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.
Max Fried’s Slider
Max Fried bounced back from last week’s forgettable start with his best outing of the season on Wednesday, tossing a complete game three-hitter. He struck out former Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson on a great second-inning slider.
Blake Snell’s Slider
Blake Snell returned to the hill on Wednesday in his return from a brief IL stint. Snell cruised through three innings before allowing five runs in the fourth, marring his overall line. He struck out five and put away Nick Gonzales on a nice back-foot slider.
Michael King’s Changeup
Michael King recorded another quality start Wednesday as he and the Padres picked up a win in Cincinnati. He struck out six and showed off a great change to Spencer Steer.
Cole Ragans’ Slider
Cole Ragans and the Royals hosted the Tigers in Kansas City in what was billed as the top pitching matchup of the day. Ragans dominated over six scoreless innings and picked up a dozen punchouts. He ended the third with a nasty slider to Andy Ibanez.
Tarik Skubal’s Slider
Tarik Skubal opposed Ragans in this one, though did not have as much success as his fellow lefty. Skubal still struck out six and froze Freddy Fermin on a great backdoor-breaking ball.
Freddy Peralta’s Four-Seam Fastball
Freddy Peralta allowed a leadoff homer to Jazz Chisholm Jr. but that would be the only stain on an otherwise strong outing. Chisholm’s homer would prove to be the only run in the game, and Peralta got his revenge on a high heater in Jazz’s next at bat.
Triston McKenzie’s Curveball
Triston McKenzie would be hurt by three solo home runs in Wednesday afternoon’s outing against the Mets, but Cleveland’s offense would battle back to guarantee a 6-3 Guardians victory. McKenzie struck out five in as many innings and got Pete Alonso to chase a breaking ball that fell off the table.
Brayan Bello’s Changeup
Brayan Bello wasn’t at his sharpest in the AL East matchup at the Trop but pitched well enough to win as the Red Sox offense took control of this one to sweep the Rays. Bello tallied six Ks, the first of which came on a great change to Josh Lowe.
Reed Garrett’s Splitter
Reed Garrett has dominated out of the Mets’ pen this year but had a small hiccup on Wednesday allowing a run in his lone inning of work. He still struck out a pair and put away rookie Kyle Manzardo on a nasty splitter.
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball
The Dodgers sent Tyler Glasnow to the mound Wednesday night looking to win the series against the NL West rival Diamondbacks. Glasnow had the breaker working early and ended the second with a sharp curve to Gabriel Moreno.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)