Every week we review the nastiest pitches from the previous week in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half. 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.
Kyle Hendricks’ Changeup – Even though his scoreless streak was snapped Tuesday, Hendricks still owns a pristine 2.39 ERA on the season. Maintaining that average will be easy as long as he keeps throwing absolute filth like this Changeup that slid down and away from Justin Morneau.
Jeurys Familia’s Fastball – It hasn’t been a good stretch of two games for Familia, blowing two consecutive save opportunities after converting 52 straight chances. However, he got a crucial first out in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game by getting Tony Wolters to chase this 98 mph heater that had a boatload of horizontal ride.
Yu Darvish’s Slider #1 – It’s hard to leave off Darvish these days with his Slider looking as good as it’s ever been. There were a good amount to choose from across his Saturday performance, and this slide piece that fell away from Salvador Perez was our favorite. (Thanks to Redditor swissflamdrag for the tip!)
Yu Darvish’s Slider #2– Darvish had a rough first inning Wednesday against Oakland, but he settled in nicely as the game went on. He tallied six strikeouts on the night, capping his performance with this nasty Slider that baffled Khris Davis.
Aaron Sanchez’s Changeup – After dealing for seven shutout innings against the Padres, Sanchez’s ERA is down to a tantalizing 2.72, easily one of the best among starters. Along with improving his ERA, he also added to his strikeout total, getting batters like Alex Dickerson to fan on nasty pitches like this fading Changeup. (Thanks to Redditor CrustyM for the tip!)
Luis Perdomo’s Fastball – The rookie right-hander earned back-to-back wins in his last two starts. It’s no wonder he’s winning lately, since he’s throwing some serious stuff around like this Fastball that works its way in on Josh Donaldson. (Thanks to @PitchMechanics and Redditors crimsontideftw24 and JanitorOfSanDiego for the tips!)
Carlos Villanueva’s Eephus – Who doesn’t enjoy a good slow ball? Werth seems to be making a habit of being the victim of these pitches, and whether you want to call this an Eephus or not is another story, but with this strike coming in around 55 mph, it’s hard not to crack a smile.
Chris Archer’s Slider – The Rays starter took another yet loss Tuesday, but the truth is that much of his record can be attributed to a lack of run support. He doesn’t need any help, however, when it comes to racking up K’s, like he did here against Andrew Toles with a 90-mph hard slider with ridiculous movement.
GIF Of The Week
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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