Moscow — The Moscow Thunder Bears kicked off their inaugural baseball season with high hopes, but the opening weekend proved nothing short of a disaster. They dropped six of their first seven games to start the season at 1-6. The Bears lost starting LF Ramao Saturnino for 4-5 weeks with a fractured wrist leading up to the season. Injuries continued to mount on opening day as their newly acquired starting pitcher, Jerry Bourque, was lost for 4 weeks due to a strained hamstring after only 2.2 innings pitched. With Bourque headed to the IL, the Thunder Bears will need to rely more heavily on their bullpen. Brian Warner has been tabbed to fill in for the injured Bourque.
Opening Day Blues
The Thunder Bears faced off against division rivals the Tokyo Pearls at the beautiful Manama Fields. The Pearls cranked three solo home runs in the bottom of the 4th inning and never looked back, cruising to a 3-1 win.
Home Opener
Back in Moscow, it was a packed house for the first ever game played at Bears Den Stadium, with 39,614 crazed fans showing up to support their team. Each fan through the gate received a commemorative Opening Day program and a Thunder Bears pennant. The atmosphere was charged with excitement, and no one left the game early despite the 13-6 drubbing the Bears suffered at the hands of the Syndey Sharks, who racked up 21 hits. "21 hits; was the ball on a Tee the whole damn game?" commented a clearly frustrated Brencis Dashevsky.
Despite the rough start in the opening slate of games, Moscow found themselves competitive in every game and fighting to the end.
The Bears have a long road ahead. They’ll need to regroup and tighten up their defense to right the ship and get back on track.
The upcoming series against Beunos Aires will be crucial.
Can they turn things around and salvage their season? Well, not if they keep doing dumb shit, such as attempting stolen bases with a runner who has 4 speed. Moscow was caught stealing in 5 out of 6 tries. GM Brandon Tucker says the stealing slider will be adjusted accordingly before the next game and takes the blame for the oversight and had this to say "I guess I got a little sidetracked focusing on other aspects of running the organization, but that's no excuse"
As the sun sets on the opening weekend, fans remain hopeful, and the T-Bears know they must continue to work harder than ever to prevent being buried at the bottom of the Eurasia Division.
Stay tuned for more updates as the season unfolds.
