Jeremiah Estrada of the Padres struck out all three Marlins he faced in the ninth inning of a 4-0 San Diego win on Tuesday. That brought his consecutive strikeout total to 13, the most in the expansion era.
Shildt said Estrada has “an elite fastball, and then tonight he was throwing some splitters that were filthy. … He has a special arm and special stuff.”
Estrada said his primary off-speed pitch is a split-circle change that he calls a “chitter.”
ESPN.com
Beyond the Ks, Estrada greatly reduced his walk rate and home run rate this season, giving him an 0.59 ERA.
Even in this Age of Strikeouts, that is very impressive!
Cincinnati’s Fernando Cruz has K’d the last 6 batters he’s faced… so he would still have quite a ways to go, to catch Estrada.