ST. LOUIS -- Cincinnati Reds lefty Aroldis Chapman, the flamethrower who has replaced Stephen Strasburg as the young, rocket-launching hype magnet in the majors, made his Busch Stadium debut in the eighth inning, and he did so against the top of the Cardinals' order.

Chapman threw 15 pitches in the inning, six of which were strikes, and he got three outs from three batters -- Aaron Miles, Jon Jay and Albert Pujols.

Each saw a pitch that clocked at 100 mph or better.

Pujols saw three of them.

In Miles' at-bat, Chapman hit 103 mph on the stadium radar readout -- probably the fastest pitch recorded at the Cardinals' Busch III. Chapman, a lefty signed to a $30.25-million deal this past winter by the Reds, walked Jay on four pitches: 102 mph, 99 mph, 99 mph and 100 mph, according to MLB.com's Pitch f/X.

With Jay at first, Chapman faced Pujols, the three-time MVP. Chapman was promoted from Triple-A this week so that he would be eligible for the postseason. The Reds moved him into a relief role earlier this season to speed his ascent, but also to take advantage of an arsenal of pitches that has matured enough for use in the rotation. Chapman throws a hard slider to go with his harder fastball. His struggles with command have lessened in his new role as reliever. It's likely that he'll get a shot at returning to a starter's role next spring, and he'll get a chance to face Pujols a few more times.

Here is Round 1:

101 mph ball

100 mph fouled off

100 mph ball

99 mph groundout, double play

Chapman was replaced with a pinch hitter during the top of the ninth inning. He left the game after the third scoreless inning of his major-league career. The Reds lead, 5-1.

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