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 GIF of the First Quarter Contest. 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.
Shane Bieber’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ElegantSmoothHousefly
The slider has been far and away Shane Bieber’s best pitch in his brief major league career, and Charlie Tilson got a very, very rude introduction to it in the White Sox win over Cleveland. He fell victim to a heater from the young righty in his first at bat, before finishing his night against Bieber with the ugly golf swing pictured above.
Tyler Skaggs‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/UnrealisticAgreeableAmericancrocodile
Cron doesn’t even feel like trying to reach 1st on the dropped third strike—that’s how badly Tyler Skaggs demoralized him with this jewel of a bender. Skaggs hasn’t enjoyed quite the breakout season many experts were hoping for, though he was able to nail down his fourth win with a respectable outing against the Twins on Monday.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/PitifulPlumpHarrierhawk
Jose Berrios and his monster curveball are no stranger to the nasty pitch roundup, and this time around it was future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols looking silly against the 24-year-old phenom. Things would go south for the Puerto Rican righty not long after this, but this pitch will end up on plenty of highlight reels.
Reynaldo Lopez’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/HugeWeeklyEwe
It feels like fastballs don’t get nearly the love their breaking and offspeed brethren do in these roundups, but Reynaldo Lopez breaks the trend today with a gorgeous, moving heater to punch out Jordan Luplow.
Matt Boyd’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/DeafeningBleakCony
‘Twas never a matter of if Matt Boyd would make the nasty pitch roundup, only a matter of what pitch he made it with. The magnum opus of his Monday start was this filthy slider to Alex Bregman. I can’t tell if he half-swung because he realized he couldn’t hit this thing, or if Boyd simply made him look that bad.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Quarter Contest.
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