This one hits a bit differently! Fans of our previously daily nastiest pitches articles will be familiar with the content in this new weekly article that covers all the need-to-know highlights of baseball from the past week in GIF form. From cool moments, the nastiest pitches, and the moments you’d want to forget, our GIFs of the week are sure to entertain.
Defensive Wizardry
Alvarez’s Great Throw
A two-for-one here, as we get both a Kodai Senga nasty pitch and a fantastic defensive play by Mets’ catcher Francisco Alvarez. Senga’s ghost fork dove away from the bat of Evan Longoria, and Alvarez scampered back to make an off-balance throw to get the out at first.
J.P. From Long Distance
After a rough end to the month of June in which they lost five of their final six games, the Mariners turned it around once the calendar flipped, winning five of July’s first six. They took game one against the Astros in Houston and capped off the victory with a great play by J.P. Crawford in the ninth.
Nastiest Pitches
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball
The Mariners took two of three from the AL-leading Rays over the weekend and managed to take down Rays’ ace Tyler Glasnow in the process. While Glasnow was saddled with the loss, he recorded double-digit strikeouts for the second straight start, with 11 of his 17 recorded outs coming by way of the K. His curveball was in great form for this one and he put away Mike Ford on a great one.
Jesús Luzardo’s Slider
Jesús Luzardo’s scoreless start on Tuesday marked the third straight appearance for the lefty without allowing a run. Over that span, he’s struck out 26 opposing hitters, though only picked up a single win. He started the day off right with a strikeout of Dylan Carlson on a nasty breaking ball.
Braxton Garrett’s Curveball
The day prior, Braxton Garrett took the hill for the Marlins. Though his final line was not as pristine as rotation-mate Luzardo’s he was nasty in his own right. He put away rookie Jordan Walker on a filthy curveball.
Brayan Bello’s Changeup
While the Boston’s season has been up and down, Red Sox fans have to be happy with the continued development of Brayan Bello. Faced with a tough test against the highest-scoring team in the league, the young righty put up seven innings of one-run ball en route to the victory. Part of a rotation in flux, Bello has been a model of consistency as Wednesday marked the 11th time in his past 12 starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer. He put away Rookie of the Year favorite Josh Jung on a fantastic changeup in the fourth.
Pablo López’s Curveball
Pablo López was at his best Wednesday, as the veteran tossed a complete game shutout at the expense of the visiting Royals. He tallied 12 punchouts, including this one of Bobby Witt Jr.
Top Long Balls
Elly’s Response
In Elly De La Cruz’s first at-bat, the Nationals’ dugout requested that the umpire check his bat to make sure that it was fit for game use. Nothing came of it and play resumed. In his third plate appearance, De La Cruz hit a 455 foot upper deck home run and promptly pointed to his bat to see if the Nats needed to check it again. De La Cruz would finish the game with three hits, all for extra bases.
Robert’s Fireworks
Luis Robert Jr. brought his own fireworks to the Fourth of July when the young outfielder hammered this ball 450 feet deep into the Chicago night. Robert will look to hit some more 450-footers next week when he takes part in the Home Run Derby.
Oh, No!
A Walkoff in Miami
Wednesday’s game was a back-and-forth affair that featured multiple lead changes, 19 combined runs, and 12 extra-base hits. However, for a game driven by long balls, it was a fifty-foot chopper that ended the game. With two Marlins on base, Joey Wendle hit a soft grounder back to Jordan Hicks, who airmailed the throw to first and allowed both the tying and winning runs to score.
Ouch…
I honestly do not understand why anyone would choose to play catcher.
Featured Image by Kurt Wasemiller.