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.
Seth Lugo’s Slurve
Though the Royals wear blue and gold, Seth Lugo left fans seeing blue and orange. The veteran sat down Taylor Ward with a triumphant slurve that moves as if shot with a Portal gun — appearing in one place only to reappear elsewhere. Lugo’s game continued to hold up all night. The Cy Young contender corraled the Angels over six-and-two-third innings, coughing up just two runs and striking out eight.
Tanner Houck’s Sweeper
Based on this sweeper, you wouldn’t know anything about Tanner Houck’s second-half struggles. Houck goes to a spinning cross-body sweeper here to make Trey Cabbage look like an utter knave. Cabbage can console himself because Houck didn’t stop there. The left-hander struck out eight over six innings and washed away any signs of a slow second half for at least tonight.
Michael King’s Changeup
This changeup from Michael King is downright criminal. It’s earmarked for the outside part of the zone, draws Willi Castro’s interest, and just as he commits, the pitch disappears like a suspect out on bail. And to be clear, saying Castro committed to the pitch might be an understatement. The infielder does a full 360 before beginning his long walk to the dugout.
Yusei Kikuchi’s Slider
The Astros paid a king’s ransom for Yusei Kikuchi. The least they can ask for in return is pitches like this. Kikuchi deploys a regal 1-2 slider to Triston Casas that clips the zone for strike three. While the price tag might be steep, Kikuchi’s found a place in Houston’s court. The southpaw sports a 2.82 ERA through four starts and is making a seat for himself on the team’s roundtable.
Gavin Stone’s Sweeper
No Tyler Glasnow? No Yoshinobu Yamamoto? If you’re the Los Angeles Dodgers, that’s no problem. Why? Maybe because the Dodgers can summon pitchers like Gavin Stone out of nowhere. That’s not a slight to Stone. The 25-year-old made mincemeat out of the Mariners, striking out eight in his first four innings. Luke Raley was one of Stone’s victims, falling prey to this parachuting sweeper.
David Peterson’s Slider
Look out for David Peterson. The lefty has quietly been on a roll, registering a 1.56 August ERA entering Monday night. Peterson helped drop that number in the third with this slider that hung in the zone long enough to induce a swing and miss for strike three. In total, Peterson pitched seven innings and allowed two runs and a walk while striking out eight. Peterson’s August ERA is now 1.84.
Kevin Gausman’s Splitter
Kevin Gausman was doomed and determined to destroy Jake Fraley. The right-hander struck out the veteran outfielder twice on the night, with his second courtesy of this splitter with great carry. This thing beelines toward the outside zone so well that Fraley knows he has to protect himself. The only problem is the pitch keeps drifting to the point it buzzes by Fraley’s bat. Thankfully for Fraley, the Reds got the last laugh. A Spencer Steer double in the sixth led Cincy to a win and Gausman to a loss.
Colin Selby’s Sinker
Baltimore’s beleaguered bullpen got a lift tonight from Colin Selby. The journeyman opened by striking out Starling Marte with this pinpoint sinker to strand a pair, and things only continued from there. Selby returned for the sixth and struck out Jose Iglesias and Francisco Alvarez. He ended his night with a pop-up to log one-and-a-third innings pitched, three strikeouts, no hits, and no walks performance.
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@kurtwasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram