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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Triston McKenzie’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/CookedFarflungElver
Triston McKenzie set down the first 23 batters he faced before he lost his perfect game bid in the 8th. McKenzie was dominant on the mound and that earns him the top spot in today’s edition of Nastiest Pitches. Here he drops in a beautiful curve right past Victor Reyes for strike three.
Emmanuel Clase’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/GroundedGrimDogwoodclubgall
McKenzie’s curve was nasty, but it might not have even been the filthiest pitch thrown by a Cleveland pitcher yesterday. For that honor, we look toward Emmanuel Clase who blew a 100 mph painted cutter right by Jacob Robson to close out the one-hit shutout against the Tigers.
Jonathan Loaisiga’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/FragrantPerfectBarbet
Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a one-two-three inning for the Yankees yesterday. He picked up one strikeout that came on this filthy 99 mph sinker that nibbles at the bottom of the zone, and leaves Eloy Jiménez extremely frustrated with the umpire.
Paolo Espino’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/KeenBronzeHypsilophodon
Paolo Espino tossed four rough innings for the Nationals, and although he wasn’t great on the mound, he did throw his filthy curveball a good amount. Yesterday, he got only three whiffs on 12 swings with the pitch, which included this one, a filthy hook that fools Jorge Soler for strike three.
Garrett Whitlock’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/NippyFormalCorydorascatfish
Garrett Whitlock has a filthy changeup and yesterday he used it on back-to-back outs to get swinging Ks. Here’s the latter of those two outs, and it comes against Ramón Urías who has no chance on this offspeed pitch that runs out of the zone.
Lucas Giolito’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/sphericalpiercingamberpenshell
Lucas Giolito pitched just four innings as his pitch count got run up early on against the Yankees. That was mainly a result of allowing three walks while striking out eight over the four frames. Here Gio tosses a filthy changeup that slips just under the bat of Rougned Odor for strike three.
Josh Hader’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/CreamyDisgustingImperatorangel
Josh Hader brought his ERA on the season down to a sparkling 1.74 after pitching a perfect ninth inning for the Brewers. Hader picked up his 23rd save for the NL Central-leading Brewers as he struck out two of the three hitters he faced. Here he whips a slider across the zone for a swinging strike three against Colin Moran.
Reid Detmers‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/DescriptiveAnyBlackmamba
Okay, so this week I decided to move Reid Detmers to the bottom of the article, but this is still his third straight start that I’ve featured his curveball here. I mean it’s just so beautiful to watch. Here he drops it under the bat of Aledmys Díaz for strike three for one of his six Ks of the day.
Lance McCullers’ Slider
https://gfycat.com/unlawfulpaltrydragonfly
Detmers’ opponent on the mound, Lance McCullers, tossed 5.2 frames yesterday for the Astros. McCullers struck out eight and only allowed two runs to score in a losing effort. McCullers mixed his curve and slider well, and here we feature the latter of those two as McCullers throws one right by Kurt Suzuki for strike three.
Max Scherzer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/untimelyambitiousiberianmidwifetoad
Finally, we’ve got a filthy slider from Max Scherzer. Last night, the former Nats’ ace continued to cause trouble for the Mets, even from outside of the NL East. Here Scherzer paints with a beauty of a slider to get Pete Alonso looking for a backwards K to get himself out of a jam.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)