Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman is confident he will be able to pitch again in a couple of days after leaving the mound due to a back spasm during the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chapman made these statements through a team translator after the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3, securing the series victory. Facing the top of the Dodgers’ order, his velocity noticeably decreased to the mid-90s mph on his fastball, instead of the high 90s to the low 100s. Manager Alex Cora and a coach went to the mound to talk to him after Shohei Ohtani was eliminated with a fly ball to left field. Jordan Hicks entered the game and managed to get out of a jam with runners on first and second with one out, when Teoscar Hernández hit a line drive to second base and Ceddanne Rafaela dove to the bag, beating Hyeseong Kim for the double play. Hicks pitched the ninth for his second save.It’s just a spasm. It should disappear in a couple of days.
Aroldis Chapman
Both Chapman and Cora indicated that they did not believe it was necessary to include him on the injured list.Stiff back. Should be fine.
Alex Cora
Chapman, 37 years old, is having one of his best seasons in the majors with 18 saves and an ERA of 1.30, showing much better control. He has only given up 11 walks in 41⅓ innings. At the beginning of July, he achieved his 350th save in his career and expressed his desire to reach 400.He was definitely determined to keep going, to overcome it. Alex thought it would be better, smarter, to simply ‘stop it’ to avoid any future problems.
Aroldis Chapman
