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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Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/DisfiguredCalculatingCod
Is there anything as beautiful as Clayton Kershaw’s curveball? It’s tough to say, but when Kersh bends the ball like this and places it down and in like he did to Kyle Farmer, there isn’t anything prettier.
Gerrit Cole’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/RapidDesertedCockatoo
Gerrit Cole struggled mightily on the mound yesterday against Cleveland as the Yankees got absolutely trounced. Still, Cole looked to be at least somewhat solid with his strikeout stuff as exemplified by his seven Ks. Here’s a filthy changeup that he throws by Bobby Bradley for a swinging strike three.
Sandy Alcantara’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/ObedientHandyCaiman
Since Jacob deGrom went down, no one’s dialed up nasty triple-digit heat quite like Sandy Alcantara. The Marlins’ budding ace showed it off here against Jacob Stallings who has no choice but to watch 100 mph flash on the radar as he goes down looking.
Shane McClanahan’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/ImpressionableLiveBarb
Shane McClanahan could also toss the heat. Alcantara got placed first because of the slick movement and extra tick on the radar, but this fastball that freezes Dustin Garneau is right up there with Sandy’s as one of the nastiest heaters of the day.
José Berríos‘ Changeup
https://gfycat.com/FinishedInsistentDarklingbeetle
José Berríos can really make the ball move well. Whether it be with his wicked sweeping curveball or his nasty two-seamer, Berríos can really bend the ball. Here, though, we pay homage to this filthy changeup that gets him one of his six Ks on the day.
Shohei Ohtani’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/WickedCalmIguana
Soon-to-be AL MVP Shohei Ohtani was dazzling on the mound, throwing 10 strikeouts over eight fantastic innings. Ohtani made nine of those 10 Ks with his splitter, but this one that gets Matt Olson swinging out of the zone was easily his filthiest.
Nathan Eovaldi’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/DefiniteEnviousGermanpinscher
Nathan Eovaldi pitched solidly on the mound yesterday going five frames and striking out eight. Here Eovaldi gets Anthony Santander swinging at a nasty back foot curveball for his second strikeout of the game.
Anthony DeSclafani’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/QueasyShadyGadwall
I couldn’t possibly go an entire article without a single slider, and although there was nothing mind-blowing from yesterday’s slate, there was this filthy Anthony DeSclafani slider that makes Ozzie Albies look silly.
Max Fried’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/ThirdOfficialCaiman
Coming full circle, we finish off today with two other fantastic curveballs (albeit they are very different pitches). This first one is courtesy of Max Fried, who bends the filthy pitch over the plate to get a swing and a miss from Wilmer Flores.
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/NextLikableCatfish
And lastly, what would a Nastiest Pitches article be, without a Rich Hill slow curve? This one clocks in at 71 as it nibbles at the upper edge of the zone to freeze Bryce Harper. It’s just a monstrous offering that Harper has no chance at even if he does swing.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)