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.
Spencer Schwellenbach’s Splitter
In a game of two teams competing for a playoff spot, Schwellenbach delivered seven innings, allowing just one run to the Mets. This nasty splitter to Francisco Alvarez was his fourth and final punch out of the night.
Clarke Schmidt’s Knuckle Curve
Schmidt has now gone back-to-back games with seven strikeouts. He got Colton Cowser to chase a knuckle curve here in the top of the second.
Luis Severino’s Sweeper
Severino did not have one of his best outings last night, as he allowed four runs to Atlanta over just four innings. He did, however, throw this nasty sweeper to Ramón Laureano. This was one of five on the night for Severino.
Tarik Skubal’s Fastball
Skubal was fired up after this pitch, and rightly so. The Tigers’ playoff hopes have skyrocketed since the beginning of August. It helps when you have arguably the best pitcher in baseball leading your rotation.
Ryan Pepiot’s Changeup
On the other side of that game, Pepiot did his best to pace Skubal but ultimately surrendered two runs to this young Tigers lineup. This changeup to Kerry Carpenter was one of his best of the night.
Cole Ragans‘ Curveball
Ragans had another solid outing against the Nationals, as we all would have expected. Six strikeouts over six innings did the trick to keep the Royals’ postseason hopes alive.
Josh Hader’s Changeup
This pitch secured the AL West crown for the Astros yet again. Hence, the crow and fist pump from Hader. JRod couldn’t keep up with this nasty pitch from Houston’s closer.
Beau Brieske’s Fastball
Brieske’s fastball blew right by Richie Palacios here. The right-hander came in to pitch after Skubal and managed to keep the lead for Detroit.
Bowden Francis‘ Curveball
And finally, Francis continued his stellar season with four more strikeouts and zero runs against Boston. He barely got Jarren Duran to strike out here on a nasty breaking ball.