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!
Alek Manoah’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/SaneThirdAntarcticfurseal
Alek Manoah pitched masterfully for the Blue Jays last night as he allowed just one hit over eight innings and struck out 10. Nine of those Ks came on Manoah’s slider, which is just an absurd looking thing. Here he gets Kevin Kiermaier swinging at the pitch for a nasty strike three (H/T to PL+ member AnOldOldWoodenShippy).
Sandy Alcantara’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/FoolhardyBiodegradableFireant
Alek Manoah might have grabbed the top spot this morning, but it easily could’ve gone to Sandy Alcantara on any other night. Alcantara also pitched eight one-hit innings, and struck out seven, but his changeup is just a bit less filthy than Manoah’s. So we’re relegating it to the number two slot today.
Rich Hill’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/EachEmptyKingsnake
Speaking of absurd breaking balls, here’s Rich Hill and his monstrous curveball. Hill just bends this one from what feels like a mile outside of the zone to right over the edge of the plate for a called strike three. Insane.
Clay Holmes‘ Sinker
https://gfycat.com/OrdinarySnappyBooby
Now onto the speed from yesterday. Let’s start with Clay Holmes and his ridiculous backdoor sinker that just nibbles at the edge of the zone to freeze Josh Donaldson. Check out the slo-mo, it really shows you how much movement this pitch gets. It’s absolutely filthy.
Miguel Castro’s Changeup
https://gfycat.com/WindingLateHoiho
Similar to Alcantara’s pitch, here comes another 94 mph changeup. This time it’s courtesy of Mets reliever Miguel Castro who just absolutely spins a beauty of an off speed pitch past slugger Nolan Arenado for strike three.
Luis Gil’s Fastball
https://gfycat.com/FocusedLastingBigmouthbass
Going back to the Yankees game we’ve got starter Luis Gil with a filthy fastball of his own. It’s certainly not up to the same standards as Holmes pitch, but it’s certainly filthy enough to earn a spot in today’s Nastiest Pitches.
Collin McHugh’s Slider
https://gfycat.com/WebbedJoyousGroundhog
Collin McHugh only pitched 2.1 innings last night, but it was a very solid outing. He didn’t allow a run and his sole strikeout was an absolute beauty. Here it is, a nasty slider that gets Vladimir Guerrero Jr. swinging and missing.
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
https://gfycat.com/AptElementaryIberianemeraldlizard
Lastly, we have a vicious curveball courtesy of Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw pitched solid enough going 4.1 innings and striking out five hitters. Here he rips off his Hall of Fame curveball into the dirt to induce a swinging strike from Nick Ahmed.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns of Twitter)