Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup and the Nastiest Pitches from 5/2

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.

 

Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup

 

https://gfycat.com/majordistantbaiji

Stephen Strasburg got to 1,500 career strikeouts in the fewest innings last night, which is a huge accomplishment. Strasburg had all his pitches working. I could’ve chosen any number of curveballs or well-spotted fastballs, but this changeup to Jedd Gyorko was particularly beautiful to watch tumble out of the zone.

 

Diego Castillo’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/scalyfearlessfoxterrier

 

Diego Castillo had a couple other sliders that were about as nasty as this one, but this one was my pick because of how far the pitch is ends up off the zone and how far Hunter Dozier’s bat is from making contact.

 

Charlie Morton’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/boringclearcutgraywolf

 

Charlie Morton and the Rays are at the top of the MLB mountain because of their great pitching. Morton got Kelvin Gutierrez twice on curveballs like this one that swept off the zone and left Gutierrez swinging at air.

 

Jose Berrios’ Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/courteousdisguisedcheetah

 

Jose Berrios used his curveball somewhat sparingly last night. He got most of his strikeouts with his high-powered fastball, but a nasty curveball such as this one to Yuli Gurriel is always a possibility from Berrios.

 

Noah Syndergaard’s Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/parallelimpressionablekrill-cincinnati-reds-new-york-mets-baseball

 

Noah Syndergaard dominated the Reds yesterday, using his electrifying pitching arsenal. Few pitchers throw so many different pitches so well. This curveball made Jose Iglesias look silly as he danced in the box trying to make contact.

 

Jon Gray’s Fastball

 

https://gfycat.com/deardisguisedcoyote

 

Jon Gray had a great slider last night, but I wanted to showcase this fastball to Mike Moustakas. Gray completely misses his spot, but the slow-motion shows the pitch rise above Moustakas’ bat before gravity takes over and pushes the pitch back down.

 

Dakota Hudson’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/deephomelyamericancreamdraft

 

Dakota Hudson was edged out by the brilliance of Strasburg, but he should be proud of his great performance yesterday. His sinker and slider were diving all over the zone. This sinker to Adam Eaton to lead off the game was spotted right on the inside black.

 

Charlie Culberson’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/uncomfortableafraidelk

 

Charlie Culberson was called on to mop up the ninth inning of the Padres’ blowout of the Braves yesterday. He showed a 94 mph fastball and a slider with a respectable bit of bite. This slider just catches the inside corner and leaves Manuel Margot baffled. It’s fun to see position players pitch and actually show some talent. Culberson might have been a professional pitcher in a different life.

 

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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