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Aroldis Chapman has long been known for his record-breaking heat, and that remained the case Wednesday night.
Chapman took the mound for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the ninth, looking to close out a win over the Texas Rangers. Josh Jung got a hold of Chapman's very first pitch, though, crushing it 393 feet to left-center for a solo home run that made it a 6-4 ballgame.
From there, Chapman got back on track with a groundout. After issuing a walk, the 37-year-old lefty got Corey Seager to fly out.
Blaine Crim, who represented the tying run, immediately went down in the count 0-2. Chapman smelled blood in the water and went at Crim with everything he had, firing a 103.8 mile-per-hour sinker into the zone.
That marked the fastest pitch by a Red Sox player since the pitch tracking era began in 2008, as well as the fastest pitch across MLB in 2025. It broke the previous franchise record of 102.3 miles per hour, which Chapman set himself in April.
103.8 MPH
— MLB (@MLB) May 8, 2025
Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest pitch by a @RedSox pitcher in the pitch tracking era (since 2008) and the fastest pitch in the Majors this season pic.twitter.com/28T641gjnH
Crim fouled off Chapman's record-breaking pitch, plus a few more, to stay alive. Chapman ultimately got Crim to strike out swinging, ending the game and notching the save in the process.
It was a much-needed win for Boston, considering the club was 1-5 in their previous six games.
As for Chapman, he is now 2-1 with a 2.19 ERA, a 1.054 WHIP and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He is a perfect 5-for-5 in save opportunities since inking a one-year, $10.75 million contract with the Red Sox this past offseason.
The seven-time All-Star hadn't taken the mound since April 30, but he appeared to succesfully shaken off the rust on Wednesday.
The Red Sox and Rangers will meet again in a rubber match Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.
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