Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman made history at Angel Stadium. Angels third baseman Denzer Guzman became the 1,364th batter that Chapman struck out in his career, breaking the record for most strikeouts by a reliever.
Chapman entered the game in the ninth inning, with the Red Sox leading 5-2. He opened his appearance by fanning Guzman on a 99 MPH sinker. The flamethrowing lefty finished the game with his 17th save of the season.
That broke the previous record of 1,363 set by Hoyt Wilhelm. Wilhelm did it over 1872 innings in relief. Chapman broke his record in just 847 innings.
The accomplishment is the cherry on top for what will be a Hall of Fame career. Chapman has 384 saves, a 39.5% strikeout rate, a 165 ERA+, 24.7 bWAR, and two World Series titles to his name. He also has the fastest pitch in MLB history, logging 105.7 MPH in the 2024 season.
These achievements have separated the Cuban Missile as one of the top closers in the history of baseball.
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