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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Max Scherzer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/shadywelcomekingsnake
Nick Castellanos is one of the hottest hitters in the league, coming into the day with an 11-game hit streak. He extended it to 12 on Tuesday, but Max Scherzer got the better of him in this at bat, as Castellanos went down swinging on a great slider.
Corbin Burnes‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/neighboringfaithfulelephant
Corbin Burnes has to be in the early conversation for the NL Cy Young award. He has been absolutely dominant over the first two months of the 2021 season, though he did falter a bit on Tuesday against the red-hot Padres. He allowed four runs in his six innings of work but did strikeout Wil Myers to get out of the jam and avoid further damage.
Joe Musgrove’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/quarrelsometatteredamericancrow
Opposing Burnes on the mound was Joe Musgrove, who turned in a strong, albeit short, performance of his own. Daniel Vogelbach took Musgrove’s 2-2 pitch for a ball but wasn’t able to hold up when Musgrove doubled up on the slider in almost the exact same spot on 3-2.
Garrett Richards‘ Four Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/heavenlyadeptdromedary
Garrett Richards struggled mightily to start the year, but over his last handful of starts, he has quietly become a solid piece of the Red Sox rotation. He wasn’t particularly sharp on Tuesday but did enough to keep his team in the game. He froze William Contreras here with a 95 mph inside fastball with some cut action to pick up his third K of the night.
Jacob deGrom’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/windinggiftedalaskankleekai
After a brief trip to the IL, Jacob deGrom made his Major League return on Tuesday against the Rockies. He struck out nine over five strong innings, with the only blemish on his line coming on a home run by Ryan McMahon. deGrom got his revenge McMahon’s next time up, however, recording the strikeout on this fantastic changeup. (h/t to PL + member nvita)
Zack Greinke’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/plaindependablearmednylonshrimp
The matchup of the night pitted veterans Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke as the Dodgers and Astros faced off in a rematch of the 2017 World Series. Greinke was not as dominant as his counterpart but did throw this nasty changeup to strikeout Gavin Lux.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/oblongancienthatchetfish
In his first start back in Houston since that 2017 World Series, Clayton Kershaw was masterful. He collected six strikeouts in seven and two-thirds allowing only a single run. This curveball to Yordan Alvarez absolutely dropped off the table to elicit the whiff and pick up the K.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/cornyspryincatern
Sandy Alcantara was the hard-luck loser on Tuesday as he allowed only two runs on two hits over eight innings. Unfortunately for him, the Marlins’ offense provided zero runs of support all night. He picked up four strikeouts and sat down Jean Segura to end the sixth with his tremendous low 90s changeup.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/unrulyknobbyibadanmalimbe
Jose Berrios had the curveball working last night as five of his seven strikeouts came on the pitch. He got Freddy Galvis twice on nearly identical pitches. The second of the two strikeouts came in the fourth inning on a great back foot breaking ball.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/klutzyvacantlcont
Kevin Gausman entered Tuesday sporting a 1.66 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP, and a perfect 4-0 record, yet he still seems to be flying under the national radar. His strong performance continued last night as he delivered five shutout innings picking up nine strikeouts along the way. Three of the nine came on the splitter, and this one to Domingo Leyba may have been his best of the night.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)
Guasman’s splitter is almost always in the top 3 when it’s on one of these. I’ve been in love with that pitch since his last couple years w/ the Orioles.
By the way, it may just be my browser set-up, but it seems as if his player page has something wrong with it.