Every morning, we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition 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 Nastiest Pitches of the Season GIF Tournament. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList, and we’ll GIF it up and give you a shoutout here in the article.
Max Scherzer’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/poisedhoarseerne
Between Anibal Sanchez and Scherzer, the Nationals have given up 2 hits and 4 walks over 14.2 innings. Not a bad start for the Nationals in their first NLCS. We got vintage Scherzer yesterday, grunts and all. When the dust cleared, Max had 11Ks and a bushel of nasty pitches. This change to Paul Goldschmidt was one of the best.
Masahiro Tanaka’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/hilariousultimateburro
Tanaka is nails in the Postseason. Yesterday he became the first pitcher in MLB history to allow 2 runs or fewer in each of his first 7 Postseason starts. Extremely impressive, especially considering that he had to go up against the Astros’ vaunted offense yesterday – and blanked them. He is a linchpin to the Yankees achieving their World Series goal.
Zack Greinke’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/afraidfancybrownbear
Greinke wasn’t at his best yesterday, but he still gave the Astros a chance to win. In the Postseason – where runs are harder to come by – giving up 3 isn’t ideal, but when you have the Astros offense behind you, you’ll generally take it. Unfortunately for Greinke, the guy above him in this list shut down his team’s bats, and the ‘Stros are behind 1-0.
Adam Wainwright’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/silkyyoungbug
Wainwright was phenomenal yesterday. He turned back the clock to take out a robust Nationals lineup, only allowing 3 through 7 and change. He was even better than that, as he entered the 8th with only one run allowed. The signature curveball was great yesterday, but this fastball to tie up Juan Soto really caught my eye. Not often do you see Soto fall down whilst at the plate.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the Nastiest Pitches of the Season GIF Tournament.
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