The Oakland Athletics removed Matt Chapman from their lineup on Wednesday
On Tuesday evening, the Oakland Athletics secured the relatively easy victory over the Texas Rangers, but it came at a cost. During the contest, Oakland’s star third baseman Matt Chapman was struck in the head by a sinker thrown by Rangers pitcher Kyle Gibson.
Despite unintentionally getting hit in the helmet, Chapman stayed in the lineup for the remainder of the game. The same can’t be said for Wednesday.
Prior to their Wednesday evening game against Texas, the Athletics released their lineup, which revealed that Chapman won’t be manning the hot corner. Manager Bob Melvin said Chapman did not suffer a concussion, but was dealing with a headache while working out pregame. Chapman is expected to return to the field on Thursday, but for Wednesday, Vimael Machin will start in his place.
Chapman expected to return on Thursday
After unintentionally hitting Chapman in the head, Gibson was visibly shaken that his pitch went wild. Once Chapman walked to first base under his own power, Gibson met him to apologize for the throw.
“I don’t think that I’ve ever hit anybody like that,” Gibson said, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I just wanted to make sure I hung around home plate and let him know I wasn’t trying to do anything remotely close to that.”
The Athletics currently have a firm hold of first-place in the AL West division, despite the fact they lead MLB in strikeouts (311). Chapman has the unenviable distinction in having the most strikeouts on the team with 43. Yet, he’s far from struggling. The third baseman has a .240 batting average and a .895 OPS, while hitting nine home runs and 22 RBI.
Chapman avoided a potentially serious injury after taking a 91 mile-per-hour pitch to the helmet. With the small headache, Melvin decided to not take any chances and opted to give his star player the night off.