Aroldis Chapman's 334-Day Streak Ends At Worst Time for Red Sox

The only word that applies to Monday night: Ouch.

Jun 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) pitches in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

In a season where about every possible bad thing has happened to the Boston Red Sox, Monday night's loss to the Colorado Rockies still marked an incredible low point.

The Rockies entered the night as the only team in Major League Baseball with fewer wins than the Red Sox. Boston had an awful game offensively, but took a 2-0 lead into the ninth inning and handed the ball to Aroldis Chapman, who's been the most dominant closer in the American League for the last two seasons.

Four batters and just eight pitches later, the Rockies had four hits against Chapman, punctuated by a walk-off triple from outfielder Jake McCarthy. And as the two teams left the field, the Red Sox no longer had more wins than anyone in MLB.

Chapman's first blown save since... when?

Jul 21, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) throws a pitch during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

If it felt like it had been forever since Chapman had blown a save, it practically had. He'd gone 46 consecutive appearances without one and converted 29 straight save opportunities. That last blown save came on July 24 of last year, in a game the Red Sox pulled out in extra innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

That the Red Sox's most reliable pitcher helped seal their demise only added to the tragedy of the moment in a total tragedy of a season. That it happened to Chapman when the Red Sox are likely hoping to get a haul for him at the trade deadline only makes matters worse.

Having allowed four runs in his last two outings, Chapman's ERA on the season has ballooned from 0.44 (utterly elite) to 2.08 (merely very good for a closer). A couple more bad outings could put a serious dent in the package the Red Sox might get back for him, even consiering the extra year of control he'd have on his contract if he got to 40 innings pitched.

Chapman sat at 21 2/3 innings at the end of Monday's game, because he didn't record a single out.

The sad truth of this season for the Red Sox seems to be that if anything can go wrong, it absolutely will. That was what we saw play out on Monday.