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.
Dustin May’s Sinker
So that makes three straight starts in which Dustin May was pulled from the game just one out shy of a quality start. May was solid, putting up five strikeouts and allowing just one run in a 15-1 rout of the Miami Marlins. May has some serious skill with his sinker, as he showed on this pitch, which paints the edge of the zone to freeze Brian Anderson.
Chris Sale’s Slider
Last night, Chris Sale surpassed the 2,000-strikeout mark, becoming the pitcher to reach that figure quickest (he utterly destroyed Pedro Martinez’s previous record). As always, Sale’s filthy slider was on display, and he threw the pitch for an astounding 20/44 CSW last night, which included this whiff by Jason Kipnis in the top of the seventh inning.
Lance Lynn’s Two-Seamer
Is Lance Lynn a Cy Young candidate? Well, he certainly wasn’t in April, but as of today, he leads the AL in fWAR, ahead of prominent names such as Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Shane Bieber. Still, the Rangers ace hasn’t generated quite the same amount of buzz as those guys. However, he’s been turning heads, and perhaps an elite August and September can make him a serious contender for the award.
Zack Greinke’s Curveball
The Astros are scary. Even as they had the strongest 1-2 pair in baseball, they went out and added Zack Greinke to the rotation. His first start was a bit of a dud, but this one last night was much better. Over six innings, he allowed two runs and struck out six batters, and as always, his curveball was absolutely devastating. If Jeff Lunhow continues to work his magic in Houston, we may be in for an Astros dynasty.
Andrew Miller’s Slider
This past offseason, Andrew Miller inked a deal with the Cardinals that was supposed to bolster the back end of their bullpen. So far, that signing is looking a bit underwhelming. The 34-year-old Miller started off slow but has since lowered his ERA to under 4. Miller’s best pitch has always been his slider, and here, he threw it perfectly for a front-door strike three.
Joe Ross‘ Sinker
Joe Ross has been pulling the Nationals rotation down this year. Even after last night’s outing in which he allowed only one run, his ERA stands at 5.91. But hey, maybe Ross is on to something with this sinker of his because that pitch to Aristides Aquino is utterly disgusting.
Chaz Roe’s Slider
Alright, I didn’t plan on this because it’s currently 1 a.m. as I write this. However, Chaz Roe is on the mound, so obviously this is going to have to be added. If you didn’t know already, Roe has been dominating hitters with his wicked slider that gets an average 23 inches of horizontal movement per Baseball Savant. So here it is, an absolutely soul-crushing slider to Eric Hosmer.
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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Every pitch on here was worthy of winning gif of the night. This post could have passed for a nastiest pitches of the year compilation. Straight filth.