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TOKYO — Matt Chapman may never want to leave the Tokyo Dome.
Recording an out against the A’s third baseman has proven to be impossible over the A’s first two games in Japan. Chapman went 2 for 2 with a walk in Sunday’s night’s 6-6 exhibition draw with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. He reached base in all eight of his plate appearances over the A’s two exhibition games, looking every bit like the darkhorse MVP candidate many have projected him to be as he followed up a 3 for 3 effort from the previous night.
Chapman departed spring training hitting a modest .261 in Cactus League action. Some players just know when it’s time to turn it on. A’s manager Bob Melvin said Chapman is one of those guys.
“Usually it’s the veteran guys who know when to do turn it up,” Melvin said of the 25-year-old Chapman. “Little bit of a slow start in spring and next thing you know, he gets on base eight straight times here.”
Most impressive about the streak for Melvin is Chapman’s propensity to draw walks, something he struggled with earlier in his minor league career. Chapman walked three times in the two games, continuing his improvement in that department.
“Now he’s laying off that ball on the outside corner and knows where the corners are on both sides,” Melvin said. “You have to throw the ball over the plate to him. It’s been a quick ascend as far as the understanding of his strike zone.”
At the very least, Chapman’s success over the Japanese club lends some confidence heading into the A’s official start to the regular season from the Tokyo Dome against the Seattle Mariners Wednesday.
“They weren’t easy at-bats,” Chapman said. “They throw different pitches and their delivery style is different than we’re used to seeing. It was challenging.”
It was a slightly smaller crowd at the Tokyo Dome with an announced attendance of 13,588 fans, but the same cheerful group from the first exhibition assumed their normal spot out in the left-field bleachers for the second game.
7th inning stretch, Japanese style, Pt. 2 pic.twitter.com/A2IcHuLlf8
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) March 18, 2019
They had much more to make noise about this time around as the Fighters responded to a second-inning solo home run by Stephen Piscotty with four unanswered runs.
Stephen Piscotty smashes a solo homer to left off Hokkaido’s Yuki Saitoh to give the A’s a 1-0 lead in the second. pic.twitter.com/fpEbCJQXKK
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) March 18, 2019
Left-hander Brett Anderson got the start for the A’s and allowed two unearned runs that came in the third and fifth following an error by shortstop Marcus Semien in each. The bulk of the Fighters’ runs came against Chris Bassitt.
Taking over for Anderson to begin the sixth, Bassitt turned in just an inning of work as he surrendered four runs on five hits and two walks.
Khris Davis entertains Japanese fans
Even the Fighters fans were delighted to see a majestic Khris Davis home run in person. The A’s slugger blasted a three-run home run in the ninth to make it a four-run inning that tied the game.
It was a late-inning homer. Are you surprised? #MLB開幕戦 pic.twitter.com/lVcQ6RPmbQ
— Oakland Athletics 🌳🐘⚾️ (@Athletics) March 18, 2019
“I literally said, ‘I’ve seen this happen before,'” Melvin said of the home run. “It wasn’t a surprise. He has a flair for the dramatic late in games.”
Know the Opponent
Yuki Saitoh was the starting pitcher for the Fighters Sunday. At one point, Saitoh and Yankees star Masahiro Tanaka were head-to-head rivals in high school, with Saitoh often outdueling Tanaka early in their baseball careers. Saitoh was projected to be the better of the two, but their career trajectories took different paths while Tanaka later blossomed and made it to the majors while Saitoh has remained in Japan, still loved by Japanese fans and considered one of the better pitchers in the league.