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!
Nick Pivetta’s Knuckle-Curve
https://gfycat.com/unlawfulquerulousamericanwarmblood
Nick Pivetta was working in and out of trouble all evening as the beleaguered Red Sox hosted the visiting Guardians. Heading into Monday night, the Sox had lost five straight to drop back to an even .500 record on the season. Pivetta did his best to right the ship and worked out of trouble in the third with a pretty breaking ball to José Ramírez.
Max Fried’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/improbableblissfulhartebeest
Max Fried had the curveball working on Monday with six of his eight strikeouts coming on the breaker. This curve to Kyle Schwarber may have been his best of the night as the red-hot Phillies’ slugger couldn’t quite pull the trigger.
Zack Greinke’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/coldantiquelamb
The veteran Zack Greinke looked to be in vintage form Monday night, picking up five strikeouts in as many innings. They came on four different pitches and Andrew Velazquez fell victim to a running changeup.
Aaron Ashby’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/bluebossychupacabra
The recently extended Aaron Ashby took the hill for the Brewers on Monday and rewarded the club with a solid outing. He continued to rack up the Ks and ended the night with an impressive 41% CSW. He ended the first with a great slider to C.J. Cron.
JT Brubaker’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/breakableremarkableant
The Pirates sent out JT Brubaker in their NL Central matchup at Wrigley on Monday. The third-year Pirate is currently enjoying his best season in Pittsburgh and added another solid start to his resume Monday. Over six innings he allowed only a pair of runs and totaled four strikeouts including one on this curveball to Alfonso Rivas.
Kyle Freeland’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/palemeancamel
Aaron Ashby wasn’t the only pitcher to register some whiffs in Milwaukee on Monday, as Rockies’ lefty Kyle Freeland picked up seven of his own. He froze Andrew McCutchen to lead off the seventh with a two-seamer that tailed just enough to run back over the plate.
Tony Gonsolin’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/deafeningmaleclumber
Tony Gonsolin makes regular appearances on Nastiest Pitches, and his splitter is almost always the culprit. He was back at it again on Monday, throwing that nasty splitter early and often. He put away Nelson Cruz on a great one in the second.
Merrill Kelly’s Sinker
https://gfycat.com/amplecraftyduck
Merrill Kelly has been steady, solid presence in Arizona’s starting rotation all season long and continued to put up quality innings Monday against the visiting Giants. Kelly cruised through five innings before finally allowing his first hit and tallied seven strikeouts on the night. He painted a back-door sinker to ring up Darin Ruf looking in the second.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)