The We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games every morning. If you see something you think should be included here, 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.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle Curve
The knuckle curve may be a lost art, but Aaron Nola knows how to spin it like Pablo Picasso. The Phillies co-ace kept Luis Vázquez so off-rhythm with this divebombing knuckler the shortstop flung his bat toward the stands. While the Cubs would tag Nola for a pair of runs, the pitcher painted a masterpiece in limiting damage. Those two runs came despite Chicago’s seven hits and two walks.
Hunter Brown’s Cutter
Hunter Brown, like Nola, knows the forgotten magic of a knuckle curve. That said, he went elsewhere to punch out Jorge Polanco. The 26-year-old blew away Seattle’s second baseman thanks to this cutter that rises like a sorcerer’s spire. Embarrassing established pros isn’t a new trend for Brown, though. He now has a 2.16 ERA over his last nine starts and looks every bit a maestro.
Bryce Miller’s Knuckle Curve
Let’s stick in Houston and visit Seattle’s side of things. Bryce Miller surpassed Brown’s efforts, pitching seven scoreless. Miller, however, did mimic Brown’s penchant for knuckle curves. He volcanizes Victor Caratini here with an untouchable knee-buckling knuckler to Houston’s catcher. So much for the pitch being forgotten in the annals of history.
Hayden Birdsong’s Changeup
Out in Arizona, a pitcher decided to sing a tune. Hayden Birdsong’s had his ups and downs as a rookie, but he lulls Eugenio Suárez to sleep with this nice sloping changeup. It doesn’t have a particularly violent drop or visually arresting movement, but it has superb late-life ensuring it dodges the bottom of the zone and dips well below it.
Chris Bassitt’s Sinker
Chris Bassitt started strong. The spinster blew a sweeping and zone-bending sinker past Jarren Duran for a strikeout in the first at-bat of the night. Combine the pitch with Boston’s bothersome offense as of late, and it seemed like an omen of things to come. Things, however, did not go as planned. Boston tagged Bassitt for seven walks and four hits. It’s a miracle the Sox only scored two earned against the 35-year-old.
Caleb Kilian’s Cutter
Caleb Kilian cranked a cantankerous cutter to Nick Castellanos. Now try saying that ten times fast. Wordplay aside, Killian’s cutter shows some nice vertical drop and late movement, leaving Castellanos tongue-tied like a boy reading a nursery rhyme. But that’s about it. The Phillies rained eight hits, four walks, and five earned runs down on the reliever in five and two-thirds innings.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram