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.
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Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/grizzledthoroughgibbon
A rough Patriot’s Day Outing on Monday for Rich Hill was not without some highlights; Hill achieved two punch outs in the Red Sox 8-3 loss. Hill started his day off strong with this gorgeous curveball dropping down and in on Jorge Polanco and sending him down on strikes.
Shane McClanahan’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/genuineembarrassedbluebottlejellyfish
Shane McClanahan had himself a dominant outing on Monday, with nine strikeouts and a 39% CSW in Tampa Bay’s eventual loss to the Cubs. Among these strikeouts was this nasty curveball to Frank Schwindel, which itself had a 46% CSW, sending Schwindel right back down swinging.
Michael Lorenzen’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/contentwebbedeasternnewt
While Michael Lorenzen did not have a strong start on Monday night, he does find his way into this article with a nasty slider away from Jeremy Pena. This pitch produced one of the most awkward swings on the season for one of Lorenzen’s two strikeouts on the night.
Keegan Thompson’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/mindlesssentimentalagouti
Keegan Thompson pitched an extremely strong 3.2 innings of relief on Monday while allowing only one hit. While picking up the win for the Cubs, Thompson dropped this breathtaking curveball down and in to Ji-Man Choi and sent him down swinging.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/totalmemorabledinosaur
Breaking, the perfect season for Clayton Kershaw ended on Monday night. While striking out seven Braves on the Dodgers win Monday night, Kershaw dropped his signature curveball down to Orlando Arcia and sent him down on an awkward check swing.
Aaron Nola’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/whimsicalcleargoldenmantledgroundsquirrel
Aaron Nola battled his way through 5.1 innings on Monday in the team’s 4-1 loss to the Rockies, while allowing only two earned runs. Part of this battle included this deadly changeup down to Brendan Rodgers and sent him down swinging—one of Nola’s four strikeouts of the night.
Jhoan Duran’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/academicblaringliger
When Jhoan Duran comes on in relief for the Twins, his tripe digit fastball and nasty secondaries have become must-watch television. On Monday it was this 100 mile per hour fastball perfectly located at the top of the zone that got him onto this list, forcing Travis Shaw to just stare as the ball whipped past him.
Kyle Hendricks‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/familiaremptyicterinewarbler
Kyle Hendricks had his changeup working on Monday night, with a 45% CSW helping to keep Tampa Bay hitters off balance all night. Here, Hendricks used his changeup to keep Ji-Man Choi off balance and set him up for a strikeout on the next pitch, one of six on the day.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)