Have Majors turned a corner?

Around the Diamond: With four wins in five games, London Majors seem back on track. Can they move up IBL standings?; Up next: Hamilton Friday, Barrie Saturday; Gonzalez flashes potential; Majors need to manufacture runs. Our latest news & notes …

(Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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With four wins in their last five games, the London Majors have halted a lengthy losing skid and enjoyed some of the winning ways the ballclub experienced so frequently during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Is this the start of a complete turnaround and a climb towards the top of the IBL standings? Likely not. But the Majors’ recent play is certainly cause for optimism – and confidence within the club that, despite a significant roster overhaul from last year, they can still compete with the top teams in the league.

Last weekend, it was a pair of close, low-scoring games that got the Majors in the win column. They beat Kitchener 2-1 last Friday, walking off the win in the bottom of the ninth. Then, after a rainout Saturday, they beat Guelph 4-1 Sunday in the second half of a scheduled home-and-home series. The latter moved London (8-12) ahead of the Royals (7-15) for sixth place in the IBL standings heading into action this weekend.

The key to victory? Strong pitching performances. On Friday, it was Edisson Gonzalez turning in his best outing as a London Major thus far, and then Alex Springer shining again in relief, this time with four scoreless innings. On Sunday, it was ace Owen Boon racking up 11 strikeouts in eight innings of one-run baseball, and then a scoreless ninth from Braeden Ferrington to close it out.

Can the Majors ride that momentum to another two wins this weekend? It’s Hamilton at home Friday and then Barrie on the road Saturday. Hardly an easy feat. But London is enjoying its best stretch of games of the year, and they’re looking to keep it going …

1) An IMPORTant showing. The Majors have been looking for positive signs for weeks that their import pitchers will turn things around and prove to be tough matchups for their opponents. They got one on Friday when Edisson Gonzalez turned in five innings of no-hit baseball against the Kitchener Panthers in an eventual 2-1 London win.

Gonzalez allowed one unearned run in the outing. He walked one and hit a batter (the run scored in part due to a fielding error by the Majors). He struck out four. It was a great sign for the Panamanian, especially against a formidable Panthers lineup.

What wasn’t a great sign was that the right-hander was removed after just 67 pitches due to arm soreness. Majors manager Roop Chanderdat said this week that the move was made out of an abundance of caution, and that Gonzalez should be good to go after a week of rest.

It was the second outing in a row for Gonzalez that the Majors won (he received a no-decision in both games). During that span, he allowed five runs (four earned) in 12 innings for a 3.00 ERA – after posting an 8.66 mark in his first four outings.

Can Anfernee Benitez enjoy similar success this weekend? He’s had a rough go in his first two starts as a London Major, posting an 11.73 ERA in just 7 2/3 innings thus far. But Chanderdat believes he has the potential to turn things around. He’ll get the ball against Hamilton Friday night.

2) Wilkie back in the fold. Outfielder Austin Wilkie made his first start in weeks last Sunday after being sidelined with multiple fractured knuckles from being hit by a pitch earlier in the season. The 23-year-old served as the designated hitter and batted seventh in London’s 4-1 win over Guelph.

Wilkie went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored in the contest. In limited action, he’s now 3-for-7 with three walks and four strikeouts in three starts so far this season. He appeared as a pinch runner on multiple occasions while he healed from injury.

It’s a welcome return for the Majors, who can use all the offense they can get. Wilkie has shown flashes of breaking out in the last few seasons, including both championship runs in 2021 and 2022. He hit .303 in 27 regular season games in 2021 – and then batted .357 (10-for-28) in the playoffs that year.

Wilkie’s return does lead to a crowded outfield, as Starling Joseph, Myles Miller and Byron Reichstein are all everyday players, and Drew Lawrence has made his case to be the fourth outfielder in Reichstein’s absence. But Chanderdat has some flexibility. With Cleveland Brownlee playing more first base this year, the Majors manager has the ability to cycle his outfielders through the DH spot (Reichstein can also play first base). In other words, it’s a good problem to have.

Majors outfielder Austin Wilkie. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

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3) Major manufacturing. It’s no secret that the London Majors’ offense in 2023 is not the juggernaut it was in 2022. Some have said that last year’s lineup, particularly one thru six, may have been the best the franchise has seen – certainly during Chanderdat’s tenure as manager (since 2006).

So, what does that mean? This iteration of London Majors baseball needs to manufacture runs to win ballgames. They can’t count on a lineup putting up big five- and six-run innings, or bopping home runs to get the team back in games quickly. They were spoiled in 2022. In 2023, the work is more difficult.

In that vein, Chanderdat is having to manage like he did before the Majors won two consecutive rings as IBL champs – preaching patience, moving runners over, engaging the hit and run, and hoping for timely hits. So far, it’s been a mixed bag. The Majors’ .263 team batting average is the lowest in the league. And they’re limited by their lack of speed.

London did manage to steal an impressive five bases last Sunday (Lawrence, Joseph, Wilkie, Cris Ruiz, Tommy Reyes-Cruz), but that gave them a total of just 16 on the year – last in the league. Sixteen stolen bases in 20 games has to be one of the lowest rates a Majors team has posted in years. Perhaps they can pick things up in that department, particularly with the addition of Myles Miller and the return of Austin Wilkie. But it’s not part of the game they can count on.

Instead, it’s likely they’ll need to rely on the hit and run – and even moving runners over via the bunt in close games. It’s a style Chanderdat has certainly used before, and it’ll be crucial to do it successfully if the Majors want to win more close games and move up in the standings.

4) Put it on the ground, we all go around. Yes, even at the Intercounty Baseball level, simply putting the ball in play – and, more specifically, on the ground – can result in baserunners through sloppy defense or, in some parks, even bad bounces. In short, putting pressure on defenses is always a good thing. Striking out? That is never a recipe for scoring runs. You have to give yourself a chance.

Unfortunately for the Majors, they’ve been striking out way too often. Even in their two wins last weekend, they struck out an alarming 23 times (compared to just five walks). On Sunday alone, London struck out 15 times – and managed just four hits. On the season, their 64 walks to 184 strikeouts is dead last in the league. Patience and better at-bats, in other words, are needed – and quickly. There’s no way a team can be sustainably successful with that type of ratio.

But when the ball is put in play? It’s a whole different story. And the Majors saw that play out in the bottom of the ninth inning last Friday. Tied 1-1, London’s shortstop, Keith Kandel, delivered a one-out single to start a rally. Brett Graham followed with a pinch-hit single, and then Drew Lawrence also got aboard.

With the bases loaded and one out, Myles Miller grounded a ball to first, forcing the first baseman to come home for the force out. His throw was in the dirt, and it allowed Kandel to score the winning run. Put the ball in play and good things happen. Perhaps that should be the motto for the Majors as they look to cut down on the strikeouts.