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. 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.
Jeurys Familia’s Fastball – It’s no secret that I’m in love with Familia’s Sinker and this might be the best one he’s thrown all year. Not only does it start well on the plate at 97 mph before falling into the right-handed batter’s box, but it also induces a swing from former NL MVP Bryce Harper. I could watch this one for days (Thanks to Redditor bmd4567 for the tip!)
Blake Snell’s Curveball – Snell took full advantage of facing a weak opponent as he struck out seven Angels and allowed two ER across six frames. His best pitch is easily his deuce, which gave Yunel Escobar all kinds of trouble throughout the game. The late and heavy bite to this yacker is oh-so nasty.
Adam Wainwright’s Curveball – It was prime Waino Thursday afternoon against the Pirates as he struck out nine in seven innings. His hook was looking as good as ever and got Andrew McCutchen to flinch on this frontdoor Curve – To be fair, it seems like anyone can make McCutchen flinch these days, but let’s not take that away from Wainwright. (Thanks to Redditor TheBrimic for the tip!)
Justin Verlander’s Changeup – There were two other pitches that we heavily debated adding instead of this one (two different hooks), but ultimately the massive drop at 88 mph and looking like a heater gave it the nod. Michael Saunders didn’t have a chance as the ball fell well below his bat.
Hector Santiago’s Curveball – Santiago cruised through the Rays lineup yesterday, shutting them out on their home turf across seven eight innings. He featured a variety of solid pitches, like this Curveball that traveled from one side of the plate to the other against Oswaldo Arcia.
Rich Hill’s Curveball – It’s great to have Hill back on the…mound these days with his beautiful Uncle Charlie that debilitates batters. He lowered his arm angle to make it more of a slurve pitch, which featured way too much bend for Marwin Gonzalez to handle.
Tyler Glasnow’s Curveball – It was the big league debut for the tall Pirate and he showcased his legendary Curveball frequently. He earned his first strikeout of his MLB career with the pitch as it dropped into the dirt against Aledmys Díaz. (Thanks to @ChiCityBrian 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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