Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.
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Alec Mills‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/fatherlydentalfalcon
After getting Josh VanMeter to chase a changeup out of the zone the previous pitch, Alec Mills goes right back to it to secure his first strikeout of the night. This devastating changeup tumbles just out of the zone as he places it right where catcher Victor Caratini calls for it.
Josh Lindblom’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/unlawfulfixedchimneyswift
Josh Lindblom’s season debut after a three-year hiatus was unfortunately cut short due to back spasms, but there were some encouraging signs in his up-and-down outing. He struck out the second batter he faced, Kevin Newman, on three straight pitches, and added four more strikeouts on the night. The final two pitches of this at-bat were nearly identical as Lindblom got Newman to chase sliders way outside the zone.
Aaron Civale’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/impassionedobedientaxisdeer
Aaron Civale had everything working early on in this one. Here is a nice curveball to Edwin Encarnacion that completely falls off the table to add Encarnacion to Civale’s list of nine strikeouts in Cleveland’s win in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
Homer Bailey’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/softwhirlwindguernseycow
Homer Bailey took the win in his first start in a Twin’s uniform Tuesday evening. The last few years have been rough for Bailey, but he should be able to provide some quality innings for the World Series hopeful Twins. One of Bailey’s four strikeouts on the night, he gets Harrison Bader to swing through a nice slider located at the bottom of the zone.
Austin Voth’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/satisfiedcostlybobwhite
Austin Voth gave up a lot of hard contact in the Nationals’ eventual 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays, but had a few bright spots like this 2-1 power change to Cavan Biggio. While this changeup at 89 MPH was only a couple miles per hour slower than his fastball, it has some great arm-side movement and downward action to run back over the plate.
Brusdar Graterol’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/educatedflamboyantbrocketdeer
Brusdar Graterol was the pitcher heading back to the Red Sox as part of the original Mookie Betts trade before the Red Sox balked at his medicals and altered the deal. Graterol looked very healthy Tuesday night regularly topping 100 MPH with his fastball before putting away Martin Maldonado on a wicked 90 MPH slider at the bottom of the zone.
Walker Buehler’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/severalthinchinesecrocodilelizard
Walker Buehler was far from his best last night, but he still showed flashes of his normally dominant self. This cutter at 93 MPH is right on the inside black to Kyle Tucker. It’s a borderline strike, but whether Tucker swung or not he wasn’t going to make great contact on this quality offering from Buehler.
Joe Kelly’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/oddballpeskyassassinbug
Joe Kelly had an interesting bottom of the 6th inning in Houston on Tuesday night. He put a 3-0 fastball over Alex Bregman’s head, had his foot stepped on by Michael Brantley, and nearly hit Carlos Correa with a slider. Kelly finally finished off Correa with this strong slider before words were exchanged and the benches cleared.
Sergio Romo’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/impartialachingbobcat
Though Sergio Romo is not as dominant as he was during his time in San Francisco, his slider is always a candidate to be featured among the night’s nastiest pitches. Romo came on for the save in Minnesota’s win over the Cardinals on Tuesday and finished his night by striking out Harrison Bader with his famed slider. Unfortunately for Bader, this was his second appearance of the night on the wrong end of a nasty pitch.
Chaz Roe’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/frightenedgrimydiamondbackrattlesnake
This is not a great Chaz Roe slider compared to all the rubberband sliders Roe has thrown in his career, but compared to the average slider it’s still a very nasty pitch. Where the pitch starts from Roe’s hand, Matt Adams probably gave up on the pitch before it landed safely well in the zone.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in our Nastiest Pitches tournament midway through the season.
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