Through the playoffs, we’ll be featuring 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 after each round 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.
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Pedro Strop’s Fastballs – Strop may be inconsistent, but there is no denying that he carries great stuff. It starts with his Fastball that generates a boatload of horizontal movement at mid-to-upper 90s velocity. Check out two of his Fastballs from Tuesday night, each starting well out of the zone before tailing back over the plate for a strike.
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Yu Darvish’s Slider – The pitch that makes us enamored with Darvish has always been his Slider and it was a bit unfair to see him whip out the deadly weapon against opposing pitcher Kyle Hendricks. The Dartmouth graduate didn’t have a chance.
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Yu Darvish’s Fastball – Last night featured plenty of excellent Two-Seamers and Darvish also got his hand in the pot with this luscious heater to Jon Jay that swept over the inside corner for one of Darvish’s seven strikeouts.
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Chris Devenski’s Changeup – Devenski’s famous “Circle of Death” Changeup was displayed in the Bronx on Tuesday evening and it was as pretty as promised. Watch him get a big whiff from Greg Bird as the ball started above his the lefty’s waist before tumbling into the dirt.
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Brandon Morrow’s Fastball – The Dodgers bullpen has been dominant this year and Morrow is a big part of their success. His Fastball hits the upper 90s with great movement, showcased well here with an inside pitch to Anthony Rizzo for a big swing-and-a-miss.
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Aroldis Chapman’s Slider – Chapman went to work in the ninth, putting the Astros down in order including two strikeouts to open the final frame. He fanned both with his Slider, setting up the pitches with triple-digit heat before perfectly placing the breaking ball under the zone. When he’s pitching like this, it’s nearly impossible to survive an at-bat.
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Lance McCullers’ Fastball – McCullers did an excellent job for the Astros, keeping the pinstripes at bay for six frames and change. His Curveball gets most of the love, but his Fastball can move plenty at times, like this first pitch strike to Gary Sanchez the zoomed across the entire plate.
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Kyle Hendricks‘ Changeup – The pitch that keeps Hendricks in the majors is his Changeup, which he does an incredible job of making look just like his Fastball and spotting along the edges. It creates terrible swings often, including this flail from Andre Ethier for a big first out.
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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