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. 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.
Mike Fiers‘ Curveball – The key to Fiers’ strikeout ability is his secondary pitches, including this slow Curveball that falls from the sky into the strikezone at the last moment. Russell Martin knew he was defeated right away.
Vincent Velasquez’s Changeup – During our stream of yesterday’s game, I mentioned you would be seeing this pitch again and here we are. The fade VV gets on this 90 mph Changeup is absurdly good, seemingly repulsed by Brandon Crawford’s bat and outside of the zone.
Drew Smyly’s Curveball – Smyly was on top of his game against the Royals on his home turf, earning 10 strikeouts across seven frames. His Curveball was getting massive amounts of drop, like this one to Alex Gordon in the second inning.
Craig Kimbrel’s Fastball – When we talk about “climbing the ladder” this Kimbrel heater is a textbook example. The camera angle on this pitch is perfect to see the sharp angle the ball gets as it crosses the plate, looking like a true rising fastball that Kyle Seager simply couldn’t resist.
Drew Pomeranz’s Curveball – The Dirty Cheerleader had more than a handful of walks in his start against the Mariners, but he also collected 6 Ks while allowing just 2 ER. His hook is as deadly as they come, and Pomeranz placed it beautifully at the bottom of the zone to fan Franklin Gutiérrez.
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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