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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Sandy Alcantara’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/adoredesteemedapisdorsatalaboriosa
Sandy Alcantara put forth another masterful performance on Tuesday, but unfortunately received little help from his offense and was tagged with the loss. He struck out four and froze Nick Maton on this absurd 99 MPH sinker.
José Alvarado’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/velvetyfalsedunnart
Staying in the Phillies and Marlins matchup, we next feature José Alvarado. Alvarado has made several appearances on Nastiest Pitches, most often due to his cutter. That theme will remain in this edition as Alvarado makes Bryan De La Cruz look silly on a well-placed cut fastball.
Alek Manoah’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/activehopefulangelwingmussel
Alek Manoah was scratched from his game one start as he woke up sick. This pitch to Jose Siri was pretty sick too, as Manoah rallied from his illness to make the start in game two of the doubleheader.
Jacob deGrom’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/happythisalligatorgar
Jacob deGrom largely relies on just two pitches, his fastball and slider. On Tuesday, he had to remind everyone he has a pretty nasty changeup as well, at the expense of Zach McKinstry.
Hunter Brown’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/secondaryharddingo
Hunter Brown made Nastiest Pitches last week after tossing six shutout innings in his Major League debut. While he did allow a couple of runs in his second career start, he still showed the same nasty stuff that has allowed him to dominate the minors. This breaking ball to Riley Greene fell off the table to get the whiff from the lefty.
Gerrit Cole’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/miserlyfaithfulkawala
Gerrit Cole was hurt by three homers in this one, but showed off his dominant arsenal, tallying ten strikeouts and an impressive 40% CSW. He put away Reese McGuire on a nasty back-foot slider in the fifth.
Félix Bautista’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/elatedpoliticalhoopoe
Félix Bautista has been a force in the backend of the Orioles’ bullpen. His splitter has been especially great with a 55% whiff rate and an unreal xWOBA of .098. He showed off why here as his splitter to Luke Voit ended the game.
Cole Ragans‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/fancyadventuroushornedtoad
Cole Ragans struggled in this one, allowing seven runs in only four innings. He did pick up five punchouts, four on his changeup, and put away Ramón Laureano on a great one here.
Adrian Sampson’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/limpingflippanticelandicsheepdog
While deGrom racked up the Ks, Adrian Sampson was the one who walked away with the win. Sampson notched three strikeouts over six shutout innings. He ended the fourth with a great changeup to Eduardo Escobar.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)