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!
Carlos Rodón’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/LividWideeyedAidi
Carlos Rodón pitched an absolute gem on the mound for the White Sox yesterday, throwing seven one-hit innings against the Astros. Along the way, Rodón picked up 10 strikeouts, eight of which came on the fastball. But the other two came on his wicked slider, and here’s just a taste of what that pitch looks like. Rodón uses it to get Jose Altuve swinging for strike three, and oh my, it’s plain filthy.
Corbin Burnes‘ Cutter
https://gfycat.com/VillainousMiserableAldabratortoise
Speaking of gems, Corbin Burnes pitched a fantastic game of his own yesterday. Burnes struck out twelve and didn’t allow a run over eight magnificent frames. Here Burnes uses his lethal cutter to pick up strikeout number 11 on the day against Mike Freeman who stands no chance on the filthy 95 mph pitch.
Logan Gilbert’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/VastFrigidBee
It’s not easy to make Shohei Ohtani look foolish in the batter’s box, but that’s exactly what Logan Gilbert did yesterday. Gilbert pitched 5.1 innings and struck out nine, but this was by far his prettiest pitch of the day. Gilbert paints the corner and gets Shohei flailing on a nasty offspeed that the two-way superstar just can’t make contact with.
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/FamiliarFantasticBlueandgoldmackaw
After a blazing hot start, Joe Musgrove has cooled off the past few weeks. Yesterday, Musgrove struggled again, allowing four runs and only striking out three over five innings. He was still able to get some filthy pitches in though. Here he drops the hammer down on Andrew Stevenson for a swinging strike three.
Max Scherzer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/BlushingAstonishingAlbertosaurus
On the other side of the Padres-Nats pitching matchup, Max Scherzer tossed seven innings and allowed four runs. Both starters might have had their struggles, but Scherzer looked a lot better than his Padres counterpart. Here he throws a wicked slider that slips out of the zone as Manny Machado swings in futility at one of Scherzer’s eight Ks on the day.
Sonny Gray’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/vigorousunhealthyblackwidowspider
Sonny Gray has been the Reds’ ace this season, as Luis Castillo has struggled. But yesterday Gray faced some issues against the Brewers. He left in the fifth after allowing four runs to score in the inning, but his ERA only rose to 3.65. Still, even with his struggles, Gray did some painting in the early innings with his sinker, and here he used it to freeze Manny Piña for strike three.
Johnny Cueto’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/InsecureImmaterialHerald
Johnny Cueto pitched a solid five innings yesterday in which he only gave up two hits and a single run. Cueto struck out five and here he used his lethal changeup to get Matt Carpenter reaching out of the zone for strike three.
Framber Valdez’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/AngelicFrigidGermanwirehairedpointer
Framber Valdez faced off against the red hot Rodón yesterday, and was purely outmatched from start to finish. Valdez allowed four runs over 6.2 innings and only struck out four. All four of those Ks came on his nasty curve and here he puts it on display for Tim Anderson who looks silly swinging at the nasty hook.
Hyun Jin Ryu’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/HonestRapidGander
The Blue Jays swept the Rangers in their doubleheader yesterday and in game one they were led by Hyun Jin Ryu who pitched a complete game shut out. Ryu only allowed three hits and a walk while striking out four hitters. Here he uses his filthy changeup to get Nick Solak swinging for strike three.
Aaron Loup’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/DimwittedShowyKawala
Aaron Loup got himself into trouble loading the bases with no outs in the sixth inning yesterday. But then he came back and struck out the side, helping save face for a Mets team that could not afford a Pirates sweep. Here Loup throws a nasty sinker across the zone and paints the corner about as well as he can to put a backwards K on Wilmer Difo’s statline (h/t to PL+ member nvita).
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)