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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Michael King’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/uncomfortableagedanemoneshrimp
The Yankees have had some well documented struggles of late, and their bullpen has shared in that hardship. The pitching wasn’t the issue Tuesday night as three Yankee hurlers combined to hold the Blue Jays to just two runs in the eventual 2-1 loss. Michael King displayed a wicked backdoor sinker to catch Danny Jansen looking to end the seventh.
Mike Clevinger’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/wearyfancygreatwhiteshark
Mike Clevinger didn’t have his best outing Tuesday evening, but still managed to walk away with a victory as the Padres’ offense spotted him ten runs over the first two innings. Despite giving up four runs over five innings Clevinger’s stuff still looked as sharp as ever, evidenced by this nasty back-foot slider to Ryan McMahon.
Zach Eflin’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/fearlessdelayedkawala
Zach Eflin took the ball in game one of the doubleheader between the Phillies and Red Sox on Tuesday. Eflin left the game with a lead which the Phillies bullpen promptly gave up the following inning. Fortunately for the Phillies, they would win in a walk off in the shortened seven inning game. Eflin struck out six on the day with half coming on his sinker like this one to catch Rafael Devers looking.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/blackeachgrosbeak
José Berrios cruised early on in this one prior to being taken deep for a two-run home run in his fifth and final inning of work. Berrios totaled eight strikeouts on the day including this one of Paul DeJong in the fourth getting him to swing through a curveball out of the zone. (h/t to PL+ member KingHippo)
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/metallicfinefugu
Joe Musgrove’s season hasn’t started off the way many expected it to. A popular preseason sleeper, Musgrove struggled out of the gate before losing a month due to injury. His two starts since his return from his IL stint have been a step in the right direction as he continues to build his pitch count. Tuesday, Musgrove completed four scoreless and recorded five strikeouts including this one of Yasmani Grandal in the first.
Triston McKenzie’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/sickdishonestkusimanse
Triston McKenzie turned in another solid outing Tuesday afternoon to continue his strong start to his major league career. McKenzie struck out seven over his five innings and showcased this strong slider to strikeout Matt Reynolds.
Sixto Sanchez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/faroffillustriousaustraliancurlew
Another young pitcher, Sixto Sanchez, continued his dominance in his debut season. He paired his triple digit fastball with his wipeout slider to rack up six strikeouts in six scoreless innings. His fifth inning strikeout of Tyler Flowers displayed his fantastic sweeping slider. (Another h/t to KingHippo)
Carlos Martinez’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/idolizedfortunatechevrotain
Carlos Martinez’s second start of 2020 went slightly better than his first, but he still gave up a lot of hard contact over his three and two-thirds innings of work. He did, however, exhibit his great changeup a few times, such as this one to sit down Nelson Cruz in the first.
Rafael Dolis‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/emptytenderbillygoat
Rafael Dolis has proved to be a strong option at the back end of the bullpen for the Blue Jays this year. He earned his third save of the year Tuesday showcasing his sharp breaking ball in addition to heavy sinkers like this. Dolis gets ahead of DJ LeMahieu here starting him off with a backdoor sinker perfectly located at 96 MPH.