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.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Matt Andriese’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/apprehensivehonorablehummingbird
Boston’s winning streak was snapped at nine games after the Red Sox suffered a walk-off loss Thursday afternoon. Matt Andriese did his part to preserve the tie in the eighth when he got Ryan Jeffers to swing through a beautiful changeup below the zone.
Aaron Civale’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/jampackedseparateamericanrobin
Aaron Civale led Cleveland back into the win column on Thursday after they were no-hit by Carlos Rodón the night before. Civale held his own against the strong White Sox lineup allowing only a single run across six innings. He sat down José Abreu in the first with a changeup that continued to dive out of the zone. The slo-mo replay provides a good view of the split grip Civale uses to throw the pitch. (h/t to PL+ member Dan)
Cole Sulser’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/faithfulincredibleeider
Apparently, Thursday was a great day for changeups as we’re starting off Nastiest Pitches with our third straight. The Mariners swept the doubleheader over the Orioles, but Cole Sulser had one of the best pitches of the day as he struck out J.P. Crawford in the final frame. Crawford put up a good at-bat prior to this forcing Sulser to throw nine pitches, but the fifth changeup of the at-bat was too much for Crawford as Sulser finally won the matchup. (h/t to PL+ member Pete Dixon)
Tanner Scott’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/eagermeatyalbertosaurus
It’s not every day that you see multiple Orioles featured in Nastiest Pitches, but Tanner Scott deserved a spot with this slider. Scott froze Mariners’ outfielder Taylor Trammell with this fantastic 3-2 slider that just nicked the inside corner of the plate.
Emmanuel Clase’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/impracticalhorriblejoey
Emmanuel Clase has taken hold of Cleveland’s closer role as he recorded his third save of the season on Thursday. His one strikeout of the day came at the expense of rookie Andrew Vaughn as he chased a cutter way out of the zone. A 100 mph pitch should not move like that…
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/whisperedvibrantabalone
It’s good to see Rich Hill back in Nastiest Pitches as his big sweeping curveball is always a strong candidate to make the list, even at 41 years old. He took down power threat Joey Gallo with his signature breaking pitch here in the first.
Trevor Rogers‘ Four Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/elderlyeasyastrangiacoral
Trevor Rogers delivered another solid performance on Thursday, picking up seven strikeouts over his five innings of work. He froze the struggling Ozzie Albies on this perfectly spotted 96 mph four-seamer at the knees.
Julio Urias’ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/enormousgreatkob
Austin Gomber and Julio Urias squared off Thursday night at Dodger Stadium. They would have similar outings as both left after six innings and neither would be credited with a decision. While Gomber’s final line would look a little better, Urias got the best of him after getting the opposing pitcher to flail at a curveball way outside.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)