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!
Julio Urias’ Four Seam Fastball
https://gfycat.com/newgoldenhochstettersfrog
The pitcher’s duel of the day featured the Dodgers and Mariners as both offenses combined for three hits. Julio Urias looked extremely sharp tallying 11 strikeouts and only allowing two baserunners in his seven innings of work. He struck out Tom Murphy to end the fourth with a perfectly spotted 97 mph four seamer on the inside corner. (h/t to PL+ member Matt Nielsen)
Kenley Jansen’s Cutter
https://gfycat.com/gentleimpuredoe
Kenley Jansen closed out the Dodgers’ 1-0 shutout of their Tuesday matinee. While he has struggled with control at points this season, he was sharp yesterday picking up two strikeouts in a perfect inning. His signature cutter got Kyle Lewis to chase way outside the zone for the second out of the ninth. (h/t to @Louie_Penna on Twitter)
Charlie Morton’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/limpingboilingitaliangreyhound
Charlie Morton may be in the twilight of his career, but he still sports a whiff rate in the 84th percentile of Major League Baseball. He showed off his elite curveball here as he sat down Giancarlo Stanton to lead off the second.
Zac Gallen’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/blondhotkatydid
Zac Gallen faced off against Luis Castillo in what many expected to be the pitching matchup of the day. Both starters labored a bit, with Castillo only lasting four innings, and Gallen failing to complete six. The Arizona starter did show off this nasty changeup though as he got Eugenio Suarez to go down swinging.
Jonathan Loaisiga’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/anguisheddisgustingcornsnake
Jonathan Loaisiga recorded the win as the Yankees were victorious for the first time in six games. Loaisiga ended the eighth with a 92 mph changeup to Ozzie Albies that the struggling Albies swung over the top of.
Shohei Ohtani’s Splitter
https://gfycat.com/pastsoupyconch
Tuesday marked Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound for the first time in over two weeks. It was a curious outing as he struck out seven in four innings while walking six others. He showed off his nasty splitter often and six of his seven punchouts came on the pitch. His fifth of the night came against Joey Gallo on a splitter located at the bottom of the zone. (h/t to PL+ member Christopher Reeves)
Corbin Burnes‘ Slider
https://gfycat.com/exhaustedleafyicelandichorse
With the way Corbin Burnes threw last night (or all season for that matter), you could probably pick a pitch at random and it’d be a good bet to end up on Nastiest Pitches. This sharp slider to Ha-Seong Kim was one of the best, though, as Burnes got Kim to chase the breaking ball that ended up way out of the zone.
Jose Berrios’ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/illiteratedelectablegerbil
The Twins were shutout in both ends of the doubleheader Tuesday, but Jose Berrios did his part to keep it close as he limited the A’s to just a single run over his five innings of work. One of his five strikeouts on the day came on this absurd sinker to Elvis Andrus.
Jesus Luzardo’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/actualfilthyalbacoretuna
One of the reasons that the Twins were shutout was the performance of Jesus Luzardo. He tossed five and a third scoreless innings and gathered six K’s along the way. One of his victims was Josh Donaldson, who went down on a nasty back foot curveball.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)