Rangers in the driver seat

After waiting for almost two weeks to play, the Ford Rangers pulled ahead of the Northern Yankees in the Saipan Major League championship series yesterday in a rare morning affair on the strength of a five-run fifth inning to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Rangers scored nine runs off of 14 hits to shock the pennant champs in the third game, while hurler Craig Sanchez went the distance on the mound for the silver and black attack.

Sanchez surrendered four runs off of seven hits [while fanning two] to finish the game with a win, but the marvel was that he didn’t walk a single batter. In a league where mistake can come back to haunt a pitcher, Sanchez was near flawless. He began to tire in the bottom of the seventh when he was touched for three runs off of five hits, but he recovered to silence the Yankees the rest of the way. While the Rangers got the best from their hurler, the Yankees didn’t experience the same success as they went through five pitchers on the day—something that didn’t seem to bother the Ford hitters.

On the other side of the plate, shortstop John Reyes led the way with a standout performance by going 4-for-6 with a pair of singles and doubles that drove in two runs and scored three times. His heads up base running earned him a stolen base and provided his teammates with opportunities to generate runs.

Pete Tomokane was one of Reyes’ beneficiaries as the third baseman drove in three runs and stole three bases on the day, while second baseman Jerome Delos Santos went 2-for-3 with a single and a two-run double.

The Rangers got off on the right foot in Game 3, as Reyes singled to lead off the game in the top of the first inning before stealing second base. Tomokane drove him in two batters later when he smacked a grounder, and just like that the Rangers were in the lead.

They added another run in the second when Mario Sablan singled in Jason Gay to take a 2-0 advantage, but the lead was quickly reduce to one again in the bottom of the inning when super-slugger Mel Sakisat rounded the bases with the first homerun in the postseason.

After both teams were scoreless in the third, the Rangers took hold of the game in the top of the fourth when Delos Santos doubled in Reyes and Tomokane for a 4-1 lead. The momentum continued to build until the Rangers exploded in the top of the fifth by scoring five runs off of five hits.

The SML championship continues this morning when the Rangers look to close out the series with a win at Francisco M. Palacios field at 10am.