Pitch – The Break

By: Jessica Wolff

The All-Star Game is fast approaching and the executives debate whether Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) should be on the roster. Mike Lawson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and Amelia Slater (Ali Larter) continue their relationship and Lawson realizes that he is too injured to play in the All-Star Game. Ginny helps Evelyn Sanders (Meagan Holder) pack for her and Blip’s vacation to Disney World. Ginny is upset that she won’t be there to help her when her mother is coming to visit, but Evelyn tells her she has to do it alone.

In a flashback, Ginny and her mother, Janet Baker (Chastity Dotson), sneak out of the house to get Ginny’s ears pierced. Back in present day, Ginny and Evelyn go into the house where Blip Sanders (Mo McRae) tells them that Lawson is opting out of the All-Star game and is confident that he will get the call to represent the San Diego Padres. Ginny gets the call that she will be representing the Padres in the All-Star Game instead and Blip is disappointed by this development.

As the sports world debates Ginny’s worthiness for the All-Star Game, Ginny is given a cold reception in the locker room of her appointment. Oscar Arguella (Mark Consuelos) asks his assistant, Rhonda (Kelly Jenrette), to book him a flight to Amsterdam to try and lure a catching prospect from Cuba, Livan Duarte (Christian Ochoa), which she says is impossible as he is the GM of the team that is hosting the All-Star game. He brushes her off and runs out of the office. Ginny goes to see Al Luongo (Dan Lauria) and expresses her doubts of being worthy of the All-Star game. Luongo tells her a story about meeting his wife and says that she should go to the All-Star game.

Ginny’s mother arrives and Ginny tells her that she’s made the All-Star roster. She is disappointed when Ginny tells her that they will have less time together and Eliot (Tim Jo) will be showing her the city while Ginny prepares for the game. Lawson discusses his divorce settlement with a friend, who encourages him to start looking at life after baseball. He tries out for a broadcasting job, but he struggles. Two men are looking for Oscar at the cocktail party and Rhonda fails to cover for him. Oscar sees Duarte’s agent shaking hands with the GM of the New York Yankees in an Amsterdam hotel.

Ginny and Lawson watch the home run derby from the dugout. She is worried about her ability to pitch to the All-Star players. In Orlando, Blip gets a call from the MLB that he has been added to the All-Star team. He is excited, but Evelyn is not happy for him. Blip criticizes her for not being supportive, and Evelyn points out that she had supported him their entire relationship. She tells him that she will take the kids to the theme park by herself and they will watch the game from the hotel.

Ginny talks about going to dinner with her mom and Lawson asks if he can come as well. She tells him that she’s invited Amelia as well, and Lawson tries to not react. Ginny and her mom meet at the restaurant and her mom introduces her to her new boyfriend, Kevin (Darius McCrary). She gets angry at her mom about not telling her in advance that she has a boyfriend and her mom guilt-trips her for having their plans derailed by the All-Star game. Lawson and Amelia arrive and introductions are made.

At dinner, Kevin asks Lawson and Amelia how long they’ve been dating and they quickly deny that they are dating. They ask Ginny’s mom how long she’s been dating Kevin and, to Ginny’s surprise, she says that it’s been over a year. She asks for an extra ticket for Kevin and Lawson offers one of his. In a flashback, Ginny’s mother gets her a dress for her first school dance. Her father, Bill Baker (Michael Beach), sees it and tells Ginny that she’ll have to miss the dance for more practice. Her father offers her a choice and Ginny reluctantly chooses baseball. Her mother is understanding and offers to be there if she ever changes her mind.

In Amsterdam, Oscar asks his agent to have a chance to speak to Duarte despite the Yankees unmatchable signing bonus. Kevin compliments Ginny on how her father molded her into a ball player, but Ginny is not happy with him mentioning her father. He tries to apologize, but Ginny snaps at him and apologizes before walking away from the table. Her mother and Kevin leave not long after and Amelia and Lawson talk about how they need to be more careful about their secret relationship. Lawson expresses his worries about his future after baseball and Amelia tells him that he can do anything he sets his mind to.

The All-Star game begins and Ginny hugs Blip before they walk out to the field with Lawson. The home crowd cheers as Blip, Lawson and Ginny are introduced and Ginny sees empty seats where her mom and Kevin are supposed to be sitting. Later in the game, Ginny takes the mound and faces against Salvador Perez, who immediately hits a home run off of her first pitch. In a flashback, Ginny realizes that she’s missing out on being a teenager and she realizes how isolated she feels. She comes home and finds that her mom is having an affair with another man.

Oscar makes his pitch to Duarte, trying to use their similar backgrounds to convince him to sign with the Padres and that having the right people around him is more important than more money. Duarte agrees to sign with the Padres and Lawson tries broadcasting again and struggles. He figures out his errors and corrects himself while making a passionate speech defending Ginny. He finds out on air that the Padres have signed a back-up catcher and Lawson says that the new catcher is not taking his job away from him.

In a flashback, Ginny pours her anger at her mom into her baseball, which causes a rift between them. In the present, Ginny yells at her mother for missing the All-Star game and is furious at her making everything about herself. Her mother tells her that baseball ruined her marriage and took her daughter away from her. She tells Ginny that losing her was painful. Ginny admits that she didn’t know how hard things were for her and asks her to meet her for breakfast the next morning. Blip returns to Orlando to be with his family and tells Evelyn that the All-Star game didn’t compare to the game where they first met. Lawson calls Ginny and gives her encouragement after the game. Ginny thanks him for what he said about her during the broadcast.