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.
Max Scherzer’s Changeup – Scherzer was dominant against last night using the differing movements of his three pitch arsenal to keep the Orioles quiet until a late breakout. Here Scherzer uses a downward driving Changeup to retire Trey Mancini for one of his 11 Ks. (Thanks to Redditor efitz11 for the tip!)
Max Scherzer’s Slider – Scherzer was so good last night readers get 2 Scherzer GIFs for one post. This slider to get Manny Machado swinging is just unfair. With two pitches that look his Fastball out of the hand hitters are left guessing, and then flailing when they guess wrong.
Tim Adleman’s Changeup – The Reds are throwing any pitcher out there who can give them innings at this point, especially with the suspicious demotion of Amir Garrett, so guys like Adleman are going to get their chance to impress. Adleman was middling last night, but flashed a good Changeup to Aaron Judge with lots of armside run.
Antonio Senzatela’s Slider – Senzatela was good again last night and has been a bright surprise for a Rockies team short on pitching. Twitter comparisons to Clayton Kershaw, really, are crazy, but Senzatela has shown good command of his Fastball and a sharp slider that makes Kris Bryant look foolish.
Felipe Rivero’s Slider – Welcome to the big leagues Cody Bellinger! I don’t think Bellinger saw many Sliders like this one in his time in the minors. Rivero makes Bellinger flinch before the pitch falls on the outside corner. In a big spot Rivero finishes with a fist pump celebration.
John Lackey’s Slider – Lackey was great last night using his Slider more than usual to finish hitters off for a surprising amount of Ks. This front door Slider scares DJ Lemahieu a bit before breaking onto the inside corner crisply.
Chris Devenski’s Fastball – Devenski has been the darling of the sabermetric crowd to start the season for his unusual role as a multi-inning reliever with ridiculous stuff. Here he spots a Fastball perfectly to get new Brave Danny Santana swinging meekly. The pitch looks straight, but astute watchers will notice the slight movement that may have thrown Santana off.
AJ Griffin’s Curveball – Griffin was extremely effective last night mixing his pitches and speeds to keep hitters off balance. This extremely slow Curveball goes from nose to toes and Manuel Margot had little shot of making contact.
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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