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!
Blake Snell’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/PowerfulChillyKissingbug
Blake Snell tossed four scoreless innings against the Phillies in their 5-1 win yesterday. Snell was woefully inefficient, as he walked four hitters and threw more balls than strikes. Still, he got some nasty pitches in against Philly, including this sweeping slider that got Bryce Harper swinging.
Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/OfficialUntidyFerret
Gerrit Cole struggled in game one against the Mets yesterday, going just 3.1 innings and allowing four runs to cross the plate. Cole still was able to K six Mets hitters, including Pete Alonso who had no chance on this rising heater that touched triple digits.
Joe Kelly’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/BrilliantPossibleBaboon
Joe Kelly made headlines with his mariachi jacket he wore to the White House this weekend, but today he’s making news for his filthy pitching. Here we see him drop a filthy knuckle-curve on Yadiel Hernandez who swings at one of the nastiest hooks of the day.
Zach Thompson’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/ElasticAdolescentAidi
Zach Thompson has been pitching well for the Marlins and yesterday was more of the same. Thompson pitched six quality frames and struck out a half dozen along the way. There were a bunch of filthy offerings from him, but here’s his nastiest pitch of the day, a gorgeous changeup that slips by the bat of Dansby Swanson.
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/GoodnaturedAnyBlackrhino
On the other side of the Miami-Atlanta pitching matchup we have Charlie Morton. Morton’s been a bright spot for an injured Atlanta rotation recently. Yesterday though, he struggled, allowing four runs in 5.1 innings. Here though, he gets a filthy curveball past Jon Berti for the first out of the game.
Zack Greinke’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/FemaleSaneDesertpupfish
Zack Greinke was solid on the mound for the Astros yesterday. He pitched 7.2 innings and struck out eight members of Cleveland’s lineup. Greinke had some nasty slow curves, but here we’re featuring this changeup that he puts past Harold Ramirez for a swinging strike three.
Joe Ross‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/HeavenlyFluidIguana
Joe Ross was fantastic on the mound for the Nats, as he struck out 11 hitters against a potent Dodgers lineup. As always, Ross was using his filthy sinker to get called strikes and whiffs, and here he freezes Austin Barnes with a perfectly placed back door sinker for strike three.
Kenta Maeda’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/MixedShamelessBrontosaurus
Kenta Maeda has struggled mightily this season, but yesterday he was on fire. He only allowed three hitters to reach base and didn’t allow a run to cross the plate. He also struck out 10, including Hunter Dozier who went down swinging at an absolutely filthy splitter.
Emmanuel Clase’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/WearySneakyBlackfootedferret
This might not have been Emmanuel Clase’s finest cutter, but whenever he throws it, it’s certainly one of the nastiest pitches in baseball. Here he throws the pitch past Robel Garcia, who swings at the unhittable offering for strike three. It’s 99 mph, and oh my, it’s just insane.
Nick Pivetta’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/VengefulShockingHagfish
Lastly today, we have a filthy pitch courtesy of Nick Pivetta. Pivetta wowed on the mound, tossing seven scoreless innings and striking out ten. Pivetta only allowed two base hits and when you look at his curve it’s easy to see why he dominated. Here he drops the hammer on Tony Kemp for the first strikeout of the ballgame.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)