Red Sox’ Aroldis Chapman on Vlad stare down after 100.9 mph K: ‘Having fun’

TORONTO — Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman blew a 100.9 mph fastball by Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to send Wednesday’s game into extra innings.

After Guerrero swung and missed at the 1-2 pitch to end the seven-pitch at-bat, Chapman stared him down. Guerrero looked back at the veteran closer and smiled, then Chapman smiled, too.

It was one of the more fun parts of Wednesday’s game. The Red Sox end up losing 7-6 in 10 innings here at Rogers Centre.

Chapman has been known to stare down some hitters after big strikeouts.

“He’s a great kid, a great player,” Chapman said about Guerrero on Thursday through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “He loves the game. He’s a good kid. We have a great relationship off the field and we were just having fun.”

Chapman and Guerrero have had a relationship off the field as friends for a while.

“We used to share the same agent so we got to spend time together,” Chapman said.

The strikeout of Guerrero was the end of another perfect inning for Chapman who has done a nice job this year of keeping his walk percentage down. The 37-year-old has averaged 3.2 walks per nine innings, down from 6.0 walks per nine innings in 233 outings from 2021-24. His 8.9% walk percentage is down from 14.4% last year.

“That’s been the issue I’ve had throughout my whole career,” Chapman said. “So that was one of the main focuses for me in the offseason. And I worked very hard on that and also here with the pitching coach (Andrew Bailey). That’s one of the things we talk about (improving) and so far so good.”

Chapman reached 103.4 mph with his fastball this past Saturday, the second fastest MLB pitch this season.

“I think for everybody the velo is eye opening,” manager Alex Cora said Sunday. “For me, the strike throwing has been the highlight of the season so far. Just to get him in the strike zone — good things are gonna happen. And he’s not walking too many. He’s striking out a lot. And obviously his stuff is amazing."

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