Did Aroldis Chapman Blow a Save Because He Ate 18 Pastries Before the Game?

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman blew a save when he allowed back-to-back home runs on Sunday, as the Reds' 2-1 lead turned into a 3-2 Phillies' win on a walk-off homer by Freddy Galvis. The normally reliable Chapman has a strong arm capable of throwing the ball well over 100 mph, but he topped out at 95 mph on Sunday. Why?

A Cuban pastry overdose, of course.

Before the game, Phillies' broadcaster Rickie Ricardo brought Chapman one hundred Cuban pastelitos — pastry filled with guava and cream cheese. According to Ricardo, Chapman ate eighteen of the pastries prior to Sunday's game.

"He couldn’t breathe! I looked at my partner, I said, ‘he’s ripe for the taking today.'" Ricardo said.

Maybe you can't throw heat if you stay in the kitchen? Who knows if the pastries made Chapman's fastball look as fat as the pitcher will get if he keeps eating like that, but his velocity was down and eating eighteen of anything in one sitting isn't a smart pre-game meal.