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 @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
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Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball – Someday in the not-so-distant future, Jordan Hicks will be posting sub-2.00 ERA, 11+ K/9 seasons in the Cardinals bullpen. He’s still ironing out some kinks these days, but this fastball is proof that this kid has something real special.
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Mike Clevinger’s Changeup – Clevinger fanned nine in 6.2 scoreless innings on Thursday, using his entire four-pitch arsenal. Here his heavy changeup got a drop to the knee from Jake Cave as he scrambled to make contact. No luck.
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Dylan Floro’s Sinker – Most things that are hurdling through space at 93 miles per hour don’t bend sharply, but Dylan Floro has mastered the art of getting sharp, late movement on his sinker like he does here to get a big whiff from Steven Souza.
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Brad Hand’s Slider – New team, same Hand as he delivered his nasty, sharp slider right onto the outside black for a called strike three against new Twin’s first baseman Tyler Austin.
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Lucas Giolito’s Fastball – Giolito continued his hot streak, posting eight strikeouts in 6.1 innings against the hot-hitting Red Sox. He got a wicked two-seam fastball over on Andrew Benintendi here for a delicious strike three.
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Joe Musgrove’s Slider – Musgrove may have given up five runs on Thursday, but this wicked frisbee slider had Tyler O’Neill racing for the dugout before he even finished his swing. Nasty.
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Rick Porcello’s Fastball – I’m a sucker for two things: front door two-seam fastballs and emphatic strike three calls. Thank you for delivering, Mr. Porcello. And thank you for being afraid to swing Yolmer Sanchez. You’ve been great. Au revoir.
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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