Chapman in bit of a slump

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —

Matt Chapman is in a little bit of a dip at the plate lately, with one hit in his past 20 at-bats with eight strikeouts, but the A’s third baseman said it’s just part of the cycle of the season.

“I kind of made a few changes during the Cleveland series, hit the ball hard and had some success, and then we went home and I had a good homestand, but since we went to Anaheim, it’s been a little up and down,” he said. “I’m not taking the exact at-bats I want to take, but I’m also hitting the ball hard.”

Chapman lined out to short in the first game of the series and hit a ball to deep left that

Tommy Pham caught with a leap at the track. “I didn’t get all of it, but that happens. You can’t let it get you down,” he said. “For me, it’s more pitch selection that anything. I’ve been getting out of my zone sometimes, and when I am having my most success, I’m taking walks — I’d kind of expanded my zone a little bit, but I’m getting back a little bit. I’m not worried about it.”

Manager Bob Melvin said he’s liked the way Chapman is swinging the bat. “He’s barreled up a couple of balls they’ve made some good plays on,” Melvin said. “I think he’s been a little unlucky.”

Chapman is batting .253 with a team-high 16 homers; he also has 36 RBIs, and defensively, he is a marvel. In the sixth Monday, Pham, a fast runner, hit a high chopper that Chapman had to grab barehanded while throwing in the same motion, and got Pham.

“With the speed of the runner and everything else that’s going on, I don’t know that anyone else makes that play,” Melvin said.

Chapman is also a fiery team leader, and according to multiple sources, he’d had a discussion with closer Blake

Treinen after Treinen’s wobbly save Sunday at Texas; in essence, encouraging him to go right after hitters.

“It’s just one of those things that happens over the course of the year,” Chapman said. “I would describe it as two teammates trying to make each other better, two teammates just wanting to win.” Briefly: Tanner Anderson earned another start after allowing two runs in 52⁄3 innings Monday . ... Top prospects A.J. Puk and Jesús

Luzardo pitched at Class A Stockton, their first appearances since Puk’s March 2018 Tommy John surgery and Luzardo’s shoulder strain in March. Puk started against the San Jose Giants and went two innings, striking out four with a walk and allowing a solo homer to top Giants outfield prospect Heliot Ramos; Luzardo followed, pitched three scoreless innings and allowed two hits with two strikeouts.