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 Second 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.
Max Scherzer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/elementarylividherculesbeetle
7IP 9K 0ER (6H, 1BB). Ho-hum. Just best pitcher in baseball things. Ducks. In all seriousness, Scherzer is finally winning games again! It wasn’t his fault (the bullpen had a 11+ ERA during his outings), but he also hadn’t pitched as well as he has over the past few weeks. For your viewing pleasure; last 4 starts: 28IP .67 ERA .93WHIP 39K. Yikes.
Lucas Giolito’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/hauntingevergreenchameleon
As a sometimes masochistic Nationals fan, I felt compelled to watch the majority of Giolito’s start. While he’s not overly filthy (the most impressive thing I saw were his changes in velo), he just commands the game. It felt like he missed no more than a half-dozen pitches. Although I didn’t choose one of them for this article, his changeup (which showed up 16MPH difference from his fastball) is a true weapon – he looked pretty damn legit.
Framber Valdez’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/pinkunsteadyannashummingbird
Well that’s just not fair. New to the Astros rotation, Framber Valdez showed off his sinker’s phenomenal movement against Trey Mancini (Valdez threw a nearly identical offering one pitch after this one). Valdez may have elevated himself from “back-end fill-in” to “rotation piece” with his 7IP 7K 1ER gem.
Zack Greinke’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/powerfulbonygardensnake
So Greinke was throwing his slow curve all afternoon long the old man was playing games with the young Jays. Vlad Jr. saw 4 of them – 3 of them in this AB. Greinke has been phenomenal all year long; who cares if he doesn’t have elite velocity anymore? He’ll use the other end of the spectrum to get you.
Dillon Peters‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/forkedidlealleycat
Spin it, Dillon! If any of you have actually been reading/paying attention to the GIFs I post each week, you will know that my favorite “Nasty Pitch” is one that clips the back door. This was too close for Domingo Santana to watch it slide by annnnd its gone. Good stuff here from Peters.
GIF of the Night
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Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Quarter Contest.