Chapman remains dominant at 37.

Aroldis Chapman has a reputation as a power pitcher, built over 16 years of routinely throwing at 100 mph on the radar gun.

As the Boston Red Sox's Cuban closer has aged, the 37-year-old has added craftiness to his power, baffling hitters by locating sliders and splitters that leave them swinging.

The combination led to a rare four-strikeout game against the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday and one of the most dominant stretches by a reliever in baseball history.

“This is special,” said Boston manager Alex Cora, who earned his 600th career victory with Sunday’s 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks. “To do it at this age and at the point we’re at as an industry, in terms of hitters and the adjustments they make, is incredible.”

Takeoff

Chapman began his career in Cincinnati, surprising everyone with a fastball that reached 105.8 mph during his rookie season in 2010, still the fastest pitch in MLB history. He continued to throw balls at race-car speeds, recording eight of the nine fastest pitches in baseball history, including 105.1 mph last season.

Nicknamed the “Cuban Missile,” Chapman may be better than ever in his first season in Boston, earning his eighth All-Star appearance and a one-year, $13.3 million contract for 2026 signed last week.

Chapman has been untouchable since mid-July, as the Diamondbacks discovered yesterday.

Called

With a 7-4 lead after a late rally, Cora sent in Chapman to close out the game and he did it in style, joining an elite group by striking out four in the ninth inning for his 29th save.

Chapman closed by striking out Jordan Lawler to become the second pitcher with four strikeouts in an inning this season, joining St. Louis' Steven Matz in June.

“It’s just something that happened,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “My mentality is to get three outs and go for a strikeout.”

Chapman has certainly been getting the outs on every call.

He's proven it all season, leaving hitters missing with precision along with that power.

Using fastballs over 100 mph to throw slow pitches, the Cuban has gone 17 consecutive appearances (spanning 14 2/3 innings) without allowing a hit, dating back to July 26.

It's the third-longest streak since 1901, surpassed only by Florida's Randy Choate's 20 consecutive runs in 2011 and the New York Mets' Tim Byrdak's 18 consecutive runs in 2012.

Effectiveness

Chapman has allowed one earned run in his last 37 games—a solo homer to Philadelphia's JT Realmuto on July 23—and retired 21 consecutive batters before Vargas reached on a wild pitch yesterday.

He has also allowed six earned runs all season and, with his performance Sunday, lowered his ERA to 0.98.

“He’s showing people he can still do a lot of great things,” Boston starter Brayan Bello said through an interpreter. — AP