Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Alec Mills‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/MagnificentObviousCivet
Sunday’s slate of games was full of nasty offerings, so choosing one to lead one would’ve been hard if Alec Mills didn’t go out and no-hit the Milwaukee Brewers. Mills was immaculate yesterday, striking out five over his nine no-hit innings. Here he is offering up a wicked slider that looks more like a slurve, as it gets an insane amount of movement to land in the strike zone for a backwards K against Eric Sogard.
Sixto Sánchez’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/HeavenlyIndolentHousefly
Now we move onto Sixto Sánchez, who can seriously bring the heat. And boy, did he bring it on this pitch that tops triple digits. Sánchez has been rocking opposing hitters since being called up, and here he blasts one by Alec Bohm who stands no chance against Sánchez’s heater. It was one of four strikeouts Sánchez threw en route to a seven-inning complete-game win against the Phillies.
Andrew Heaney’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/SoggyScientificEasternglasslizard
Playing in Coors Field didn’t seem to affect Andrew Heaney yesterday, who was solid on the mound against the Rockies. Heaney struck out eight across seven quality frames. Here he uses a fantastic back-foot curveball that gets thrown perfectly by Garrett Hampson who swings at a pitch he has no shot at.
Johnny Cueto’s Changeup
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Now, let’s talk about Johnny Cueto, whose changeup has been one of the nastiest in all of baseball this year. Still, Cueto has had his struggles this year, as his ERA is up at 4.78. However, when he throws his changeup like this, it’s tough to beat him. Watch as he throws an absolute beauty by MVP hopeful Fernando Tatis Jr. for one of his two strikeouts yesterday (H/T to PL+ Member AetherJ (Jordan)).
Mike Clevinger’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/ScornfulJoyousAyeaye
On the opposite side of the Giants-Padres matchup was Mike Clevinger, who threw a complete-game (albeit, seven-inning) shutout. Clevinger, who was unable to find his footing in his first two starts with the Padres, settled in yesterday and struck out seven while only allowing two hits. Here Clevinger gets his first strikeout of the day, a 98 mph heater that paints the inside edge to get Mike Yastrzemski looking.
Spencer Turnbull’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/HonoredMelodicBird
Spencer Turnbull has some good strikeout stuff, however, he’s been a boom or bust type pitcher this season. Yesterday, was certainly a bust day for Turnbull, who allowed five runs against an elite White Sox lineup. Still, Turnbull showed off some nasty stuff, especially on this filthy slider that fools José Abreu for a strike three.
Max Scherzer’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/AbandonedJovialFireant
It’s tough to try to make sense of Max Scherzer’s struggles this year. The aging Scherzer’s ERA is above 4, and if it stays there, it would be the first time it’s that high since 2011. Still, Scherzer has elite strikeout stuff. Yesterday, he K’d 10 hitters using a combo of his slider and changeup, the latter of which he shows off here against Ozzie Albies who swings at a nasty one that runs out of the zone.
Lance Lynn’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/ScornfulHospitableCornsnake
Lance Lynn continued his dominant season yesterday against the Oakland Athletics. He went seven innings and struck out 10 while allowing only one run. Lynn had everything working for him yesterday and managed to get Matt Olson to strikeout three times yesterday. Here’s just a taste of what Olson had to deal with, a filthy cutter that runs in on the power hitting first baseman, who swings through it for strike three.
Frankie Montas‘ Slider
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Staying with the Rangers game, we now take a look at Frankie Montas, who struggled a bit yesterday as he allowed four earned runs over 5.1 innings. Montas was able to strike out seven though, including Derek Dietrich who went down on this fantastic back door slider that freezes the Rangers DH for a called strike three.
Braxton Garrett’s Curveball
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Finally today, we have Braxton Garrett, who made his MLB debut in game two of the Marlins-Phillies doubleheader. Garrett looked really comfortable, as he struck out a half dozen opposing hitters and allowed only one run against the Phillies. He had some filthy pitches, and this one was undoubtedly his best of the night, a disgusting curveball that drops perfectly on Andrew Knapp for a swinging strike three.
(Photo by Stephen Hopson/Icon Sportswire)