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 Second 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.
Jimmy Nelson’s Slider – It wasn’t the ace-like performance that we’ve grown accustomed to from Nelson over the past two months, but his Slider was looking devilish against the Pirates. Check out this bender as it never stopped riding in on Max Moroff. (Thanks to @Sam_Rodebaugh for the tip!)
Mike Foltynewicz’s Fastball – Folty has had a good run as of late and surprisingly survived games against the Nationals, Diamondbacks, and the Dodgers last night. This Fastball for his fifth strikeout caught our eye as the ball had a ton of life at 97mph. Yasmani Grandal, we all would have been the victim.
Aroldis Chapman’s Slider – We’ve seen some struggles from Chapman this year, but he’s also begun to believe in his Slider a bit more as well. His pitch was eliminated from the First Half tournament by the eventual winner and while this one doesn’t have the same absurd horizontal bend, you can understand how unfair this was for Ben Gamel as the pitch looked like an outside corner Fastball at 100+ before falling well off the plate under 90mph.
Jameson Taillon’s Curveball – It’s wonderful seeing Taillon not only return from testicular cancer, but to do so while dominating with each start. He collected eight strikeouts against the Brewers yesterday and his Curveball was as good as we’ve seen it. Just check out the drop he got on this pitch to close the top of the first.
Patrick Corbin’s Slider – It’s been a solid run for Corbin lately as he carved up the Reds lineup for an easy win in Cincinnati. The pitch that has made him a strikeout threat through the years has been his Slider, which disappeared from the strikezone in a hurry to get Eugenio Suarez in the opening frame.
Roberto Osuna’s Slider – Osuna has solidified himself as one of the top closers in the game, earning yet another save against the Red Sox yesterday afternoon. His final pitch of the game was this vicious pitch to Hanely Ramirez, who lost his helmet as he didn’t come close to making contact.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half Contest.
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