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.
Jake Arrieta’s Fastballs – There were plenty of pitches to choose from during the dazzling Arrieta outing, and we elected to spotlight to absurd amount of movement he’s getting on his Sinkers. The second pitch in particular to Yangervis Solarte made us shocked to see 94mph on the gun after thinking it looked just like a Changeup. Filthy.
James Paxton’s Curveball – Paxton returned from his disabled list stint to look as if nothing had happened, silencing the Rockies as he pounded the strike early and often. This at-bat to Ian Desmond encapsulates the evening perfectly, setting Desmond up with two heaters in the zone, then dropping a huge hook for the strikeout. There’s not much you can do.
Kevin Gausman’s Fastball – I’m a sucker for well spotted heaters and this pitch from Gausman to Ronald Torreyes fits the bill nicely. Check out this pitch locating right on the low-inside corner at 95mph to send the Yankee infielder back to the dugout.
Chris Archer’s Slider – We all known Archer has one of the better Sliders in the game, but it never gets old observing just how nasty it is. This pitch to Nomar Mazara featured a ton of depth and came in at a blistering 91mph. That’s just unfair.
Aaron Nola’s Fastball – It’s been a rough season for Nola thus far, though he still exhibits excellent stuff that wows us each time he hits the hill. For example, despite allowing 4 ER to the Marlins Wednesday afternoon, his final pitch of a rocky first inning was stunning as it painted the swerved from Derek Dietrich’s hip to gracefully catch the inside corner.
Alex Claudio’s Changeup – In a tight game in Texas, Claudio was called upon to send the Rangers into the ninth with the lead. He got his final two outs via the strikeout, relying on his sweet Changeup. It’s hard not to love its tumbling action as he fanned Tim Beckham for the second out of the inning. (Thanks to Redditor cjn13 for the tip!)
Drew Pomeranz’s Curveball – The Dirty Cheerleader has himself one beautiful breaking ball in his Curveball and abuses it as much as possible to cruise through starts. This one in particular to Leury Garcia had so much depth that we couldn’t leave it off today’s roundup.
Mike Pelfrey’s Fastball – It’s not common to see Pelfrey on these lists, but he had a successful evening against the Red Sox last night. One of his first outs came with this comeback Fastball to Andrew Benintendi that’s easy to appreciate. (Thanks to @Baseball44Life for the tip!)
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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