Trying to hit this 100-mph sinker from Jordan Hicks does not appear to be fun
Wayyyy back in April, when the New York Mets were good for like 10 days, Rob Friedman aka @PitchingNinja on Twitter gifted us with a GIF of a seemingly impossibly pitch to hit from the hammer of Thor, Noah Syndergaard. While Friedman has posted plenty more great pitching GIFs since (it's kinda what the whole account is about), Syndergaard's filthy two-seamer may have met its match on Tuesday night.
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This pitch came from the right arm of Jordan Hicks, one that doubles as a flamethrower when he enters games in the late innings for the St. Louis Cardinals. Hicks, a 22-year-old rookie reliever who has shown loads of potential this season, was called upon in the seventh inning of a huge game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday and came up big. He needed only 13 pitches to earn his 24th hold of the season, the 10th most of any relief pitcher in the league. Pitches like this ridiculous 100-mph sinker certainly help:
Absolute sorcery. Here's the full three-pitch strikeout sequence, in which he makes Ozzie Albies, one of Atlanta's best hitters this season, look foolish:
Not sure what Albies is supposed to do with any of those, but at least he tried. With a 1.5-game lead over the Colorado Rockies for the second wild card spot, the Cardinals are in good position to make the postseason. Sign us up for Hicks throwing this heat with movement on the big stage in October.
