PHOENIX -- Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s bat was faster than a speeding bullet, or at least faster than anything Padres right-hander Mason Miller could throw at him.
The Diamondbacks outfielder turned on 103.9 mph offering from Miller and hit a two-run game-tying home run in the eighth inning Tuesday night at Chase Field before his club dropped a 10-5 decision in 11 innings.
It was the fastest pitch under pitch tracking (since 2008) hit for a home run. It left Gurriel’s bat at 107.1 mph and traveled a Statcast-projected 439 feet to left-center field.
“The real meaning was in the time of the game and what it meant to the team to tie the ballgame -- that was the most important thing,” Gurriel said of his feat, through interpreter Rolando Valles. “I mean, unfortunately, it didn't turn into a win, but that was the most exciting thing.”
While he yelled, threw his bat and pounded his chest as the ball left the park, Gurriel was far more subdued after the game, in which the Padres scored five runs in the 11th inning.
“It’s something that just happened,” said Gurriel, who also homered off Yu Darvish in the first inning. “You know, it's not that easy. I just reacted to it. I’m glad that he happened.”
Miller, whom the Padres acquired from the A’s at the Trade Deadline on Thursday, was throwing serious heat Tuesday, topping out at 104.2 mph. That’s the fastest pitch thrown by a Padre under pitch tracking.
The Padres went into the eighth with a 5-3 lead. After retiring the first two hitters of the inning, Miller walked Geraldo Perdomo before Gurriel stepped to the plate.
It was a seven-pitch at-bat that led to the homer, with Gurriel fouling off four pitches -- 101.7 mph fastball, 103.6 mph fastball, 89.6 mph slider and 104.1 mph fastball -- before hitting the homer.
“It’s a weapon,” Miller said of his fastball. “But you still need to put together an at-bat for the guy, and work with him, as far as his swings and his approach in there.
“I felt like he might have been looking for the slider, but I think, looking back at the at-bat, I could go back to it again. Location could have been better, for sure. Ultimately, the result is what it is. I’m not going to sit here and regret what pitch I threw. Just got it out over the plate, a little bit high.”
The Diamondbacks’ dugout erupted as the ball left Gurriel’s bat.
“It's a massive home run,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was just a great moment. It was loud contact. We know that Mason Miller's got a big arm. It’s a massive arm, and he's going to challenge you with it. And I think our hitter was ready.
“We talked about readiness, and Lourdes put a really good swing on a very aggressive pitcher with a very aggressive fastball. Doesn't surprise me. Gurriel is a really, really good hitter. When he gets moving in a good direction, like he was tonight, he's basically unstoppable.”
The Diamondbacks, like just about every big league team, spend time hitting off high velocity pitching machines as part of their preparation for games. That and the fact Gurriel had gotten to see a bunch of Miller’s fastballs during his at-bat probably contributed to him being able to get a good swing.
“You know, big league hitters will get wood on a bullet,” Lovullo said, referring to an old baseball saying. “You just start to gauge it, the more you see it, the more in sync you get with it. It's just about getting your hands back, your front foot down, and just setting your boundary, setting your marker, and just saying, ‘This is where it's going to be, and I'm going to put my barrel on the ball.’”