Aroldis Chapman’s outings are always electrifying, since he was traded to the Texas Rangers in the Holguin flamethrower has had performances worthy of framing by which the Rangers become a favorite for the postseason.
This time Chapman came out to pitch in the ninth inning with the game tied at two runs against one of the best teams of 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays. The left-handed pitcher easily dominated the opposing batters, striking out three times and not allowing the slightest chance. In the end, he got the victory after the Rangers made a run in the bottom of the ninth to leave the Rays lying on the field.
Aroldis faced Isaac Paredes, José Siri and Harold Ramírez. The first one he eliminated with a sinker at 102.4 miles per hour that the Mexican player could not connect with his swing. He dominated Siri with another sinker but this time at 102.8 miles per hour which the Dominican player did not swing at, while he threw a splitter to the center of the plate at 91.1 miles per hour to Ramírez to leave him stranded.
The pitch with which he struck out Jose Siri represents the fastest pitching record for the Texas Rangers franchise since Statcast’s inception in 2015, surpassing Emmanuel Clase. With this pitch, Chapman holds the record for the fastest pitching on three teams, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers. At Kansas he has the highest mark at 103.8 miles per hour, while at the Reds he owns the record with a 105.8 miles per hour pitch in 2010
History.
This was the 89th game for him with one inning and three strikeouts in MLB, the second in all of Major League history with this figure. Since he has been wearing the Rangers’ jacket, he has seen 20 batters of which he has retired 18 and of those 10 by way of strikeout.
With this victory he reached 49 in his MLB career, which makes him the Cuban reliever with the most wins in the Majors, according to Francy Romero. This was the 5th triumph for the Cuban reliever in the season, in which he has a balance of 5-2 with an effectiveness of 2.04, 3 saves, 63 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.08.