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 First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article
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Brandon Morrow’s Sinker – Morrow brought his own gas can and matchbook to the ninth-inning proceedings versus the Brewers, as he torched Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun with this 99 mph sinker on the plate’s outer half. The Cubs closer sandwiched a pair of swinging strikes around this offering, using similar heat to end it.
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Luis Castillo’s Changeup – Things went very, very wrong for Castillo against the Twins on Friday, as he lasted just one inning and gave up five runs in the process. Still, this off-speed pitch to Eddie Rosario left us marveling over his stuff, even if the results haven’t been there for the Reds 25-year-old.
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Adam Ottavino’s Slider – How can anyone resist lunging at this pitch? It looks like it’s following the swing plane until it just keeps breaking away. Miami’s Brian Anderson had no shot on this slider as he left two runners hanging the eighth inning of a tight one-run game. No worries, Adam. We’ll never get sick of you here. Make yourself at home.
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Marcus Stroman’s Changeup – Texas’ Joey Gallo is also making a habit of appearing on this list—which is odd because, well, he can’t control a pitcher’s stuff. But his majestic swings and misses just make everything more grand, acting like an ornate piece of framing to a fine work of art. Here, Toronto’s Stroman triggered the Rangers slugger’s grandiose cut with a diving third-inning change.
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Zack Godley’s Curveball – Sure, Godley put up another unimpressive line, giving up 10 hits and striking out only four over 109 pitches. But his hook picked up a respectable eight whiffs, including this one against Washington’s Andrew Stevenson.
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Blake Snell’s Slider – Boy, would I like to know the tune playing in Snell’s head after he chucked this filthy slider to Boston’s Mitch Moreland. Whatever it was, he skipped off the mound to its rhythm to end the sixth inning in Tampa’s 4-3 win. The 25-year-old struck out nine in 7.1 innings, walking just one.
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Jordan Hicks‘ Two-Seamer – Hicks took the loss in the 11th inning of a 6-5 defeat to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his seventh strikeout of the year was an impressive one as he mowed down Max Moroff with this 100 mph sinker off the outer edge.
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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Adam Ottavino. It’s always Ottavino.