Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
James Paxton’s Curveball – It wasn’t the sharpest of Paxton starts we’ve seen this year, but seeing the big southpaw completely debilitate Albert Pujols was a complete joy. Check out this 0-0 pitch that Pujols missed by a foot…and also hit his foot.
Tyler Glasnow’s Changeup – After a poor first inning including three walks and three earned runs, Glasnow settled down to look like the starter we want him to be so badly. This Changeup in the second inning shows exactly what kind of pitcher he could be, getting Zack Cozart well on his front foot and flailing at the 1-2 pitch off the plate.
Chris Sale’s Slider – We’re featuring yet another Sale pitch, but with the way he’s pitching, it would be wrong to leave him off the roundup. He’s now fanned at least ten batters in five straight games and his Slider is looking as filthy as ever. Watch this one go from the outside corner to well underneath Trey Mancini’s bat, which ended up in the seats.
Carlos Martinez’s Fastball – With just one walk to his name, Martinez looked like the ace the Cardinals need on Tuesday night. He was commanding his heater well through the game, especially this perfectly placed Fastball down-and-in to Domingo Santana that featured just enough ride to miss the bat.
Alex Wood’s Curveball – Wood has been given another chance to stick in the Dodgers rotation and collected eight strikeouts against the Giants. The night got off to a great start with this punchout of Gorkys Hernandez on a beautiful breaking ball that had endless bend.
Mark Leiter Jr.’s Changeup – It was the MLB debut of Leiter Jr. and he got the first strikeout in his name against Jason Heyward who didn’t come close to hitting this Changeup in the dirt. The action on this pitch was all kinds of filthy and we’re sure to see more of him in the future.
Dellin Betances‘ Curveball – Betances was called on to clean up Tyler Clippard’s mess, and while his first pitch was one of the odder balks you’ll see, he eventually got back to normal, which means inducing awkward swings like this poor hack from Kendrys Morales.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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Chris Sale’s slider is nasty