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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Frankie Montas‘ Splitter
https://gfycat.com/emptypowerlessarcticwolf
If only the A’s could, you know, actually score. Montas fired eight scoreless but was left empty-handed as his offense did nothing to help while the Mariners pushed across two runs against Zach Jackson in the ninth. Here a nasty splitter from Montas sends Julio Rodríguez packing in his second AB.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/gracioushollowgnu
Kershaw was held to just 80 pitches yesterday but he was the epitome of efficiency. So too was his curveball which coaxed six whiffs on seven swings yesterday while returning a 56% CSW.
Jhoan Duran’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/glitteringpettyhatchetfish
You could say José Ramírez knows a thing or two about hitting fastballs. But this one from Duran dotting the topping of the zone just completely overpowered the MVP candidate.
Joe Musgrove’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/dangeroustatteredamericanbadger
Not a great day at the office for Musgrove, who was done in by a rough sixth inning that included home runs by Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. Bryce Harper had no chance on this sharp hook, the first pitch that he saw last night. Featuring well above-average vertical movement, Musgrove’s curve has been fantastic this year and has held batters to a .236 wOBA.
Zach Plesac’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/weepyabandonedfossa
He took the hard-luck loss yesterday as the Guardians were shut out, but Plesac had the slider working yesterday as it returned seven whiffs on 19 swings (29% CSW). His first strikeout victim of the day was Carlos Correa who flailed helplessly at this sharp slider in his first at-bat.
Tanner Scott’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/necessaryanchoredafricanwildcat
If you’re chasing saves, you might’ve recently picked up the Marlins’ lefty who recorded save number seven yesterday. Fueled by a slider which he’s thrown over 70% of the time this year, Scott’s K rate has surged to 36.6%. Here he unleashed it to sit down C.J. Cron for the first out of the ninth.
Andrés Muñoz’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/speedyspanishaardvark
Cristian Pache is batting .160 through 200 PA and saw his woes continue yesterday afternoon on a perfectly located 2-2 slider from Munoz for the second out of the seventh. Paired with his heater that averages just under 100 MPH, the Munoz slider has returned a silly whiff rate of 50.6%.
Félix Bautista’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/embarrassedagreeableisopod
The righty reliever has a big fastball that averages 98.4 MPH. Batting .478 over his past ten games, Andrew Vaughn had no shot on this overpowering heater from the O’s rookie who recorded a scoreless seventh in last night’s shutout of the White Sox while dropping his ERA to 1.52 on the year.
Dean Kremer’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/deafeningboldarizonaalligatorlizard
Last on the Dean’s list: Kremer’s cutter. The pitch thoroughly baffled José Abreu in his second at-bat as he swung through three in a row for one of Kremer’s four strikeouts.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)