Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/scratchyafraidhawk
With the Rays breathing down their necks for the top AL Wild Card spot, the Jays need their ace to perform down the stretch. He got the job done on Wednesday with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts against a dangerous Phillies lineup.
Zack Wheeler’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/jointnervousanemonecrab
Similar to the Jays, the Phils are fighting for their Wild Card and desperately need Wheeler healthy and performing. He matched Gausman pitch for pitch and was only pulled to ensure he doesn’t overexert himself after returning from injury. His efforts and some extra-inning heroics from Matt Vierling broke the Phillies’ six-game skid and got their playoff effort back on track.
Lance McCullers Jr.’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/greatfaroffalligatorsnappingturtle
The hitters in another matchup with Wild Card implications were held at bay by two more elite pitchers. Lance McCullers Jr. made it through seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts and 11 whiffs. Amazingly, he was outdueled by his opponent on the Rays (more on him below), but Houston still came away with the win thanks to a Kyle Tucker home run in the eighth.
Corey Kluber’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/klutzyniftydegu
Kluber is unlikely to be in the running for any more Cy Young awards, but he still knows how to win ball games and can spin some true nastiness when he needs to. He kept his team in front for seven innings only to watch their one-run lead evaporate from the dugout. Still, the Rays hold a comfortable 4.5-game margin over the Orioles for the third AL Wild Card spot.
Triston McKenzie’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/considerateornatecockroach
The White Sox had one last series against the Guardians to make a run at the AL Central crown, but Cleveland slammed the door on them behind a Triston McKenzie gem on Wednesday. The 25-year-old covered eight innings with 100 pitches, racking up 13 strikeouts along the way.
Blake Snell’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/remarkableradiantdwarfrabbit
With the NL West already locked up by the Dodgers, the Padres need to close out their season firing on all cylinders to ensure they secure a Wild Card. Snell did his part on Wednesday with 5.1 shutout innings and 11 strikeouts.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)