Baseball is art, and science, and magic, and wonder, and so many more beautiful things.
They were all encapsulated in one at bat on Thursday, when Twins closer Jhoan Duran faced off with Guardians leadoff hitter Steven Kwan with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game with the bases loaded.
This is the scenario that dreams are made of, and the at bat played out incredibly.
First pitch, 99mph splinker, called strike one.
Second pitch, 100mph splinker, inside.
Then a 101mph fastball and 102mph fastball, each fouled off by Kwan.
Then it was the 100mph splitter-sinker mix again, tailing away and fouled off.
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Duran missed up at 102 on the sixth pitch to make the count 2-2.
Pitch seven was Duran's sinking offering again, at 99, fouled off.
And the at bat's final pitch was the first time Duran really mixed it up.
He snapped off an 88mph curveball, painted on the outside corner. Kwan could only watch, strike three looking.
Jhoan Duran vs. Kwan
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2025
Crazy 8 Pitch Battle with the Bases Loaded (tie game).
1. 99 mph Splitter
2. 100 mph Splitter
3. 101 mph Fastball
4. 102 mph Fastball
5. 100 mph Splitter
6. 102 mph Fastball
7. 99 mph Splitter
8. 88 mph Painted Curveball pic.twitter.com/CTtM6EevhU
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The Guardians won the game an inning later, but don't let that take away from this at bat.
One of the most dominant arms in baseball against one of the most gifted batsmen in the game. For a game on May 1, this was about as brilliant a setup as you could have.
Duran and Kwan both gave their all, and this time, the pitcher won.
Those eight pitches contained everything: Power, life, suffering, the will to survive. Yes, that's a dramatic list.
But that's baseball, where the littlest moments are microcosms of our lives. Duran and Kwan painted that picture exquisitely.
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