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!
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/lamesecretdaddylonglegs
An April rainout brought us a rare Tuesday matinee as Atlanta traveled to Queens to take on the Mets. Charlie Morton got the start for the visiting squad and while his start to the 2022 season has been a bit rocky, he still features his patented breaking ball. He displayed one here to Jeff McNeil.
Kyle Wright’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/easygoinghardtofindcondor
With Morton starting the matinee, Kyle Wright took the ball in the nightcap as Atlanta attempted to avoid the doubleheader sweep. The former top prospect and first-round pick struggled early on in his Major League career, but seems to be turning the corner in 2022, bolstering an already strong Atlanta pitching staff. After allowing a couple of early runs, Wright settled in and cruised through his final six frames. Unfortunately for him, he was provided zero run support by the Atlanta offense. He had three strikeouts on the evening including this perfectly placed curveball to Brandon Nimmo.
Adam Ottavino’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/fragrantshockedirrawaddydolphin
Heading back to game one, we feature reliever Adam Ottavino. He’s been long known for his frisbee slider and on Tuesday he proved that he still had it in his arsenal with a ridiculous one to Adam Duvall.
Alek Manoah’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/recentinsidiousblackandtancoonhound
Alek Manoah and the Blue Jays played host to the Yankees on Tuesday as the Bronx Bombers arrived in Toronto riding a ten-game winning streak. Manoah quieted the Yankee bats in this one, but New York would score six runs off the Toronto pen the inning after he was pulled. He recorded a pair of strikeouts in the first including this nasty slider to Aaron Judge.
Jameson Taillon’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/heartymiserlyindochinesetiger
Matching up with Manoah was Jameson Taillon. It didn’t take long for the Yankee starter to record his first K of the night as he dispatched George Springer on five pitches including this filthy slider.
Michael Kopech’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/radiantidealaplomadofalcon
Young fireballer Michael Kopech has made the transition to full-time starter in 2022 and through his first four turns through the rotation, the results have been promising. As expected, the young righty has not worked deep into games, but he makes the most of his opportunities with a triple-digit fastball and devastating breaking ball. The curveball was on display here to put away Patrick Wisdom for Kopech’s third strikeout of the night.
Germán Márquez’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/illinformeddecentdanishswedishfarmdog
Pitching in Coors is never fun, though Germán Márquez has managed to hold his own at the high altitude. It seems he may have missed his spot a bit here, but he did manage to strike out one of the league’s best hitters in Juan Soto on a nice slider. Soto was clearly not pleased with himself.
Ryan Brasier’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/elastichighbison
Contrary to what many expected, the Red Sox 2022 offense has been quite bad, while the pitching staff has been rather good. The Sox boast a number of solid options in the bullpen and Ryan Brasier has been strong in his short relief role. He helped Boston to a much-needed win on Tuesday throwing a scoreless inning and picking up a pair of strikeouts. This slider to Brandon Marsh completely fell off the table to elicit the whiff.
Brandon Woodruff’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/miniaturenaturalconey
Brandon Woodruff’s changeup was featured here last week, and the veteran returns to the list Tuesday due to the same pitch. Woodruff would allow back-to-back solo homers in the fourth but bounced back to strike out Tyler Stephenson for the second time of the night.
Nick Nelson’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/gargantuandiscreteglassfrog
Phillies’ reliever Nick Nelson only threw two innings but led all pitchers in the game with six whiffs. His changeup had a 57% whiff rate on the evening and has consistently hovered around 35% for his career. The Rangers struggled with it on Tuesday, striking out twice on the pitch. Kole Calhoun was one of the two victims as he chased a diving changeup below the zone.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)