After the terrible hit suffered in a preseason game and subsequent weeks of recovery and bullpen sessions, supersonic Aroldis Chapman pitched again in a real game on Thursday, although in Class A Minor League.
According to reports, Chapman was the starter of the game against the Dayton Dragons, a branch of the Cincinnati Reds, with the Lansing Lugnuts, affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. He struck out the first two batters in a 3-2 count with two fastballs at 101 and 99 miles per hour, respectively, and the third out was at the expense of Mitch Nay, who managed to avoid striking out with a drive line to the left field that did not require a lot of defense.
Chapman, consistent with what he has shown in his training sessions after the injury, was relaxed in the mound in what was his first pitching outing of the four he is likely to have during his rehabilitation at branches of Cincinnati. This brief performance confirms what was stated in numerous reports of publications that have followed his evolution and argue that Reds pitcher seems to be fully recovered.
However, prior to Thursday’s clash Bryan Price, manager of the Reds, said the franchise they will not hurry the return of the “Cuban Missile “to the first team. “We will go with a lot of patience … We will not go blind with this. We’ll see how he behaves in this match before we announce any news. I think that’s the responsible thing we can do. “
Last season Chapman filed four wins against five defeats and 38 saves in 43 attempts. His ERA was 2.54 in 63 and two-thirds innings, with 112 strikeouts. On March19, while relieving against the Kansas City Royals in a preseason game, he was hit in the face by a line drive by Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who hit back a 99 miles per hour fastball. The blow caused fractures above his left eye and nose, which required a complex surgery and implantation of a plate in the region of the forehead.
