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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Marcus Stroman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/lightheartedeuphoriccat
Marcus Stroman added a splitter to his six-pitch mix in 2021 and has found consistent success with the pitch. He’s had much more success with the pitch against righties rather than lefties, but that didn’t matter here as he took Mike Yastrzemski to a knee for a strikeout to end the fourth.
Jonathan Loaisiga’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/agedfineequine
Jonathan Loaisiga secured the six-out save in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader. He loaded the bases in the seventh but recorded three straight outs without allowing a run to pull the Yankees within one game of the Red Sox. He ended things with a triple-digit heater to Hunter Renfroe.
Alek Manoah’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/distantsoggycommabutterfly
Alek Manoah has had a strong rookie campaign, finding success with his fastball-heavy approach, though it didn’t carry over on Tuesday. He showed off his sinker here to Juan Soto that had a ton of arm-side run to catch the slugger looking.
Nathan Eovaldi’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/disastrousimpossibleiaerismetalmark
Nathan Eovaldi took the ball for the Sox in game two as they tried to bounce back from the early loss. Eovaldi, who has been solid all year, turned in yet another strong performance and kept his team in the game. He ended the third with a big breaking ball to Joey Gallo.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/grimhonorableantelopegroundsquirrel
Sandy Alcantara’s changeup is a mainstay on the Nastiest Pitches list, and for good reason. His change averages 92 mph, well above league average, with above-average movement as well. The pitch has a K rate of 26%, and Stephen Vogt added to that total here.
Framber Valdez’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/conventionalunknownbunting
Like Alcantara’s changeup, Framber Valdez’s curveball always manages to make its way onto Nastiest Pitches. The lefty has a good one as his breaker carries a 43% whiff rate. He put away Andrew Benintendi on the pitch for the final out of the first.
Corbin Burnes‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/joyfulwideinsect
The addition of his cutter has turned Corbin Burnes into one of the best pitchers in baseball. His second most used pitch, a curveball, is pretty good too. He showed that off here to get Harrison Bader swinging.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/handmadefaithfulcorydorascatfish
Eli Morgan has had a rough rookie year as the righty has struggled to miss bats and limit hard contact. His best pitch, by far, has been his changeup, and half of his eight strikeouts on Tuesday came on the pitch. His last of the night came courtesy of Brent Rooker.
German Marquez’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/whoppingrealisticeeve
An All-Star in 2021, German Marquez has put together a solid season navigating the thin air of Coors Field. He’s actually been quite a bit better at home vs. the road this season as his home ERA is nearly two runs lower. His slider has been the better of his two breaking balls this year, but this knuckle-curve to Victor Caratini showed that he can get the job done with either pitch.
Logan Webb’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/simplecompletehamadryad
Since his return in early July, Logan Webb has quietly put together a string of quality starts. That continued Tuesday when the first-place Giants took on the slumping Mets. Webb finished the night with eight strikeouts, six of which came on sliders like this one to J.D. Davis.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)