Statcast: Grandal makes powerful impact in return

It didn't take Yasmani Grandal long to make an impact in his return to the Dodgers' lineup.

Prior to Saturday, Grandal's last game action came on May 22nd, when he suffered a concussion against the San Diego Padres.

Grandal was activated prior to Saturday's game and promptly made his presence felt. The catcher blasted a go-ahead, three-run homer off the Cardinals' Michael Wacha, in the Dodgers 5-1 victory.

"I was just trying to get my timing back, and it just so happened that [Wacha] made a mistake, probably the only mistake he made all night, and I was able to capitalize on it," Grandal said.

According to Statcast™, Grandal's home run had a 21.1 degree launch angle, reached a max height of 68 feet and the ball left Grandal's bat at 108.1 MPH.

So far this season, Grandal has an average exit velocity of 94.5 mph, on balls Statcast™ has tracked, which leads all catchers. Houston's Evan Gattis is second at 91.5 mph.

On the 3-1 pitch Grandal hit out, Wacha's actual velocity and perceived velocity were just 92.5 and 93.3 mph, respectively. His extension was a bit shorter than usual (6.8 feet).

Entering this start, Wacha's four-seam velocity averaged 93.9 mph, with an average perceived velocity of 95.0. That "extra" 1.1 is generated by Wacha's long extension (6.9 feet).