Pittsburgh Pirates' Flamethrower Continues to Make Baseball History with Fastball Velocity

The Pittsburgh Pirates are out to a 4-0 start this season after sweeping the Miami Marlins in the first series of the season.

The Pirates had a stated goal this offseason of being competitive throughout the entire year and so far, so good. One of the ways that the Pirates hoped to achieve that was by adding useful veterans at key spots, including in the bullpen.

Thus far, veteran Aroldis Chapman has thrown 2.0 scoreless innings for the Buccos, striking out three. He's also continuing to make baseball history with his fastball velocity.

Per JJ Cooper of Baseball America:

Aroldis Chapman touched 101 mph today. It's the 15 straight season he's touched 101 or better in an MLB game. No one else has done it in more than 6 straight seasons. He's never had a significant arm injury during that 15 season stretch.

Chapman and closer David Bednar should continue to make a solid back end of the bullpen for Pittsburgh, who hasn't been to the playoffs since 2015.

Chapman is in his 15th year in the big leagues with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Pirates. He helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series and got another ring with the Rangers in 2023, joining both clubs after midseason trades.

Lifetime, he's 50-40 with a 2.52 ERA. He has 321 career saves.

The Pirates will put their perfect record on the line on Monday afternoon when they take on the Washington Nationals at 4:05 p.m. ET. It will be the home opener for the Nats.

The pitching matchup is Marco Gonzales (PIT) against MacKenzie Gore (WAS).

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