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.
Nick Pivetta’s Slider
Nick Pivetta is the veteran in a Red Sox rotation that has been surprisingly strong to start the 2024 campaign. He took the mound on Wednesday afternoon as the Sox looked to sweep the lowly A’s. Pivetta tallied five shutout innings and punched out Zack Gelof on a great sweeper to end the third.
Nathan Eovaldi’s Splitter
Nathan Eovaldi backed up a strong 2024 debut with an even more impressive performance Wednesday afternoon. He struck out eight over seven shutout innings and finished his outing with a nasty splitter to Harold Ramírez.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
Corbin Burnes’ debut on Opening Day went about as well as the Orioles could’ve hoped, as the only blemish on their new ace’s record was a homer by Mike Trout. Despite the weather trying its best to prevent it, Burnes made his second appearance in an O’s uniform on Wednesday. The righty wasn’t as sharp as in his debut but picked up a strikeout of Maikel Garcia in the first on a well-located cutter.
Cole Ragans‘ Changeup
After breaking out in the second half of 2023, Cole Ragans has picked up right where he left off, totalling 16 Ks through two starts. Facing off against the aforementioned Burnes, Ragans dominated through six and a third shutout innings, but recorded a no-decision as the Royals’ bullpen blew it late.
Patrick Sandoval’s Slider
After a rough opening day start against the Orioles, Patrick Sandoval bounced back in a big way against the still-winless Marlins. Sandoval recorded an impressive 17 whiffs and put away Nick Fortes on a ridiculous backfoot slider.
Logan Allen’s Sweeper
The Mariners’ offense is not in a good place right now, and Logan Allen took advantage in the Wednesday matinée. The lefty spun a gem en route to a shutout victory. Allen struck out six and concluded his start with a nice back-door breaking ball to Dylan Moore.
Joe Musgrove’s Slider
After a couple of rough outings to begin the year, Joe Musgrove righted the ship on Wednesday as he picked up the win along with seven strikeouts. He finished the second with a dirty slider to Iván Herrera.
Zack Wheeler’s Curveball
Zack Wheeler continues to be a steady presence at the top of the Phillies’ staff, and he followed up his strong Opening Day performance with ten strikeouts in six innings. He sat down Jeimer Candelario to end the first on a great curve.
Ben Brown’s Curveball
Cubs’ prospect Ben Brown’s first appearance of 2024 did not go well for the righty; allowing six earned in an inning and two-thirds. His second appearance came Wednesday and was much better. Brown tossed four innings of one-run ball, striking out five along the way. He put away the struggling Kris Bryant on a sharp curveball in the fourth.
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball
Since the Dodgers opened the season in Korea, Wednesday marked Tyler Glasnow’s third turn through the L.A. rotation. He nabbed a quality start, allowing three runs over six innings and picked up seven strikeouts of San Francisco hitters. He didn’t have his best feel for his breaker in this one, but threw a great one to Michael Conforto here.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire. Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram)