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.
As a bonus for PL+ members, let us know about a pitch on the PL+ Discord in the Nasty Pitches Channel, and if your suggestion is included the next day, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing for a free T-shirt!
Corey Kluber’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/obviouszanylabradorretriever
He’s not the same pitcher he once was back in the day, but Corey Kluber can still snap off a hook with the best of them. This beauty dispatched Ryan Mountcastle in the first.
Nathan Eovaldi’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/dapperpepperyeskimodog
Julio Rodríguez came into yesterday’s game hot with multi-hit games in four of his last seven. But, Nathan Eovaldi’s splitter stopped him in his tracks as he whiffed on the pitch three times in his first at-bat.
Jhoan Duran’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/felineblandcuttlefish
Andrew Benintendi ended up with three hits yesterday but was simply overmatched by a fastball from Jhoan Duran, who secured his third save of the season by sealing a 7-6 Twins victory.
Patrick Sandoval’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/carefularomaticbarasingha
Yesterday was a day to forget for Sean Murphy, as he ended up with a hat trick, this whiff coming in the second courtesy of a sharp slider from Patrick Sandoval.
Sandy Alcantara’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/farenchantedflatfish
Ho-hum. Just another day at the office for Sandy Alcantara, who notched his first of seven strikeouts by getting Ozzie Albies to flail at some high cheese.
Zach Eflin’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/simplepointedhammerkop
How about Zach Eflin’s curveball? The pitch returned 12 whiffs yesterday en route to a dominant, seven-inning performance against the Dodgers. Eflin and Mookie Betts battled all afternoon. After whiffing in his first at-bat, the 2018 AL MVP tagged Eflin for a solo shot. But the Philly right-hander took vengeance in their next meeting and vanquished him with this nasty hook. He ended his day with a career-high 12 punchouts. Not bad, not bad at all.
Shane Bieber’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/enragedshorttermgreathornedowl
Sure, his fastball velocity is down. But, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who commands their offspeed pitches like Cleveland’s ace.
Michael Kopech’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/forthrightlateaffenpinscher
This is the Michael Kopech we all had in mind in fantasy drafts this past offseason. He had a little something extra for yesterday’s nightcap and averaged over 97 MPH on his heater as he blanked the Yankees through seven innings, easily his best performance of the year.
Luis Severino’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/academicunimportantannashummingbird
On the other side of the Sunday night game, Luis Severino was equally brilliant and traded zeroes with Kopech, before the Yankee pen capitulated in the eighth. Severino’s slider was a thing of beauty last night, this one getting Luis Robert in his first at-bat.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/eagerdefenselesskite
Sandy take us away because you’re awesome and so is this thing that you call a changeup.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)