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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Zac Gallen’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/blandrigidechidna
Zac Gallen continues to work his way back from a UCL injury and looked much better in his second start back than he did in his first. He had the changeup working and threw a great one here to Jackie Bradley Jr.
Tejay Antone’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/fixedcarelessamericangoldfinch
Tejay Antone made his return from the IL in a rare Tuesday matinee. He was thrown straight into the fire as he was brought in with one out and two runners in scoring position. He did allow the inherited runners to score but was able to mitigate the damage and kept the Reds from falling behind. He wound up being credited with the win and ended his appearance with a strikeout of Luis Arraez on a nice back door curveball. (h/t to PL+ member littlepiranha)
Max Scherzer’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/coldboringafricanelephant
Max Scherzer also made his return after a brief IL stint to take on Zack Wheeler and the Phillies. He was visibly upset about the substance checks, but that didn’t prevent him from another strong performance on the mound as Scherzer struck out eight over five innings in the win. One of his 19 whiffs came on this slider to Rhys Hoskins.
Zack Wheeler’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/freefrequenteastrussiancoursinghounds
As mentioned above, Zack Wheeler took the mound for the Phillies tonight, and it didn’t take him long to record his first K of the game. He had Kyle Schwarber way out in front on this curveball below the zone.
Eli Morgan’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/unfortunateshallowirishwolfhound
Eli Morgan got the spot start for Cleveland on Tuesday, and this start went slightly better than his previous outings. He struck out nine over five innings while allowing four runs. He pairs a low 90s fastball with a changeup in the 70s that has a lot of downward movement. He showed off that changeup here to Sergio Alcantara.
Tarik Skubal’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/affectionateharshconure
Tarik Skubal wasn’t particularly efficient on Tuesday as he failed to get out of the fifth inning, but he was able to pitch his team to a victory as the Tiger offense pounced on St. Louis pitching. Skubal elicited an ugly swing here on a nice back-foot slider to Tyler O’Neill.
Ryan Tepera’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/exemplaryenergeticirishterrier
Cubs’ reliever Ryan Tepera came on to preserve the lead in the eighth. He was locked in a long at-bat with Jose Ramirez but was able to prevail on the ninth pitch with this nice slider. (h/t to PL+ member toneloaf)
Clayton Kershaw’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/brownacclaimedbluetickcoonhound
In a division battle out west, the Dodgers sent out veteran Clayton Kershaw to take on the Padres. He was hurt by a pair of home runs but turned in a strong performance otherwise. Even Manny Machado had to agree that this slider was nasty.
Freddy Peralta’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/inbornfailingkite
Freddy Peralta has played a big role in the Brewers’ success this season as part of their trio of aces. He took the mound on Tuesday, taking on the struggling Diamondbacks, and was lights out yet again. He pitched himself out of a threat in the fifth with a great back-foot slider to Eduardo Escobar.
Anthony DeSclafani’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/silentwhimsicalibex
The Giants scored four in the first, and that was more than enough run support for Anthony DeSclafani as the righty was nearly untouchable Tuesday night. He allowed no runs and only three hits throughout his seven innings of work. Six of his nine strikeouts came on sliders like this one to Justin Upton that he used to escape an early jam.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)