Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Continues strong run as closer
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Chapman collected the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Rays after throwing a clean ninth inning. He struck out two.
Chapman picked up his 12th save of the season, and he's now posted eight consecutive outings with allowing an earned run. The 37-year-old southpaw has also recorded at least one strikeout in 10 consecutive appearances, and he now boasts a 1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 39:9 K:BB over 28.1 innings on the year. Chapman has now successfully converted 12 of his 13 save chances in 2025 as Boston's closer.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Closes door on Yankees
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Chapman picked up the save Sunday against the Yankees, striking out the only batter he faced over one-third of an inning.
Chapman's services weren't needed to start the ninth, as the Red Sox led 11-5. However, Robert Stock walked three batters and allowed a two-run home run to Aaron Judge, forcing Alex Cora to turn to Chapman to register the final out. Chapman got Anthony Volpe to strike out on three pitches. He's up to 11 saves this season, and he hasn't allowed a hit in his last five appearances, spanning 4.1 innings. Chapman's 1.71 ERA would be his best mark since 2016.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Posts 10th save
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Chapman earned a save against the Yankees on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning.
Chapman was called upon in the ninth inning to protect a three-run lead against the team he spent over six seasons with earlier in his career. The veteran closer needed just 11 pitches to get the job done, firing nine strikes and retiring the side in order. Chapman is in the midst of a throwback campaign at 37 years of age, as he holds a 1.73 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 34:9 K:BB through 26 innings. The fireballer is 10-for-11 in save chances and has given up just one earned run over his past 10 outings.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Picks up ninth save
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Chapman earned the save in Sunday's 3-1 win over Atlanta, logging a strikeout and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning.
Chapman has allowed just one run while striking out 10 in his last eight innings, and he improved to 9-for-10 in save chances this season. Overall, the 37-year-old southpaw sports a 1.88 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 32:9 K:BB across 24 innings this year.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Charged with blown save
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Chapman was charged with a blown save in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers after allowing a run on two hits and a walk over an inning of work. He struck out one.
Chapman came in to close the door in the ninth with a one-run lead after Richard Fitts and the bullpen blanked the Brewers. Chapman found himself with runners on the corners and one out before Sal Frelick knocked in a run that would end up sending the game to extras. Tuesday marked Chapman's first outing this season allowing multiple base hits and it was his first blown save of the year. He's allowed five hits and three walks over his last six appearances but has kept the damage to a minimum. The 37-year-old owns a 2.14 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 28:8 K:BB in 21 innings this season.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Secures seventh save
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Chapman earned the save in Monday's 3-1 win against the Mets, allowing one hit and no walks in a scoreless inning with one strikeout.
The veteran southpaw succinctly retired the side on seven pitches, six of which were strikes, en route to his 342nd career save. Chapman continues to be a reliable source of strikeouts (13.0 K/9) despite struggling with walks (3.5 BB/9). Through 18 innings, the 37-year-old now sports a 2.00 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 26:7 K:BB while going a perfect 7-for-7 on save opportunities.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Takes loss in Detroit
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Chapman (2-2) took the loss against the Tigers on Wednesday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out one batter in two-thirds of an inning.
Chapman was brought in for the ninth inning tasked with keeping the game tied at 5-5. He was able to retire the next two batters after issuing a walk to Andy Ibanez, but Chapman was unable to send the game into extra innings after Justyn-Henry Malloy walked off the Red Sox with a pinch-hit RBI single. Chapman remains a perfect 6-for-6 in save chances but has been scored upon in three of his past eight outings. The veteran left-hander is up to a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over 16 innings and should continue to split closing work with Justin Slaten.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Earns sixth save
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Chapman earned the save in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Royals, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.
Chapman was called upon to face the heart of the Royals' order and worked around an error and a single to secure his sixth save in as many chances. The veteran closer has been outstanding so far this season, posting a 1.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB across 14.1 innings.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Collects fifth save
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Chapman earned the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Rangers, allowing one solo home run and one walk while striking out one batter in the ninth inning.
Chapman was brought in for the ninth frame with the Red Sox up 6-3, but Boston's lead was quickly cut down to two when Josh Jung took the first pitch of the at-bat deep to left-center field for a solo home run. Chapman yielded a walk later in the frame, but the veteran closer was able to finish things off with an eight-pitch punchout of Blaine Crim, with two of the southpaw's sinkers touching 103 mph. Chapman has five saves in as many opportunities this season with a 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 18:5 K:BB over 12.1 innings, though he's been a bit shakier lately with two runs allowed in his past four outings.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Registers one-out save
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Champan earned the save in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Rays, striking out the only batter he faced.
Zack Kelly came in for the seventh inning of Tuesday's game, and after pitching two scoreless frames he was brought back out for the ninth. He proceeded to yield two runs to reduce the Red Sox's lead to three, which prompted Boston manager Alex Cora to bring in Chapman to record the final out. Chapman needed five pitches to record his fourth save of the season, tossing a 99 mph fastball past Curtis Mead for the punchout. Chapman has a 1.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB across 7.1 innings to start his Red Sox tenure.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Slams door for save
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Chapman allowed a hit in a scoreless inning during Sunday's win over the White Sox. He earned a save and struck out two.
