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 to see if it will be in contention during our August Nastiest GIF Tournament. 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.
Chris Sale’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/artisticactualbluetonguelizard
Chris Sale certainly has had his ups and downs in 2019. Sale showed his Jekyll side last night, striking out 13 Angels, including his highness Mike Trout twice. This back-door slider doesn’t seem like it will get to the plate but keeps moving and spinning until it (probably) just nicks the plate. Sandy Leon smartly catches the ball as far back as possible to give more time for the ball to get to the plate and present the pitch more effectively to the umpire.
Mike Clevinger’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/maturekindheartedgraysquirrel
Mike Clevinger was dominant last night, and I could’ve chosen multiple fastballs, sliders, and changeups as nominees for nastiest pitch on any given day. Today, I chose this beauty of a fastball right on the outside black at 97 mph. Eddie Rosario was left frozen.
Jon Gray’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/hotqueasyachillestang
Jon Gray is primarily a fastball-slider pitcher, but Gray also throws a curveball about 10% of the time. Gray got Luis Urias to swing through a perfectly placed curveball that seemed to drop like a snowflake from the sky. Maybe Gray should throw his curveball more, but it’s also possible that this pitch was somewhat of a fluke.
Luis Cessa’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/scrawnylimitedfrogmouth
Luis Cessa is overshadowed in an all-time great Yankees bullpen, but he has quietly put together a very good run using his stupendous slider to finish hitters. Cessa struck out six in three innings last night, including new star Bo Bichette. What looks like a meaty fastball ends up just off the plate in a millisecond.
Tayron Guerrero’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/thosetepidamericanlobster
Tayron Guerrero’s throwing mechanics seem unathletic, and he often has no idea where the ball is going. But he will continue to get opportunities because he throws extremely hard and because the Marlins are very bad. Guerrero slings this pitch under the hands of Matt Joyce at 101 mph and seems to have actually hit his spot. Bravo!
Dallas Keuchel’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/distinctvacantaztecant
Dallas Keuchel has been pretty bad for the Braves, but the innings he eats up have some value as he still shows flashes of former Cy-Young contender self. Keuchel places this slider perfectly on the inside corner to get Lewis Brinson to swing over the top. Brinson couldn’t hit it but couldn’t take it—a hitter’s worst nightmare.
Brandon Workman’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/enchantingbiodegradablebrant
Brandon Workman followed Sale’s eight innings of brilliance with a nice outing of his own. Workman’s curveball was sharp, and he used it a lot. Brian Goodwin started off the inning with a strikeout on a pitch that looks like a fastball out of Workman’s hand but ends up hitting the ground before it hits the catcher’s mitt. Filthy stuff from Workman.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in the August GIF Tournament.
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