Aroldis Chapman struck out Yordan Álvarez with a 100.5 mph sinker in the ninth inning, but the Boston Red Sox were unable to hold the tie and fell 3-1 to the Houston Astros.
The game, played this Sunday over 10 innings at Fenway Park, was decided by a game-winning hit from Cam Smith that brought in two critical runs for the Astros' victory.
The moment was one of the most symbolic of the season for the Cuban baseball community: two of the best active players from the Island in Major League Baseball faced off at a decisive moment, with Chapman showcasing his fastball to send the game into extra innings and Álvarez closing out a series to forget.
The left-handed pitcher from Holguín, who has accumulated over 368 career saves and ranks second in history for strikeouts as a reliever with more than 1,341, fulfilled his role in the ninth inning. However, the Boston bullpen was unable to close out the game in the tenth.
With two outs and the bases loaded, Zack Kelly (0-2) gave up a two-run single to Smith, sealing Houston's victory. Bryan Abreu (1-2) closed the bottom half by inducing a double play from Ceddanne Rafaela with the bases loaded to preserve the win.
Álvarez, who led MLB in batting average (.358), home runs (11), and OPS (1.220) until the end of April, finished the series with just one hit in 14 at-bats (.071), an unexpected setback for the league's most dominant hitter so far this season.
Boston left with no runs batted in despite having 11 runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base, an offensive performance that largely accounts for the defeat in the series.
The only run for the Red Sox came from a solo home run by Jarren Duran in the fifth inning, his second homer in three games. Houston tied it in the sixth with a sacrifice fly by Brice Matthews.
The Boston starter, Ranger Suárez, left the game after four scoreless innings due to tightness in his right hamstring, a significant loss for a pitcher who had just come off eight innings with only one run and 10 strikeouts in his previous start.
In Houston, Cody Bolton made his first start since April 13, when he was placed on the injured list due to mid-back inflammation, and pitched two and a third innings without allowing any runs.
Christian Walker, who had left Saturday's game after getting hit in the helmet, returned to the lineup and went two for three, finishing the series with a record of six hits in ten at-bats.
Chapman, who signed with Boston for 12 million dollars for 2026 plus a bonus of one million, has accumulated at least six saves in the current season and maintains an ERA close to 1.00 in his recent outings.
With the defeat, the Red Sox fell to a record of 13-21 for the season, while the Astros improved to 14-21.
Boston will kick off a three-game series in Detroit this Monday against the left-handed starter Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.70 ERA), one of the top pitchers in the American League.
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