DENVER -- Chicago Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman admitted he was a little fatigued Friday night, when he blew his second save as a Cub and third this season in the team’s 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies in 11 innings. Chapman was pitching in his fourth game in four nights -- two appearances came in a doubleheader Tuesday -- and the workload caught up to him.
“I felt a bit tired [Friday] night,” Chapman told Marly Rivera from ESPN Deportes. “I did not perform at 100 percent. Also, the game was long, and I was throwing and preparing [in the bullpen] to come in, in case they scored a run, and that may have contributed to me feeling a little tired.”
The Cubs and Rockies were tied 5-5 after eight innings, so Chapman prepared for a possible appearance in the ninth and 10th innings before he finally came into the game in the 11th with the Cubs leading 6-5. He gave up a one-out single to Nick Hundley and a double to Ryan Raburn, who scored the winning run on an errant throw home. Only one of his fastballs on Friday reached 100 mph, and four of his five pitches to Raburn were of the off-speed variety. In fact, according to ESPN Stats & Information, the average velocity on his fastball Friday (97.4) was tied for his lowest of the season. He usually averages faster than 100 mph.
“The manager and I are just getting to know each other, but we do have very good communication, and we will figure things out in terms of innings workload and need for rest and so on,” Chapman said. “I’m going to rest Saturday and Sunday, and then Monday I know I'll be back at 100 percent.”
For Cubs manager Joe Maddon, it’s pretty simple: If Chapman needs a day, he gets it.
“Aroldis, I’m just getting to know him,” Maddon said. “On a daily basis, I’ve asked him how he feels. If he needs a day, he gets the day. If he doesn’t need the day, he pitches. Looking at his overall workload this year, he’s in pretty good shape.”
Apparently Chapman had no issues with pitching Friday, but the extra warming up in the bullpen might have gotten to him.
“My innings workload has been fine,” Chapman said. “I missed 29 games at the beginning of the season, but when I came back [with the Yankees], I pitched a lot. My innings of work are now almost even with pitchers that started the season.”
New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia leads all closers with 57 innings pitched going into Saturday. Chapman has 42 â…“, which ranks 11th in baseball among closers. He’s confident he’ll be just fine when the Cubs need him the most, but communicating with Maddon will be key.
“There’s no need for concern,” Chapman said. “I have been doing the same thing for five-to-six years and have finished every season healthy, and I have done my job. I've never had any problem with that.”
