Jon Jay displays Little League velocity but escapes ninth inning

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Jon Jay of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the 9th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

In an attempt to preserve the Cubs’ bullpen Thursday against the Brewers, manager Joe Maddon decided to call center fielder Jon Jay to the mound to pitch the final inning.

And Jay’s pitching motto was similar to the moral of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare”: Slow and steady wins the race.

Jay, who hadn’t pitched since college, threw rather unusual “changeups” and managed to get out of the ninth inning scoreless with only one hit.

Let’s recap his work:

He fooled outfielder Domingo Santana with a 56 mph pitch.

Jay also threw a 47 mph pitch, which really stumped infielder Yadiel Rivera.

Despite Jay’s valiant efforts, the Cubs lost 11-2 to the Brewers.

Jay poked fun of himself on Instagram, sharing a photo of him pitching with the hashtags “#46mph #rowengartner.”

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