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.
Stephen Strasburg’s Curveball – Stras is now up to 26 scoreless innings since his return from the DL, and NL playoff teams should be very worried about facing a Scherzer-Strasburg 1-2 punch in the playoffs. Strasburg has many pitches to choose from to finish hitters, and last night it was his Curveball, which reminded me of the late Jose Fernandez’s breaker. J.T. Realmuto flinched, and then resigned himself to the fact he’d been fooled very badly.
Garrett Richards‘ Slider – Richards is back from his long absence caused by arm trouble, and his Slider came back with him. Richards’ Slider is noteworthy for its velocity and its seemingly late drop that fools hitters like Khris Davis into swinging at a pitch that ends up in the dirt.
David Robertson’s Curveball – As the old saying goes: Robertson may have won this battle, but Manny Machado won the war against the Yankees bullpen with a walk off homer against Dellin Betances. Robertson threw a beautiful front door Curveball that left Manny off balance and on the ground.
Felipe Rivero’s Slider – Rivero’s Slider is a regular on Gifs of the Night, and we decided to change things up and show a different angle on an old favorite. With the reverse angle it’s fun to see the ball head right toward Jon Jay’s waist, Jay’s flinch, the ball’s break toward the plate, and Jay’s feeble attempt at fouling the pitch off.
Tyler Olson’s Curveball – The Indians bullpen had to pick up the slack last night when Danny Salazar got shelled in the first inning of his start, and the bullpen did a great job leading the team to its 13th straight win. This breaking ball from the LOOGY Olson induces a nice little stutter from Rob Brantly before moving into the strike zone smoothly.
Joe Smith’s Slider – The Indians bullpen was so good last night it deserved two GIFs. Joe Smith’s submarine Slider is beatiful to watch as it moves across the plate sharply to K Rymer Liriano.
Adam Ottavino’s Cutter – Ottavino throws at least 3 varieties of his Slider, and this hard one works more like a Cutter than a Slider. Pitch names are somewhat subjective, but I can objectively say that Buster Posey swung and missed a pitch that ends up in the middle of the opposite batter’s box.
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.
[polldaddy poll=9824433]
People talk about “knee-buckling” breaking balls all the time but that Olson curve is quite literally a knee-buckler… ouch
Went through the whole thing thinking that Strasburg curve was easily my vote, and then holy mother of god, that Ottavino cutter/slider/lethal-weapon.
I’m still going with the Strasburg curve, but that Ottavino pitch is ridiculous. I have a hard time voting for the sliders and cutters because the curves and fastballs with movement are aesthetically a lot more pleasing. The Robertson curveball gets #3 for me, in part due to Machado’s swing.