OAKLAND -- A’s third baseman Matt Chapman returned from a minor wrist injury on Thursday afternoon, entering in the eighth inning of Oakland's 7-3 win over the Red Sox, and quickly showed why he's regarded as one of the best defenders in the game.

Chapman, who was out of the starting lineup with a stiff left wrist that was struck by a Nathan Eovaldi pitch on Wednesday night, laid out to rob Rafael Devers of a hit with a runner on first and one out in the top of the eighth and the A's holding a four-run lead. Chapman fired to second to retire Blake Swihart and keep the momentum on Oakland's side.

“It got a little sore as [Wednesday's] game went along and it’s a little sore today,” Melvin said before the game.

With the A’s eight games deep (through Thursday) into a stretch of 18 consecutive games, Melvin had planned on resting Chapman at some point soon, anyway.

Chapman entered Thursday batting .303 in nine games with three homers, six RBIs and a team-high 1.061 OPS.