Every morning we review the five best pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the Week. 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.
Congrats to Danny Salazar’s Changeup for winning GIF of the Week! The big drop he gets while fanning Josh Donaldson was enough to separate him from the competion.
Steven Matz’s Curveball – It was a two month gap between starts for Matz, and his return from the DL was a great one as he took down the Marlins. His Curveball was working like this one to Cole Gillespie.
Kenley Jansen’s Slider – Jansen normally uses his Cutter to earn a spot in the highlight reels, but his Slider was the main attraction as he made Derek Norris flail at this pitch in the dirt. The birds-eye view is a great way to see the big action Jansen gets on his 83 MPH slide piece. (Thanks to Reddt user AndrewNava for the tip!)
Brett Cecil’s Curveball – The Jays have been holding onto first place, and Cecil’s recent success has been a major contribution. On Saturday he closed the door on the Orioles and started the ninth shutting down Chris Davis with this heavy hook. (Thanks to Reddit user Gallade3 for the tip!)
Jake Arrieta’s Changeup – Arrieta threw a bunch of filthy pitches once again this weekend, and we elected to feature his rarely thrown Changeup for a little variety. Excellent fading action at 89 MPH is more than enough to strike out Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Felix Hernandez’s Curveball – This season has featured some tough times for King Felix, but he looked sharp Saturday against the Athletics. His Curveball was breaking hard and made Danny Valencia flinch as this hook fell into the strike zone.
Jake Odorizzi’s Changeup – Despite allowing a few longballs, Odorizzi still had some solid stuff Friday night in the Bronx. He tangled up Alex Rodriguez on this Split-Change down and in to earn this K.
Gio Gonzalez’s Curveball – Gonzalez had a great Saturday evening as he collected ten punchouts in just six innings of work. There were a handful of pitches to choose from, but the sweeping action on this Curveball was easily the best of the bunch.
GIF Of The Weekend
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in this weekend’s GIF of the Week contest.
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