Every morning, we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition 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 Quarter Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList, and we’ll GIF it up and give you a shoutout here in the article.
Adam Ottavino’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/SelfishUnfoldedGreendarnerdragonfly
Adam Ottavino shut the door on the Orioles last night for the Yankees. Ottavino pitched two scoreless frames and lowered his ERA to an absurd 1.41 on the season. As always, it was Ottavino’s slider that got the Yankees reliever his nastiest whiff of the night, with Richie Martin on the receiving end of this devastating pitch.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/EvilAmusingHake
What more is there to be said about Clayton Kershaw? The guy is a bona fide Hall of Famer, and I can count on one hand the number of pitchers who have been as dominant as Kershaw has been this decade. Tonight was more of the same: a seven-inning gem that featured nine strikeouts, including this absolute beauty of a curve that bottoms out on opposing pitcher Miles Mikolas.
Andrew Kittredge’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/WellinformedKeyIcelandgull
Andrew Kittredge opened for the Rays yesterday, and although he gave up three runs over his two innings pitched, there was no shortage of filthy offerings. And as we all know, filthy offerings translate into lots of strikeouts. As a matter of fact, all of Kittredge’s outs were made on the strikeout, including this nasty slider that fooled Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Zack Wheeler’s Two-Seamer
https://gfycat.com/DeadMeekBumblebee
So … the Mets are one game out of the wild card after last night, and they have Zack Wheeler to thank for that. Wheeler was electric, putting up eight shutout frames and getting his ninth win of the season. If there was one bad thing to say about this outing, it’s that Wheeler only put up five strikeouts, but this two-seam fastball that gets rookie Isan Diaz looking more than makes up for it.
Dylan Cease’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/WeeKindlyGonolek
Dylan Cease only pitched five innings last night after he was capped at just over 100 pitches. The top-100 prospect has had a rough ride through his first few big league starts, but he looked solid enough tonight. Five innings isn’t great for a starter, but Cease struck out six and only allowed two runs in this outing. Maybe things are starting to look up for him and his filthy curveball, which was the final pitch he’d throw on the night.
Duane Underwood Jr.’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/MessyHomelyAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
Duane Underwood Jr. began his 2019 MLB season in a big way, albeit in a game that was already decided. Underwood came in to relieve the Cubs after they went down 11 early, and he was lights out. After a four-inning stint last season with the Cubs, he’s spent most of his time in Triple-A, where he’s put up an ERA above five. But last night, Underwood looked nothing like his stats indicate. He struck out all six batters he faced, including a changeup to Mark Cahna that would be his last pitch of the outing.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Quarter Contest.
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