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.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Tyler Gilbert’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/closesparklingleafwing
The most unlikely story from Saturday’s games was undoubtedly rookie Arizona Diamondbacks starter Tyler Gilbert throwing a no-hitter in his Major League Baseball debut. What a phenomenal achievement for the lefty who worked his beautiful cut-fastball majestically all night. This 86 mph cutter struck out Wil Myers. Gilbert threw the previous pitch, also a cutter, a little higher. It was the perfect setup.
Chris Sale’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/pettyyearlyblackbear
732 days after his last start, the Red Sox welcomed back star pitcher Chris Sale back to the mound. A few pitches in and you could tell it was like he had never left, unleashing his full arsenal on an already sorry Orioles lineup. He ended up going five strong innings as the hitters put up 16 runs on a perfect late afternoon at Fenway. My favorite from his eight strikeouts was this unhittable 80 mph slider to fell Anthony Santander.
Aaron Ashby’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/SaltyObviousEmeraldtreeskink
I don’t know much about young Brewers lefty Aaron Ashby apart from the fact that he was a fourth-round pick back in 2018 and yesterday he looked the goods in a spot start in the second of a doubleheader against the Pirates. If this nasty 97 mph sinker with late movement inside to strike out left-hander Martin Pérez is anything to go by, I’ll be keeping a close eye on his development the rest of the year.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/unluckyblaringhart
After throwing a 97 mph fastball up at John Nogowski’s chin on the previous pitch, Devin Williams came back with this nasty 84 mph changeup with ridiculous movement inside to strike him out. Elite.
Matt Moore’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/niceflakycanadagoose
Phillies lefty Matt Moore no-hit the Reds through six innings before being pulled for Héctor Neris. The Phillies managed to botch the combined no-no but Moore was superb throughout his outing, this lovely 80 mph knuckle curveball was far too good for promising young Reds infielder Jonathan India.
Wily Peralta’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/denseabledeinonychus
The Wily Peralta renaissance is alive and well. The veteran sprayed his split-change around today at will and found it in fine form. Here is a beautiful runaway 81 mph splitter catching Andrés Giménez way out front for the K.
Zach Thompson’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/kindlydrearyblackwidowspider
Just watch the bottom fall out of this filthy changeup from Marlins starter Zach Thompson! Ouch! A phenomenal 87 mph changeup that completely embarrasses Frank Schwindel and gets my vote for the nastiest pitch of the day.
Taijuan Walker’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/WanInformalGalapagosalbatross
Talking of a bottom falling out of a pitch, let’s check in on New York Mets starter Taijuan Walker, who went a solid 6 2/3 innings against the Dodgers yesterday. This beautiful 90 mph splitter took care of Corey Seager.
Walker Buehler’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/IncompatibleFatGermanpinscher
Unfortunately for Taijuan, he walked into Dodgers starter Buehler…see what I did there?! Sorry…to make up for it here is a fantastic first-pitch 91 mph changeup to Brandon Nimmo from Walker Buehler. It was his 105th pitch of the night and arguably his best.
Kenta Maeda’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/improbablenervousballpython
There was a time (last year) when every week we would be waxing lyrical about Kenta Maeda in Minnesota and featuring his wondrous splitter. Not so much this season, however, yesterday was a flashback to how good he can actually be. This 82 mph splitter low and with extra bite is simply sensational. Brandon Lowe had no idea what just happened.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)