Every morning we review the five 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 Week. 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.
Carlos Carrasco’s Curveball – It wasn’t Carrasco’s night in Cleveland, though he still has some of the nastier stuff in the bigs. It’s hard to keep the smile off your face watching this big hook fool Hanley Ramirez, forcing the first baseman to bail out before the pitch curled back across the plate. (Thanks to Reddit user yung_jocp for the tip!)
Stephen Strasburg’s Slider – He has been trying to add a respectable Slider to his repertoire for years, and Strasburg had his best showing of the pitch in his 2016 debut. Adonis Garcia didn’t expect the wide left turn of the pitch and chased it far out of the zone for strike two. (Thanks to @RushingBaseball for the tip!)
Anibal Sanchez’s Changeup – Anibal’s Split-Change had its moments last night, and while his 1-0 pitch to Justin Bour in the fourth was pretty, this diving slow ball to Marcell Ozuna was simply gorgeous. Watch it start in the middle of the strikezone to fall right off the table into the dirt.
Jose Fernandez’s Fastball – Despite 5 ER getting plastered in his final line, JoFer fanned 13 Tigers across 5.2 innings of work, featuring his wicked bender and blazing Fastball. This heater got up close and personal to Jarrod Saltalamacchia before having enough of a tail to find the inside corner at 97 MPH.
Francisco Rodriguez’s Curveball – With the bases loaded and ahead by four, K-Rod managed to get slugger Giancarlo Stanton to strike out on this vicious Curveball that danced well off the plate to seal the win. (Thanks to @rutledge_josiah for the tip!)
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in this weekend’s GIF of the Week contest.
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