After missing 10 days with a lat strain, Aroldis Chapman returned with a dominant outing — and says he's '100 percent' heading into the playoffs

BOSTON — Until Wednesday night, it had been 10 days since Aroldis Chapman had been on the mound in a game for the Red Sox, battling a strained lat muscle. It didn’t take long to demonstrate that he was fully recovered. With 12 pitches, Chapman powered through the Cleveland Guardians’ lineup, striking out the side to earn his 35th save and preserve the Red Sox’ 1-0 win. Of his dozen pitches, 10 were strikes. And while he mixed in a number of splitters and a couple of sinkers, his four-seam fastball was as menacing as ever, touching 98 mph on two occasions. “He looked sharp,” said manager Chad Tracy. “Good to see.” “I felt good,” said Chapman through a translator. “I was happy to be able to go out there. I felt like my pitches and my stuff were very good today, so I’m happy to be back.” Despite the layoff, Chapman said he felt completely typical in his brief inning of work. “I felt normal,” he said. “I feel like I’m 100 percent right now. My only worry was my command. That was my only thing that I was really focusing on tonight and I was able to locate my pitches very well.” Next week, it’s expected the Red Sox and Yankees will match up for the second straight time in the wild card series. Chapman, who spent two separate stints in New York, covering parts of seven seasons, said he’s looking forward to the showdown. “It feels good to be (going) back to New York,” Chapman said.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open Source Scout · MassLive ↗