New York Yankees fans remember the Aroldis Chapman experience well. The flamethrower would routinely work himself into trouble during his days in pinstripes, often through walks, sometimes getting out of it and, other times, unraveling.
That version of Chapman has largely not been what the Boston Red Sox have gotten in 2025. The 37-year-old has arguably been baseball's most dominant reliever this season, posting an ERA barely above a run and putting together a six-week streak without allowing a hit during the summer.
When the Chapman of old reared his head by loading the bases in the ninth inning of Game 1 on Tuesday, the veteran quickly morphed back into the dominant closer he was all season along.
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Here's a look at how Chapman escaped trouble to push the Yankees to the brink of elimination in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
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How Aroldis Chapman escaped jam vs. Yankees
Chapman worked himself into a jam as soon as the ninth inning started in Game 1, but control issues weren't the issue this time. Instead, Chapman allowed three consecutive singles despite going well more than a month without even allowing a hit during the regular season.
The odds of escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam are slim to begin with, but Chapman faced an extraordinary challenge when noted playoff performer Giancarlo Stanton came to the plate with the chance to flip the game upside down. It was in that moment that Chapman looked like someone who wasn't intimidated by the spotlight.
Chapman blew two pitches past Stanton and set him down for the first out, which brought up another power threat in pinch-hitter Jazz Chisholm. Chisholm fouled off a couple pitches but flew out for the second out. Paul Goldschmidt thought about tagging up to try to score the second run, but the 38-year-old held once Wilyer Abreu caught the ball.
Chapman started 2-1 against Trent Grisham, only to get an easy called strike on the fourth pitch and blow a high and inside pitch by the Yankees' surprise slugger to finish the job.
YANKEES HAD THE BASES LOADED WITH NO OUTS AND AROLDIS CHAPMAN GOT THREE STRAIGHT OUTS pic.twitter.com/xesEGoYHTe
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 1, 2025
The Yankees made the wrong kind of history, becoming the first team in postseason history to loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the ninth but lose after not scoring.
The Yankees are the first team in MLB postseason history to have the bases loaded with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th but not score a run and lose the game.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) October 1, 2025
There was a time when no lead was safe with Chapman, whose status as a power pitcher was often overshadowed by his control issues, but he was very much in control on Tuesday even after getting hit around to start the ninth inning. Chapman might have saved the Red Sox' season, ensuring they didn't waste Garrett Crochet's excellent start and pushing his former team to the brink of elimination.
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