Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of the Arizona Diamondbacks made Major League Baseball history Tuesday night by hitting a home run off a 103.9 mph pitch—the fastest pitch ever turned into a homer since pitch tracking began in 2008. The milestone moment came in the bottom of the eighth inning when Gurriel launched the high-velocity fastball from San Diego Padres reliever Mason Miller into the left-field stands for a two-run shot that tied the game 5-5.
Earlier in the night, Gurriel had already gone deep with a two-run homer in the first inning, finishing the game with four RBIs. Despite his heroics, the Diamondbacks fell short in extra innings as the Padres rallied for five runs in the 11th to secure a 10-5 win. Mason Miller, acquired by San Diego at the trade deadline, had been throwing consistently over 100 mph, but Gurriel’s record-breaking swing stole the spotlight even in defeat.
