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Pirates pitcher Jared Jones is experiencing quite the rookie season. The righty is already the team’s most dominant strikeout man, racking up 39 Ks across just 29 innings of work.
Now, he’s showing the Major League Baseball world what he can do with his electric stuff on the mound – and embarrassing opposing hitters in the process!
On Monday, he toed the rubber for his fifth start of the year. Entering the contest at 1-2, he was looking to get back to .500 with a win over division rival Milwaukee.
He’d do so in dominant fashion.
Jones flashed a mix of power and command, being clocked at 100 MPH or more eight times in the first inning alone. That was good enough to tie a single-game franchise record. Again, in the opening frame!
Before tonight, Gerrit Cole owned the record for most 100+ pitches thrown by a Pittsburgh Pirates starter in one game with 8 in a 2013 game.
Jared Jones threw 8 of them tonight just in the first inning! pic.twitter.com/MnsnkovYgA
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 22, 2024
That heat had viewers engaged as he hummed pitch after pitch past Brewers batters, but it was a deadly slider that had everyone talking by game’s end.
In the third inning of play, Jared Jones faced off against second baseman Brice Turang. By the end of the at-bat, Jones had successfully stolen Turang’s soul.
Jared Jones just threw one of nastiest pitches you will see all season. 😮 pic.twitter.com/mDYibaevZe
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2024
Expecting that 100 MPH fastball, Turang loaded up on a pitch he believed would end up on the inside corner of the plate. Instead, he got a breaking ball that nearly took a kneecap!
The vicious pitch not only induced a swinging strikeout, but it caused the hitter to fall from his feet in the batter’s box.
An overlay of what Brice Turang expected vs. what he got shows the incredible difficulty batters face when lining up against Jared Jones, particularly given the quick reaction time needed to square up that heater.
Jared Jones, 98mph Fastball and 90mph Bohemian Rhapsody Slider, Overlay.
An all-timer. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/oCLqIP3U4n
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 23, 2024
After the game, Jones savagely trolled Turang to add insult to injury.
“How do you not smile when that’s happening?” a reporter asked him in the locker room. “You were still locked in, you didn’t even crack a smile.”
“I was laughing on the inside,” the Pirates pitcher replied.
Jones finished the contest with seven strikeouts in six innings, allowing just one run on four hits. Brice Turang was this week’s victim. Who will be the next?!