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 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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Aaron Nola’s Fastball – There’s little denying that Nola has pitched like an ace over the last two months and it continued against the Angels on Tuesday. He set the tone from the beginning by sitting down future hall-of-famer Albert Pujols with his signature backdoor Two-Seamer that nipped the outside corner. This horizontal movement is just filthy.
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Dylan Bundy’s Sliders – Bundy had it all going on Tuesday night against the Royals, displaying a great feel for his Slider. It was the longest start of his career as he went eight strong frames and in his final inning his Slider was at its best, fanning both Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. Here’s to hoping he can get into this rhythm consistently.
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Anibal Sanchez’s Changeup – It’s not everyday that Anibal finds his way into this roundup, but his spot is well deserved after making Aaron Judge look silly. This Changeup dove across the plate to find its way under the future AL ROY’s bat for the strikeout and it was pretty.
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Jose Berrios’ Fastball – Berrios was flirting with a no-hitter in San Diego through the first five frames, and ended up settling for a superb seven inning game. His Fastball was showcasing plenty of movement, especially as he blew the pitch past Wil Myers in the fifth frame. (Thanks to @cj2carlisle for the tip!)
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Jimmy Nelson’s Curveball – The Brewers have themselves a bonafide ace in Nelson, who cruised through the Cardinals lineup. An added bonus came in the third inning when he frustrated opposing pitcher Carlos Martinez with a front-door Curveball that the Cardinals’ starter didn’t know what to do with.
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Kenta Maeda’s Changeup – It was just Maeda’s second game all season pitching more than five frames as he tore through seven frames versus the Braves. We should have seen it coming after he ended the first inning with this perfectly executed Changeup that faded right off the outside corner to Matt Adams.
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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Best part is Nola starts walking away before the umpire calls strike three
Rarely do I see pitches that make my jaw drop like that Nola fastball. That thing is absolutely ridiculous.
Maeda has gone 5+ 4 times, not twice