CHICAGO (AP) — Third baseman Matt Chapman put together a historic offensive performance Friday, driving in eight runs to match an elite group of San Francisco baseball legends including Willie Mays.
The 33-year-old veteran delivered his fourth career grand slam along with a three-run blast and a sacrifice fly, setting a personal record for RBIs in San Francisco’s commanding 18-3 victory over the struggling Chicago Cubs. Chapman’s eight-RBI showing matched the franchise record for the San Francisco era, a mark first achieved by Mays on April 30, 1961, following the team’s move from New York in 1958.
Five other Giants players have reached the eight-RBI milestone: Orlando Cepeda in July 1961, Brandon Crawford in July 2019, Joc Pederson in May 2020, and Wilmer Flores in May 2025.
“I feel like I’ve been doing a good job with runners in scoring position and I’ve been having a lot of opportunities with guys on base,” said Chapman, who is in his 10th major league season and third with the Giants.
Chapman’s grand slam came during San Francisco’s six-run fourth inning rally, connecting off Edward Cabrera despite light rain conditions. The ball just cleared Wrigley Field’s left-center basket.
His sacrifice fly contribution came in the fifth inning.
The second home run highlighted San Francisco’s explosive seven-run sixth inning. Chapman connected on Ethan Roberts’ sweeper down the middle, launching the ball 432 feet to left field where it collided with an electronic advertisement sign above the bleachers.
The grand slam marked San Francisco’s second in consecutive games and sixth of the season — all coming within the team’s most recent 18 contests. According to the organization, the Giants became just the sixth MLB franchise in history to record six grand slams within a 20-day span or shorter.
Chapman noted that his two homers at Wrigley completed his quest to homer in every major league stadium.
“I got Sacramento (the Athletics’ temporary home) in Triple-A, so we’ll count it,” he said. “But this was my last one, so that’s cool.”
Willy Adames and Casey Schmitt also contributed two home runs each, while Jonah Cox added a solo shot after coming in as a pinch hitter. The Giants secured their third consecutive victory with a 19-hit offensive explosion, following Thursday’s 20-hit performance in a 12-9 triumph at Milwaukee.
Chapman’s season statistics now include four home runs and 31 RBIs with a .241 batting average. His career-best campaign came in 2019 with the Athletics when he earned All-Star honors with 36 homers and 91 RBIs.
“I haven’t been doing anything different over the last week,” Chapman said. “We went to Milwaukee and I hit that home run (on Monday) and then got a few more hits yesterday, so I felt like I was starting to feel more comfortable in the box.
“I feel like I’m on time, getting good swings off and then today just showed up and just kept trying to repeat it and, you know, the power showed up a little bit.”
Despite the offensive surge, San Francisco remains at 26-38 and sits deep in the NL West division standings.
“We didn’t have many guys swinging the bat early and it seems like everybody’s kind of come alive at a similar time,” Chapman said. “The quality of at-bats have been really good.”
