The majors season is 3 nights in with 8 games complete.  There are a few takeaways:

  1. It’s cold in New England for baseball in April
  2. Nutile C infield looks amazing – a major upgrade over prior years
  3. Everyone loves the snack shack
  4. The Red Sox have flexed their muscle with a great game 1 battle and victory over one of the pre-season favorites, the Dodgers
  5. The White Sox are off to a hot start going 3-0 in week 1

The game of the week thus far was Wednesday night at 7:15 pm under the lights on a chilly Nutile C. 12 year old Sam Pandolfo started on the mound for the Red Sox against 12 year old Kaden Flummerfelt for the Dodgers. The Red Sox got out to a quick start with two runs in the first inning as Jack Silberhorn scored on a double by Sam Pandolfo, and Pandolfo later scored on a single by Jovic Stachelski. The Dodgers answered right back in the bottom of the first as Darren Shaw, Charlie Ihrig, and Rami Flummerfelt all crossed the plate. The big hit of the inning came from Louis Garciano. The pitchers settled down for a scoreless second inning and the game went to the third with the Dodgers leading 3-2. In the top of the third, Silberhorn showed patience at the plate by working a one out walk and quickly scored when Richie Masterpol ripped a triple to the left-centerfield fence. Pandolfo followed that up with another RBI hit and eventually scored as well, to make the score 5-3, in favor of the Red Sox. The Sox added to their lead in the fourth inning as 10 year old Max Wilcken led off with a single and fellow 10 year old Harry Condon followed it up with a double. These were the first Majors hits for these young Red Sox, and they both came around to score in the inning, pushing the lead to 7-3. Tim Dean, Luke Bailey, and Will Bailey all chipped in by getting on base in the inning.  Masterpol worked a scoreless fourth on the mound and then led off the top of the fifth with a walk. He then swiped a pair of bases and scored on a wild pitch, pushing the Sox lead to 8-3. Stachelski added a single and Wilcken a double in the inning, but they were stranded at second and third base. Silberhorn took the ball for the bottom of the fifth inning and the Dodgers added one run on a leadoff hit and smart baserunning by Charlie Ihrig. Ihrig also held the Red Sox offense at bay for 1 1/3 innings on the mound and made a pair of slick grabs at shortstop, both on hard line drives hit by Grady Sullivan. Silberhorn worked around some sixth inning trouble, including an RBI single from Shaw that scored Colby Spence, and slammed the door shut as the Red Sox won their third consecutive season opener.

Also on Wednesday night, the Padres shook off a night loss to the White Sox and won in dramatic fashion, with a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks had jumped to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning, thanks to singles by Will Brown and Liam Stendardo. Michael McCarthy got the start for the Padres and lasted four innings, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out five. Cole Cassidy started the game for the Diamondbacks, pitching only one inning, and allowing one hit and one run while striking out one and walking one. He then handed the ball to Justin Guidara, who put up a solid performance giving up only 2 hits over 3 innings and striking out 6.  The game was tied at four in the bottom of the sixth when James Marshall singled on a 1-1 count, scoring Luke Seitz for the win.  Ben Saurman got the win for the Padres, allowing no hits and no runs over two innings, striking out two. McCarthy, Marshall, and Brendan Kutylo all had two hits to lead Padres.  Will Brown went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Diamondbacks in hits. The Diamondbacks showed solid defense and didn’t commit a single error, with some outstanding stops at SS by Liam Stendardo.

On Wednesday night on Nutile A, the A’s turned in a complete performance against the short-handed Orioles as they marched on to a 19-6 victory on opening night for the respective teams.   The A’s scored two runs in the first on a Daniel Driscoll double, after which the rally was quickly shut down by the steady pitching of Noah Biel. But the A’s would go on to score five in the 2nd and eight in the 3rd as they batted around each inning.  The offensive player of the game was BZ DeChristoforo, who went 5-5 with a double and two triples and five runs scored.   But the A’s also got contributions from some Majors rookies, including Christian Grimaldi and Dean Roberts with two hits apiece.   The A’s pitching also came thru, with Driscoll throwing 4 innings and allowing only 4 hits and Dean Roberts closing out the game with two steady innings.  Biel was a bright spot for the Orioles as he collected three hits in four at bats, including a double; while Carlos Nouel and Owen Katz eached scored twice.  The Orioles look to rebound on Friday night against the Red Sox while the A’s take on the Dodgers Thursday night.

On Thursday night, the Cardinals and Dodgers both got their first victories of the year.  The Cardinals downed the Padres, 15-8, behind the pitching of Max Richardson, Teddy Angel, Eli Krogmeier and Moby Myers.  For the Pads, Leo LaMont, Tyler Bernstein and James Marshall toed the rubber.

The Dodgers handed the A’s their first loss of the season with the 12-0 shutout.  Charlie Ihrig and Rami Flummerfelt pitched in their second consecutive games for the Dodgers with Ihrig getting the start.  11 year old Parker Tammaro was the other Dodgers pitcher.  BZ, Shane Doherty, Max Brown and JD Souza did the pitching for the As.

The White Sox were able to continue their wining ways with victories over the Cardinals, 12-1, on Wednesday and the Diamondbacks, 16-5, on Thursday.  Against the Cardinals, Nathan Wan pitched 5 shutout innings for the Sox and Dylan Sala closed in the sixth.  The offense was paced by Leo D’Agostino, Dylan Murtie and Evan Wilson, all of whom collected hits and RBI in a 12-1 victory. Henry Cunnane, Owen Richardson, William Ferrari and Moby Myers tossed for the Cards.

On Thursday night at a chilly Nutile C, the White Sox played the Diamonbacks.  The Diamondbacks scored first thanks to first inning doubles by Qole Simpson and Will Brown, who went 3 for 3 on the night with 3 RBI.  The White Sox scored four of their own in the first inning thanks to hits from William Fiorentino, Ragosa Leo Gannon and Dylan Murtie.  The offensive star of the night for the Sox, however, was 10 year old Billy Byrne who had a multiple RBI night and reached base consistently.  On the mound, it was the Evan Wilson show.  The 12 year old was steady and pitched 3 2/3 innings for the Sox.  Leo Gannon came in to close it out.

Friday night features a 5:00 pm showdown on Nutile C between the Red Sox and Orioles and a 7:00 pm nightcap between the Cardinals and Diamondbacks.  The snack shack will be open.