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.
Ryan Pepiot’s Slider
At the midpoint of the season, the Mariners lead the league in K rate and total strikeouts and extended their lead with another thirteen on Wednesday morning in Tampa. Ryan Pepiot recorded eight of them and tied up Dominic Canzone with a slider to end the second.
George Kirby’s Splitter
George Kirby took the mound for the Mariners and nearly matched Pepiot with seven strikeouts of his own. He put away Isaac Paredes on a nasty splitter here in the fourth.
Dylan Cease’s Slider
Dylan Cease was in control all afternoon as the Padres cruised to an easy victory over the Nats. Cease struck out nine, five on his slider, and ended the second with a great one to Harold Ramirez.
Gavin Stone’s Changeup
Gavin Stone was nearly untouchable on Wednesday evening, recording a complete game shutout in the South Side of Chicago. Stone struck out seven and put away Andrew Benintendi on a great running change in the first.
Grayson Rodriguez’s Changeup
Grayson Rodriguez only recorded four strikeouts on Wednesday, all on the changeup, but still managed to pick up the win against the red-hot Guardians. Interestingly, Rodriguez’s four strikeouts came on the final four batters he faced. He ended his outing with a nice change to Brayan Rocchio.
Spencer Arrighetti’s Curveball
Spencer Arrighetti has found success hard to come by this year but dominated the Rockies on Wednesday. He struck out a season-high ten over seven shutout innings. He got Jake Cave looking on a sweeping backdoor curve that just snuck in the zone.
Spencer Turnbull’s Curveball
Spencer Turnbull would unfortunately leave this one early, but not before striking out Akil Badoo on an absolutely filthy curveball.
Jose Alvarado’s Cutter
With Turnbull leaving early, the Phillies had to patch together the remaining innings, using seven pitchers in total. Jose Alvarado closed it out and ended the game with a hard cutter to Wenceel Perez.
Michael Soroka’s Slider
Since Michael Soroka moved to the bullpen, he has seen his K rate jump from 12% all the way to 34%. In three innings of relief on Wednesday, Soroka struck out another seven while not allowing a run. He concluded his outing with a nasty slider to Austin Barnes.
Ryan Helsley’s Slider
Ryan Helsley extended his league lead in saves to 28 in game two of the Cardinals’ doubleheader on Wednesday. He put away Adam Duvall on a nasty slider for the final out of the game.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)