A new benchmark has been set for the fastest pitch of the Major League Baseball season after Jhoan Duran clocked above 104mph three times on Wednesday afternoon.
The Minnesota Twins reliever came in and put the finishing touches on a 7-1 win over the San Francisco Giants at Target Field in Minneapolis, showing off his lightning arm with the first pitch of 104mph this season, beating the previous high of 103.8mph reached by St Louis Cardinals slinger Jordan Hicks and Kansas City Royals star Aroldis Chapman earlier in the campaign.
But one was not enough for the Dominican, throwing two more laser beams including one at 104.6mph and a 104.0mph dart that struck out Casey Schmitt in the top of the ninth to end the game.
They were the fastest pitches of 25-year-old Duran's career and they helped the Twins improve to 26-24 on the season ahead of a home series against the Toronto Blue Jays that gets underway on Friday.
But his best pitch, although it was a franchise record, was more than 1mph behind the Guinness World Record-holder Chapman, who hit 105.8mph on the speed gun when playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 2010.
Still, Duran's effort was hugely impressive, becoming just the eighth pitcher since the pitch-tracking era began in 2008 to reach the 104mph mark in an MLB game, and Duran, Chapman and Hicks are the only pitchers to hit that speed multiple times in the same game.
Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers – who cracked a home run as Minnesota got some revenge after the Giants took the first two games in the series – was in the firing line behind the batter's box as Duran let rip on the Giants. He told Bally Sports North it is a pleasure to have the Dominican on his side.
"Good for him," he said. "It's nice to have a guy like him in the back end of your bullpen. He's going to come in and lock it down and throw the crazy type of pitches he's got. We love having him on our side."
The Twins lead the American League Central after 50 games; they are the only team in their division with a winning record and they are two and a half games clear of the Detroit Tigers.
