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.
Jack Flaherty’s Knuckle Curve
Jackson Chourio and William Contreras ambushed Jack Flaherty with first-inning longballs. However, he notched his first strikeout of the afternoon between the dingers with this breaker to Garrett Mitchell.
Bryce Miller’s Splitter
Bryce Miller tossed 26 splitters, matching his season-high from the Fourth of July against the Orioles. This after throwing 11 while blanking the Mets across six during his previous start. But, hey, you can’t argue with the results as the split yielded seven whiffs on 15 swings, including this beauty to Colt Keith in the fourth when Miller K’d the side.
Kenta Maeda’s Splitter
It’s been a nightmarish season for Kenta Maeda, but he matched zeroes with Miller after replacing Alex Faedo, who allowed the first run on a bases-loaded walk to Justin Turner in the first. The 36-year-old former Dodger racked up five strikeouts while working into the seventh before the Tigers eventually pulled ahead thanks to a two-run dinger from… Javier Báez. This tumbling splitter got a confused hack from Luke Raley in the sixth. Can you guess what Maeda’s next pitch was? Yep, another splitter for the punchout.
Logan Webb’s Changeup
Jarred Kelenic ended the top of the fifth staring at a masterfully located changeup from Logan Webb. Kelenic didn’t seem to appreciate Dan Iossanga’s call. Regardless, Webb blanked the Braves before leaving in the eighth, allowing just four hits while earning his 11th win.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
It’s great to see Devin Williams healthy again and doing his thing. He earned his third save with the penultimate out coming courtesy of this Airbender to Mookie Betts. Williams finished in style, getting Shohei Ohtani to foul tip a 3-2 heater upstairs.
Mason Miller’s Fastball
Mark Vientos nearly saved the Mets from dropping a home series to the A’s but his bid for what would’ve been a game-saving third home run didn’t end well. To his credit, he fouled away two Miller heaters after this one. But ended the eighth flailing at a slider about a foot outside.
Zach Eflin’s Curveball
Eflin started the night by striking out Jarren Duran with a cutter on a foul tip. Two batters later, Rob Refsnyder went down with a meek swing on this beautiful hook. Eflin ended with a season-high eight punchouts while earning his ninth win, and has given the O’s a much-needed boost in their rotation as they fight for the NL East.
Zack Wheeler’s Curveball
James Wood came into the night hitting .341 with a 1.034 OPS over his last dozen games. However, Zack Wheeler gave the rookie a learning lesson, fanning him twice, the first on this hook. Wheeler finished the night with an easy win, limiting the Nats to one run on three hits over six innings.
Nick Pivetta’s Sweeper
Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins went yard off Pivetta in a 5-1 win over the Sox. Still, Pivetta’s sweeper had its moments, this one fooling James McCann for his sixth and final strikeout of the night.
Chase Shugart’s Sweeper
Pivetta wasn’t the only Red Sox with a nasty-looking sweeper last night. Chase Shugart, a 12th-round pick out of Texas six years ago, made his big-league debut. Jackson Holliday swung through a 1-2 change up on the outside corner for Shugart’s first strikeout. His second strikeout came on this scintillating sweeper to Ramon Urías.