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.
Luis Castillo’s Four-Seam Fastball
In what has become a regular occurrence, a Mariners starter tossed a gem only to see the lead slip away late. On Wednesday, Luis Castillo was the unfortunate recipient of that fate, as six shutout innings were not enough to secure a victory in what would become a 2-1 loss. Castillo struck out seven and got Brandon Drury swinging on a 96 MPH four-seamer at the top of the zone.
Gregory Santos‘ Slider
Gregory Santos allowed the two LA runs in the loss and would eventually leave this one with an injury. Before he departed, he got Luis Rengifo to chase a nasty slider.
Griffin Canning’s Slider
On the hill for the Angels was Griffin Canning, who like many pitchers opposite the Seattle lineup, racked up the strikeouts. He collected six Ks and put away Cal Raleigh in the first with a great biting slider.
Matt Waldron’s Knuckleball
Matt Waldron received ample run support in this one as the Padres throttled the Nationals 12-3. Waldon’s knuckleball danced its way to a quality start and picked up four punchouts along the way. He got Jacob Young to swing through one to pick up the second out of the fifth.
Edward Cabrera’s Changeup
The control issues are well-known, but Edward Cabrera has some of the nastiest stuff in baseball. He struck out six (along with four walks) on Wednesday and struck out Ramón Urías on a 95 MPH change!
Edward Cabrera’s Curveball
Cabrera’s change wasn’t his only nasty offering on Wednesday and the righty showed off a sharp breaker to rookie Heston Kjerstad in the second.
Tanner Bibee’s Changeup
Tanner Bibee left this one early due to apparent cramping but was solid over his five innings of work. He struck out four and froze Gio Urshela on a perfectly placed changeup.
David Festa’s Changeup
Rookie David Festa was the bulk pitcher for Minnesota on Wednesday and provided the Twins with a strong performance, allowing just one run while striking out seven over four and a third. Festa escaped a jam in the second by getting Kyle Schwarber to chase a disgusting changeup down and out of the zone.
Jeff Hoffman’s Splitter
Jeff Hoffman tossed a scoreless eighth for the Phillies to keep the score knotted at four in an eventual 5-4 Twins walkoff win. Hoffman struck out a pair and ended the inning with a nice spitter to Willi Castro.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
Aaron Nola started for the Phillies in Minneapolis and tallied six strikeouts in as many innings. The six strikeouts came on four different pitches and the knuckle-curve was on display here to Byron Buxton.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)
Cabrera’s out here throwing 95MPH CHANGEUPS????? Excuse me???