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 and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First 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.
Tanner Roark’s Fastball – Roark continued his hot streak against the Phillies Thursday night as he fanned six while allowing just two baserunners. He pounded his Fastball inside to left-handers, who had to deal with this absurd amount of movement. The behind-the-umpire cam gives us a great shot of how the pitch starts off heading for Odubel Herrera’s hip before whizzing back to the plate. (Thanks to @duncanbishop24 for the tip!)
Jake Arrieta’s Curveball – Arrieta didn’t have his best command, walking four batters and often getting behind hitters. Still, he allowed just one earned run and threw some excellent pitches, like this 0-2 Curveball in the perfect location to Yadiel Rivera.
Rubby De La Rosa’s Slider – It was a fantastic night for De La Rosa, collecting a career high 10 strikeouts as he plowed through the Cardinals lineup. His Slider looked to improve through the game, featuring nasty drop in the later innings. This slide piece in the sixth to punchout Matt Holliday is a prime example.
Aaron Nola’s Curveball – We could have selected plenty of hooks from Nola’s dazzling outing against the Nationals and this Curveball that looks like a ball for the longest time takes the cake. It’s remarkable how the ball suddenly stops its horizontal movement and falls down right on the inside corner to freeze opposing pitcher Tanner Roark. (Thanks to Redditor Newspaper_Edtior for the tip!)
Kyle Barraclough’s Slider – Barraclough was given the task to get out of a tough jam in the seventh and he got the job done. He earned his second out with this beautiful 3-2 Slider that Corey Seager instantly regretted swinging at. (Thanks to Redditors MarlinsGuy, iharland, and destinybond for the tip!)
Jose Fernandez’s Curveball – Though he struggled in the first inning, JoFer quickly found his groove and by the third he was already striking out the side. His first victim of the frame was Adrian Gonzalez who didn’t come close to hit this crazy good bender.
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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