Rare night has Chapman almost in Bonds territory

PHOENIX -- Two days after flashing his Dad Strength, Matt Chapman showed off his Dad Speed.

Chapman delivered a rare inside-the-park home run to cap a three-run third inning and added an RBI triple in the seventh, paving the way for the Giants’ 6-3 win over the D-backs in Monday night’s series opener at Chase Field.

Since welcoming his daughter, Gia, last week, Chapman is 4-for-11 with three homers and five RBIs over his last three games. His latest performance put him in exclusive company, as he became the first Giant with an inside-the-park homer and a triple in the same game since Hall of Famer Monte Irvin on July 18, 1953.

"It’s awesome to see him come back from paternity leave and have this burst of energy,” left fielder Michael Conforto said. “It’s just a cool thing to watch.”

San Francisco continued to thrive in the spoiler role, improving to 6-1 on its final road trip of the year through Baltimore, Kansas City and Arizona. The late surge has brought the Giants (78-79) within one game of .500 with less than a week to go in the regular season. They’ll have to win at least three of their remaining five games against the D-backs and Cardinals to finish at .500 or above in 2024.

"We’re playing well right now as a team,” said rookie Hayden Birdsong, who earned the win after giving up two runs on four hits over five innings. “We’re pitching well, we’re hitting, and we’re doing things right. We’re doing what we should have been doing a month ago. Obviously, it’s kind of how baseball works. ... Hopefully we can just keep it going and maybe even cause some problems with the playoff situation.”

The Giants still have plenty to play for on an individual level as well. Chapman’s unorthodox blast gave him a team-high 27 home runs on the year, leaving him three shy of becoming the first San Francisco hitter to produce a 30-homer season since Barry Bonds in 2004.

Chapman certainly showed he can kick into high gear in the third. After Jerar Encarnacion tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double off D-backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, Chapman drilled a 415-foot drive to center field and then turned on the jets once the ball deflected off the wall and got away from center fielder Jake McCarthy, who slammed into the fence while attempting to make a leaping grab.

"As soon as it kicked away, I thought there was a really good chance at [the inside-the-park homer],” manager Bob Melvin said. “Now, you don’t practice that. So third-to-home can be a little difficult at times just because you never do it. The legs can give out a little bit, but he didn’t. He is fast.”

Pavin Smith had to run in from left field to chase down the ball, knocking in Encarnacion from second and allowing the speedy Chapman to zip around the bases and slide in ahead of shortstop Geraldo Perdomo’s relay throw to the plate.

Chapman posted a sprint speed of 29 feet per second on the play and went from home-to-home in 15.70 seconds, becoming the first Giant to record an inside-the-park homer since Denard Span in 2017.

"Tiring,” Chapman said in a postgame interview with NBC Sports Bay Area. “But it was a lot of fun. It’s big out there to center, so off the bat, I didn’t think that I got all of it. Inside fastball, just tried to get the barrel to it. Once I saw that he missed that ball, I turned it on. I was really hoping [third-base coach] Matty [Williams] was going to wave me, and I was digging. That was a lot of fun. It was obviously nice to get those two runs right there and fire the boys up."

"I knew he had the speed to do it, so I was just hoping he’d keep going,” Conforto said. “Obviously, super exciting. Most exciting play in baseball.”

Casey Schmitt and Conforto added solo shots in each of the next two innings to stretch the Giants’ lead to 5-2 before Chapman tacked on another insurance run with an RBI triple off Scott McGough in the seventh.

Even with the Giants officially eliminated from playoff contention, Chapman is showing no signs of slowing down, further validating the club’s decision to reward him with a six-year, $151 million extension earlier this month.

"He doesn’t know another way,” Melvin said. “It’s just showing everybody how we expect to play down the road. That’s what he’s always meant to me, in Oakland as well. As a rookie, his entire time there, that’s kind of just what comes along with him. That’s why everybody loves watching him play, because there’s one pace to him. It’s the only pace he knows. It’s all out, all the time. When you see games like this, it shows up big time.”