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!
Luis Severino’s Changeup
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It’s been a horrendous couple of years blighted by injury for Luis Severino, but the Yankees starting pitcher is starting to look somewhere near his old self. The evidence? How about this delicious 92 mph changeup to fool the best hitter in baseball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. .
Phoenix Sanders‘ Knuckle-Curveball
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Yet another young Tampa Bay Rays reliever with plus stuff produced the goods yesterday – Phoenix Sanders flashed his wonderful knuckle-curve and it certainly caught our eye. Check the bottom falling out of this 75 mph beauty to fell young sensation Cristian Pache.
Matt Foster’s Slider
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Young and upcoming Chicago White Sox reliever Matt Foster is quietly making a name for himself on the South Side and it seems like every time he takes the mound, a nasty pitch is just around the corner. This delightful 85 mph slider to strike out Eugenio Suárez was a joy to watch.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
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A pitch that probably deserves its own weekly segment to highlight its nastiness, is Kevin Gausman’s devastating split-finger fastball. Here is Giancarlo Stanton bowing down to the “King of the Splitters” with this 85 mph beauty ripping the soul out of the Yankees slugger.
Adam Wainwright’s Cutter
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Adam Wainwright facing Brandon Woodruff was one of the pitching duels of the day. Neither veteran was in peak form but there were plenty of signs of yet another productive season on the mound for both. Wainwright struck out seven but his team failed to give him any run support. This superbly placed 85 mph cutter jelly-legged Brewers shortstop Willy Adames for the punch out.
Brandon Woodruff’s Four-Seam Fastball
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Brewers’ No.2 starter Brandon Woodruff would be an ace on many teams, and he is at his best when aggressive ahead in the count – this 97 mph heater is perfect evidence of that, starting high in the zone and rising ever-so-slightly to blow past Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
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My, oh my! Call off the search, we may have just found our nastiest pitch for this slate of games – Sandy Alcantara with the perfect 93 mph changeup to embarrass Kyle Schwarber. Just beautiful.
JT Brubaker’s Sinker
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To strike out Juan Soto with a ripping 95 mph two-seamer that moves just enough to nick the inside of the strike zone is an art, no doubt. Pirates’ unheralded starter JT Brubaker did just that with this gem in the second inning on his way to striking out five as Pittsburgh downed the Nationals 9-4.
Dane Dunning’s Sinker
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Speaking of unheralded starting pitchers, Texas young-gun Dane Dunning put together another promising outing after going five strong innings against the Blue Jays in his first outing. Dunning pitched his way out of trouble in the first inning with a couple of brutal strikeout pitches. This 90 mph sinker nestled in the bottom inside corner of Max Stassi’s zone. Lovely stuff.
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
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Veteran Atlanta starter Charlie Morton had to face it all in the first inning against the Padres after hitting a couple of batters and loading the bases with just one out. So, he went back to his old magic to get him a much-needed out – the trademark 12-6 82 mph curveball had Luke Voit swinging at fresh air.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)