Red Sox relief pitcher Francisco Abad has a fastball that reaches into the mid-90s. Even his changeup averages around 80 mph.
So it was no wonder that Adrian Beltre was nearly floored — literally — by a super off-speed pitch from Abad during Wednesday’s game between the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers.
The pitch — a strike clocked in the low-60s — surprised Beltre so much that the Ranger slugger fell to a knee.
It’s hardly the first time Abad has confounded batters with a super-slow pitch. In fact, he struck out Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop with a 60 mph pitch just last month.