Gerrit Cole’s Knuckle-Curveball and the Nastiest Pitches from 10/5

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 made it in the Nastiest Pitches of the Season 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.

 

Gerrit Cole’s Knuckle-Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/complexelderlycolt

 

Gerrit Cole was primed and ready for the playoffs after his historic strikeout run to end the regular season. Cole did a great job mixing in his curveball as well as his slider to keep the Rays’ hitters off balance. This knuckle-curve to Austin Meadows in the first inning has an insanely sharp break at a high velocity and still lands at the bottom of the zone.

 

Adam Ottavino’s Two-Seam Fastball

 

https://gfycat.com/hugeimpressionablejay

 

Adam Ottavino pitched in both Game 1 and Game 2 of the the Yankees-Twins ALDS and did his job as the fireman out of the deep Yankees bullpen. Miguel Sano had a terrible night in which he earned a golden sombrero with 4 Ks. Ottavino gets Sano looking on this great two-seamer spotted perfectly on the outside corner. Magnus spin is so impressive to watch.

 

Tommy Kahnle’s Changeup

 

https://gfycat.com/snappyangrygecko

 

Tommy Kahnle throws one of the hardest changeups in the game at a regular 90 MPH. The pitch works so well because his arm action and effort is indistinguishable from that of his fastball. The movement doesn’t hurt either as the ball moves away from lefties like Eddie Rosario. Sick pitch.

 

Blake Snell’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/brightminorbaleenwhale

 

Blake Snell was good, not great on a night he didn’t have his best command. His pure stuff helped him out of a couple of jams including this dirty slider at 90 MPH to Michael Brantley. Hard to lay off a slider thrown this hard when geared up for a fastball, as Brantley possibly was.

 

Masahiro Tanaka’s Splitter

 

https://gfycat.com/windyneglectedkestrel

 

Masahiro Tanaka pitched well on a night the Yankees offense gave him all the help he needed early on. Tanaka threw even fewer fastballs than he usually does, which isn’t many, and threw a ton of splitters and sliders. This splitter has effective late movement to finish off Luis Arraez.

 

GIF of the Night

 

Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner may be featured in Nastiest Pitches of the Season GIF Tournament.

 

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