Chapman flirts with walks record
Mitch Moreland homered twice, Chris Bassitt posted his American League-leading 12th win and the Athletics routed the host Indians 17-0 on Thursday for their seventh straight victory.
By the end, the only drama involved Matt Chapman, who walked in his first five plate appearances for the A’s. The remaining fans from the crowd of 16,559 on a sweltering afternoon were cheering for a record-tying sixth walk when he batted in the ninth inning and expressed their disappointment after he struck out swinging against Blake Parker on a 1-2 pitch.
Bryce Harper, Jeff Bagwell and Jimmie Foxx share the major-league mark of six walks in a game. Chapman became the first A’s player since Mark McGwire in 1997 to walk five times.
Chapman said his teammates were pulling for him to draw another walk, but he knew that was in jeopardy when he got down 0-2.
“We may or may not have Googled what the record for most walks in a game is,” he said. “We were all joking around. They were like, ‘You got it, try to walk.’ Then I took the first pitch right down the middle, and I was like, ‘Oh, man, I don’t think it’s going to work out this time.’ ”
Chapman scored three times and Matt Canha and Starling Marte each drove in three runs as the Athletics moved a season-high 18 games over .500.
Bassitt (12-3) allowed three hits in six innings. He has a nine-game road winning streak.
Phillies 2, Dodgers 1
Bryce Harper homered and Ian Kennedy escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth as the Phillies ended the Dodgers’ four-game winning streak. Harper hit his 21st homer and scored twice as the Phillies won with just four hits.
Reds 12, Braves 3
Jesse Winker hit a grand slam in the second inning — the second of his career — in a win that snapped the Reds’ three-game skid. Tyler Naquin, Jonathan India, Kyle Farmer and Tyler Stephenson also homered for the Reds.
Orioles slugger Davis hangs it up
The Orioles’ Chris Davis, 35, who became one of baseball’s most prodigious power hitters before his production dropped amid injury problems during his final seasons, announced his retirement. He was going to miss the entire 2021 season after surgery in May to repair the labrum in his left hip.
Next year was the final season of Davis’ sevenyear, $161 million contract, a deal that became increasingly burdensome for the rebuilding Orioles. He came to the team in 2011 in a trade from Texas.