The Kansas City Royals waved the proverbial white flag on Saturday night by having shortstop Nicky Lopez pitch, and the Los Angeles Dodgers put Hanser Alberto on the mound in the bottom of the ninth to preserve one of their relief pitchers.
Whereas Lopez surrendered back-to-back home runs to Joey Gallo and Cody Bellinger in the Dodgers’ 13-3 win, Alberto turned in yet another scoreless appearance. He allowed a two-out single and issued a walk before finishing off the Dodgers’ 12th consecutive win.
When Alberto pitched, the Kauffman Stadium scoreboard was unable to classify his 63 mph offering and labeled it “unknown.”
Will Smith couldn’t offer much clarity due to not putting down signs for Alberto to pitch, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Alberto saw this. Said it was his secret weapon. Asked Will Smith what button he pushes on PitchCom for "Unknown." Said he doesn't call pitches for Alberto "so it's Unknown to me too."
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 14, 2022
Statcast classified each of Alberto’s 14 pitches as a fastball, with velocities ranging from 63 mph to 71 mph.
The fun-loving utility man has allowed just one run over four innings across four pitching appearances this season. The run came in his first time on the mound in 2022, when facing the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 17.
Alberto overcame knee trouble
When the Dodgers signed the 29-year-old to a contract in Spring Training, manager Dave Roberts raved about his potential to contribute off the bench.
That was slow to come to fruition as Alberto struggled in limited opportunities, but it later became known he was dealing with pain in his right knee that was treated with cortisone shot at the end of June.
Since then, Alberto has contributed with multiple big hits and further helped solidify a deep Dodgers bench.
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