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
Putting His Body On The Line
The American League’s two best teams matched up for a three-game set in Arlington and the home team Rangers would sweep the visiting Rays. Randy Arozarena did his best to help his team to victory when the outfielder flew face-first into the left field wall to make an outstanding catch.
Tucker’s Game-Saving Catch
The Astros and Angels capped off last week with an all-AL West Sunday night matchup. The game featured yet another Shohei Ohtani home run, but the star of the game was Houston’s Kyle Tucker. Tucker had four hits, including a home run of his own, robbed a home run from Mike Moustakas in the seventh, and made a fantastic diving catch to end the game and preserve the Astro’s win.
Nastiest Pitches
Devin Williams‘ Changeup
It’s been a while since we’ve featured a Devin Williams’ changeup, but a quick check-in reveals that it’s still as nasty as ever. He struck out a pair in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s win over the Phillies and got Alec Bohm to chase to end the game.
José Berríos‘ Slurve
After a pair of rough starts to begin 2023, José Berríos has quietly produced a very solid campaign. He was the tough-luck loser on Wednesday against the visiting Padres as he struck out a season-high nine but received no run support in an eventual 2-0 loss. He put away Jake Cronenworth on a filthy back-foot breaking ball.
Sonny Gray’s Sweeper
Sonny Gray wasn’t at his sharpest Monday, as the righty allowed five runs over five and two-thirds in the 7-6 loss in Seattle. He did tally five punchouts and got Jarred Kelenic swinging on a sweeper that fell off the table.
Jhoan Duran’s Four-Seam Fastball
Fellow Twin Jhoan Duran fared better as he closed out Wednesday’s victory over the Mariners. He finished off the game with an exclamation point, blowing an elevated 104 mph fastball past Mike Ford to end the game.
Corbin Burnes Curveball
Corbin Burnes had the curve working on Thursday as eight of his ten strikeouts came on the bender. Thursday marked back-to-back starts for Burnes in which he did not allow an earned run and struck out double-digit hitters. Harper had no answer for this breaking ball as Burnes’ curve tallied nine whiffs and a 62% CSW.
Top Long Balls
Trejo Walks it Off
The Rockies’ Alan Trejo came up to the plate in the eleventh inning on Sunday for his 121st at-bat of the season. None of the prior 120 had resulted in a home run. The homerless streak was bound to snap at some point, and what better time to end it than with a walk-off? After Nolan Jones tied the game with a two-run homer two batters prior, Trejo launched his first long ball of the season to secure the series victory for Colorado and send the Yankees packing.
Oh, No!
Down But Not Out
The AL Central-leading Twins traveled to the Pacific Northwest for a four-game set with the Mariners to begin the week. Max Kepler had a pair of extra-base hits in this one, including a ninth-inning homer to bring the Twins within one run in the eventual loss. His biggest hit of note may have been his double a few innings earlier when the long-time Twin got the bat tangled between his legs and took a spill running down the first base line. He would recover and leg out a double, sliding into second with a smile on his face.
Just Chill Out Man
The reeling New York Yankees stayed on the West Coast after the All-Star break and proceeded to lose five of their first six second-half games. That included a sweep at the hands of the Angels to begin the week with reliever Tommy Kahnle showing his frustration by taking it out on a cooling fan.
Baty’s Pop-Up Struggles
The Mets trailed the Dodgers 2-1 in the ninth and were looking to mount a comeback in the game’s final inning. With two on and one out, a pop-up to third looked to be the second out of the inning, but rookie Brett Baty had trouble with the high-arching fly ball, allowing it to drop (and hit him in the face on the rebound) and Mookie Betts to score from third. The Dodgers would go on to score two more runs in the ninth, dashing any hope of a New York comeback victory.
