Aroldis Chapman continues to etch his name in the record books. The Holguin reliever for the Boston Red Sox reached his 401st save in Major League Baseball this Sunday, in his team's 4-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
The rescue came just a week after Chapman achieved the milestone of 400 saves on September 6, in Boston's 3-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, becoming the ninth pitcher in MLB history to reach that figure.
In the ninth inning this Sunday, Chapman opened the inning with two consecutive walks —to Isaac Collins and John— but responded with authority by striking out Tyler Tolbert, Carter Jansen, and Bobby Witt Jr. to close the game without allowing any runs, according to reported by Pelota Cubana.
The pitcher from Holguín made 25 pitches, 13 of which were strikes, caused four missed swings, and recorded a maximum speed of 98.5 miles per hour. With this performance, he lowered his ERA for the season to 1.95 over 50.2 innings pitched and reached 68 strikeouts in 2026.
In his career, he has already accumulated 1,399 strikeouts, a figure that in July made him the reliever with the most strikeouts in MLB history by breaking Hoyt Wilhelm's historical record with his 1,364th strikeout.
The performance on Sunday was also his 113th appearance in Major League Baseball with three or more strikeouts in a single inning, a record that places him just two behind Craig Kimbrel, the all-time leader in that category with 115. The third on that list is Kenley Jansen, with 90.
The save 401 is also the 34th of the 2026 season, making this campaign the tenth for Chapman with at least 30 saves, a consistency that places him among the most reliable closers of the modern era in baseball.
In the historical saves list, Chapman ranks ninth, far behind the leader Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601), but he has already surpassed figures like Lee Smith (478), Craig Kimbrel (441), Francisco Rodríguez (437), John Franco (424), and Billy Wagner (422).
After reaching the milestone of 400 saves last week, Chapman acknowledged the significance of the moment: "There was a moment when I thought I wouldn't be able to achieve it. But thank God we are here and I could reach 400." The closer also admitted that losing his role as a closer in earlier stages of his career made this milestone feel even more meaningful: "When I came to this team, they gave me the chance to compete for that position, and I was able to earn it."
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