ARLINGTON, Texas — The win-clinching pitch hurdled toward home plate faster than any in recent Texas Rangers history.
Aroldis Chapman’s 102.5 mile-per-hour sinker — the hardest-thrown pitch by a Rangers pitcher in the StatCast era (2015) — elicited a swinging strikeout from Cleveland Guardians No. 8 hitter Myles Straw, the third out in the ninth inning of Saturday’s game at Globe Life Field and a 2-0 Rangers win.
It was fast. Very fast.
It was the type of velocity that the Rangers, until they’d acquired Chapman from the Kansas City Royals in June, had sorely missed among their relief staff.
It represented what the back end of Texas’ bullpen may now look like.
In his fifth appearance with the Rangers since the June 30 trade, Chapman — a seven-time All-Star closer — pitched in a save situation for the first time. He threw a scoreless ninth inning, struck out two Guardians batters and earned his first save in a Rangers uniform. Incumbent closing pitcher Will Smith, who’s made 15 saves this season, pitched two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth to set Chapman up.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said that it came down to matchups. Smith, a left-handed pitcher, relieved Grant Anderson with one out in the seventh inning; three of the five batters he faced in 1 2/3 perfect innings were lefties. The right-handed Chapman faced a switch hitter (first baseman Josh Bell) and three righties in the ninth.
Smith has fared better versus left-handed batters than righties (.220 opponent batting average to .235) in 2023; Chapman has held righties to a .138 average this season. The two combined for four strikeouts and a single base runner in 2 2/3 innings pitched on Saturday.
“They’re going to go back and forth, depending on where we’re at with the [batting] order,’ Bochy said. “and the pocket that we think best suits them.”
Smith said that Bochy discussed the situation with him on the Rangers’ last road trip before the All-Star break in Boston.
“Boch called me into the office about co-closing with Chappy, just depending on how the lineup works out,” Smith said. “Boch is a Hall of Fame manager, so you can’t really argue with his decisions. He’s pretty smart, and he’s got a pretty good idea of what’s going on.”
Smith, an All-Star in 2019 with San Francisco and a World Series champion in 2021 with Atlanta, was named Texas’ closer in May after Jose Leclerc struggled to find his command. In 34 appearances this season, just eight have gone more than a single inning.
That number may now rise, especially with setup man Josh Sborz on the 15-day injured list with right biceps tendinitis.
“I just want to win,” Smith said. “I do enjoy the ninth, the ninth is fun ... but, as long as the Rangers win, you can’t really be too mad about it.”
