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 Second 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.
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Sergio Romo’s Slider – It’s odd seeing Romo in the American League, but he made his second appearance for the Rays Thursday night as he held onto the Tampa Bay lead. He ended the seventh frame with a signature Romo frisbee Slider, spinning off the plate to Gary Sanchez.
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Luke Weaver’s Changeup – Outside of one bad inning, Weaver had an impressive outing for the Cardinals as he made his first start of the year. He earned his first strikeout with the pitch that got him to the bigs: his Changeup. Even without excellent movement, he relies on its change in velocity and mimicking his Fastball’s appearance to get A.J. Pollock to swing right through this 3-2 pitch.
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Marcus Stroman’s Slider – It was an early exit for Stroman on Thursday but he was able to make some great pitches being being ushered off the field. This slide piece has been all kinds of nasty in his recent starts, with his latest victim being Khris Davis, who missed this pitch by two feet.
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Trevor Bauer’s Curveball – Bauer had himself a day against the Angels, fanning six through eight frames. The deuce has become a major weapon this season and his prettiest of the day was in a big situation to Yunel Escobar in the seventh.
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CC Sabathia’s Slider – CC got off to a great start against the Rays, showing off his command early to Trevor Plouffe. Watch this pitch curl back to the plate at the last moment to nip the outside corner for the satisfying third strike.
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Chris Flexen’s Curveball – It was the MLB debut for Flexen after never pitching above Double-A ball and while it didn’t go his way, his Curveball was looking major league ready. Check out the massive drop he got on the pitch to stun opposing pitcher Luis Perdomo. (Thanks to @34bigcheese for the tip!)
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Chris Archer’s Slider – There’s little secret that Archer’s best pitch is his Slider, especially if it’s coming in at 89mph. No wonder Brett Gardner couldn’t hold up as the ball traveled from his hip down to the dirt in a heartbeat.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half Contest.
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