The New York Yankees suffered their fourth loss in their last six games on Sunday in a 3-2 defeat to the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings.
New York was in line for a narrow 2-1 win going into the ninth inning, but closer Aroldis Chapman gave up a homer to Red Sox rookie Rafael Devers with one out, marking his fourth blown save in 19 attempts.
Even though the Yankees have Chapman a five-year, $86 million deal this offseason, some are questioning if his spot as the team's closer is in question. However, manager Joe Girardi is not one of those people.
"He’s my closer,” Girardi said flatly after the game. “He made one mistake. That was just too good a pitch to hit. I thought his stuff was really good. I know the last inning he walked a guy and hit a guy, but if you look at his stuff in the ninth, it was pretty darned good.”
Chapman himself doesn't think there's any cause for concern.
“I felt good with all my pitches, the breaking ball and the fastball,” Chapman said. “The key here is to keep fighting. I have high expectations of myself, and the last couple outings haven’t been what I would like them to be. So you definitely feel bad when you lose a game like that. You put that on your shoulders.”
Chapman has a 3.48 ERA with 15 saves and 48 strikeouts in 33.2 innings in 36 appearances this season. His ERA is currently on pace to be the second-highest of his career and he hasn't recorded less than 33 saves since becoming a full-time closer in 2012.
Check out our New York Yankees team page for all the latest Yankees rumors or download the Chat Sports App!
Back to the New York Yankees Newsfeed