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.
Eduardo Rodriguez’s Cutter
Eduardo Rodriguez struck out a season-high eleven on Wednesday afternoon, managing the feat at Coors, to boot. E-Rod’s first came on a perfectly placed back-door cutter to Brenton Doyle.
Bailey Ober’s Changeup
Bailey Ober struck out 12 over seven innings of work with the only damage coming on a pair of solo home runs as the Twins looked to hold on to their narrow lead in the Wild Card race. He put away Jhonkensy Noel on a great change in the second.
Ryan Pepiot’s Changeup
Ryan Pepiot picked up 12 strikeouts on an impressive 23 whiffs on Wednesday, needing only 76 pitches to complete six innings. He put away Masataka Yoshida here on a change in the second.
Dylan Cease’s Slider
Dylan Cease tossed eight and a third shutout innings Wednesday as the playoff-hopeful Padres maintained their lead in the NL Wild Card race. Cease struck out five, all on sliders, and finished the fifth with a nasty one to Jeremy Peña.
Tarik Skubal’s Changeup
Tarik Skubal continued to bolster his Cy Young resume on Wednesday as the Tigers took down the Royals 4-2. Skubal punched out seven over five innings and ended his night with a big strikeout of Salvador Perez.
Spencer Schwellenbach’s Splitter
Every game is important for Atlanta as they sit two back of the third Wild Card spot entering Wednesday. They sent Spencer Schwellenbach to the mound and the rookie did his job, holding the Reds to one run over six innings. Schwellenbach showed off a nasty splitter to Jake Fraley to pick up the K in the 3rd.
Jakob Junis‘ Slider
Jakob Junis opposed Schwellenbach in this one, and the veteran matched the rookie pitch for pitch. Junis also allowed a single run over six innings, but the Atlanta bats would get hot against the Cincinnati bullpen. Junis got Sean Murphy to chase a slider out of the zone to pick up the first out of the third.
Freddy Peralta’s Slider
Freddy Peralta and Aaron Nola matched up in a pitchers’ duel Wednesday evening with both starters pitching like aces. Peralta struck out nine over five innings and began his outing with a great slider to Trea Turner.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
Nola was also on top of his game in this one, striking out nine in his seven innings of work. He ended the fourth with a great back-foot-breaking ball to Jake Bauers.
Mason Miller’s Slider
Mason Miller’s dominant season continues as the A’s righty picked up his 27th save of the year. He struck out one in his scoreless inning of work.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)