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.
Cole Ragans‘ Knuckle-Curve
Cole Ragans started his night off strong, striking out the first batter he faced in the Bronx on a great knuckle-curve below the zone.
Bailey Falter’s Slider
Bailey Falter carried a no-hitter into the seventh on Wednesday afternoon. While the no-no didn’t come to fruition, the lefty still produced a great start as the Pirates took down the Marlins. Falter struck out the side in the first and got Jake Burger to chase a nasty slider.
Davis Martin’s Slider
It hasn’t been a great year on the south side of Chicago as the White Sox flirt with historical incompetence. Davis Martin provided a brief bright spot on Wednesday with a filthy slider to put away Andrés Giménez. The rest of Wednesday’s contest would not be as bright as the Sox went on to drop their 114th game of the season.
Bowden Francis‘ Splitter
Bowden Francis worked through eight no-hit innings before surrendering a homer to begin the ninth. His outing would end there, and the Toronto bullpen would go on to allow five more runs in the frame. Francis only struck out one, but it came on a great splitter that tied up Mark Vientos.
Sean Manaea’s Sinker
Sean Manaea started opposite Francis on Wednesday afternoon, and while he did give up a few more hits than his counterpart, his team did get the win. Manaea struck out eight and knotted up George Springer on a fastball up and in.
Zack Wheeler’s Sinker
Zack Wheeler has been the model of consistency in the Phillies’ rotation and continued his run of dominance on Wednesday. He struck out nine and put away Dylan Carlson on a running front-door sinker.
Max Fried’s Slider
Atlanta entered Wednesday on the outside looking in for a playoff spot and sent out ace Max Fried to put them back in playoff position. Unfortunately, for Atlanta, Fried allowed four runs over six innings in the loss. He did, however, put away Ildemaro Vargas on a hammer of a breaking ball to end the second.
Nick Pivetta’s Curveball
The Red Sox postseason hopes appear to be shrinking by the day as the playoff-bound Orioles visited Fenway Park. Nick Pivetta got the start for the Sox and held the O’s to one run over six innings while striking out nine. He finished off the first with a big breaking ball to Ryan O’Hearn.
Zebby Matthews‘ Slider
The Twins sent out Zebby Matthews to start on Wednesday as Minnesota looks to hang on to the final AL Wild Card spot. Matthews allowed a pair of homers but did record half his outs by way of the K. He put away Jordyn Adams on a slider that fell off the table here in the second.
Hunter Gaddis‘ Slider
Hunter Gaddis struck out the side in his lone inning of work as Cleveland’s pitching struck out 18 White Sox hitters on Wednesday. Gaddis’ final strikeout came on a filthy back-foot slider to Gavin Sheets.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)