Aroldis Chapman allowed two runs in the ninth inning of Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader, and was even visited by a Yankees trainer on the mound mid at-bat before staying in the game to yield those runs.
In the quick turnaround between games, Yankees manager Aaron Boone revealed that Chapman has been getting treatment for an Achilles issue, which may have affected him Sunday – and the closer himself revealed after Game 2 it’s been bugging him for a while.
“It’s the left one, and it’s been a couple weeks or so of treatment,” Chapman said through team interpreter Marlon Abreu Sunday night. “Just doing therapy on it and trying to feel better.”
Chapman has allowed at least one earned run in five straight appearances dating back to May 11, but entering Sunday, he hadn’t pitched since throwing back-to-back days on Monday and Tuesday. Sometimes Chapman can tend to be wild if he has too long of a layoff between outings, but whole Boone noted the Achilles may have contributed to his Game 1 meltdown, the lefty wouldn’t take what he called “the easy way out.”
“When you’re dealing with things, sometimes they can affect you, but at the end of the day it’s not the reason for recent results,” Chapman said. “You deal with it and do the best you can, but it’s the easy way out to say that’s the reason. Quite simply, things haven’t worked out the way I want.”
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The Yankees just lost Chad Green for the season, as he will have Tommy John surgery soon, so losing Chapman to an I.L. stint would hurt – but the lefty isn’t sure if he’ll need to do that.
“I don’t know. I have to talk to the trainers and see what the plan would be,” he said.
Clay Holmes earned two saves in the games between Chapman appearances, and would likely be first in line to assume the closer’s role if and when Chapman were removed or placed on the injured list.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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