Flamethrower rears back ... and lights go out. Catcher not fazed. [View all]

SAN FRANCISCO -- Catching coach Alex Burg, 36, was preparing to receive Camilo Doval’s final warmup pitch when the stadium lights suddenly blacked out in preparation for the All-Star closer’s new dramatic ninth-inning entrance at Oracle Park, forcing Burg to try to catch the ball in the dark.

“I knew they were going to do something, but obviously, I didn’t know when it was going to happen, so that was a little bit of a shock that it was right as he was releasing the ball,” Burg said Tuesday.

Fortunately for Burg, Doval -- who has clocked as high as 104 mph -- threw a four-seam fastball before stepping out into the new spotlights, allowing Burg to catch the pitch and avoid serious harm.

“If it would have been a sinker or a slider, I probably would have died,” Burg said. “No chance I catch those, because they’re so nasty. But the four-seamer stays pretty true, especially in the ‘pen. It gave me a little bit better of a shot to catch it.”

https://www.mlb.com/news/camilo-doval-throws-final-warmup-pitch-in-the-dark

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