Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Jason Adam’s Changeup
The first of three changeups from Jason Adam had Juan Soto betwixt and between. Soto flailed at the next two, as Adams closed the door on the seventh with the Rays’ 5-3 lead intact. Adam’s change has been superb, holding batters to a .169 xAVG.
Jack Flaherty’s Slider
Jack Flaherty’s renaissance tour continued with a strong, six-inning effort against the Guardians. His fourth and final strikeout came on a terrific backfoot slider to Daniel Schneemann as the Tigers rolled to an easy 10-1 win.
Colin Holderman’s Sweeper
Skenes’ shutout win wouldn’t have happened without a big pitch from Colin Holderman. He got in trouble issuing a pair of singles before loading the bases on a two-out walk to Brice Turang. However, he dug deep sitting down William Contreras with this sweeper just off the outer edge.
Tanner Houck’s Slider
A right-handed hitting batter with a 36.6% K rate in Zack Gelof against Tanner Houck‘s slider ended just about as you’d figure. In fairness, Houck’s first strikeout came on an impeccably located slider that would’ve had plenty of proven hitters swinging at air or taken for a called third strike.
Jordan Hicks‘ Sweeper
Jordan Hicks didn’t have a great outing, surrendering five earned runs to the Jays over without escaping the fifth. Still, his sweeper had some eye-catching moments. I’m guessing if you were to look only at the box score, you wouldn’t have guessed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was his lone punchout.
Kevin Gausman’s Slider
Gausman’s had a bad year so far, but turned in a strong effort yesterday afternoon, outdueling Hicks while holding the Giants to two earned runs across seven. We’re always on the lookout for a nasty splitter with Gausman, but this slider to Heliot Ramos caught my attention. Good depth and perfect location on the outside corner. Good luck hitting that. Ramos whiffed three pitches on a heater upstairs.
Shane Baz’s Fastball
Shane Baz turned up the heat and cooked up a box of Zatarain’s for his first punchout of the night. His final line wasn’t great, but his fastball velocity was there and should bode well for a strong second half once he gets back into a groove.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle Curve
Aaron Nola got into a bases-loaded mess in the second but escaped to tell the tale thanks to his trusty Knuckle Curve that had Shohei Ohtani swinging at dust whilst bending the knee. Nola needed 45 pitches to clear the first two innings but plowed through six, holding the Dodgers to one run. His curveball returned 10 whiffs on 18 swings. Not too bad.
Paul Skenes‘ Splitter
What? Did you think I’d forget this guy? Sorry, I buried the lede as long as I could. A 94 mph splitter on a 3-2 count down in the zone. I can’t believe William Contreras couldn’t hit this. It turns out, he wasn’t alone. No hits, seven innings, career-high 11 K’s, he’s 22. What else can you say? How about this?
Paul Skenes is the only player in our database to have multiple games with 6+ innings pitched and 0 hits allowed as a rookie. 🤯#MLB | #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/gCbhu2ND6I
— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) July 11, 2024
Paul Skenes‘ Curveball
I came into the night saying alright, let’s just try and pick one from Skenes. Hah! Right. Imagine throwing 102 and having a curve in the low 80’s. A replay of a bang-bang play at first on a terrific throw from Oneil Cruz nearly cut off Skenes’ 11th pitch, a perfectly located gem of a curveball. Thankfully the camera came to its senses and switched back just in time.