Lucchesi shakes off 106.3 mph comebacker, gets out on next pitch

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — For pitchers, comebackers could be a nightmare. The one Joey Lucchesi took off his physique on Wednesday barely fazed him.

Phillies Minor Leaguer Aramis Garcia hit a 106.3 mph comebacker off Lucchesi’s chest throughout a Triple-A recreation at Lehigh Valley, catching sufficient of his pectoral muscle to scale back the impression on his collarbone. When the ball struck him, Lucchesi fell to a knee and initially had hassle swallowing. But he recovered rapidly and, after a couple of warm-ups, retired the subsequent batter he confronted on a single pitch.

“It happened so fast,” Lucchesi mentioned. “I was in shock. But I had a lot of adrenaline. I didn’t really feel anything.”

By the time the sport ended, Lucchesi was feeling largely regular, save for a brilliant pink welt on his chest. He allowed 4 runs in 5 innings on the night time, rising his ERA at Triple-A Syracuse to 4.64.

That quantity, nevertheless, doesn’t inform the entire story of Lucchesi’s season. He’s been considerably extra profitable when given probabilities within the Majors, together with a spot begin earlier this month that lowered his large league ERA this season to three.54. Lucchesi figures to see extra time in Queens in September, although it’s not clear precisely how a lot.

“I feel like my stuff plays better, everything’s better up there,” Lucchesi mentioned. “I want to be up there.”