Aroldis Chapman set the major league record for relief strikeouts after rookie Jake Bennett yielded five hits while pitching into the eighth inning for the Boston Red Sox in a 5-2 victory over the Angels on Friday night.
The 38-year-old Chapman broke Hoyt Wilhelm’s record with his 1,364th career strikeout as a reliever when he fanned Denzer Guzman leading off the ninth. The knuckleballing Wilhelm last pitched in 1972.
Chapman gave up back-to-back singles after his milestone strikeout, but got Jo Adell to ground into a double play to secure his 17th save.
Caleb Durbin hit a solo homer in the opener of a nine-game trip for the Red Sox, who have won six of eight.
In just his seventh career start, Bennett (3-3) struck out six with no walks while dominating the last-place Angels until the their two-run eighth.
Six days after the Yankees’ first 15 batters couldn’t get a hit off Bennett, the lanky left-hander retired the Angels’ first 13 batters before Vaughn Grissom’s fifth-inning single.
Bennett retired 22 of the Angels’ first 24 batters before Jose Siri homered in the eighth for the Angels, who have lost four straight.
Zach Neto added a two-out RBI single moments later to chase Bennett.
Reid Detmers (3-6) struggled through five innings while taking his first loss in eight starts since May 19 for the Angels, yielding five runs on seven hits with three walks.
Romy Gonzalez had three hits and drove in two runs for Boston. Durbin added his eighth homer leading off the fifth.
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe was removed from the game and evaluated after taking a foul ball off his mask in the third. O’Hoppe went on the concussion injured list last September after getting accidentally hit by a backswing, and he went through the concussion protocol again two months ago after a home plate collision with Texas’ Josh Jung.
Trout hoping to return before All-Star Game
Angels center fielder Mike Trout bats against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 16.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
Mike Trout believes he can return from a hamstring injury for the Angels next week, giving him enough time to be ready for the All-Star Game in Philadelphia on July 14.
Trout has been out since June 17, when he strained his right hamstring while running the bases against Arizona. He performed his normal pregame routine Friday and he expects to hit on the field this weekend.
Trout said he is optimistic about playing early next week, and manager Kurt Suzuki didn’t disagree.
“He looks good,” Suzuki said. “I saw him today when I first came in. He was working out. He was obviously on the road trip, doing his thing. He’s getting really close. Really, really close.”
The 34-year-old Trout hasn’t been officially selected for the All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, but the two-time All-Star Game MVP is expected to be elected to the AL’s starting outfield in what would be his 12th All-Star nod.
The honor would be particularly special this year for Trout, who grew up 40 miles from Philadelphia in Millville, N.J.
The three-time AL MVP hasn’t participated in the All-Star festivities since 2019. He wasn’t able to play because of injury after being selected from 2021 to 2023, and he injured his knee early in the 2024 season before not being selected last year.
Trout has bounced back and stayed mostly healthy for the Angels this season, posting a team-leading .866 OPS with 17 homers and 36 RBIs in 74 games.
He said last week that he probably wouldn’t participate in the home run derby as he tries to stay healthy.