Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the Second Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Felipe Rivero’s Slider – Rivero got the 4 out save last night using his high powered Fastball and a Slider that make hitters jump, literally. Rivero misses his spot badly here, but Travis Shaw sees an inside Fastball heading for his legs before the ball breaks over the inside corner. Nasty.
Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup – Strasburg should be commended for the way he has transformed as a pitcher over the years. He always throws his Fastball hard and with great movement, but early in his career he relied on his Slider and Curveball, and since his injury issues he switched to more Changeup usage to get Ks. This Changeup to Tucker Barnhart has great drop and Barnhart can only wave his bat before throwing it into the sky unintentionally.
Marcus Stroman’s Sliders – I don’t know why Stroman has been hiding his Slider until now, maybe he learned a new trick, but it’s one of the most beautiful pitches to watch with its tremendous horizontal movement. Twice last night Mookie Betts could only wave at outside Sliders that ended up nowhere near the plate. The second time he almost held up, but ended up swinging through very awkwardly. (Thanks to @DMcComasOB and @jasoncollette for the tip!)
Tony Zych’s Slider – Zych is a reliever I know virtually nothing about, but any pitcher with a Slider that moves like this is one to note. This pitch is aesthetically even more impressive because the wee Jose Altuve is fooled so badly.
Jared Eickhoff’s Curveball – Eickhoff had little idea where the ball was going last night, but his Curveball was so good that he racked up 8 Ks to go along with his 4 BBs. Marcell Ozuna had no shot at hitting this pitch as it dropped sharply toward the ground.
Chris Devenski’s Changeup – We’ve included Devenski’s Changeup in the roundup before, but this pitch is different because it’s not a swing and miss at a pitch dropping to the dirt, but a well spotted Change piece that nips the bottom of the zone. Danny Valencia may think the pitch was low and drop his bat in disgust, but it was definitely too close to take.
David Phelps‘ Curveball – Phelps got himself into a jam with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth was able to get 2 Ks in a row to keep the game tied. This Curveball to Daniel Nava isn’t the best pitch you’ll see in a Roundup, but the moment and Phelps’ reaction are great. I love to see pitcher emotion. Being happy isn’t about showing up the other team, and no player should forget that baseball is at its heart a game meant to be fun and competitive together.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half Contest.
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