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 Second Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Congrats to Aaron Nola’s Fastball for winning Nastiest Pitching GIF of the Week! It was a classic back-door Two-Seamer from Nola as it darted its way back to the outside corner.
Tyler Skaggs‘ Curveball – Skaggs returned to the bigs after sitting on the DL for months and didn’t make the big splash some were hoping. Still, he featured a beautiful Curveball in the opening frame to fan Marcus Semien that went from nose to toes.
Marcus Stroman’s Slider – It’s never easy going up against the Astros’ offense, though Stroman managed to allow just two earned runs during Sunday’s affair. He closed the sixth inning with a nasty Slider that made hit-king Jose Altuve jump back in the batter’s box.
Yu Darvish’s Curveball – Darvish gave Dodger fans exactly what they wanted with a 10 strikeout outing against the Mets on Friday night. The first K of his L.A. career came via a fantastic deuce that got Asdrubal Cabrera fishing under the strike zone. (Thanks to Redditor iDrinan for the tip!)
Jameson Taillon’s Fastball – After a pair of horrific outings, Taillon found his groove against the Padres on Sunday. He escaped a tough first inning with a 97mph Fastball that featured plenty of ride and dip that ate up Hunter Renfroe for the well deserved strikeout.
Trevor Bauer’s Curveball – Bauer was on against the Yankees Friday night, punching out seven batters in as many frames. His final pitch was this heavy Curveball to Clint Frazier that never stop falling as it dove under the rookie’s bat.
Jake Junis’ Slider – Sunday marked Junis’ first start since the end of June and he took full advantage of the opportunity. The first of seven Ks came with via this filthy Slider to Jean Segura that featured Kluber-esque movement, darting away from the infielder in a blink of an eye.
Jacob Faria’s Fastball – When Faria is dealing, he’s an absolute joy to watch. Eric Thames was in a fury after getting calling out on strikes with this heater, but this gorgeous slow-motion shot shows the pitch nailing the black of the plate perfectly. I’ve already watched this one dozens of times on repeat.
Brad Hand’s Slider – The Padres elected to hold Hand at the deadline, who has made the ninth inning his home as the Friars’ closer. His second out en route to Saturday’s save was with this slide piece that started in the middle of the zone before falling to Jose Osuna’s ankles.
GIF Of The Night
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the Second Half Contest.
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