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 @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Fernando Abad’s Changeup – Call it a Eephus if you like, this super slow pitch to Adrian Beltre made us all kinds of happy, making the Ranger third basemen take a knee as the ball floated into the middle of the strikezone. With pitchers touching triple digits often these days, seeing a 62mph pitch get a called strike is refreshing to say the least.
Ervin Santana’s Slider – Santana has been rocky since his super hot start to the season, but went the distance Wednesday night against the Angels to keep the Twins in the game. He’s been a strikeout threat over his career due to his Slider, and he positioned the pitch right along the outside corner for a well earned whiff from Cameron Maybin in the third frame.
Matt Garza’s Curveball – He may not be a consistently productive starter, but Garza does have himself a huge hook and he made opposing pitcher Jason Aquino look silly trying to hit the pitch in multiple innings. We went with this one in the second that started in the middle of the zone and ended at the southpaw’s ankles.
Roberto Osuna’s Slider – Saving your best for last is sometimes a great strategy, and Osuna needed it to fan one of the most feared hitters in the majors in Aaron Judge. He got the slugger to swing over this great Slider to seal the Blue Jays win.
Corey Knebel’s Curveball – The All-Star closer for the Brewers is often unhittable, whipping out high-90s Fastballs then dropping a fantastic hook to debilitate batters. Wellington Castillo was his latest victim, who took one of the weaker flails you’ll see trying to his this 0-1 Curveball. (Thanks to @TheJKayKid for the tip!)
Sonny Gray’s Slider – He might not be the sturdy ace of 2015 anymore, but Gray still has the ability to cruise through lineups on a good day. The White Sox managed just 2 ER in Gray’s six frames, due to a strong Fastball paired with a tight Slider that fanned Melky Cabrera easily in the sixth.
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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Gotta vote ephus!
Man, Oakland’s camera angle is horrible.