The Boston Red Sox were all out of pitchers Friday night, so they turned to their hardest-throwing fielder.
With the Red Sox trailing the New York Yankees by six runs entering the ninth inning at Fenway Park, manager Alex Cora summoned outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to the mound to make his major-league pitching debut.
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SIGN UP HERE While Bradley's presence on the mound was a reflection of Boston's dire pitching straits, the 32-year-old made the most of his appearance by showing off his powerful arm.
JBJ topped out at 91.5 mph on a fastball to Marwin Gonzalez, marking the second-hardest pitch thrown by a Red Sox position player behind Mitch Moreland (91.7 mph) in 2017.
Bradley mixed up his speeds as well and even struck out DJ LeMahieu on a 67-mph "slider:"
Bradley did struggle with his command, walking three batters and throwing just 13 of his 30 pitches for strikes. But he escaped with only one run allowed on one hit and seemed to enjoy the experience overall.
Cora obviously doesn't want his position players pitching, so he'll hope right-hander Kutter Crawford can eat up some innings in Saturday's start against the Yankees.
The Red Sox could desperately use a win versus New York after their 12-5 loss Friday night dropped them to 9-20 against the American League East this season.
