Mariners reliever Matt Brash has one of the filthiest curveballs in the majors. Twins utilityman Willi Castro found that out the hard way.
Brash pitched a scoreless eighth inning in Seattle’s win over Minnesota on Tuesday night, striking out three and walking one. One of the strikeout victims was Castro, who was completely bamboozled by a curveball that Brash spiked at his feet. Ahead in the count 1–2, Brash uncorked a wicked curve that bored in on Castro, nearly hitting him. Baffled, Castro started swing and tried to hold up. The ball bounced between his legs as Castro nearly fell to the ground. Catcher Cal Raleigh then threw him out at first to complete the strikeout.
Matt Brash, Ridiculous 88mph Knuckle Curve. 😲 pic.twitter.com/KFiwrOVN52
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 26, 2023
Castro never stood a chance. The pitch looked like it would catch the inside corner and then darted into the dirt at the very last moment.
Brash has struck out a whopping 39.7% of the batters he’s faced this season, the fourth most in the majors among pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings. His curveball ranks eighth in the majors in average spin rate, but it’s also his third pitch. He’s thrown it just 10.8% of the time. It must be nice to have a pitch that nasty and only need to break it out occasionally.
