Fastball

Pittsburgh Pirates Flamethrower Moves Up Awesome List in Strikeout History

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night as Aroldis Chapman continued to dominate hitters in historic fashion out of the bullpen.

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field on Aug 21.
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the eighth inning at Globe Life Field on Aug 21. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The Pittsburgh Pirates rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night at PNC Park. With the win, the Buccos are now 61-67 on the year. The Reds fell to 62-67 with the loss. The final score was 6-5.

While the focus will be on the Pirates offense generating the comeback, it should be noted that history was made out of the team's bullpen by left-hander Aroldis Chapman.

Per the Pirates on social media:

Strikeout No. 1,226.

Aroldis Chapman now has the fourth-most strikeouts among relief pitchers in MLB history

Chapman has been one of the most dominant relievers in baseball since making his debut more than a decade ago. He has one of the best fastballs in baseball history, and can still run it up there at more than 100 MPH with ease.

No longer a closer, he's 4-4 with the Pirates this season. He's sporting a 3.14 ERA and has struck out 79 batters in 48.2 innings. He's 36 years old.

Chapman is in his 15th year in the big leagues since coming over from Cuba. He's played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Pirates. He won World Series rings with the Cubs (2016) and Rangers (2023).

Lifetime he has a 2.57 ERA. He actually has 1,227 K's for his career. Those have come in just 747.0 innings.

The Pirates and the Reds will play again on Saturday night with first pitch coming at 6:40 p.m. ET. The Pirates will send right-hander Jake Woodford to the mound. He's 0-5 with a 6.67 ERA.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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