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 First 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.
Nick Pivetta’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/RashAntiqueGemsbuck
Following a short stint in the minors, Nick Pivetta made his return to the big leagues last night. The performance was a mixed bag for Pivetta, as he allowed two home runs but also utilized his nasty curveball to get whiffs from Cardinals hitters, most notably this filthy pitch to Harrison Bader.
Buck Farmer’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/TepidFixedCrow
Buck Farmer might have not been the big name on the mound last night for the Tigers, but he sure played like he was. Both batters he faced went back to the dugout with strikeouts next to their names on the line score, and this 2-2 changeup to Dwight Smith Jr. was certainly the filthier of the two.
Lucas Giolito’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/hugenaivegreathornedowl
Lucas Giolito has been setting the baseball world on fire the past few weeks, mostly thanks to his absolutely wicked changeup. Last night, Giolito’s fastball was his main strikeout pitch, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t work in a few changeups like he did here with this pitch. It was his 107th pitch of the night, and it notched him his 10th strikeout.
Brad Hand’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/PersonalPoisedIrishwaterspaniel
The Cleveland Indians mounted an improbable five-run-ninth-inning rally against the Red Sox last night. They sent out Brad Hand to complete the comeback in the bottom of the ninth, and he did just that. All three of his outs were strikeouts by his slider, but this one to Christian Vazquez takes the cake as the nastiest pitch from this outing.
Eric Lauer’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/VainSillyIrishterrier
Eric Lauer might not be an obvious choice this morning for a Nastiest Pitches shoutout, as he finished the night with a fairly pedestrian final line (5.1 innings, one earned run, four strikeouts). However, this cutter that absolutely fooled Gleyber Torres had more than enough movement to put Lauer in contention for nastiest pitch of the night.
Stephen Strasburg’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/SociableVioletGreatargus
Stephen Strasburg was unstoppable last night, striking out 11 guys over seven innings en route to a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Strasburg had his curve working all night, but no pitch he threw was prettier than this curveball that got Josh Donaldson to swing and miss in the sixth inning.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Quarter Contest.
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