Every morning, the We Love Baseball crew reviews the Nastiest Pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious high-definition GIFs. We want to bring you the highest caliber of nastiness possible, so if you see a nasty pitch, please tell us about it. You can tweet @PitcherList to let us know and we’ll give you a shout-out here in the article if your tip makes the cut.
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Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/TalkativeDefiniteDegu
Facing a 95 mph fastball is tough enough, but 95 mph on the offspeed must be plain impossible. Not even Jacob deGrom hits 95 on his changeup. Here, though, Sandy Alcantara does just that—and the result is just as you’d expect. It’s a swinging strike from Nick Castellanos on one of the filthiest pitches of the season.
Adam Wainwright’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/ElaborateBossyEskimodog
Adam Wainwright tossed an eight-inning gem yesterday in which he racked up nine strikeouts for the Cardinals. Waino’s curve gets some gorgeous 12-6 movement and here’s a perfect example of that. Take a look at the view from behind home plate, it’s really no wonder that the pitch is so tough to hit.
Marcus Stroman’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/UnrealisticUnluckyBighornsheep
Ah, the Mets. Yesterday, they picked up a win for the first time in what feels like forever and they did so behind a wonderful Marcus Stroman start. Stroman is usually known for his nasty sinker-slider combo, but here we are featuring his filthy splitter which runs by MVP hopeful Max Muncy for strike three.
John Means‘ Curveball
https://gfycat.com/LastDaringAquaticleech
Onto another team that’s been struggling to put wins on the board, let’s take a look at the Orioles. John Means pitched for the O’s as they picked up their 18th straight loss. Means wasn’t all that bad, and mostly has been a bright spot for Baltimore this year. Here he tosses a filthy curveball past Ozzie Albies for strike three.
Logan Webb’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/LongReasonableHypsilophodon
From the worst team in baseball to the best, let’s take a look at the Giants and Logan Webb. Webb was great on the mound, throwing six solid frames of one-hit ball and picking up seven strikeouts, six of which came on the slider. Here’s his first of the day, a wicked pitch that runs away from Mark Canha’s bat.
Frankie Montas‘ Splitter
https://gfycat.com/ShyHalfBongo
On the opposite side of the Giants-A’s matchup, Frankie Montas pitched seven innings of shutout ball. Montas was in control all afternoon, and here you can see why. Just look at this filthy splitter that breaks downward on Brandon Belt for strike three. Absolutely filthy.
Touki Toussaint’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/FalseGenerousAstarte
Touki Toussaint pitched solidly for the Braves yesterday, picking up the win and five strikeouts on the day. Here Toussaint grooves a sinker across the plate and paints the bottom edge for a called strike three. It’s an absolutely filthy pitch, and was without a doubt Toussaint’s best.
Vladimir Gutierrez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/AnotherGreedyKatydid
Vladimir Gutierrez continued his impressive 2021 rookie campaign yesterday, as he struck out eight hitters over seven innings of one-run ball. Gutierrez had a couple of pitches in contention to be placed here, but it’s this slider that fools opposing pitcher Sandy Alcantara that takes the cake as his best of the day.
Carlos Hernández’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/WelldocumentedImperfectIberianlynx
Carlos Hernández is another rookie that had a solid day on the mound yesterday. Hernández, much like Gutierrez, also struck out eight over seven innings and also only allowed one run to score. He was in control with his heater all day, and here he places his sinker in the one spot in the zone that Matt Duffy’s bat can’t reach. Pure filth.
Cal Quantrill’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/CriminalEnergeticKiwi
Lastly, we’ve got Cal Quantrill and what looks like a filthy changeup. I can’t be 100% sure (because the lack of a speedometer), but this one has too much downward break for me to say it’s a sinker. Whatever the pitch may be, it’s certainly filthy, and it definitely fooled Shohei Ohtani for strike three.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)