Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman had to leave Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Dodgers with a back injury, but Boston appears to have avoided a massive hit to its bullpen. 

Chapman may have to take a quick break, but Boston manager Alex Cora doesn't expect to lose his All-Star closer to the Injured List. Chapman is considered day-to-day with back tightness, Cora revealed after the team's 4-3 victory over Los Angeles. 

While it's great news that Chapman won't be shelved for very long, the ailment further hammers home the fact chief baseball officer Craig Breslow needs to add to Boston's pitching staff at Thursday's MLB trade deadline. 

Aroldis Chapman's back injury

With the Red Sox hanging onto a 4-3 lead, Chapman came on in the eighth inning Sunday to face the meat of the Dodgers lineup. He was very un-Chapman-like from the get-go, walking Miguel Rojas on five pitches, with ball four coming on a pitch clock violation.

He struggled to find the plate against Mookie Betts too, walking him on five pitches. Chapman was able to get the dangerous Shohei Ohtani to fly out, but his velocity was clearly down and his control wasn't there.

Cora and Boston's trainer went out to the mound, and after a brief chat with Chapman and catcher Carlos Narvaez, Chapman was taken out and replaced by Jordan Hicks. Chapman plead his case to stay on to face Teoscar Hernandez, but Hicks got out of the jam when Ceddanne Rafaela turned an unassisted double play. Hicks got his second save with Boston when he tossed a scoreless ninth inning to secure the victory.

After the game, Chapman said through a translator he felt a little spasm in his back Saturday and he felt "a little uncomfortable" on Sunday. He hopes to return to the mound in the next couple of days. 

Chapman closed the door on Saturday's 4-2 win for his 18th save of the season, which has been one of the best of his 16-year career. The 37-year-old has a 1.30 ERA and 0.82 WHIP, and has fanned 61 batters in his 41.2 innings of work.

Boston is reportedly looking at starting pitching options and right-handed bats ahead of Thursday's 6 p.m. trade deadline. But even though Chapman's injury doesn't appear to be anything serious, it highlights a need for more arms in the Boston bullpen as well. 

Red Sox playoff standings

The Red Sox bounced back from a 2-4 road trip out of the All-Star break by taking two of three from the Dodgers over the weekend. 

The weekend series win keeps Boston in the second American League Wild Card spot, half-a-game up on the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers and one game behind the New York Yankees.