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!
Yu Darvish’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ImaginativeHilariousGrackle
Yu Darvish struggled on the mound yesterday for the Padres, as he allowed four runs over five innings. But Darvish still wowed with some absolutely filthy offerings. Here’s just a taste of what his slider looked like early on against the Marlins. This ball just gets some insane movement as Adam Duvall swings through a strike three that he has no shot at.
Touki Toussaint’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/JollyAliveLeopardseal
Touki Toussaint pitched masterfully on the mound for the Braves, going seven frames and striking out 10. Toussaint only allowed one run to score and used pitches like his splitter to make opposing hitters look foolish. Here he gets Bryce Harper swinging on a nasty splitter that drops out on the lefty slugger at the last moment.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/OrneryDisloyalDiamondbackrattlesnake
The Phillies had a pitcher of their own put up a dominant performance opposite Toussaint. Aaron Nola finished with 8.2 innings of work and nine strikeouts as he picked up the win for Philly. Here Nola uses his filthy knuckle-curve to induce a swing and a miss out of Joc Pederson for strike three.
Emmanuel Clase’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/FalseBewitchedKatydid
Usually, if we feature Emmanuel Clase, it’s because he threw his triple-digit cut fastball past a hopeless hitter, but today, it’s all about his low-90s slider which is equally impressive. Here he puts the nasty pitch past Joey Wendle for strike three.
Edwin Díaz’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/FixedMedicalHummingbird
Speaking of nasty low-90s sliders, let’s take a look at Edwin Díaz, who closed out the rubber match of the Mets-Blue Jays series. Díaz, who has struggled recently, had little trouble closing the door on the Jays, and on this pitch he finished off the series. It’s a wicked slider that gets Bo Bichette swinging, and oh it is nasty.
Paolo Espino’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/bewitchedfittinghawk
Paolo Espino might not be the first name you think of when you imagine a pitcher with filthy stuff, but his curveball is a truly hidden gem. Espino can really bend the ball, and here he tosses a perfect hook past Trey Mancini.
Domingo Germán’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/HappyColorlessFennecfox
Domingo Germán carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Red Sox (and pitched a rare four-strikeout inning) in what was an absolutely dominant performance. Germán struck out 10 hitters and here he put away Franchy Cordero on a filthy changeup.
Alex Wood’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/CarelessGrimAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
Alex Wood tossed 5.1 solid innings for the Giants on Sunday afternoon. Wood allowed only one run and struck out eight as he picked up his ninth win on the season. Here he whips a slider across the zone that gets former Pirate Adam Frazier (who was traded not long after this K) swinging.
Brandon Woodruff’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/SleepyTenseAardwolf
Moving onto the Sunday Night Baseball matchup, we’ve got Brandon Woodruff and his lethal curve. Woodruff struck out nine but it wasn’t enough for the Brewers. Here he drops a filthy curveball that Gavin Sheets swings right through for strike three.
Liam Hendriks‘ Fastball
https://gfycat.com/ImpressiveBouncyAxisdeer
Lastly tonight, we have Liam Hendriks throwing absolute heat. Hendriks completed a fantastic two-inning save and along the way picked up a strikeout on the hardest thrown pitch of the game. This one came in at 101 mph and Luis Urías had no chance at catching up with it.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)