Pitch - S1E9 - Scratched

Previously on Pitch, “Unstoppable Forces & Immovable Objects”

Pitch – S1E9 – “Scratched” | Starring: Kylie Bunbury, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos, Mo McRae, Meagan Holder

The End of an Era

This week’s episode felt like The Bad News Bears. I’m a sucker for sports movies because I love when a team rallies around each other. That is the true beauty of sports. I thought the news of Mike’s impending trade to Chicago would cause the team to shut him out; instead this team does what they’ve done all season: pull together.

Mike waiving his trade clause has made the news, but the deal with Chicago hasn’t gone through yet so he asks Oscar to keep it quiet. Of course, that has nothing to do with what happens in the locker room. Everyone realizes this is happening because of Mike’s silence and even though she’s clearly devastated, Ginny and the rest of the team back Mike because they realize leaving can’t be easy for him.

Caged Tiger

Meanwhile, Oscar and Charlie are trying to close the deal (while still profiting off of Mike’s last game by packing the stadium) until Chicago throws a wrench in their plans by demanding that Mike be benched so he won’t hurt himself right before the trade. At one point, Mike is legit pacing the dugout like a caged tiger because he’s so pissed.

Ginny comes to the rescue, using her powers of manipulation to get the whole stadium cheering for Lawson to hit when they’re down to the last out. Even Oscar, in that moment, let’s all of the wheeling and dealing go to watch Mike’s last at bat. And then … he strikes out. But that doesn’t matter to the fans and Mike still finishes the game with a bow and the whole stadium clapping for him. It’s true what Oscar said. Baseball fans have long memories and they’re very attached to their players. You have to be when the season lasts nearly half a year and the difference between a winning record and a losing one can be rounded to the third decimal place. In the world of Pitch, Mike Lawson is the hometown guy who made good. He’s the captain of the team, their power hitter, and the wise “old” man who guides them and busts their balls. There was no way he was walking away without a standing ovation and yet it was still gratifying to see it play out.

I Ship It Like FedEx

Now for the all the ships that pulled into (and out of) the San Diego Bay. Oscar is also dealing with his relationship with Al’s daughter, Natalie. She tells him that she has an offer to work in the city and he says he wants her to stay. That means he needs to tell Al about them and also bury the hatchet since they’ve been on the opposite sides of everything because of Oscar’s work in the front office. In the end, Al and Oscar make up, but Natalie takes a job out of the country.

Ginny gets asked out by a tech billionaire, Noah Casey, played by Tyler Hilton. He’s Mark Zuckerburg if he was hot. We haven’t seen our Ginny date much so it’s refreshing when she accepts especially because he gets that her life is crazy and does that thing that only happens on television where the guy buys out the whole restaurant for a date. Their date is cut short when Mike invites her out for drinks before he leaves town. Y’all, I knew it was on when Ginny walked in the room. This sexual tension between Ginny and Mike has been a slow build, but it’s always been there. And when the two of them go to leave the bar their good-bye starts to linger and their breath starts to mingle and … Mike’s phone rings. It’s Oscar telling him that they’re not going to trade him. Can’t wait for next week!

Extra Innings

• Levan gets called out by Mike for showboating and putting himself above the team. It’s the main reason Oscar wants to keep Mike around because Levan won’t listen to coaches. I think Mike was starting to get through to him but with Mike staying Levan might regress because he doesn’t like playing second.
• Evelyn didn’t want to listen to Amelia’s warnings about Will and this restaurant but now she’s discovered missing money that Will has flimsy excuses for. I hope her pride doesn’t keep her from telling Ginny and Amelia. Also, Noah told Ginny the worst business she could invest in is a restaurant and to never go into business with family so hopefully someone will go over the books.

• Quietly, Mo McRae is giving an amazing performance as Blip. Although the show focuses a lot on Ginny and Mike, Blip is also Mike’s closest friend and throughout the episode you could see him struggle with Mike’s departure as well as accept that he would have to step up and be the team leader. He teaches Ginny how to navigate these situations as much as Mike.