Aroldis leaves Cubs in awe with perfect debut

CHICAGO — The 41,166 fans at Wrigley Field weren’t the only ones eager to see the radar-gun readings from Aroldis Chapman in his Cubs debut. The Cubs’ players and manager Joe Maddon were peeking, too.

Chapman didn’t disappoint, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to preserve the Cubs’ 8-1 Interleague win over the White Sox on Wednesday night. It may not have been a save situation, but everyone in the lower seating bowl of the ballpark was on their feet as soon as the left-hander entered.

“I’m not impressed,” Cubs starting pitcher Jason Hammel deadpanned. “I thought we were getting a guy who threw 105 [mph]. He only hit 103.”

Hammel then grinned.

“It’s a sight to see,” he said. “It’s jaw-dropping. To see that type of velocity and that command, it’s almost unfair to have a slider and offspeed pitches after that, too. He’s a nice addition.”

Said Addison Russell: “It was awesome. Standing behind him throwing is a whole different story.”

Chapman was happy with the outing, if not with what has transpired the last 24 hours in Chicago.

“The adrenaline …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com