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.
Chaz Roe’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/AgreeableLankyBlackandtancoonhound
It was definitely not the night Chaz Roe had hoped for, as the Rays reliever surrendered three earned runs in less than an inning. However, that won’t knock Roe out of the running for nastiest pitch of the night, as he was still able to use his disgusting slider to fool Giancarlo Stanton into swinging. (Shoutout to @ReedMotulsky for the tip on this one!)
Jack Flaherty’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ImpeccableThirdAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam
It was an all around solid night for Jack Flaherty, who was able to get himself a quality start (and also eight strikeouts) against the Marlins. Flaherty’s nastiest dealing for the night was a beautiful slider to Marlins pitcher Jordan Yamamoto, who stood no chance against Flaherty’s dominant breaking ball.
Jordan Yamamoto’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/PhysicalSafeKatydid
Speaking of Yamamoto, let’s talk about his performance on the mound. In his second career start, Yamamoto somehow found a way to one-up his fantastic debut. He was stellar throughout the game, tossing seven scoreless frames with seven strikeouts, the nastiest of which was a fron-door slider that froze Marcell Ozuna.
Jacob deGrom’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/ImpressiveHarmfulIzuthrush
The Mets offense finally showed to back up a masterful performance from Jacob deGrom. The reigning NL Cy Young winner was dominant, striking out 10 Braves in 8.1 innings. Although there were many nasty pitches thrown by the Mets ace, I opted for his first strikeout of the night, a changeup that froze Freddie Freeman for a backward K.
Clayton Kershaw’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/FabulousBlaringBrahmanbull
It was another fantastic night from Clayton Kershaw, who lowered his ERA to 2.85 after last night’s scoreless outing. Kershaw was heavily reliant on his filthy slider, using the pitch on four of his six strikeouts, including this one that got opposing pitcher Shaun Anderson swinging and missing.
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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