Friday afternoon at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., marked the real return of the two-time Platinum Glove Award winner. The A’s 7-3 loss to the Angels was Chapman’s first start at the hot corner since last September, when a torn right hip labrum required surgery and prematurely ended his 2020 season.

Chapman, who went 0-for-1 with a walk at the plate, said he felt great in the field.

“Going to make that play, I didn’t really think about anything,” he said. “Just make the play. Got up and made the throw. So it’s nice to kind of test it and see where it’s at.”

Others were a bit more enthused by what they saw.

“Stuff like that,” said right-hander James Kaprielian, who started and induced the grounder, “gives me the chills.”

Getting Chapman’s bat back in 2021 is a big deal for the A’s. Over the last three seasons, he has a .259/.341/.510 slash with 70 homers and 184 RBIs.

But it’s the glove that is truly what makes Chapman so special.

“He really takes pride in it,” A's manager Bob Melvin said. “A lot of guys concentrate more on the bat. But defense is his calling card, even though he’s a terrific offensive player, too.”

Since his rookie year in 2017, Chapman has been worth 39 Outs Above Average, per Statcast. That is second only to Nolan Arenado (48) in that span.

Melvin has seen a lot of third basemen over the years. But he said Chapman’s range and arm are what separate him.

“He plays a little deeper than anybody else because of his arm,” Melvin said. “It allows him to get to more balls. If he played it straight up, he’d probably still have the best numbers. He’s really quick side to side. He’s a tenacious defender.”

That play Friday was a welcomed reminder.

Regular irregulars
Chapman’s return to third was just part of what looked like a (mostly) regular season-worthy lineup against Angels starter Shohei Ohtani on Friday:

Mark Canha, LF
Elvis Andrus, SS
Matt Olson, 1B
Matt Chapman, 3B
Mitch Moreland, DH
Ramón Laureano, CF
Chad Pinder, RF
Tony Kemp, 2B
Aramis Garcia, C

But Melvin made it clear the A’s likely won’t have a “regular” lineup in 2021.

“We tend to -- maybe not as much this year -- platoon a little bit,” he said. “We also tend to play a hot hand. If somebody’s not swinging well and somebody else is, we tweak our lineup that way. The three-batter minimum [also] comes into play. There are a lot of things that would suggest it isn’t just the straight everyday lineup and everybody’s hitting in the same spot all the time.”

Though Canha got his first start in the leadoff spot and is a candidate to remain there in the regular season, that slot, in particular, will rotate in the wake of Marcus Semien’s free-agent departure.

“It’s all going to be about production and guys getting on base,” Melvin said. “That’s what we want to see out of the top spots in the lineup, and that’s kind of how we mix our lineup up from time to time, is some guys are getting on base a little more and, during that period, we try to get them up in the lineup some. So we’ll see.”

Watch the Puk
A.J. Puk, who is about six months removed from left shoulder surgery, took an important step in his recovery by throwing an inning to hitters at the A’s complex on Friday. This was Puk’s first time throwing to hitters this spring.

“He was free and easy and throwing the ball good,” Melvin said.

• 'Free and easy' Puk raring to go for '21

The big key will be how Puk’s shoulder responds to that workload on Saturday. But so far, so good for the 6-foot-7, 248-pound lefty.

As the A’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, Puk looms as an intriguing option for the A’s in either a rotation or bullpen role. He pitched 11 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in 2019 before missing all of 2020.

Streams come true
A’s Cast is now in midseason form. The streaming service’s coverage of Spring Training has been expanded and will include all home and away games for the remainder of spring.

The broadcasts can be found at athletics.com/AsCast.

Up next
The A’s will venture west to the Peoria Sports Complex for Saturday’s 12:10 p.m. PT game against the Mariners. Right-hander Daulton Jefferies will start, with right-handers J.B. Wendelken, Montana DuRapau and Dany Jiménez and left-hander Reymin Guduan all available to throw.