Pitch - S1E3 - Beanball

Tweet

Previously on Pitch, “The Interim”

Ginny is constantly proving herself; to her team, to the public, to herself. But most of all, she just wants to be a ballplayer and ballplayers have a code. Her adversaries this week are the Cardinals and the last time the Padres took on the Cardinals their pitcher Falcone took a cheap shot at Tommy. The code says Ginny has to get payback for her team. Unfortunately, no one wants her to do that and Ginny is pissed at the other team for being too afraid to play dirty with a girl and with her team for protecting her.

Just One Drink

In flashback land, Ginny goes back to the one time she broke her personal code: don’t sleep with other ballplayers. Trevor, played by the lovely Shamier Anderson from Wynonna Earp, is a catcher Ginny played against in the minors. He’s also the only ballplayer to get a date with Ginny Baker. Although Ginny is hesitant about dating him, he reassures her by telling her that he doesn’t see baseball going anywhere and since he was offered a full-ride to CalPoly, he’ll probably leave the minors to go to college.

Ginny trusts him and slowly lets her guard down, even attending one of his games to cheer him on, which is an extremely public announcement of their relationship for her. All of her trust seems misplaced when he tells her that he’s been called up by the Cardinals and he’s not leaving baseball. Ginny breaks up with him, and of course she has to rebuild her reputation because the other players on her team now feel like they have a shot, or that she’s a bitch for turning them down. Plot wise, although it’s never explicitly stated, it feels like Trevor was trying to turn Ginny into a baseball wife because he didn’t think she would ever get called up to the majors. This contradicts Shamier Anderson’s portrayal of Trevor. He brings a sincerity to the character and you really feel like he loves Ginny even though he’s manipulative.

You’re Outta Here

Out on the field, Al gets himself kicked out of the game before the dang anthem to give Buck a moment as head coach and also to give himself time to get his job back. While Buck manages one of the tensest games ever, Al is working his machinations behind the scenes appealing to one of the team owners to override Frank, who seems determined to oust him.

Meanwhile, Ginny and the team are going back and forth with the Cardinals. Falcone nearly takes Blip’s head off, so when he’s up to bat, Ginny beans him in the back. The team, including Tommy, respects her play, but Mike and Blip are now on high alert because that means the Cardinals can take a shot at her on her next at bat. When the Cardinals bring in a giant brawler of a dude to pitch at her, it gets really scary, but not as scary as Ginny when she realizes that he’s deliberately throwing balls to walk her. She is mad and because Trevor is calling these pitches she goes off and starts an all-out brawl on the field with both teams emptying the dugout.  Surprisingly, Tommy is the first one to run out and defend her and the two of them get kicked out of the game together, exchanging a fist bump on their way out. That was one of my favorite moments. It was the ultimate sign of bro-ceptance.

Ginny is becoming an essential part of this team, and as they accept her they also rise to protect her as a player and it elevates everyone’s game. Regrettably, everything that surrounds Ginny becomes a firestorm and apparently there might be some pictures out in the world, courtesy of Trevor, that will come back to bite Ginny and the team in the ass. 

Extra Innings

• Watching Oscar (Mark Consuelos) run around looking for an interpreter to tell a Korean player he’s being busted back down to the minors was nice comedic relief, but anchoring it with Oscar telling his daughter about his impending divorce gave Consuelos a moment to shine.
• Evelyn chastises Blip for not getting into the brawl and he cites potential fines. What is going on with Blip’s finances? I don’t think Evelyn is spending all their money on purses.
• Although last week we got flashbacks about Ginny’s brother, we still have yet to see any of Ginny’s family in the present day. I just find it hard to believe that Ginny would be on this incredible journey and not want to reach out to her family. Next week it looks like we’ll meet her mom so hopefully more will be revealed.
• The Ginny and Mike romantic entanglement is coming; I can feel it in my bones. He was pleasantly surprised to hear that she carried his rookie card and had his poster on her wall. Also even though they’re trying to play mom and dad to her, Amelia and Mike are not the stuff of stable relationships.