San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller was dealing once again Wednesday, Oct. 1, striking out five batters over the seventh and eighth innings in the Padres’ 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.
The 27-year-old flamethrower acquired by the Padres from the Athletics on trade deadline day really brought the heat on his second strikeout of the day. He sat down the Cubs’ Carson Kelly with a 104.5 mph fastball, which, per MLB, is the fastest pitch ever recorded in the playoffs since pitch tracking began in 2008.
It was also the fastest pitch Miller has thrown in his career, per the Padres.
Aroldis Chapman had held the record for fastest pitch in the postseason (104.2 mph) since 2010, per MLB.com.
Miller, in his first postseason, struck out five consecutive batters Wednesday before he hit Michael Busch with a pitch. That ended Miller’s run of consecutive strikeouts at eight, after he also struck out the side in the seventh inning in Tuesday’s Game 1.
Wednesday’s victory kept the Padres’ season alive and forces a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.
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