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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Paul Sewald’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/unfoldedblandalbacoretuna
Paul Sewald blew the hold last night giving up a three-run home run to Joey Gallo that was a true Yankee stadium special. Sewald showed off his slider to finish DJ LeMahieu before things unraveled for Sewald.
Triston McKenzie’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/seriousbreakablealaskanhusky
Triston McKenzie’s performance level has been a rollercoaster in 2021, but he seems to have regained his control, and his 2020 form, more recently. McKenzie started the game by getting George Springer to flail at a sharp curveball.
José Alvarado’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/confusedsoggybrant
José Alvarado has not been a dependable reliever for at least a couple of seasons but his pitches are still so beautiful on the rare occasion he can command his firepower. Alvarado got hit up last night, but he also spotted this sinker on the insider corner at 99 MPH.
Ross Stripling’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/parallelpleasingguernseycow
Ross Stripling seems to have reinvented his repertoire multiple times in what hasn’t been a particularly long career innings-wise and he seems to have found the right attack plan in Toronto. Stripling used to throw a hard splitter in his original form, but yesterday he showed off his changeup with what looks like a good amount of drop and placed it at the bottom of the zone.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/meagerdefinitefirefly
Aaron Nola has been Jekyll & Hyde throughout 2021 and last night was the Jekyll version. Nola had all of his pitches humming, but his bread and butter to finish hitters is his big Knuckle-Curve.
Sonny Gray’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/mixeddeterminedappaloosa
Sonny Gray is very good and doesn’t get the attention his performance deserves. Gray is a ball of energy who pitches max effort and commands all of his pitches well. His front door sinker is one of my favorite versions of the pitch.
Miguel Castro’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/personalanxiousiberianemeraldlizard
Miguel Castro is a pitcher whose stuff belies the inconsistency of his performance. Castro gets a tremendous amount of lateral break on his pitches but his command is iffy, which makes him too homer prone to be fully trusted.
Framber Valdez’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/whichpositivechihuahua
Framber Valdez didn’t get much help from the best offense in the American League on a night he pitched well enough to get a win. Valdez primarily used his curveball to strike out seven Astros hitters including Jorge Polanco to lead off the game.
Wil Crowe’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/marriedunkemptamericancrow
I don’t know who Wil Crowe is, but my assumption is he’s not a quality pitching option because he’s on the Pirates and I haven’t heard of him. My assumption is a gross generalization, but I don’t think I’m wrong about Wil Crowe. Despite my judgment, Crowe can throw a very nice changeup as Nick Castellanos can attest.
Ryan Tepera’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/needythornyasiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
Ryan Tepera has been just a bullpen guy in my mind for a few years now, but he has upped his performance level in 2021 if the playoff-bound White Sox are trusting him in high leverage bullpen opportunities. Or maybe I am behind the times and Tepera has been better than I thought before this season. I’m too tired to research tonight, but it’s a question I will attempt to answer tomorrow.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)