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.
Paul Skenes‘ Four-Seam Fastball
With his stuff, Paul Skenes doesn’t need any help, but got some here anyway much to the dismay of Mookie Betts.
José Berríos‘ Slurve
When he’s got it all working, José Berríos is a very fun pitcher to watch. He allowed some traffic on the basepaths but limited the Orioles to only two runs in what would become a Toronto walk-off win. Berríos showed off his vintage curve to record the strikeout of Ryan Mountcastle.
Carlos Rodón’s Changeup
Carlos Rodón won his sixth straight start on Wednesday as the Yankees continue to roll. Rodón struck out nine and put away Kyle Farmer on a nice change.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
The Phillies added another win to their NL-leading total on Wednesday afternoon as veteran Aaron Nola turned in a dominant performance at the expense of the NL Central-leading Brewers. Nola struck out five and fooled former Phillie Rhys Hoskins on a filthy breaking ball.
Nick Pivetta’s Curveball
Nick Pivetta turned in his strongest start of the season on Wednesday, tallying seven shutout innings with nine punchouts. He got Ozzie Albies to chase here on a breaking ball that disappeared below the zone.
Chris Paddack’s Changeup
It wasn’t the best start for Chris Paddack in the Bronx, as the Yankees erupted for seven runs over Paddack’s four innings. Paddack did manage seven strikeouts and ended the fourth with a great running change to Austin Wells.
Jameson Taillon’s Curveball
The baseball hasn’t been great in the city of Chicago lately, with the Cubs winning only three of their last twelve and the White Sox going winless in that same span.
The Cubs sent out Jameson Taillon to take on their cross-city rivals in an attempt to right the ship, but the veteran righty would struggle, allowing five runs in as many innings. He did pick up six Ks and ended the first on a nasty curve to Gavin Sheets.
Ryan Helsley’s Curveball
Ryan Helsley picked up his league-leading 20th save Wednesday in Houston. Amazingly, every single Helsley appearance since May 4th has resulted in a save. He ended the game with a great breaking ball in the dirt to Jon Singleton.
Aroldis Chapman’s Sinker
Not many pitches make Shohei Ohtani look like this, but a 103 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman seemed to do the trick.
Yennier Cano’s Sinker
Yennier Cano isn’t dominating quite to the same degree that he did last year, but Wednesday marked his sixth straight scoreless outing as the Orioles’ reliever appears to be rounding into form. He ended the eighth with a nasty changeup to George Springer.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)