Aroldis Chapman sets relief Ks record, Red Sox rookie Jake Bennett stifles Angels in 5-2 win

By: Greg Beacham, The Associated Press Posted: 11:23 PM CDT Friday, Jul. 3, 2026

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — 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 Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.

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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 allowed back-to-back singles after his milestone strikeout, but got Jo Adell to ground into a double play to secure his 17th save.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jake Bennett delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Friday, July 3, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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 LA’s 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, but Garre.

Reid Detmers (3-6) struggled through five innings while taking his first loss in eight starts since May 19 for Los Angeles, yielding five runs on seven hits and 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.

Up next

Sam Aldegheri (3-3, 4.85 ERA) pitches for the Angels on Saturday, facing Boston’s Sonny Gray (9-1, 2.69 ERA).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb