The 10 Nastiest Pitches from Wednesday

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/ChillyHospitableDiamondbackrattlesnake

 

Six no-hitters. It’s May 20th. That’s four this month. And two days in a row?!?! This is getting crazy. Yes, Corey Kluber made history last night with the first Yankees’ no-no since David Cone’s perfect game. There’s not much to say other than Kluber was at the top of his game last night. I mean — just check out this ridiculous back door curve to Joey Gallo. Perfectly located, wild break. What a filthy pitch on a historic night for Kluber.

 

Liam Hendriks‘ Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/TallEnchantingBass

 

Liam Hendriks‘ came in to close the door on a series that was mostly focused on unwritten rules and whatnot. But, there was also baseball played in between all that. It was a dominant pitching performance for the White Sox, and it was capped off with this gorgeous curve that Hendriks bent past Max Kepler to close out the game.

 

Kevin Gausman’s Splitter

 

https://gfycat.com/ElegantTediousGuillemot

 

So far, Kevin Gausman has been worth every dollar the Giants paid him this offseason. Gausman has dominated on the mound, which has been a big part of why the Giants find themselves at the top of a stacked NL West. Last night, Gausman tossed six innings of fabulous one-hit ball for the Giants. Here, he throws his signature splitter that puts Shogo Akiyama into a spin cycle.

 

Lucas Giolito’s Changeup 

 

https://gfycat.com/ConcernedTornGopher

 

This season has been somewhat of a struggle for Lucas Giolito thus far, but yesterday he was dominant on the mound, tossing eight frames and striking out 11, while only allowing a single run. His season ERA dropped to 4.35, so perhaps he’s getting into a rhythm. Here, he tosses his lethal changeup right past Ben Rortvedt for a swinging strike three.

 

 Joe Musgrove’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/PalatableImperfectDegu

 

Joe Musgrove took the mound yesterday for the Padres and continued his early-season domination. He threw seven scoreless innings and struck out 11 hitters. Although there were many nasty choices to go with, it’s this filthy slider to Dom Nuñez that takes the cake.

 

Craig Stammen’s Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/FinishedDescriptiveIntermediateegret

 

A bit later in the game, we got to see Dom Nuñez yet again (like the rest of the Rockies, he just couldn’t catch a break yesterday). This time he faced Craig Stammen, and instead of swinging, Nuñez just stares in disbelief as the Padres’ late-inning man bent a sinker over the inside edge of the plate for strike three.

 

John Means‘ Curveball

 

https://gfycat.com/JollyBiodegradableGrassspider

 

Following in the theme of featuring guys who have thrown no-hitters this season (see Musgrove, Kluber above) let’s take a look at John Means. Means has been insanely good, and although he struggled yesterday, his ERA on the season remains at an elite 1.70. Here, he bends an insane curve past Mike Brosseau for a swinging strike (h/t to Noah Avary for finding this one).

 

Corbin Burnes‘ Sinker

 

https://gfycat.com/imperfectenchantingfurseal

 

Corbin Burnes continued his fantastic season last night, with a six-inning quality outing in which he struck out nine and only allowed two runs. Burnes was bringing the heat early against the Royals. Watch as he blasts a 98 mph heater right past Andrew Benintendi for a swing and a miss strike three. Wow.

 

Zach Eflin’s Changeup

 

https://gfycat.com/LonelyThriftyGlobefish

 

Zach Eflin had a solid outing last night for the Phillies, as he went six innings and struck out as many batters. Eflin’s solid game was not enough to beat the Marlins, but this one was on the Phillies’ offense, so little fault should be placed on Eflin. Here’s his nasty changeup, which gets some great late break to fool Miguel Rojas for strike three.

 

Clayton Kershaw’s Slider

 

https://gfycat.com/EnchantedPastDungbeetle

 

Finally, we’ve got Clayton Kershaw and his filthy slider. Kershaw was absolutely dominant for the Dodgers, going six innings and striking out eight. Here’s his filthiest offering of the night, a nasty slider that runs out of the zone as Pavin Smith offers a futile swing.

 

 

Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)