Majors still settling in, seeking consistency

Around the Diamond: The London Majors (4-4) get their first look at Kitchener and Guelph this weekend; Boon is back; Reyes-Cruz, Battel swinging hot sticks; Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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A chance to go two games above .500 slipped through the London Majors’ hands last Saturday in Welland, as the Jackfish mounted a 12-11 comeback win to leave London at 4-4 on the year heading into a new week of Intercounty Baseball League action.

A back-and-forth, high-scoring affair, the Majors led 11-9 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before Welland tied things up – and in ugly fashion. London’s Abdiel Velasquez walked three and hit a batter before being relieved by Pedro de Los Santos, who allowed two of those runners to score. Welland then scored the game-winning run the following inning.

It was the third late-game comeback loss London has suffered this season – the others coming against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hamilton Cardinals. In other words, their 4-4 record could be 6-2 – or even 7-1 – with a different bounce here, a different pitch there. Alas, the record is what the record is, and the Majors will need to find ways to secure wins late in order to move up in the IBL standings.

Up next? A pair of games this weekend, against opponents they’re seeing for the first time in 2023 – the Kitchener Panthers (at home Friday) and the Guelph Royals (on the road Saturday).

1) Taking stock. The season is still young, as the Majors have played just eight of the 42 games on their regular season schedule. That’s less than 20 percent of the year. Still, it’s enough of a sample size to gauge the early returns. While manager Roop Chanderdat isn’t thrilled with the team’s .500 record, he’s not overly discouraged, either.

“We’re right there. It’s not like we’re getting blown out or anything like that. We’re 4-4 and we’ve lost three games late,” the manager said. “But at the same time, when you score 11 runs, you gotta win. Our pitching wasn’t good (against Welland). It was sloppy, we were walking guys, making bad pitches.” 

That’s been the biggest issue for the team so far. And the walks have been the biggest culprit. The pitching staff’s 5.64 walks per nine innings rates third-worst in the league heading into action Friday (June 9). And yet their batting average against is second-best in the league. In other words, cutting down on the walks should, in theory, greatly improve the team’s chances.

It’s one of three things Chanderdat has identified as keys to this Majors team winning more ballgames. Another is pitching better in general (getting strikeouts and routine groundballs in key situations), while a third is better overall defense.

“I always ask, ‘What’s gonna change?’ We gotta fix it. We gotta work at it, figure out what’s going on, and fix it and get better,” said Chanderdat. “I’m not a big believer in things will take of itself. You gotta take care of it for yourself. That’s how I look at it.”

The Big 🐶 loves hitting in Welland!! #MajorsCity #ibl1919 pic.twitter.com/Oiu09inWuz

— London Majors (@londonmajors) June 3, 2023

2) Brownlee bombs away. A slow start to the season for long-time veteran Cleveland Brownlee may be gone – like the baseballs he crushed last Saturday in Welland during a two-home run game.

The 38-year-old clubbed his second and third home runs of the season in that 12-11 London loss, finishing 3-for-3 and reaching base all five times in the contest. After a cold 3-for-19 (.158) start to the season in his first five games, Brownlee has gone 6-for-13 in his last three, putting him at a respectable .281 mark with an .896 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).

Brownlee, of course, had one of the best seasons of his career in 2022, in his age 38 season, setting new single-season marks for home runs (15) and RBIs (52). He’ll turn 39 in August, but as those three home runs in his last three games signify, he’s not done yet.

3) Boon back. The Majors will have their top arm on the mound Friday night at Labatt Park against the Kitchener Panthers, as right-hander Owen Boon will return to pitch for the first time since May 21.

Now living and working in Toronto, Boon’s schedule is a busy one, meaning he won’t be making as many starts in 2023 as he has in recent years. But the Majors will take every one. In his first two outings this season, the veteran allowed just two runs in 12 2/3 innings for a 1.42 ERA. He racked up an impressive 24 strikeouts in those outings, while walking just three.

Despite the stellar numbers in those two appearances, Boon has yet to pick up his first win of the season, something he hopes to achieve Friday night. The Majors lost both those games late (against Toronto, 5-4, in the season opener, and against Hamilton, 4-3, on May 21).

Boon will have his hands full with the Panthers’ lineup Friday. They come into the weekend as the top hitting team in the league. Kitchener boasts a .329 team batting average and a league-best 20 home runs through their first nine games, during which they’ve gone 6-3.

Kitchener has three hitters in the top 10 in batting, including Raul Gonzalez (fourth, .447), Blake Jacklin (eighth, .432) and Andy Leader (tenth, .422). Another two hitters, Elliott Curtis and Liam Wilson, are top five in the league in home runs.

4) Reyes-Cruz, Battel swinging it well. Chanderdat had high hopes for Tommy Reyes-Cruz when he signed the Quebecer during the offseason. And although the infielder got off to a slow start, he’s been looking really good in recent action.

After picking up just one hit in his first 11 at-bats in a London Majors uniform, the 25-year-old Reyes-Cruz has gone 9-for-17 in his last five games to raise his season average to .357 – much more like what London’s manager thought the infielder was capable of in the Intercounty. 

“Tommy’s gonna be a good player,” said Chanderdat. “He can swing the stick. And his bat’s coming along. It’s looking good. He started off a little slow. We tweaked his swing a bit, there was just something there, but he’s got it going now.”

He let Majors fans know what he’s capable of last Friday when he launched a ball onto Riverside Drive for a pinch-hit home run during London’s 15-2 blowout win over Brantford (he didn’t start the contest because he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury). 

Then, on Saturday, hitting out of the leadoff spot, he went 3-for-6 with a double and a pair or RBIs against Welland. His four walks so far have his on-base percentage at .438 through eight games.

And how about Dan Battel? He’s off to a great start to his Majors career, with nine hits in his first 21 at-bats (.429). The 22-year-old, a local St. Thomas Tomcat product, has also walked as many times (four) as he’s struck out. Last weekend, he went 5-for-7, driving in a pair of runs and scoring four times as London split its two games.

Battel has seemingly found a home at third base, while Reyes-Cruz is fitting nicely at second base. Chanderdat moved the Montreal native to the keystone position in an effort to improve the team’s ability to turn the double play – and it’s worked. Reyes-Cruz has formed a good middle infield duo with veteran shortstop Keith Kandel.