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 @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
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Jordan Hicks‘ Slider – This tornado of a pitch by Cardinals rookie Jordan Hicks somehow found its way onto the inside corner, freezing superstar Kris Bryant. Not many guys can get that kind of movement, especially not with that velocity. Truly nasty.
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Johnny Cueto’s Changeup – Cueto had the strikeout pitch working on Tuesday, striking out 11 against zero walks. That included this very filthy changeup that suddenly dropped out of the zone on Nick Ahmed, who didn’t stand a chance.
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Lance McCullers’ Fastballs – McCullers was complete money on Tuesday, fanning 11 M’s and only giving up one hit. His two-seamer was constantly in on the hands of Seattle’s hitters, and poor Nelson Cruz couldn’t get the bat around quick enough on this pair of nasty heaters.
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Buck Farmers’ Changeup – Tigers reliever Buck Farmer threw a changeup that appeared headed for the opposing batters box before taking a late dive for the bottom of the zone. Poor Danny Valencia didn’t stand a chance.
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Nick Pivetta’s Slider – It’s always hard to report pitcher on pitcher crime quite like this one, but this ridiculous sweeping slider from Pivetta completely embarrassed fellow starter Mike Foltynewicz. Pivetta would finish with only two strikeouts across five solid innings of work.
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Roberto Osuna’s Changeup – Known for his velocity, Roberto Osuna has baffled many a hitter with his devastating, runny changeup that he uses here to get Lucas Duda reaching way out of the zone for strike three.
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Shohei Ohtani’s Fastball – Low and inside to a left-handed hitter can be a recipe for disaster, but when you can bring it at 99 miles per hour you tend to get away with it more often. Ohtani had a short start thanks to a blister, but still brought the heat when he needed it.
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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Check out Corbin’s slider against Sandoval from the top of the 8th last night. In a matter of split-seconds, it was a ball way outside that he would never swing at, then a meatball he thought he could send into the bleachers, then a check swing once he realized he had no way of hitting it. And he went all the way around on a check swing