Brewers put the brakes on Tacoma, 14-8

The mug runneth over for the Miller Lite Brewers as they took the lead in the top of the first and never looked back as they served the Toyota Tacoma their sixth loss of the season while earning a league leading seventh win in continuation of the Saipan Major League.

The Brewers continued their title defense on Wednesday night at Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field by overwhelming the Tacoma by scoring 14 runs off of 18 hits—including an inside-the-park three-run homerun by shortstop Dane Lizama in the top of the fifth inning that gave them an 11-2 advantage. Lizama got credit for the eventual game-winning RBI when Ed Kapileo crossed the plate on the play.

The speedster finished the night with a solid 3-for-6 performance at the plate that included a pair of singles, four plate crossings, and three runs batted in.

The Brew crew also got a quality outing from third baseman Tony Celis, who went 3-for-6 with a trio of base knocks and three runs scored in the win.

Catcher Manny Sablan had the big stick of the night, as he picked up his bat to hit successfully in five of his six attempts and racked up three singles, two doubles, two runs batted in, three scores, and a stolen base for the Brewers.

The Brewers scored two runs in each of the first four innings and racked up three in the fifth to take an 11-2 lead before the Tacoma narrowed the gap to 11-5 after six complete. The beer makers added on another pair in the top of the seventh to extend their advantage to 13-5 before allowing the trucks to tally three more runs over the course of the next two innings before a fly to second in the bottom of the ninth ended the game.

The Brewers got another fine performance from starting pitcher Jonathan Camacho who went five innings in which he allowed three runs off of six hits and fanned four before reliever Joe Guerrero took the hill in the top of the sixth inning. The big pitcher allowed five runs off of six hits and tallied a strikeout in the ninth, but Brewers’ manager Tony Rogolifoi said that Guerrero needed the work as the season draws to a close.

“He’s a little bit rusty, but give him a little time and he’ll get back into form. He’s one of the best pitchers on the island and I want him to get back into shape for the big games ahead of us,” he said.

The big games Rogolifoi mentioned are the final three on the Brewers’ schedule, as they have to face the first place Ford Rangers (6-1), the Freedom Air Masters (1-6), and the Budweiser Kings (4-3) to close out the season.

The Rangers and Yankees have yet to play, but momentum is building for their rain-delayed first meeting at Tan Ko field, rescheduled for Saturday, June 4, at 6:30pm.