Houston Astros pitcher Zack Greinke slowed his repertoire wayyyy down against the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Greinke, who once threw 100 miles an hour, tossed a looping 51 mph eephus pitch to Renato Núñez. That’s basically the speed of the average Little League offering with the hope that a Major League hitter will be caught completely off guard.
A guy named Rip Sewell used the blooper pitch in the 1940s and it occasionally pops up in the modern game.
So how did Greinke’s eephus fare? Watch right here:
Núñez took it for a strike.
“He really got me on that,” Núñez told MLB.com . “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Good for Greinke, who otherwise struggled mightily in a 6-2 loss . He gave up 10 hits and was nowhere near the form that has propelled the former Cy Young winner to 209 career victories .
He’s thrown the eephus before , so we’ll be waiting for it again. Hopefully the batter won’t be.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.