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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Aaron Nola’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/querulouslimpingcranefly
The prime pitching matchup of the day pitted Aaron Nola against Sandy Alcantara. The pitchers’ duel did not disappoint as both starters worked deep into the game and kept offense at a minimum. Nola struck out six in seven innings and put away Jesús Aguilar twice on nearly identical knuckle-curves.
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/hardtofindoddballfly
Sandy Alcantara matched Nola pitch for pitch and both hurlers would walk away with a no-decision after allowing two runs each. Alcantara struck out five and finished off the seventh inning with a strikeout of Kyle Schwarber on a 94 MPH changeup.
Alek Manoah’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/finishedcoolcockroach
With the way Alek Manoah pitched on Monday, he didn’t require much run support. The Blue Jays provided him with 11 anyway, which was more than enough for the big righty to secure the win. Manoah allowed a single hit over six shutout innings and finished the night with seven Ks. He struck out the third batter of the game, Austin Hays, on an absolutely filthy slider.
Yu Darvish’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/sleepyseveralhammerheadbird
It’s widely known that Yu Darvish employs a wide array of pitches. The most heavily used of his repertoire, the cutter, was on full display Monday and Darvish used a great one to put away Christopher Morel.
Yerry De Los Santos’ Slider
https://gfycat.com/perkyunlinedkittiwake
It was a high-scoring affair in St. Louis on Monday with the home team scoring seven unanswered to walk away with the victory. Yerry De Los Santos was the lone Pirate pitcher to not allow a run on the evening, thanks in part to this nasty slider to Harrison Bader.
Merrill Kelly’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/hideouskaleidoscopiclamprey
Merrill Kelly looked good early on in this one, but got hurt his third time through the order by a Brandon Drury homer. Kelly struck out seven with three coming on the changeup, including this one to Nick Senzel.
Ryne Stanek’s Four-Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/tintedaccurateanglerfish
Though the Rangers would mount a comeback versus the Astros’ bullpen, Ryne Stanek did his job and shut down the Rangers’ threat in the seventh. Stanek’s four-seamer ran up and in on Marcus Semien at an easy 100.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)