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Red Sox have two-headed monster at closer, including righty who has retired 21 straight
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- Red Sox have two-headed monster at closer, including righty who has retired 21 straight
BOSTON — Entering the season, Alex Cora identified Aroldis Chapman as the Red Sox' closer while noting that there were some days when matchups would lead to someone else taking the ninth. So far, a two-headed monster has emerged in the role.
Justin Slaten notched his third save of 2025 with a 1-2-3 ninth on Marathon Monday, putting him one save behind Chapman through 24 games . Combined, the two pitchers are 7-for-7 in save chances.
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While Chapman's dominance has been well-documented — after allowing an Andrew Benintendi solo homer Monday, he has a 1.93 ERA while striking out 14 batters in 9 ⅓ innings — Slaten's strong start to the year has flown a bit under-the-radar. But the second-year righty has now retired the last 21 batters he has faced over seven outings and even threw the hardest pitch of his big league career Monday, topping out at 98.5 mph. The Red Sox expected a second-year leap from Slaten, who posted a 2.93 ERA in 44 games last year, but couldn't have expected this type of dominance.
"He's healthy," said Cora. "That's the most important thing. Last year, he was a little bit banged up and he wasn't honest with us. He wanted to keep grinding. We paid the price. Just keep him fresh. That's what we're trying to accomplish. Usage-wise, it's been solid with him but also a lot of off days. If we continue to do that, those guys are going to be pitching at 98-100 (mph) and that's bad news for the opposition."
Slaten's season got off to something of a rough start when he allowed three earned runs and four hits without recording an out in Baltimore on March 31, his third appearance of the year. Outside of that day, though, he has had nine perfect innings. His 4.00 ERA doesn't come close to telling the story.
"I feel great," Slaten said. "I try to keep the same mindset the entire time. I feel really good about the way I've thrown the ball the entire time. I had one blow-up outing in Baltimore but I still really liked the way I threw the ball that day. I haven't tried to change anything all year, really, from last year.
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"I think it was good to have an outing like that in Baltimore at the beginning of the season because you get the monkey off your back ... just get that out of the way and get back to business."
Just like on Opening Day in Texas and Wednesday in Tampa, the game dictated Cora turning to Slaten for the ninth . With a 4-1 lead after seven, Cora turned to Chapman with two lefties ( Nick Maton and Andrew Benintendi) due up in the eighth. That set up a save opportunity for Slaten against the bottom of the lineup.
"They had two lefties up there," Cora said. "Obviously, they pinch-hit with Bobby (Dalbec) but it felt like that was a pocket for him and we used him there."
The setup has required a certain level of buy-in from Chapman, he of 339 saves, and Slaten, who is nearly a decade younger.
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"We talked to them before spring training was over," Cora said. "There's certain teams we're going to circle that have lefties on top of the lineup. We're going to use them in the eighth. It's very simple.
"With Chappy, it's very simple: 'Let me know when, in advance, and I'll do it.'"
The Red Sox entered the winter with some uncertainty at the back end of their bullpen after Kenley Jansen 's two-year tenure ended. Liam Hendriks ' spring struggles and minor elbow injury removed him from that mix, though he could factor back in now that he's healthy. Garrett Whitlock also has a bit of closing experience lefties Brennan Bernardino and Justin Wilson are capable left-handed arms. Asked if he thought he had two closers, Cora said the Red Sox have "got more than that."
"We've got a good thing going right now but it's not just me and him," Slaten added. "We've got eight guys out there."
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In front of a big crowd on Marathon Monday, though, Slaten was all they needed in the ninth inning to finish off a 4-2 win over the White Sox .
"Whenever you've got a crowd like that in the stadium, it's hard to not get a little bit of extra juice in you."
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