Majors Rise to the Moment In Welland, Take 2-0 Series Lead
Written by: Evan Frederiksen / Photos By Mason Dawdy
The Majors took the field Saturday night looking to build on their thrilling Game 1 victory over the Welland Jackfish. After taking the opening game in extra innings, London arrived at Welland Stadium with a chance to put themselves in a commanding position in the best-of-seven semifinal series. With the pressure rising and a 2-0 series lead on the line, the Majors battled through another intense night, taking advantage of some sloppy Jackfish defence and putting forward a complete team effort as they defeated Welland 5-4 and now head back to Labatt Memorial Park with a 2-0 semifinal series lead.
If you’re a baseball fan who loves a good pitching duel, then Game 2 between the Majors and Jackfish was right up your alley. Both pitching staffs were firing on all cylinders from the moment the first pitch was thrown Saturday night.
Teodoro Ortega got the nod for the Jackfish and was great through his six innings of work, giving up four runs, only two earned, on five hits while striking out eight.
Travis Keys was called upon for the Majors and delivered a vintage outing. Despite working through multiple jams, the London Warrior came through and pitched five scoreless frames.
Travis Keys’ Final Line Against Welland:
(Photo By Mason Dawdy)
Not much offensively happened between these two clubs through the first three frames as Ortega showed great command and effectively used his entire pitch mix against both left- and right-handed hitters. Keys was equally effective, making clutch pitches with runners on base and using his nasty breaking ball to keep Jackfish hitters off balance.
By the top of the fourth, the Jackfish defence began to have issues and Maikol Escotto came around to score on a wild pickoff attempt while attempting to steal third, giving the Majors a 1-0 lead. Cristian Inoa then added another run, hitting an RBI single to left field that scored Tucker Zdunich and doubled London’s lead to 2-0. Inoa entered the contest batting .315 against right-handed pitching and continued his monster season at the plate with another big swing.
The 2-0 score remained unchanged for a good stretch after the fourth as both Teodoro and Travis continued to deliver scoreless frames, keeping their teams within striking distance.
As the top of the sixth rolled around at Welland Stadium, the tension was starting to build for the Jackfish. Through five innings, Welland had stranded 10 runners on base, and their defence wasn’t doing them any favours either.
(Photo By Mason Dawdy)
London plated two more runs in the top of the sixth as Maikol Escotto came through with an RBI single before Cristian Inoa followed with one of his own, giving the Majors some extra breathing room with a 4-0 lead. Zach Laird was the first arm out of the London bullpen and immediately made an impact, striking out the first two batters he faced.
He then ran into a bit of trouble when the Jackfish finally broke through, as Jonah Weisner ripped an RBI double to centre field that scored Daiki Abe, cutting London’s lead to 4-1 after six innings.
Both bullpens were also solid in this contest, as Pedro De Los Santos was the first arm out of the Welland bullpen and pitched a scoreless top of the seventh. Luis Perez then followed Laird out of the London bullpen and, after pitching a phenomenal 11th inning the night before, delivered another scoreless frame in the seventh to push the game into the late innings.
Here’s where the game got a lot more intense, real quick. As the game entered the late innings, the pressure began to rise inside Welland Stadium. London had built a comfortable lead, but the Jackfish still had time to make things interesting. With every out becoming more valuable, the Majors knew they couldn’t let their foot off the gas.
London managed to tack on another run in the top of the eighth, taking advantage of more sloppy Jackfish defence as Tucker Zdunich scored on a wild pitch to make it a 5-1 London lead. Between Games 1 and 2, Welland has now committed six errors, which isn’t exactly a recipe for success in a series that could come down to the wire.
Welland finally started to come alive in the bottom of the eighth, something they had struggled to do for most of the night. Daiki Abe started the rally with an RBI double before Jonah Weisner followed with an RBI single, cutting London’s lead to 5-3.
(Photo By Mason Dawdy)
With the pressure mounting and the Jackfish suddenly threatening for more, Dustin Davidson was called upon and came through with a massive strikeout of Gianfranco Morello with the bases loaded to end the inning and preserve the two-run Majors lead heading into the ninth.
The London offence was then shut down by Jackfish closer Deivy Mendez, who struck out the side in the top of the ninth and gave Welland one last chance to rally.
The fan-favourite Skylar Janisse then entered the ballgame looking for the save. Justin Gideon tried to spark a rally with a solo shot to right field, bringing Welland back to within one. But Janisse denied the Jackfish any further opportunities, recording the final three outs and picking up the save to secure a 2-0 series lead for the Majors.
Majors Key Performers:
Travis Keys: Keys was a warrior tonight, pitching 5 impressive scoreless frames, earning the win and not allowing a team that scored the most runs in the CBL to do any damage.
Dustin Davidson: Davidson recorded one of, if not the biggest out in this game, striking out Gianfranco Morello with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth.
Maikol Escotto and Cristian Inoa: Escotto and Inoa combined to go 4-for-7, while racking up 3 RBI’s and each came through with clutch hits in the top of the fourth and sixth to spark a fire into the Majors offence.
With the impressive, full-team victory, the Majors now lead the semi-final series 2-0.
Majors Semi-Final Playoff Schedule:
London will look to carry its momentum into Sunday, Sept. 6, when the Majors host the Welland Jackfish in Game 3 of the semifinals at Labatt Memorial Park. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.