Back in the Game

I pitched in a game for the first time in a little less than three weeks over the weekend. It was an emergency type situation as our starting pitcher only lasted two innings. I was brought in to bridge the gap to later in the game and hopefully eat some innings, while not letting the game get further out of hand than it already was.

I wasn’t expecting to pitch, but I was ready for it because we had a short bullpen available for the game. I’ve been working on my mechanics every time I’ve thrown recently and I really focused on throwing strikes in the bullpen warming up. I wasn’t concerned with velocity in the slightest.

I’ve had difficulty throwing strikes in my last three outings, so I needed to right the ship and pound the zone. And with our team down by several runs when I came into the game, it was imperative that I force our opponents to hit their way on base. I had to let our defence have the opportunity to defend; I couldn’t do that by walking batters.

I came into the game wanting to be aggressive and wanting to show my teammates and coaching staff that my first start of the year wasn’t an aberration.

I threw strikes but I ran into an insanely hot offence. I forced the opposing hitters to swing the bat, but by being so consumed with pounding the strike zone, some of my pitches caught way too much of the plate and veered right into their wheelhouses.

I threw three innings total and gave up five runs, but also struck out three. I pitched with more confidence than I have in my last couple of outings and I was pleased with my command. Of course, the results weren’t very good and I’m by no means happy with my performance, but after the struggles I’ve gone through—not to mention being inactive for about three weeks—it’s a step in the right direction.

Ironically, in an odd twist, I actually had the lowest game ERA of all four Major pitchers who threw on Sunday. That just shows you how honed in their bats were. It didn’t matter what we threw or how hard we threw it; they hit it and they hit it hard.

It happens from time to time. Just one of those days. However, those days seem to be occurring more frequently for the London Majors.

We are now 14-8. We have fourteen games remaining and the regular season has to be finished by July 24^th. There’s a lot of baseball coming up in the next few weeks. We’re going to need all hands on deck.

I will be counted on again. And now I’m confident I can throw strikes with all of my pitches.