Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day’s games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @PitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
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Jose Berrios’ Curveball – The 23-year-old had everything working in his complete-game shutout of the Baltimore Orioles, throwing an efficient 107 pitches in the 7-0 win. His hook was his bread and butter, as he bludgeoned the O’s with it all afternoon on his way to one walk and six strikeouts. More impressively, he allowed only one baserunner through the first eight innings and retired 17 straight at one point.
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Marcus Stroman’s Sinker – Even if the Yankees’ Neil Walker had caught up to this sinker from Stroman, he likely would’ve pounded it into the dirt. Luckily for us, he was gracious enough to wave at it and allow the ball to finish its return flight toward the inner half of the plate.
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Sonny Gray’s Curveball – Buried. Gray induced 16 swings and misses before manager Aaron Boone pulled him in the fifth inning for Chad Green, and the Blue Jays’ Yangervis Solarte had no shot on this first-inning offering. The right-hander’s stuff was evident, as he struck out eight and walked three over 89 pitches.
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John Axford’s Two-Seamer – Axford put in some work on Brett Gardner, turning the Yankee outfielder into a statue on four pitches, reluctant to lift his bat during the plate appearance. This one had the 34-year-old fooled enough for him to start to move out of the way—only to take a right turn and grab a good chunk of the plate. (Thanks to @robertomorson for the tip!)
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Yonny Chirinos‘ Two-Seamer – Boston’s Rafael Devers saw his share of wretch-inducing two-seamers from the Rays staff over the weekend, as reliever Jose Alvarado got him Friday night with bending 98 mph heat. Chirinos moved his sinker toward the plate’s outer half, but the results were the same: a flailing Devers.
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Rich Hill’s Curveball – The 38-year-old’s offering seemed to come from outside Brandon Belt’s peripheral vision, swooping in from his left to catch the heart of the zone. Don’t laugh at the Giants first baseman when he flinches. We’re all bound to blink when we see sorcery like this.
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Shohei Ohtani’s Splitter – The Japanese sensation had everyone buzzing with his dirty treatment of A’s first baseman Matt Olson on Sunday afternoon in Oakland. Ohtani hit 100 mph on his first pitch of the at-bat and followed it with an 89 mph splitter at the top of the zone for a 0-2 count. Then he pulled the rug from under Olson as the bottom dropped out of another splitter for the whiff. Ohtani’s command wasn’t dialed in, but aside from a homer given up to Matt Chapman, his MLB debut showed the world why he’s such a coveted talent. He finished with six strikeouts and one walk over six innings in the 7-4 victory.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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