ANAHEIM -- Matt Chapman didn¡¯t see it coming. He was focused on fixing a divot near third base in the bottom of the ninth. He didn¡¯t expect Angels catcher Logan O¡¯Hoppe to swing on a 3-0 sinker in the upper outside corner of the zone.
But he did, and the ball was chopped right in Chapman¡¯s direction at third.
¡°I think that causes a little panic,¡± he said.
Chapman came out of his set a lot faster than he thought he would need to, and stumbled trying to field the grounder. But somehow, he was able to not just corral it, but fire a one-hopper off -- as he continued to stumble -- in time to beat O¡¯Hoppe and get the second out of the ninth.
¡°Nobody makes that play,¡± manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°Off the bat, [it looks like] it's a double-play ball. And then now, all of a sudden, you're hoping to get one. And either he pulled that one out of his hat to be able to get a throw across the diamond like that, and getting the out, obviously, which is huge. Or now, there's two baserunners on there and it's a different complexion to the inning.¡±
Chapman ended up pulling that one out of his hat, securing the Giants¡¯ 3-2 win at the Big A on Saturday.
He¡¯s also the one who set the tone for them at the plate. Coming off a night in which the Giants' bats were shut out in a pitching duel, Chapman took matters into his own hands and made a statement in the first inning.
On the second pitch of his first at-bat of the game, Chapman got a meatball -- a 78.8 mph hanging changeup from Halos starter Kyle Hendricks. He turned on it, sending it 384 feet over the left-field wall for a two-run blast to put the Giants ahead.
¡°[Hendricks] throws a really good sinker, and the changeup. And when those pitches are down, they're hard to get. He gets a lot of ground balls,¡± Chapman said. ¡°And so for me, I was just trying to get something up in the zone. He left that changeup up, and I was able to put a good swing on it.¡±
Chapman followed up his homer with a leadoff single to start the top of the fourth inning, after which he stole second. He also drew a one-out walk in the sixth to cap off a 2-for-3 night.
Saturday¡¯s performance continues Chapman¡¯s recent upward trend. He was batting .176 on the season following the conclusion of the Giants series against the Yankees on April 13. Since then, he¡¯s gone 9-for-21 (.429) with two home runs and six RBIs.
¡°I¡¯ve felt good all year,¡± Chapman said. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been swinging at the right pitches, controlling the zone. Early on this road trip, maybe [I] wasn¡¯t finding some hits. Hit some balls hard, just wasn¡¯t having some success. But I feel like I¡¯m seeing the ball well.¡±
He couldn¡¯t have asked for a more perfect time to get hot. After seemingly turning the corner in Philadelphia, Chapman got three days at Angel Stadium, where he¡¯s slashed .269/.359/.596 with a .955 OPS, 13 home runs, and 44 RBIs in 171 career at-bats.
¡°This is a place that he's always swung the bat really well,¡± Melvin said. ¡°Hits a home run in the last game in Philly. And the timing of it to get here was good for him. Obviously played huge in the game today.¡±
Chapman¡¯s performance was backed up by starter Landen Roupp, who held it down on the mound with a solid night; he struck out a career-high nine batters on 96 pitches through seven complete frames. His only runs allowed were the two solo shots from Mike Trout.
Roupp built on his previous start at Philadelphia on April 14, where he whiffed eight (matching his then-career high) through five innings.
The Giants have been able to keep pace in the thick of the NL West with the Dodgers and Padres early on in 2025, and with Chapman¡¯s trajectory looking up, this has the makings of what could be an exciting year in the Bay Area.
¡°I feel like there¡¯s a lot of season left,¡± Chapman said. ¡°So just in a good spot to keep building.¡±