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!
Walker Buehler’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/afraidembarrassedleech
Walker Buehler’s performance was stupendous Friday night. Buehler struck out 11 Rockies including Sam Hilliard twice in his only at-bats. Buehler primarily used his fastball to overpower the Rockies lineup, but he mixed in his cutter and this knee-buckling breaking ball.
Lance McCullers’ Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/palatablehandmadeiaerismetalmark
The slow-motion cut in this GIF shows how much movement McCullers gets on his two-seamer. The ball seems to be flying sideways right out of his hand. Eric Hosmer was left frozen.
Dominic Leone’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/decisivequeasyjanenschia
Dominic Leone is the grim reaper to right-handed batters, as long as he’s able to throw strikes. This wipeout slider to Isaac Paredes shows how Leone can dominate.
Kyle Cody’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/jadedbaggybinturong
Kyle Cody made his major league debut last night and it went about as well as he could ask for. Cody struck out the side primarily using great command of his straight fastball and a very good slider as well. The slow-motion shot gives a great view of the spin on Cody’s heater.
Patrick Corbin’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/defensivefrayedfruitbat
Patrick Corbin gave me lots of sliders to choose from last night. I chose this beauty to Jesus Sanchez because it looks like a hittable fastball to Sanchez before breaking well off the plate. Corbin is tough to hit.
Adrian Houser’s Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/vapidequalglobefish
Adrian Houser spotted this two-seamer perfectly on the outside black to leave Kevin Newman bewildered. The great camera view in Pittsburgh lets us see the pitch as it starts off the plate and breaks into the zone. A mesmerizing pitch.
Max Fried’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/flashygrayhedgehog
Braves fans will look to Max Fried to take over as rotation leader now that Mike Soroka is out for the year. Fried looks ready to live up to the challenge. Fried has elevated his game by using his slider more, but his curveball is probably still his best finishing pitch. This curve was perfectly spotted to Roman Quinn.
Taylor Williams‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/piercingscarcegopher
Taylor Williams pitched a perfect ninth inning to finish off the win for the Mariners. This slider to Rougned Odor is spotted effectively right on Odor’s hands. The slow-motion shot shows the late movement on the pitch.
Dakota Hudson’s Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/weeampleasianconstablebutterfly
Dakota Hudson had a nice outing last yesterday against the Reds. Hudson allowed only one hit over more than 4 innings, and Hudson struck out six batters along the way. The location on this pitch causes Shogo Akiyama to flinch before the ball breaks over the plate.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in our Nastiest Pitches tournament midway through the season.
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