The Dodgers didn’t get the win Saturday afternoon against the Tigers, but Edgardo Henriquez still walked away with a piece of franchise history.
Henriquez came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth with the game tied 1-1 and immediately overpowered Dillon Dingler with a 103.6 mph sinker at the edge of the zone. Dingler argued the call, but the strikeout stood. It was the fastest pitch ever recorded for a Dodgers strikeout since MLB started tracking pitch data in 2008.
The pitch matched Henriquez’s career high. He had already hit 103.6 mph earlier this season in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 2. And this latest blast of velocity fit the pattern for the right-hander, who had already thrown 22 of the fastest tracked pitches by a Dodgers pitcher and 14 of the franchise’s 16 fastest strikeout pitches entering Saturday.
Henriquez also tied a tracking-era mark last August when he fired a 103.3 mph four-seam fastball past Ryan O’Hearn, matching Jonathan Broxton’s Dodgers record. Broxton, one of the hardest throwers of his time, saved 84 games across parts of seven seasons in Los Angeles.
The raw speed is still the calling card. According to Baseball Savant, Henriquez is averaging 100.8 mph on his sinker and 100.5 mph on his four-seamer this season. For a modern reliever, that kind of velocity is a major weapon.
Now in his first full season and third overall with the Dodgers, Henriquez has turned himself into one of the club’s most dependable arms. He’s 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA, 2.61 FIP, 0.98 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine in 55.1 innings over 55 appearances, including one start.
His role has grown along with his effectiveness. With Edwin Díaz and Blake Treinen injured, Henriquez has been getting more high-leverage chances, and he’s answered them.
At 24, he looks set to remain a major piece of the bullpen, even as other injured pitchers work their way back and some arms shift into relief roles.
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Kershaw has already been around Dodger Stadium plenty since retiring, and his role with the organization has grown beyond a ceremonial goodbye tour. In addition to working as a special assistant in the front office, he is now showing up in the broadcast booth too, which gives the Dodgers a familiar voice in one corner of the ballpark and a familiar presence in another. It is the kind of transition that makes it clear his next chapter is not going to be a quiet one. [Read more 🡒]