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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Shane McClanahan’s Four Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/remorsefulexcitabledwarfrabbit
Shane McClanahan threw five quality innings on Tuesday as the Rays continue to monitor his usage and keep his inning count down. Despite the low inning total, McClanahan picked up 22 whiffs en route to a 39% CSW. He totaled seven strikeouts, including this one of Trey Mancini on an elevated 98 MPH four-seamer with an unfair amount of arm side run.
Dylan Bundy’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/barrenbabyishgalapagosdove
Dylan Bundy has struggled mightily throughout the 2021 campaign, eventually being banished to the bullpen as he continues to work to find his 2020 form. He worked mop-up duty on Tuesday against the A’s and picked up two strikeouts in the process on nearly identical pitches. The second of the two came against Matt Chapman.
Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/courteousthornyarcherfish
Aaron Nola’s last few starts have been pretty hit-or-miss for the normally consistent righty. He continues to rack up the Ks but has allowed a plethora of baserunners and struggled to go deep into games. Nola’s struggles continued Tuesday as the Yankees put up seven hits and a pair of home runs. He did add five strikeouts and threw a great back-foot breaking ball to Rougned Odor to end the first.
Domingo German’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/glaringhomelyglobefish
Domingo German took the ball in the Bronx Tuesday as an embattled Yankees team took on Nola and the Phillies. German would hold his own against the Phillies ace and got Bryce Harper to whiff on a well-placed changeup with a lot of run.
Mike Minor’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/apprehensivelegalcommongonolek
Mike Minor’s first season in Kansas City has been a struggle for the veteran lefty, but he was able to produce a strong performance in a Tuesday matinee in Milwaukee. He cruised through six innings on an efficient 78 pitches and picked up the win. He tallied five strikeouts and ended the fourth with a K on a curveball that dropped off the table to Manny Piña.
Touki Toussaint’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/pointlessjampackedarmednylonshrimp
After an abundance of rotation shuffling, Touki Toussaint got the spot start for Atlanta and provided a great effort. In six and two-thirds, Toussaint allowed only one run on three hits. His splitter was nasty all night, and his final strikeout came on a splitter to Eric Hosmer.
Michael Kopech’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/obviousexhaustedclingfish
Michael Kopech allowed a home run to the first batter he faced but bounced back to strikeout the side. He got his first two victims on elevated fastballs and put away Miguel Sano on a breaking ball that continued to escape the zone.
Brad Hand’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/longyoungbasenji
Brad Hand collected his 20th save of the season last night as he quietly continues to climb up the save leaderboard. He threw a perfect ninth inning and struck out Jesus Aguilar with a great back-foot slider.
Pete Fairbanks‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/cheeryquestionableharlequinbug
After the Orioles scored a pair to cut the lead to two, Pete Fairbanks was called on to put out the fire. He did just that, needing only eight pitches to pick up a pair of strikeouts. He ended the eighth, dropping a hammer of a breaking ball to DJ Stewart.
Jake Faria’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/infamousinfiniteenglishsetter
It was a battle of last-place teams out in the desert Tuesday night as the Pirates and Diamondbacks matched up for the second of a three-game set. Jake Faria made an early appearance out of the pen as the Pirates got to the Arizona starter early. Faria ended the fifth with this filthy splitter to Gregory Polanco.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)