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 and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half. 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.
Zach Britton’s Curveball – Britton isn’t know for his deuce, but we couldn’t help but smile when we saw this Curveball fall in for a strike after Leonys Martin completely bailed from the batter’s box. Best. Strike. Ever. (Thanks to Redditor KRL224 for the tip!)
Johnny Cueto’s Changeup – It was another successful night for the new Giant as Cueto cruised through the Padres lineup for the complete game. He salted opposing pitcher Drew Pomeranz’s wound by striking him out with this filthy Changeup in the third inning.
Rich Hill’s Curveball – I’m not sure what is crazier. Hill’s recent success given his career numbers or the fact that this pitch is technically a strike. Regardless, Hill’s Zito-esque Curveball is a sight to behold as he fanned Drew Stubbs in the second inning.
John Lackey’s Fastball – I often enjoy when pitchers do something different with their delivery to get extra movement and keep batters on their toes. Lackey elected to lower his arm slot to get extra horizontal bite on this Fastball, and he got just enough to graze the outside corner, inducing a weak flail from Domingo Santana. It reminds me of the fun antics of David Cone back in the day.
Chris Tillman’s Curveball – Tillman has been rolling this month and last night was no exception against the Mariners. His Slider was looking good, but this Knuckle-Curve looked great earning himself a 1-2 count against Chris Iannetta. (Thanks to rckthe90s for the tip!)
Andrew Miller’s Slider – This may be cheating to include Miller’s wipeout Slider, but there wasn’t a more dominating way to close out the 8th inning of Wednesday night’s game. Watch this slide piece travelled from one side of the plate to the other while falling from Jean Segura’s hip to his ankles and try not to nod your head in approval.
Gio Gonzalez’s Curveball – Gio lowered his sparkling ERA even further to just 1.86 as he led the Nationals to a much needed win against their NL East rivals. His hook is looking as pretty as ever these days, and fooled captain David Wright with a luscious Curveball to end his first frame.
Justin Verlander’s Changeup – Verlander has had a nice stretch of three starts, collecting 27 Ks in just 22.1 innings of work while sporting a 1.61 ERA. While he did allow 3 ER to the Twins Wednesday afternoon, he earned ten strikeouts including this punchout of Danny Santana with a sweet Changeup below the knees.
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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