The Boston Red Sox scored a heart-pounding, 4-3 walk-off victory over Detroit at Fenway Park Friday night. And right in the middle of the huge win that propelled the Sox into their first playoff berth since 2021 was former Kansas City Royals reliever Aroldis Chapman, who pitched a scoreless, two-strikeout ninth inning to preserve the tie that gave his club a chance to win it all in the home half of the frame.
That Chapman held the Tigers down in such a key moment isn't at all surprising. Showing no signs of slowing down in his age-37 and 16th big league season, the fireballing lefty is one of the biggest reasons the Sox will finish the regular campaign with their first winning record since the 2021 team won 92 times but lost the American League Championship Series to Houston.