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 Nastiest Pitches of the Season GIF Tournament. 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/AbleOblongBluetonguelizard
In an exciting game one that pitted two of the best in the business against each other, Max Scherzer emerged victorious over Gerrit Cole. Mad Max took the mound for the Nationals first ever World Series game and he certainly did his job, throwing 112 pitches and striking out seven batters over five innings. Here, Scherzer uses a frisbee slider that runs far off the edge of the plate to put Carlos Correa down on strikes.
Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/CloudyClutteredAzurevasesponge
Moving on to Scherzer’s opposition on the mound, Gerrit Cole, who couldn’t have been a tougher matchup for the Nationals. Facing a pitcher who hasn’t recorded an loss in five months is utterly terrifying, but the Nats put together a few home runs and a three-run fifth inning to hand Cole a brutal L. Although it was a poor outing by Cole’s standards, he still delivered his heat in the upper-90s all night, as he did here on a pitch that he blasts by Juan Soto.
Tanner Rainey’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ForcefulUnnaturalLadybird
Tanner Rainey entered the game in the sixth and pitched into the seventh before he got pulled after walking two straight hitters. Rainey was attacking with a mix of his 100 mph heater and his devastating 90 mph slider. Here, he uses the latter to get a swing-and-a-miss strikeout from of ALCS hero Jose Altuve in the bottom of the seventh.
Will Harris‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/NegativeMatureEarwig
Will Harris was charged with keeping the game close enough to give the Astros a chance in the eighth, and he did just that. Although he allowed a single and a stolen base to Juan Soto, Harris was able to strand him on second base thanks to this late-breaking curveball that absolutely drops out on Asdrubal Cabrera.
Patrick Corbin’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/NervousMajorArchaeocete
Patrick Corbin relieved Mad Max out of the pen in the sixth inning, and things couldn’t have gone better for the lefty who signed a $140 million mega-deal this past offseason. Of the 21 pitches Corbin threw, 11 were sliders, and of those 11, four were swinging strikes. It’s known that Corbin’s slider can destroy opposing hitters, and Carlos Correa learned that lesson the hard way on this back-foot beauty that Corbin finesses right by the slugger.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the Nastiest Pitches of the Season GIF Tournament.
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