New Era of Blue Jays Baseball Begins

The plucky young Blue Jays commenced an ambitious fall schedule consisting of 4th and 5th grade teams in the BCC (kid-pitch) Minor League on Sunday, September 13 at Fleming Park.  Making matters even more daunting was the unexpected scheduling of a doubleheader on Opening Day!

On a Chamber of Commerce afternoon in Bethesda, the Blue Jays battled their way to a split in the twin bill, beginning with a reasonably well played 7-2 season opening loss to a good Giants team.

September 13 Game #1 Report

Jacob Carle provided some much-needed 4th grade leadership in the season opener.  Getting the start on the mound, he collected four strikeouts and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in two innings of work.  After delivering the Blue Jays' first-ever kid-pitch hit in the bottom of the third, Jacob came around to score his team's first run of the new season.

With good pitching and above-average defense, the Giants didn't give up any cheap runs.  The Blue Jays crossed home plate on just two occasions, both of them on RBIs delivered by Milen Hukmani.  His bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the third and run-scoring groundout in the fifth were the extent of the Blue Jays' scoring.  An unselfish teammate, Milen put in a gritty turn at catcher in the fourth and fifth innings.

In the photo above, Reto Lamparter crushes a base hit to right field in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Blue Jays' second and final hit of Game #1.  Reto also continued to impress with the glove, collecting an unassisted put-out on a grounder to 1st base and an assisted put-out on a throw from the pitcher to 1B in the top of the fifth.

In his first career baseball game at any level, Casper Larosch contributed two amazing and much needed defensive highlights.  Ranging to his right, he tracked and caught a high fly ball in foul territory that extinguished a rally in the top of the third inning.  One inning later, Casper turned a potential hit into an out with a solid grab of a line drive at the hot corner.  For good measure, Casper manufactured the Blue Jays' second and final run, drawing a walk and methodically making his way around the bases in the bottom of the fifth.

Brendan Wang demonstrated advanced knowledge of the strike zone in two plate appearances.  In the bottom of the second, he worked the count full before drawing a walk.  Brendan saw nothing to his liking in the bottom of the fourth, walking on four straight pitches.  Playing at 3rd base in the top of the first, Brendan made a catch and tagged the bag on an appeal that led to a 6-2-5 inning ending double play.

Sebastian Bloomberg went to the plate three times and came away without an official at bat.  In the bottom of the first, he battled the Giants' very able pitcher and earned a walk after an eight-pitch plate appearance.  He also drew walks in the third and fifth innings.  Sebastian collected an infield assist at catcher, throwing to 3rd base to double off a runner who had failed to tag up.  In the top of the fourth, he caught a high fly ball at shortstop to complete the first out of the inning.

Early indications are that Brody Gottfried seems to enjoy live pitching.  After making consistent contact in a string of summer practices, he put the ball in play in both of his trips to the plate versus good pitchers.  Brody ended the game without an official hit due to sound play by the Giants' infielders, but his penchant for solid contact would prove to bode well for the very near future.

Henry Goldstein made a credible bid for a base hit with a solid grounder up the middle in the bottom of the second.  Unfortunately, like many of his teammates, Henry was foiled by the slick fielding of the Giants' pitcher.  In the coach's estimation, the final score of this game would have been 3-2 rather than 7-2 if the Blue Jays had been the Giants' equals defensively.  Rest assured that the team will work toward that goal in future practices!

Noah Solovey used the season opener to become familiar with the strike zone, something that he and his teammates learned is apt to change considerably from game to game.  In an otherwise admirable attempt to avoid a walk-fest, the umpire in Game #1 gave Noah the unenviable choice of either swinging at pitches a foot over his head or getting rung up.  The result was predictable.

Vinny Guo put the ball in play once in two at bats and drew a walk in his final plate appearance.  He put in a solid debut on the mound, pitching two innings and allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three.  The Giants scored three runs in Vinny's two innings toeing the rubber, a number that could have been reduced with better play by his defense.

In addition to reaching on a fielder's choice and two walks, Clark Roggie caught a fly ball at shortstop that marked the beginning of a 6-2-5 inning-ending double play.  In one inning on the mound, Clark struck out one, allowed one legitimate base hit and walked none.  He surrendered one unearned run thanks to two errors committed by Blue Jays' infielders.  For that matter, all three of the Blue Jays' pitchers deserved better returns on their labor.

Quick Turnaround

Unfortunately, there was no time for fielding practice - or even snacks - between games.  This day always was going to be a grind.  Young, resourceful, and feisty, the Blue Jays would prove to be more than equal to the task in Game #2!

Coach Steve