Pitch’s “San Francisco” is full of uncertainty for the Padres. Will Mike be replaced by a younger catcher? Can Ginny find happiness outside of baseball or does it control her whole life? And what will happen when her nude selfies are released?
Will Mike Be Forced Out Of The Game?
Pitch’s “San Francisco” begins with Mike showing up to work early despite having the day off. He’s clearly sore and in pain. The game’s taking its toll, but he’s determined to keep going.
Blip warns Mike that a player, Livan, is going to take his place as catcher. Just then, Al calls Mike over. He wants him to play first base instead of catching right now. Al then tells Ginny that they’re skipping her next start in San Francisco. She’s severely disappointed.
Oscar than introduces Livan to Mike and they’re super frosty to each other. Mike says Livan will be a great player some day while Livan says his father was a fan of Mike’s. Mike and Oscar then argue over whether Oscar should have given him notice that he was hiring Livan to potentially replace him.
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Eventually, they get to San Francisco. Livan gets a homerun during the first game, but not a good reaction from the other team when he does a celebratory bat flip. After the game, in the locker room, the press tries to get Mike to talk smack about Livan, but he refuses. In private, though, he calls Livan a “punk” to Oscar. But Oscar talks about how hard Livan’s life has been. He struggled to get out of Cuba and his parents were jailed. “A lot of guys in that clubhouse had rough childhoods,” Mike replies.
Livan keeps rubbing people the wrong way. He goes out partying and comes into practice late. Mike won’t rat him out though. The press questions Livan and he pretends he can’t speak English. So Mike takes this opportunity and speaks for him. He says Livan said he wants to learn from the greats and really respects them and won’t blow it for the team.
Livan gets pretty pissed and says Mike made him look like a fool. He calls Mike an “old man.” But Mike knows how to be a better catcher. Livan’s young and talented now, but he needs to work hard in order to make his career last. “You be captain. Me? I’m gonna be catcher,” Livan says.
The Padres do really poorly during their next game. Al keeps changing pitchers, but he eventually gives in and puts Ginny in the game. Ginny asks Mike what play they should do, but after thinking for a while, he says to trust Livan since he’s the catcher right now. And they work really well together! “Nice play. Looks like we just found our first baseman,” Livan says, which pisses Mike off.
Later, a reporter tells Mike he heard he might be traded. Then they all get back to San Diego. Oscar tells Livan that he has all the tools to be a great catcher. He’s the future, but he needs to use his brain. So he’s benching him for now and he’ll be a backup for Mike, who will hopefully stay a long time. Stuff happens, though, so Livan has to be ready to step up if Mike can’t play.
Can Al Help Ginny?
While they’re in San Francisco, Ginny refuses to stop working and just moves her work to the gym. Al finds her and says she needs to take the night off and have dinner with him.
Al and Ginny get some gnocchi. Then he tries to make her sit and take in the sights. He says if you cling to things too tightly, they slip through your hands. That could happen with baseball. He used to come to the spot they’re sitting at right now to just take a breath and get some peace. Baseball’s just a small part of her life, and she needs to find happiness without it.
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What Will Happen When Ginny’s Photos Come Out?
Ginny’s obviously freaking out about the nude photos that are coming out. Amelia says there’s nothing they can do and they’re going to come out no matter what. “So much for being one of the guys. So much for being a role model to little girls,” Ginny says. Amelia says they should deny the photos are really her, but Ginny refuses. Finally, Amelia says the front office has to know about the pictures today. Ginny then apologizes to Amelia for her breakup with Mike, but she claims she’s okay with it.
Amelia goes to Oscar and tells him about the nude pictures. Let’s just say: He’s pissed. It sucks, but women are objectified and this will be a disaster. “Thank you for mansplaining that to me!” Amelia yells. Seriously.
Amelia tells Ginny that she didn’t work with her because she thought it would be easy, and she’s sticking with her. Ginny, though, talks about the backlash to Jackie Robinson and how he rose above it by playing well. She couldn’t do that, though, because they weren’t letting her start in the next game.
Later, Ginny tells Blip about the nude photos. He asks her why she would take photos like that. Women have to be smarter than that. It’s such a double standard. “It’s my body. It’s my damn business. I didn’t do anything wrong,” she says. Blip says he’d trade places with her if he could. Who wouldn’t want to see him? That gives Ginny an idea.
Ginny gets a creative, ambitious idea about dealing with the photos. So she tells it to Amelia, but Pitch doesn’t reveal what it is. Later, Mike sees Amelia at a bar. She had already turned him down earlier. He asks her if they’re okay and says they need to be okay for Ginny and the team’s sake. This gives her an idea about how he can help Ginny.
So Amelia comes to Oscar with her idea, but they don’t reveal what it is. Whatever it is, Oscar says it’s risky.
Finally, it’s time for the big plan. Amelia sets up a photo shoot for Ginny, but then Blip and Mike show up. Then even more players show up. Why not make these nude photos empowering? These new photos completely take the attention away from the old selfies.
Mike’s Backstory Revealed
For a change, the flashbacks on Pitch are all about Mike. His mom keeps moving them. He’s shy, but she takes him to a new team’s baseball practice. He tells his new coach he wants to play first, but the coach says he has something better.
Mike eventually gets close with the coach. He still wants to play first, but the coach says the catcher is the real team leader. The coach’s wife and kids show up and she says he’s late, so Mike tells them they can go even though he’s just a kid and his mom hasn’t shown up yet.
Mike shows up over an hour late to another practice. He says his mom’s car broke down and his mom has to go to interviews. It took him two buses to get there. But it was all a con. His mom was waiting for him in the car while he got money from the coach.
Eventually, Mike’s mom and coach get into a huge fight and she tells Mike they’re leaving. Mike asks his coach if he can live with him, but he has his own family. He tells Mike he doesn’t have to do everything his mom says and that he can make the right choice. He can be the adult.
Later, Mike and his mom leave while his coach watches. She then reveals that the coach was actually his father! It was pretty devastating.
At the end of Pitch, Mike goes to see his dad. But then he sees his dad’s son and grandchild all playing baseball together and he can’t bring himself to approach them. He almost calls Ginny to talk, but he gives up on that too.
Do you think Mike will leave the Padres? Is Mike or Livan a better catcher?
Pitch airs at 9/8 c. on Fox. Like BuddyTV’s Pitch Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of Fox)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
