Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman finishes off his 400th career save vs. the Orioles on Sunday in Baltimore. (AP photo)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Aroldis Chapman notched his 400th career save, Eli White hit a three-run homer following an error by Gunnar Henderson and the Boston Red Sox capped a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 3-1 victory Sunday.

Chapman gave up a one-out single in the ninth before striking out Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand to become the ninth player in major league history to record 400 saves. The 38-year-old Chapman earned his first save in 2011 with Cincinnati went on to have 10 seasons with 30 or more, including 33 this season.

Over his lengthy career, Chapman has totaled 24 saves against Baltimore. The lefty got one Friday night that started Boston on its sweep of the sinking Orioles.

Long after the fastball from Chapman whistled into the catcher’s mitt to end the game, the Boston Red Sox whopped it up with a chant that resonated through the clubhouse.

“Chappy! Chappy! Chappy!” they yelled.

The 38-year-old lefty registered his first save with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011. Little did anyone know at the time that Chapman would ultimately become only the ninth pitcher in baseball history to reach the 400 mark in saves.

“That was one of the personal goals I had for this year,” Chapman said through an interpreter.

Reaching 400 saves and having 10 seasons with at least 30 — including 33 this year — didn’t come easy.

In 2022, Chapman had only nine saves for the Yankees. The pattern continued in 2023 with Kansas City and Texas, and in 2024 with Pittsburgh.

He had only 29 saves over that three-year span before Boston made him its closer in 2025. That’s why Sunday’s save felt so good.

“It’s very special,” Chapman said. “A few years back, I lost my role as a closer. When I came here they gave me an opportunity to compete for the job. I was able to win it. (Getting 400 saves) was one of the things I wanted to do in my career. There was a moment when I didn’t think I would be able to do it.”

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy relishes having such a reliable pitcher to call upon with the outcome hanging in the balance.

“I’m blessed to be along for the ride,” Tracy said Sunday. “Now that I’ve got to know him and see his work ethic, it’s pretty cool. Excellent.”

White was delighted to contribute to such a significant milestone.

“It’s super cool to be part of that piece of history right there,” White said. “It’s fun just seeing how he goes about his business on a day-to-day basis. He’s always locked in and ready to take the mound.”

Coming off two straight shutout losses, the Orioles used successive two-out doubles by Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

In the second, with two outs and a runner on, Henderson failed to make a backhand stab of a grounder to shortstop. White followed with a drive off Kyle Bradish (7-13) that cleared the left-field wall.

Payton Tolle (9-6) struck out 12 over six innings for Boston, allowing four hits and walking none.

Despite getting only four hits and failing to score an earned run, the Red Sox improved to a major league-best 33-17 since the All-Star break and tightened their hold on the second AL wild-card slot.

After closing August with a four-game winning streak to reach .500 for the first time since April, the Orioles have lost six straight to fall behind several teams in the race for the third and final AL wild-card spot.

It’s Baltimore’s longest skid since an eight-game slide last May, during which the team fired manager Brandon Hyde.

Up next

Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval (1-4, 4.41 ERA) is expected to start against the visiting LA Angels on Monday afternoon.

Orioles: Trevor Rogers (9-9, 4.30) takes the mound Monday afternoon in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Cleveland.