Back at .500, Majors look to extend win streak

Around the Diamond: The London Majors take a 3-game win streak into weekend action (Friday vs. Brantford, Saturday @ Barrie); London looks to Lund again; Offense picking up, pitching looking to harness command. Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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As quickly as they lost three in a row to start the season, the London Majors reeled off three straight wins last weekend to bring their record back to .500, an even 3-3, through their first six games of the 2023 season heading into this weekend’s action.

Two of those wins came against the Brantford Red Sox, including last Sunday’s 11-0 lopsided contest at Labatt Park, and the Majors will see the Sox again this weekend in the first of two on their slate. They’ll host the Sox (1-5) Friday and then head to Welland (3-2) Saturday to get their first look at the Jackfish this season.

At 3-3, London sits in the middle of the pack in the very early Intercounty Baseball League standings (entering action Thursday, one game separates the teams from second thru fifth place). The Toronto Maple Leafs, at 6-2, hold the early league lead.

After just two home games in their first six contests, the Majors will play at the friendly confines if historic Labatt Park in four of their next six. That stretch starts Friday when they welcome Brantford …

1) Awakening the bats. After a relatively quiet offensive start to the year, the Majors’ bats came alive last weekend – particularly against the Red Sox, as London scored a combined 24 runs in two games against Brantford. The first was a 13-5 win on the road, the latter an 11-0 shutout win last Sunday at Labatt Park (in between, they scored seven in a road win over Barrie, too).

Their first meeting with the Sox was a good reminder of what the Majors’ offense was so good at last year: scoring runs in bunches with big innings. In that contest, they put up seven runs in the 6th inning and another five in the 7th to cruise to their first win of the season. London racked up 12 hits and four walks in the contest. It wasn’t a power display, as 10 of the hits were singles, but they did get homers from both Eduardo de Oleo and Byron Reichstein.

Then, on Sunday, London put up another 11 runs against the Sox, this time scoring in five different innings and tallying 13 hits and another four walks. de Oleo homered again, while Cleveland Brownlee smoked his first long ball of the season. Dan Battel, Starling Joseph and Tommy Reyes-Cruz each had doubles (Reichstein went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs).

“We’re just trying to get some of the guys on track and see that offense kind of take off,” said Majors manager Roop Chanderdat. “We’ve shown glimpses of it. Cleveland hit one [homer] last game, so that was a huge sign. And Star [Starling Joseph] hit one in Barrie. So, it’s coming around.”

It’s been a good sign for the London offense, which is expected to have to work a bit harder to score runs in 2023 than it did last year when it featured the most potent lineup 1 thru 6 in the league. Through six games in 2023, the Majors are hitting .273 as a team, fourth-best in the IBL. They’re third in runs scored (41) and run differential (+15) entering action Thursday.

A Byron Reichstein home run in Brantford on May 26, 2023.

2) Another catch. It hasn’t taken long to see that the Majors have scored yet another valuable catcher. In 2021, it was Hayden Jaco, who produced big offensive numbers en route to winning IBL Rookie of the Year. In 2022, it was Robert Mullen, an import player from Panama, who put up MVP-calibre numbers last year. Now, it’s Eduardo de Oleo, who has shown early on that he’s going to be a powerful bat in the middle of the London lineup.

The 30-year-old, who hails from San Juan de la Magua in the Dominican Republic, was named IBL Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending May 28. He went 7-for-13 (.538) in London’s three games, including mashing three home runs and driving in seven.

Overall, de Oleo is batting an even .500 (12-for-24) through his first six games, good for second overall in the IBL. His four homers are tied for second, while his 10 RBIs are tied for fourth (heading into action Thursday).

“He’s a good hitter, and not just a power hitter,” said Chanderdat. “And he’s a good teammate, too. He’s my kind of player. He works hard, he doesn’t take shortcuts at practices, and he’s always cheering guys on. Guys who’ve played pro ball sometimes can get jaded a bit. But he’s the real deal.

“Defensively, he’s sound. He’s got a good arm, and teams will find out in a hurry if they run on him. He’ll take care of business. He’s even got a little pep in his step on the bases. He’s a good baserunner, quick for a catcher.”

de Oleo has the track record. He spent parts of eight seasons in the affiliated minor leagues, reaching as high as Triple-A (while with the Houston Astros organization). He should be a potent middle-of-the-order bat throughout the 2023 season for the Majors.

3) Lefty Lund tapped again. After an impressive first start of the season, left-handed pitcher Jaryd Lund, a junior-aged player, will draw another start on Friday against the Brantford Red Sox. The local product tossed six scoreless innings in London’s 11-0 win over the Sox last Sunday.

The 21-year-old scattered five hits in that outing, allowing just one walk while striking out six. It was a strong performance from the youngster, who plays his collegiate ball at Salem University. His first appearance this season, during London’s home opener vs. Toronto, had come out of the bullpen.

In 2022, Lund saw limited action with the Majors, throwing just 3 2/3 innings in four appearances. He tossed 15 innings in nine appearances (including one start) in 2021.

Saturday’s start in Welland is expected to go to Edisson Gonzalez, one of London’s two import arms. Gonzalez earned the win in Barrie last Saturday, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits (and six walks) in seven innings. He struck out three batters on the afternoon. Because of a shaky first appearance, out of the bullpen, Gonzalez’s ERA stands at 4.69 on the season thus far.

Abdiel Velasquez, the Major’s other import arm, will be available out of the bullpen (for either Friday or Saturday’s game). Velasquez is coming off a better second outing, earning the win last Friday against Brantford. He worked seven innings in that one, allowing four runs on four hits. He walked four and struck out four.

Jaryd Lund, 21, was impressive in a start Sunday, May 28, tossing six scoreless innings to earn a win over Brantford. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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4) Control and command. It started in the Majors’ home opener. The aforementioned Abdiel Velasquez, right from pitch one, struggled with his command back on May 20 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He walked six in just 3 2/3 innings that afternoon. His second start, as noted, was much better, but he did allow another four free passes.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, had those six walks in a win last Friday. He’d also walked two in his Majors debut, an appearance out of the bullpen during Hamilton’s 4-3 comeback win on May 21. Pedro De Los Santos, currently sidelined by injury, has walked four in his four innings.

In other words, walks have been an issue for the Majors’ pitching staff thus far, and it’s a problem that they’ll need to get under control if they want to stay in games against tough IBL competition this season.

“It’s gotta improve,” acknowledged Chanderdat. “It’s been a little contagious right now. We got a lot of guys doing that [walking batters]. We lost two games late because of inconsistency with the strike zone and not commanding pitches.”

To be fair, London is still around middle of the pack in terms of walk-to-strikeout ratio among IBL pitching staffs. But that includes Owen Boon’s spectacular 24-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his two starts. With him out of the equation, the rest of the staff has posted 31 walks and 35 strikeouts thus far.

Chanderdat isn’t too concerned yet. His two import arms, after all, came in with reputations of being better control pitchers than they’ve shown so far. And some cold weather impacted things early in the year.

“If you look at their career numbers, they’re not high-walk guys,” the manager said of Velasquez and Gonzalez. “So, I’m hoping that improves. It has to. That’s not my kind of staff. I’m hoping with some of these double plays that we’re turning now, and the defense tightening up a bit, that pitchers won’t feel there’s a need to be so fine.”