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 Third 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 Curveball
https://gfycat.com/rectangularjointchickadee-baseball
Stephen Strasburg had himself quite a day. Strasburg hit a homer and had five RBI in a game he also pitched pretty well. Strasburg bends this curve to Ozzie Albies to the perfect spot right on the outside corner. The ball starts way out of the zone and only nicks the plate right at the end of its path.
Chris Sale’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/anyringedarrowcrab-baseball
Chris Sale eviscerated the Blue Jays lineup, using all three of his plus offerings to get plenty of swings and misses. Christian Vazquez’s frame job hurts the visual on this pitch a little, but we’re still able to see Sale’s precision to spot this back-door slider perfectly on the black. Randal Grichuk had to swing with two strikes, but he had little chance of hitting this pitch with any authority, if at all.
Kyle Gibson’s Two-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/wellwornfaintflee-baseball
Kyle Gibson used his varied arsenal to mow down Athletics hitters in a big Twins win last night. This two-seamer starts near or on the outside black before breaking sharply out of the zone. Matt Olson started his swing with the ball in the zone and couldn’t hold up as the ball broke a good distance off the plate.
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/rigidfrequentkoi-new-york-yankees-baseball
Charlie Morton cruised through the first four innings before succumbing to the buzzsaw that is the Yankees lineup. Morton lost the zone in the fifth, but before that, he showed why he’s the American League ERA leader with his big fastball and put-away curveball. Aaron Judge struck out his first two at-bats on sharp breaking curveballs like this one that left him flailing.
Andres Muñoz’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/spectacularinsistentdodo-miami-marlins-baseball
Andres Muñoz blew away the Marlins with his triple-digit fastball that seems to explode out of his hand. Muñoz finished Jorge Alfaro with a fastball at 101 mph spotted perfectly on the outside black. The slow-motion portion shows how late Alfaro is as well as the seemingly impressive spin on the pitch.
Noah Syndergaard’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/ediblealienatedgrizzlybear-new-york-mets-baseball
I usually try not to include pitiful swings by pitchers, but I’ll make an exception for the best-hitting pitcher in the game, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner should have no shame because Noah Syndergaard can make even the best position players look silly with his high-velocity arsenal. This Syndergaard slider has great depth, and that extra tick or two of velocity helps makes even the best position players look silly from time to time.
Trevor Bauer’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/uniformdeafeninggnatcatcher-cleveland-indians-detroit-tigers-baseball
Bauer unsurprisingly got himself into a partially self-made jam late in his start last night against the Tigers. Bauer was able to escape the predicament and strike out Christin Stewart by using his nose-to-toes curveball. Bauer showed some emotion after the pitch that is fun to see.
GIF of the Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below, and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Third Quarter Contest.
[polldaddy poll=10366918]