Chapman happy after walking way into team’s record book

CLEVELAND — Matt Chapman, who walked in his first five trips to the plate Thursday, came up in the ninth inning one shy of the major-league record for a game.

And don’t think he wasn’t aware.

“We may or may not have Googled what the record for most walks in a game is,” Chapman said after the A’s 17-0 win over the Indians. “But I’m not going to lie; after I got down 0-2, I didn’t feel very confident about the fact I was going to get walked for a sixth time.”

Chapman struck out in his last plate appearance but already had tied the Oakland record for walks in a game, last reached by Mark McGwire in 1997. Chapman scored three runs in the A’s seventh consecutive win.

“You play enough games, things like this are going to happen,” Chapman said. “It’s cool to be able to feel like I got on base a lot, feels good to get on base and help the team.”

Chapman’s .214 batting average is third lowest among qualified AL hitters, but he has reached base 11 times in his past five games. His baserunning helped create two early runs. He beat shortstop Amed Rosario’s flip to second with two outs in the second, prolonging the inning for Starling Marte, who was hit by a pitch to force in a run. In the fourth, Chapman drew a walk, took third on a hit-and-run single by Elvis Andrus and scored on a groundout.

“I think anytime you can go down in the history books, one way or another, is awesome,” Chapman said.

Bassitt’s day: Starter Chris Bassitt, an Ohio native who went to Genoa Area High School — about 100 miles from Cleveland — and the University of Akron, estimated he had about 100 friends and family at Progressive Field for his start Thursday. Bassitt gave a strong outing, working six scoreless innings to earn his ALleading 12th win.

“My friends, my family, we were all Indians fans, so coming here is obviously special for them, special for me,” Bassitt said. “Just (growing up) rooting for a team I’m playing against is obviously going to be special every single time.”

Las Vegas additions:

The A’s Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate announced Khris Davis, signed to a minor-league deal last week, has been added its roster. Davis, 33,played five seasons with the A’s (2016-2020) and led the majors with 48 home runs in 2018. … Infielder Nick Allen was promoted from Double-A Midland to Las Vegas. Allen played in the Tokyo Olympics for the United States, the silver-medal winner, and was named the tournament’s top defensive player.