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 First 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.
Joe Kelly’s Fastball – Kelly has switched roles this year, acting as one of the firemen in the Sox bullpen. The change has been very effective thus far, allowing him to ramp up his velocity for shorter stints in games. He dialed it up in a big way with this heater to Aaron Judge, blowing the ball past the slugger at a blistering 101.4mph.
Luis Severino’s Slider – If you’re somehow not aware, Severino is on a tear right now, fanning 27 batters in his last three starts combined. He was dominant against the Red Sox last night and his Slider is carrying him along the way. Check out the drop and beautiful bend on this gorgeous slide piece to seal the strikeout against Hanley Ramirez in the seventh. (Thanks to Redditor jimmcdermont for the tip!)
James Paxton’s Cutter – Paxton’s Cutter isn’t your typical Cutter in that it acts plenty like a true Slider, but regardless of its label we can all agree it’s all kinds of nasty. Paxton was deliver 95+ heat all game and was able to drop this pitch in a full count to get a big whiff from James McCann. Paxton’s trust in the pitch paired with excellent execution is just a joy to watch.
Dellin Betances‘ Curveball – We haven’t featured Betances a ton thus far though we easily could have. He gave us a pitch yesterday that we just can’t refuse, fanning Marco Hernández with a devastating breaker that has the bottom drop out of it at seemingly the last moment. Unfair. (Thanks to @BunnChata for the tip!)
Robert Gsellman’s Changeup – It’s been a tumultuous beginning to 2017 for Gsellman, but there’s little denying that his stuff isn’t great. He was feeeling his Changeup especially yesterday, which is perfectly expressed in this slow ball to Jace Peterson that fell away elegantly out of the zone for the whiff.
Vince Velasquez’s Slider – While it wasn’t one of Velasquez’s explosive strikeout evenings, his first punchout of the evening was a lovely sight to see. He spotted his Slider along the outside corner to Martin Prado, forcing the third baseman to swing over the ball is dove down-and-away.
Alex Colome’s Cutter – It was a marathon of game in Baltimore and Colome was called on to keep the Rays in the game instead of his normal role as closer. He got the job with a scoreless frame including a pair of strikeouts. His first came against Adam Jones using a Cutter that had vicious late bite, making it nearly impossible to connect with.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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