SBL resumes, Titanium tops winless Blue Jays

GSM Brewers players warm up before their game against the BSI Aces in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League yesterday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Titanium picked up an easy win at the resumption of action in the 2016 Saipan Baseball League after routing Blue Jays, 12-2, last Tuesday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

Titanium took the victory after only seven innings despite a lethargic start as the squad did not play for nearly three weeks with SBL giving way to the Inaugural Micronesian Baseball Classic.

The winning squad once faced a 0-2 deficit as the Blue Jays scored one run apiece in the first and second inning. Justin Santos put the Blue Jays on the board, reaching home off a passed ball from Steven Cabrera, while Ben Flores posted the second run, thanks to the former’s single.

The Blue Jays, however, were shut down in the remaining five innings as Cabrera began playing steady on the mound and Titanium getting into its rhythm to get the victory two innings early.

Patrick Tenorio started things out for Titanium as his double at the top of the third brought Joe Palacios home. Titanium then failed to score in the fourth, but made up for it in the fifth, tallying five runs. The Bernard Cabrera-managed Titanium capitalized on the Blue Jays’ defensive lapses to score four unearned runs at the top of the fifth, while Tenorio recorded the lone earned run off Manny Cabrera’s RBI single.

Now ahead, 6-2, Titanium kept going and added four more runs in the sixth—two from the Blue Jays’ errors and off Steven Cabrera’s bunt and Jhace Palacios’ RBI single. Cabrera then reached off another Blue Jays’ miscue at the top of the seventh and earlier his double drove Jerald Cabrera home to set up Titanium’s early victory via 10-run mercy rule.

Behind by double-digit at the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Jays must score at least one run to extend the game, but that did not happen, as Titanium’s defense held them to a 1-2-3 inning. Leadoff batter Anthony David and Santos went down on 6-3 putout plays, while closer Manny Cabrera struck out Anthony Benavente.

With the victory, Titanium improved its record to 6-6, while the Blue Jays are still winless after 13 games.

Manny and Steven Cabrera both hit 2-for-4 at the plate in Titanium’s win and scored two runs apiece. Steven added two RBIs, while Manny had one.

Meanwhile, the defending champions GSM Brewers (9-3) were scheduled to face the Yankees (5-7) last night and results of the match were unavailable at press time, while last Monday’s duel between the Falcons (7-4) and the and North Starz (3-9) was rained-out. Today, the unbeaten and pennant champion Chalan Kanoa Bears (12-0) will put their perfect record on the line when they take on the BSI Aces (8-4).