Fish hooked on hometown hurler

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/05/2019 (2348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ryan Johnson looked right at home on the pitching mound at Shaw Park on Wednesday night.

But it had nothing to do with the fact the left-handed pitcher is from Winnipeg and had more than 30 friends and family members in attendance watching him make his professional baseball debut for his hometown team.

Johnson was signed by the Winnipeg Goldeyes on Wednesday morning and they wasted no time putting him to use. The 26-year-old, who recently finished his college career at Lubbock Christian University, an NCAA Division II school, became the first Winnipeg-born player to suit up for the Fish since pitcher Donnie Smith’s final season in 2006.

Johnson was given the start Wednesday night against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, and he looked nothing like a rookie facing professional hitters for the first time.

The 6-5, 216-pound Johnson, a former member of Manitoba’s provincial under-17 team, led the Goldeyes to a 3-1 victory over Gary. The Sturgeon Heights Collegiate grad lasted six and two-thirds innings, giving up zero runs on two hits with three strikeouts and three walks to earn his first win as a professional.

“I grew up here. I went to the park a whole bunch,” Johnson said after the game. “Heck, my grandpa still has season tickets. To come in here and get such a warm welcome, I haven’t been back playing in Winnipeg for a couple years now. It’s been amazing to get the applause that I had and the support I had from everyone. It was awesome.”

Johnson threw his first pitch a couple feet short of home plate and gave up a double to the second batter he faced. But from there, Johnson settled down and was calm, cool and collected the rest of the evening.

“I wasn’t nervous until I actually went onto the mound. And then they announced everyone and I felt a little shaky, but nothing crazy,” said Johnson, who went 13-2 with a 2.54 ERA in 16 starts as a senior at Lubbock Christian.

“But I knew if I could throw strikes, I could get this job done. There was confidence in that regard. But nothing can really prepare you to come out to a home crowd and hear a nice, big applause.”

Goldeyes manager Rick Forney raved about the debut of his newest pitcher.

“It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? He’s coming off of an unbelievable season in college at Lubbock Christian,” Forney said.

“A great level of baseball he played there, and obviously showed his pitching ability. You really don’t know what you’re going to get in your first pro game. It’s really unsettling and it’s hard to get comfortable out there and then to try and do it in this kind of environment with your hometown folks here watching. You can tell he was having fun and he was enjoying the moment out there and wasn’t really overwhelmed. It was just really impressive to watch the kid’s pitching ability.”

Forney heard about Johnson through Amos Ramon, who played third base for the Goldeyes in 2006 and again from 2011-2013. Ramon and Johnson became friends through senior ball and coaching a bit together.

“I’ve never seen the kid throw before. Amos Ramon got me that guy,” Forney said. “(Ramon) reached out and asked if I was looking for a rookie lefty. And I said, ‘Heck yeah. Everybody is looking for a good rookie lefty.’ He told me who he was, I looked him up and I didn’t hesitate. We flew him in, he got in Sunday morning, threw a bullpen (session) and I was really impressed, and then he took it into the game today.”

Johnson’s college season ended May 17, and he hasn’t had much time to rest. Forney said he likes what he’s seen from Johnson so far, but he knows he will likely have to manage his workload moving forward.

“It’s going to be a little different story. The kid’s thrown over a hundred innings in college — that’s a lot,” Forney said.

“That throws another little wrench into the plan because you’ve got to manage that workload a little bit. I don’t know what he’s capable of. It may force me into a situation where I have to spot start somebody just to give him some extra time in between. I don’t know. I guess the big thing is we’ll see how it goes the next time out and if the ball comes out of his hand the same way. You want to make sure they’re still able to compete in this league, but you want to keep them healthy at the same time. We’ll see.

“He’s earned another opportunity, that’s for sure.”

It wasn’t the best night at the plate for the Fish, but they did enough to help Johnson get the win. Veteran outfielder Reggie Abercrombie hit a solo home run in the first inning and outfielder Willy Garcia hit a two-run blast in the sixth inning.

However, the Goldeyes’ bullpen almost blew Johnson’s memorable night in the ninth inning. Reliever Marcus Crescentini had a 3-0 lead to work with, but he walked two batters and gave up a double to put Gary on the scoreboard. Crescentini was yanked for closer Victor Capellan, who was supposed to have the night off after he got the save on Tuesday. Capellan cleaned up the mess and closed out the side to pick up his fifth save of the season. The Goldeyes and Gary both finished the night with four hits.

Abercrombie also made history on the night, as the 38-year-old played in his 694th career American Association game, which set a new league record.

With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 9-3 and Gary fell to 5-6.

The three-game series wraps up at Shaw Park today with an 11 a.m. start.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31