Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games. If you see something you think should be included here be sure to tweet @PitcherList to let us know. Or, if you’re a PL+ Member and part of our Discord, shout it out in the Nastiest Pitches channel.
Tarik Skubal’s Slider
That pitch is an absolute thing of beauty. Tarik Skubal cruised through most of his outing before unraveling a bit in the sixth and being sent back out for the seventh in what seemed like a questionable decision. For most of this start he was completely dominating every facet of the strike zone but somehow ended up with four earned runs charged to his name. Sometimes that’s just the way this game goes.
Jared Jones‘ Slider
Jared Jones came out firing missiles at Baltimore hitters, but this slider to Adley Rutschman was the chef’s kiss of the afternoon. Just check out Adley’s face in the slo-mo – that’s the face of a man who knows he can’t hit that junk.
Jason Foley’s Sinker
I’ve been hearing about Jason Foley’s ridiculous sinker for a couple of weeks now but this is the first time I’ve laid my eyes on it. Boy, was it worth the wait.
Trevor Richards‘ Changeup
Trevor Richards never gets any love for having a disgusting changeup. Sometimes I feel as if I’m the only one singing his praises. Whenever I see him pitch, I know I’ll be able to use a changeup for Nastiest Pitches. It’s like clockwork.
Freddy Peralta’s Fastball
This wasn’t Freddy Peralta’s prettiest pitch of the night, but it sure elicited the best reaction. Like Skubal, Peralta fell apart at the tail end of his outing which spoiled a gem of an outing that was otherwise a joy to watch.
Hunter Greene’s Fastball
Hunter Greene nailed his spot on this pitch, painting the inside corner right at the knees and catching Starling Marte asleep at the wheel. Greene’s six strikeouts left a little to be desired (by his standards), but the ratios were good and he kept the Reds in the game.
Erick Fedde’s Splitter
I really wish we had a better camera angle + a slo-mo view of this pitch to truly appreciate just how nasty it was. Fedde has returned to MLB with a vengeance and he is out to prove to the doubters that you actually can trust the Feddes.
Jordan Hicks‘ Sinker
While he’s no longer throwing this pitch 104 mph, Hicks is still using that nasty sinker to try and prove to everyone that he can be a capable starter in this league. He took a huge step in the right direction on Friday, pitching seven innings and only allowing one earned run.
Fernando Cruz’s Splitter
Another splitter that is hampered by a poor camera angle. We know this pitch is nasty because Jeff McNeil swats at the ball like it’s a horsefly that keeps buzzing in his ear. The lack of slo-mo on the Apple TV broadcast also was a disappointment. Why can’t we have nice things?
Tyler Rogers‘ Slider
Ouch! This pitch bounces up and hits Graham Pauley right in the noggin, knocking his helmet off in the process. If that’s not nasty, I don’t know what is. Side note – I had to Google Pauley’s first name so I Googled “Pauley Padres” which is an A+ nickname. Can we start calling him that?
Photos courtesy of Icon Sportswire
Adapted by Kurt Wasemiller (@KUWasemiller on Twitter / @kurt_player02 on Instagram