The Philadelphia Phillies hosted the Detroit Tigers over the weekend in what could very well be a World Series preview. They were able to break out shiny new trade deadline acquisition Jhoan Duran twice over the three game set and both times he showcased why he was such an attractive asset.
Duran, who was part of the Minnesota Twins' sell-off, closed Friday night's victory in his debut in front of a raucous crowd and then did the same on Sunday night in front of a national television audience.
Of the 12 pitches he threw en route to picking up the save, four were among the five fastest ever hurled by a Phillie since the StatCast era began in 2008. Two at 102.5 mph, including the one that struck out Riley Greene to end the game, tied the previous record set by Jose Alvarado.
Duran added one at 102.7 mph and 103.3 mph for good measure.
Now, all of that is very exact and scientific. It's nice to have the actual numbers that prove no one's thrown this fast in a Phillies uniform in a long, long time. On the vibes side, one can understand why Philly fans are fired up to watch a new guy really zoom it in there as they compete for the National League East and hope to play deep into October.
Hard to think of a better welcome for the new closer at the end of the bullpen and hard to think Duran could have been more impressive in his new debut.