BOSTON — Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman thinks he’ll be able to pitch in a couple of days after walking off the mound with a back spasm in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“It’s just a spasm. It should be gone in a couple of days,” he said through a team translator after the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 for a series victory.
In to face the top of the Dodgers’ order, his velocity was noticeably down to mid-90 mph on his fastball instead of the high 90s to low 100s. Manager Alex Cora and a trainer came out to the mound to visit him after Shohei Ohtani flew out to the left-field warning track.
Jordan Hicks entered and got out of a two-on, one-out mess when Teoscar Hernández lined to second and Ceddanne Rafaela dove to the bag, beating Hyeseong Kim for double play. Hicks pitched the ninth for his second save.
“Tight back. He should be OK,” Cora said of Chapman.
Both Chapman and Cora said they didn’t think there would be a trip to the injured list.
“I was definitely determined to stay out there, work through it,” Chapman said. “Alex thought it would be better, smarter that we just ‘call it’ to avoid anything down the line.”
The 37-year-old Chapman is having one of his better seasons in the majors with 18 saves and a 1.30 ERA, with much better control. He’s walked just 11 in 41⅓ innings.
In early July he earned his 350th career save and said he’d like to reach 400.