The early morning fog was just beginning to clear over Cusick Field as the first few Sox and Royals players trotted down the hill for this sunrise special. Not that anyone could have seen the sun rise this morning with the thick cloud cover, but the good news was that it was dry--or at least dry enough for baseball. The rain the night before had posed no real threat.
There is always something magical about Opening Day, whether you're in the stands at Fenway Park or in the visitor's dugout at Cusick Field. For the White Sox, today would mark the first time they had all suited up together as a full squad to play in a game that counted. The excitement was palpable. How would the story of the 2012 spring baseball season begin?
Sox leadoff hitter Eric was eager to find out. He took his signs from the third base coach and stepped in. A swing and a shot into right field to put him on with nobody out. The dugout erupted at the first base hit of the season for Sox, but Eric wasn't finished yet. On the first pitch to Tom, Eric jumped off and waited. He watched the catcher, just waiting there about 15 feet towards second base from the bag at first. No look from the catcher, and as soon as Eric saw him step and throw back to the mound, Eric took off. When the dust cleared, he was safe at second--a flawlessly executed delayed steal! Tom dialed it up even further with a single to left field, and the Sox had runners on the corners with nobody out.
Tom then moved to second on a passed ball to give the Sox two in scoring position, still with nobody out. Tim stepped in next, and sent a screamer up the middle that the Royal's pitcher was somehow able to stab. Eric took off from third as soon as the pitcher threw to first. No chance to get the speedster at home, and Eric was in to score the first run of the season. An RBI in a productive at bat for Tim put the Sox on the board first.
Jeffrey hit a hot ground ball to second, but some nifty glove work by the Royals' second baseman had him out at first. Tom would score to make it 2-0, Sox. Jared, who was hit with a ball in the mouth and had chipped a tooth during warm-up, showed no sign of backing down neither in the face of injury nor in the face of a pitcher on the mound throwing serious heat. He took his sign, stepped in, fouled off a couple, and then ripped a shot into right field for a single.
Unfortunately, though, the fireworks would end there, as the Royals' pitcher was able shut the door and limit the damage to two runs.
In the Royals' half of the first, White Sox starting pitcher Dan came out pounding the zone and retired the side in order. He fielded a come-backer and fired to Jeffery at first to get out number one and then proceeded to strike out the next two to make efficient work of the first inning. 2-0, Sox after one.
The Royals' starter found his groove in the second and struck out the side. He had a good fastball and was consistently in command of it.
The Sox sent Dan back out for the second to face the middle of the Royals' order. He struck out their clean-up hitter with four pitches. But the Royals were not going to go down easily and they put two on with one out. The next batter sent a deep fly ball to center field, but Tim, running back, was able to line it up and haul it in for the second out. Both runners tagged up, and were in just ahead of good throw from the cutoff to tie the game a two runs apiece.
With that, Dan had reached his pitch count, and in order to save him for Monday's game, the manager handed the ball to Jared. Dan had great stuff today--good velocity on his fastball and he was hitting his spots. In 1.2 innings of work, he struck out three and gave up only one hit and one walk. A very promising start for the young right-hander.
Jared, still toothless, took the ball and battled to close the door on the second inning with a dramatic full-count K. All knotted up at 2 after 2 complete.
The Royals' starter continued to fire bullets, striking out the side, and sending this tight contest into the bottom of the third.
Jared returned to the hill and got the leadoff hitter to pop it up to Will at third who made a highlight-reel grab ranging back into shallow left field. Will then made the heads-up play of the day when the next batter sent a dribbler up the third base line. The ball was running foul, but the base path is a gutter and there's always a danger that a slow rolling foul ball could bounce off the lip of the grass back onto the fair side before passing the bag. Will understood all of this, and as soon as he saw the ball roll across the line into foul territory, he kicked it, making sure it had no chance to roll back fair. With that move, he turned a probable base hit into strike two. Often, it's the little things that players do that can end up having a huge impact on how the game develops.
Jared would help his own cause with some nice glove work on a hard ground ball up the middle, which he stabbed and fired to Dan at first for the second out. Jared reached his pitch count and was relieved by Tom, who struck out the next batter to end the inning. However, the heart of Royals' bruising lineup was able to get 3 runs across to make it a 5-2 game after three.
The top of the Sox order was stymied by the Royal's starter, who continued to spin a gem through four innings.
Tom returned to the hill, and Joshua, who caught the first three innings, would get a well deserved break as "Iron" Mike would set up behind the plate for the remainder of the game. Joshua got his glove on nearly every pitch, kept the ball in front of him when he didn't, and was quick to his feet to keep base runners at bay all morning. A very solid performance for the young backstop.
Tom continued to locate a good fastball as he polished off the bottom of the fourth with two Ks and a ground out to first, where Jeffrey made a nice play to charge the ball and tag the runner on the way to the bag.
The Royals' starter, still on the mound for the fifth, capped off a brilliant outing by retiring the heart of the Sox order.
Tom came out for the bottom of the fifth. He struck out the leadoff batter, got another to ground softly to the mound, and recorded a K to end it. A solid effort for Tom who struck out five while yielding just one earned run in 2.1 innings. Catcher "Iron" Mike was a reliable target during the final two innings, and he was able to control base runners by being quick to his feet and hustling after the ball. His highlights include a blocked pitch, which he was able to collect and then throw down to third where Drew made a great catch and nearly got the tag down. The runner was safe, but it was a beautifully executed play by the catcher and third baseman.
Top of the sixth and the final chance for the White Sox... With two outs, Zach stepped in. The Sox bats had been rather quiet since the first inning, but Zach shattered the silence with rip into left field for a single. Joshua would be hit by a pitch (it turns out that those helmets work pretty well), and just like that the Sox had two on and Micah's quick bat coming to the plate. Micah battled, fouling off three good pitches, before taking strike three--a nasty fastball on the outside corner. It was a good at-bat, and Micah will have his share of game-changing clutch hits this season (not to mention what he will do for us from the mound).
This time it was not meant to be for the White Sox. We faced one of the top pitchers in the league and came up short on the scoreboard. But from the manager's perspective, there's nothing to complain about. We saw an excellent effort from our pitchers, who threw strikes all morning and walked only four batters during the entire game. Our catchers showed improved stability and consistency receiving the ball. We took a lot of good swings. Best of all, we played good, smart baseball, and our players all made a point of supporting each other.
The game ball was awarded to Will for his effort at third base covering the bag, making a key catch, and handling an indecisive foul ball quite decisively. Congratulations, Will!
The schedule does not let up for our White Sox. Monday's game is against the Diamondbacks who will challenge us with some top-notch pitching of their own. But, as we showed this morning, we do not back down from a challenge. This will be an exciting match-up.
We'll be at Cusick Monday. 5:30 warm-up, first pitch at 6:00. See you there!
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