ANAHEIM — It could have been a storybook night for Matt Chapman, but he and his A’s teammates were left pondering the plays —and pitches — they didn’t make Friday.
The A’s rookie third baseman, who grew up in nearby Lake Forest, smacked a three-run homer in his first at-bat before a cheering section that he estimated to be a couple hundred strong at Angel Stadium.
All that was needed to finish the night in proper fashion was a victory. Somehow that slipped through the A’s grasp in the form of a bullpen meltdown that saw a four-run lead evaporate in an eventual 8-6 loss to the Angels.