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!
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/IcyUntriedCoelacanth
The focus of yesterday’s Rays-Jays matchup was on Robbie Ray, who took a no-hitter into the seventh, but we lead this morning with the opposing pitcher, Rich Hill. Hill is still going strong even as he pushes through his age-41 season. Hill is carried by his absurd curveball, which he shows off here against George Springer, who swings right through this beauty.
Pablo López’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/ColossalNeglectedFattaileddunnart
Pablo López was masterful through his first three innings, becoming the first pitcher in the modern era to strike out the first nine batters he faced. López wouldn’t strike out another hitter for the rest of the game, but honestly, does it even matter? He was dominant for that first trip through the order and here he tosses a filthy changeup past Ozzie Albies for strikeout number three on the day.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/BountifulConsiderateLeech
There might not be any pitch in baseball today that’s as good as Kevin Gausman’s splitter. That’s a sentence that would’ve gotten you weird looks a few months ago if you said it, but now you can seriously make the argument for it. Here, Gausman throws his lethal splitter past Trea Turner, who swings right through it for strike three.
José Alvarado’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/loathsomeforthrightfrenchbulldog
José Alvarado has struggled this season, but yesterday he threw one of his best pitches of the year. Check out this cutter, which gets some absolutely wicked movement as it slides right by the bat of Rafael Devers.
Brandon Woodruff’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/VillainousBestDarwinsfox
Brandon Woodruff didn’t put up his usual strikeout numbers yesterday, but he was still dominant on the mound for the Brewers. Woodruff threw six innings, allowing just 1 run and striking out four hitters, as he lowered his ERA to 2.06 on the year. Here, Woodruff drops the hammer on Jonathan India, who swings at a filthy pitch that he has no chance of touching.
Luis Castillo’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/FormalHeartfeltGuineafowl
On the other side of the Brewers-Reds matchup, Luis Castillo brought some of the best stuff that we’ve seen from him all year. Castillo has struggled in 2021 but yesterday he was able to strike out six over 5.1 innings, signaling a potential return to the Castillo of old. Castillo worked well with his sinker-changeup combo, and here he uses the heat to paint the edge of the zone against Christian Yelich.
Chase De Jong’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/ThirstyValuableBasil
The Mets looked dominant early on against Chase De Jong, who let up five first inning runs. However, he quickly settled in and didn’t allow another score the rest of the afternoon. Here he drops a nasty hook past the red hot Brandon Nimmo. Check out the slo-mo here, because oh boy, it is filthy.
Dylan Cease’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ThankfulNewArabianwildcat
Dylan Cease pitched five solid innings against the Orioles, as he only allowed two runs to score and struck out a half dozen hitters. Cease has a wicked slider, and here he shows it off to Ryan McKenna, who swings at one that sweeps past his bat for a strike three.
Michael Kopech’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/KindheartedSlimHornedtoad
Michael Kopech came in to relieve Cease in the sixth and pitched a dominant one-two-three inning, striking out the side in order. He also mixed his stuff well, as he used his curve, fastball, and slider to notch those Ks. Here, we’re looking at the curve, which he drops past Anthony Santander for a swinging strike three.
Hirokazu Sawamura’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/silverseverechevrotain
Lastly, we feature Hirokazu Sawamura. Sawamura might not be the most well-known reliever in the sport, but he’s pitched to a 2.45 ERA this year thanks to pitches like these. He’s got a filthy splitter and he’s not afraid to use it, throwing one to J.T. Realmuto, who was fooled by this filthy 91 mph offspeed pitch.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)