Aroldis Chapman is still dialing it up for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In the offseason, Chapman signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal to join Pittsburgh. He’s been as advertised for the Pirates in his first season with the team. The 36-year-old has posted a 3.59 ERA through 42 2/3 innings, adding 70 strikeouts and four saves as the setup man for the Pirates.
On Wednesday night, he entered the game for Pittsburgh in the eighth inning and faced the bulk of the San Diego Padres lineup. While his performance was dominant, striking out three batters and only giving up a hit, that was highlighted even more on the radar gun when he turned back the clock.
For the first time in eight years, the left-handed flamethrower hit over 105 mph on the gun — hitting 105.1 to be exact when facing Padres third baseman Manny Machado. He managed to strike out Machado later in the bat with a fastball that hit 104.7 mph.
Chapman’s 105.1 mph heater enters the top eight of the fastest pitches in the Statcast Era, joining his seven other record pitches that take up the top of the list. The lefty’s 105.8 mph pitch from Sep. 24, 2010, remains the fastest in MLB history.
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The Pirates ultimately dropped the game in extra innings, losing 9-8 and falling under .500. The team will try and get back in the win column Thursday when they face the Padres, with the first pitch set for 12:35 p.m. EST.
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