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 Fourth 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.
James Paxton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/calculatingrealisticgnu
Clearly, James Paxton saw all the shade I’ve been throwing at his season in these articles, because he’s posted a 1.42 ERA and 11.92 K/9 over his last four starts. This recent run of dominance finally dipped his ERA below the 4.00 mark (3.96), 6 2/3 shutout innings Monday night being the tipping point. If he carries this momentum into the playoffs, look out world. Big Maple is back, and he’s pissed.
Shane Bieber’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/silentachingharrier
Shane Bieber’s sophomore campaign couldn’t be going too much better for him, as the 24 year-old stud has pitched to the tune of a 3.17 ERA and 11.08 K/9, a season that would be more than Cy Young worthy if Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander didn’t exist. In a season where pitching has been all over the place for Cleveland, Bieber and Mike Clevinger have been absolute rocks, and look to carry the torch into the next generation of Cleveland baseball as the stars of Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco fade.
Zack Greinke’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/severeincompleteborderterrier
After a pair of poor starts in his relatively recently acquired Texan duds, Zack Greinke bounced back on Monday with just 2 hits allowed over 6 innings of shutout work against the A’s in a colossal 15-0 win. His ERA is now 3.32 since joining the lethal Astros rotation, and Houston is hoping that he can continue this magic into the postseason, where he has as good of a chance as he’ll ever have of bringing home his first ring.
Jordan Lyles‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/secondaryscientificakitainu
The Brewers had to be surprised with how productive Jordan Lyles has been since they acquired him, as he is the owner of a 5.17 career ERA over 9 major league seasons. However, since joining the Brewers, he’s posted a 2.51 ERA and a 7.7 K/9, well above his career 6.8 mark. This season has been a wildly disappointing one for the Brew Crew, but if Lyles can continue to produce for the rest of the year and into next, it certainly won’t be a lost one for a team in dire need of consistent pitching.
Jacob DeGrom’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/evergreenredamericanshorthair
Probably the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, Jacob DeGrom has had an incredible season that’s cemented him as arguably the best in baseball at what he does. He struck out 11 Diamondbacks over 7 innings of work, letting up just 1 ER on 3 hits. A Cy Young win this year would make him the 5th NL pitcher ever to win it in back-to-back years, joining Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax and Greg Maddux. Nice company.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Fourth Quarter Contest.
[polldaddy poll=10405169]
bit tasteless Carrasco comment
You are 100% right sir, and I apologize profusely. In the craziness of football season starting and everything else going on in the MLB, I completely forgot about Carrasco’s situation. Thank you for pointing it out to me, the comment was definitely in poor taste, and I apologize for being so careless and forgetful there.