Watch: Cubs OF Jon Jay Throws 47 MPH Pitch In Loss To Brewers

The Chicago Cubs were desperate at the end of Thursday night’s embarrassing 11-2 home loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, and it showed: the team brought in outfielder Jon Jay to pitch the final inning.

Cubs’ NEWS: John Jay 47mph Throw

In the top of the scoreless ninth, Jay — who hadn’t pitched since college — delivered a 46.5 mph 1-2 toss by lobbing the ball into the catcher’s arms. The throw completely completely stunned infielder Yadiel Rivera, who was up at bat and whom Jay ultimately retired, to give the Cubs at least something to hold onto.

“You have to find a bright spot in the day,” said manager Joe Maddon, who asked Jay in the fifth inning if he wanted to pitch.

Four Cubs relievers had already pitched in the game before Jay took the mound. What else do you do when you’re down by nine runs? seemed to be the question the home team was asking itself at the start of the final inning.

According to Trackman data, Jay tossed 15 pitches on Thursday and his average velocity was 57.2 mph. He topped out at 66.2 mph.

The left-hander ended up surrendering one single and no runs on Thursday, and also threw several curveballs that hovered around 59-60 mph. Jay also bewildered Milwaukee’s Domingo Santana with a 56 mph pitch, which the Brewers infielder swung at and missed:

Jay mocked himself on Instagram by posting a photo of him on the mound preparing to throw. He captioned it “Straight fire,” using the emoji and adding the hashtags #46mph and #rowengartner.

Evidently, Jay was fully aware of how lackluster his pitching job was on Thursday.

“I might have broke a record for slowest pitches,” he told MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat after the game.

In total, ten of Jay’s 16 pitches in the ninth inning were strikes. He allowed only one hit in the frame. The outfielder said he was surprised his throws were so slow, but said he will take the moment in stride.

“I never thought I’d ever do that ever,” Jay said. “When I look back when I’m done playing, it’ll be a cool moment in my career.”

The Cubs (42-43, 2nd in NL Central) next host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday afternoon (2:20 pm EST) for the opener of a three-game weekend series. The Brewers (48-40) are first in the NL Central.

CHICAGO, IL – JULY 06: Jon Jay #30 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the 9th inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on July 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Brewers defeated the Cubs 11-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)