Chapman gave up his first run of the year and took a loss Saturday but quickly bounced back. He coughed up a two-out single to Andrew Vaughn but punched out Michael Taylor to close out the 3-1 win. Chapman owns an impressive 1.29 ERA with an 11:4 K:BB through seven innings.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Experiences first hiccup
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Chapman (2-1) was tagged for his first loss Saturday as the Red Sox fell 3-2 to the White Sox. He allowed a run on a walk and a single while striking out one over a third of an inning.
Chapman had not allowed a run over his first six appearances. He gave up a leadoff walk to Luis Robert, who eventually stole second base and scored on a Brooks Baldwin walk-off single. Through six innings this season, Chapman has a 1.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB while converting both his save chances.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Nabs second save
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Chapman recorded the final two outs to secure the save in Friday's 13-9 win over the Cardinals, issuing one walk without allowing a run.
Chapman entered with a four-run cushion and a runner on first after Cooper Criswell gave up three runs to start the ninth. He issued a walk to Luken Baker but quickly shut the door with a game-ending double play. The veteran has tossed 2.2 scoreless innings so far in 2025, collecting two saves and a win along the way.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Notches first save of 2025
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Chapman picked up the save after throwing a scoreless ninth inning with one walk in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Baltimore. He struck out one.
Chapman wasn't overly dominant while tossing 18 pitches Wednesday, but he put out Ryan Mountcastle after Adley Rutschman drew a walk to prevent the potential tying run from coming to the plate. It was Chapman's first save of the campaign after he worked the eighth inning Opening Day against Texas, but his usage in that one was likely a matchup-based move to handle the top of the Rangers' order. The hard-throwing left-hander has a clear pathway to save chances as Boston's closer to begin the season, especially as long as Liam Hendriks (elbow) sits on the injured list.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Works eighth inning Thursday
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Chapman (1-0) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to pick up the win over Texas on Thursday.
Chapman, who was named Boston's primary closer earlier this week, entered a 2-2 game in the eighth inning. It appears the decision to use the closer in the eighth was because the Rangers had the top of the order due up. Chapman worked around a one-out, broken-bat single, throwing seven strikes among his 11 pitches. After the Red Sox took a 5-2 lead in the top of the ninth, Justin Slaten shut the door for Boston.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Opening season as closer
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Manager Alex Cora said Tuesday that Chapman will begin the season as the Red Sox's closer but could see occasional high-leverage work in an earlier inning if the matchup is right, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Browne used the example of Corey Seager leading off the eighth inning as a situation when Chapman may enter before the ninth, but the veteran left-hander should still see the bulk of the save chances early on for Boston. Liam Hendriks, Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock seem likely to begin the season as the next men up for saves in said situations, or when Chapman is unavailable.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Part of unsettled closer battle
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Chapman's spring struggles along with those of Liam Hendriks leave Boston's closer role unsettled, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports.
Chapman has a 4.91 ERA with six walks through 3.2 spring innings, which is better than Hendriks, who has a 13.50 ERA and 11 hits allowed over four innings. Manager Alex Cora acknowledged both pitchers have been knocked around but is taking an optimistic view that both are "going to be OK." If neither Chapman nor Hendriks improve over the last two weeks of the Grapefruit League, then Justin Slaten, unaccustomed to the mental aspects of closing, might sneak in to take on the ninth-inning role.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Walks two in spring debut
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Chapman hit 101 mph in his spring training debut Wednesday, but he also walked two batters and only threw 11 strikes among his 23 pitches, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Chapman has slimmed down from 250 pounds to 230 pounds this spring.
The early velocity is nice, and Chapman being wild is nothing new no matter what time of the season (39 walks in 61.2 innings last season). Chapman, Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten are competing for the closer's job, with Garrett Whitlock available for multi-inning saves.
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Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman: Gets one-year deal with Boston
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Chapman agreed to a one-year, $10.75 million contract with the Red Sox on Tuesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Control continues to be a major issue for Chapman, who issued 39 free passes over 61.2 innings with the Pirates in 2024. However, he also struck out 98 batters and, even though he will turn 37 years old in February, he still ranked in the 98th percentile in fastball velocity this past season. With Kenley Jansen expected to depart in free agency, Chapman will be a candidate to close in Boston, along with Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten.
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Pirates' Aroldis Chapman: Collects 14th save
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Chapman threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning Saturday to record his 14th save of the season in a 9-4 win over the Yankees. He struck out one.
Jalen Beeks loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, forcing the Pirates to turn to their closer despite a big lead. Chapman needed only nine pitches (five strikes) to convert his eighth straight save chance, striking out Aaron Judge along the way with a 100.6 mph two-seamer. Even at 37 years old, Chapman can still pump heat over the plate, and his success during his late-season closing stint should re-assure prospective employers this winter as he heads back into free agency.