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.
Mike Mikolas’ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/clutteredastonishingamericantoad
Mike Mikolas made a pair of appearances in the NLDS against the Braves, allowing a single earned run over six innings, letting up just three hits. Mikolas had an average season in 2019, a significant drop-off from his dominant, 2.83 ERA 2018. Still, he ate innings well, which is an important skill in a long postseason, where bullpen arms need to be as fresh as possible.
Anibal Sanchez’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/parallelforthrightafricanwilddog
Following a solid 3.85 ERA campaign in his first season with the Nationals, Anibal Sanchez made just a single appearance in the NLDS against the Dodgers. He allowed one earned run and struck out nine across five innings, though the Nationals bullpen ended up blowing it for him in a major way. On Friday, he had no such problem. He handed the ball off to Sean Doolittle after 7.2 innings of one-hit ball.
Giovanny Gallegos‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/whirlwindpositiveirishwolfhound
Coming over to St. Louis in the Luke Voit trade, 2019 was Giovanny Gallegos‘ first full season at the major league level, and he certainly looked good. Over 74 innings of relief, he struck out 93 batters with a 2.31 ERA. He was solid in limited innings in the Braves series, but he allowed a run over just a third of an inning on Friday.
Carlos Martinez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/hoarsepointlessgallinule
Carlos Martinez’s postseason didn’t start particularly well, as he allowed three earned runs across one inning on Sunday. Friday, though, he came in and got his job done, getting the last out of the inning in the Redbirds’ loss. Martinez was excellent in a primarily relief role in the regular season, sporting a 3.17 ERA and over a strikeout per inning.
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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