Brewers near title sweep in SBL

A sweep is brewing in the championship series of the 2014 Saipan Baseball League.

The GSM Brewers moved a win away from wrapping up their best-of-five title showdown against the Saipan Stevedore Yankees, following a methodical 7-2 victory in Game 2 of the finals last Wednesday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield.

Again, the Brewers’ defense proved to be unforgiving, as it allowed the Yankees to score in only one inning. The Yankees, who suffered a 2-5 loss in Game 1 after earning runs only in the eighth inning, lit up the scoreboard in the sixth and were without runs in the eight other innings in Game 2.

Mel Sakisat’s RBI single and Brian Camacho’s run off a sacrifice bunt from Gary Cruz at the top of the sixth inning helped the Yankees force a deadlock, 2-all. The Brewers got their two runs earlier at the bottom of the second inning off Ton Leon Guerrero and Marvin Kaipat’ RBI singles and quickly regained the upper hand at the bottom of the sixth, 3-2, after Mike Pangelinan reached off an error from Yankees second baseman Kelvin Kapileo.

Just behind by one, the Yankees bungled a golden opportunity to tie the match anew or even grab the upper hand, as they had three runners left stranded at the top of the seventh inning. Yankees were on the corners with two outs when Cruz connected on his target, but the fly ball landed on the waiting hands of Kaipat at centerfield to spoil the pennant champions’ bid.

After the big defensive stop from Kaipat, the Brewers poured in three runs at the bottom of the seventh inning for more cushion, 6-2. Relief pitcher Roy Celis hit an RBI single in the seventh and stole home, while catcher Manny Sablan logged the other run, reaching home off a Yankees miscue.

A quick two outs at the top of the eighth off a 6-3 putout play and a strikeout put the Yankees in deep trouble before Kapileo singled, but was later stranded, as the Brewers caught another fly ball. The Brewers then ended the inning with one more run off Harry Nakamura’s RBI double.
The defending champions went on to frustrate the Yankees anew at the top of the last inning with a 1-2-3 play. Leadoff hitter A. J. Lizama singled, but was later tagged out at first, as he attempted to steal second, but saw Celis going for a throw and decided to return to first base and paid for the gamble. Celis then finished off the Yankees in style, striking out the last two batters.

Before Celis took over the mound, the Brewers utilized two other pitchers to neutralize the Yankees’ hitters. Manny Cabrera started out for the Tony Rogolifoi-managed squad and pitch six innings. Cabrera gave up only two hits in a five-inning shutdown on the Yankees, stranding five runners and striking out three. Fatigue then took its toll on the Brewers starting pitcher, as he allowed four hits alone at the top of the sixth, forcing Rogolifoi to bring in Lenny Sablan at the top of the seventh.

Lenny Sablan began his shift by giving up a single to Yankees leadoff hitter Tom Joab before working out a 1-3 putout play on Lizama, while another 5-3 putout play moved the Brewers one out away from closing the inning. However, the Yankees hung in there, as Sablan walked the next two batters and the former went on load the bases. With Lenny Sablan struggling and the Yankees threatening to turn a 2-3 deficit to a possible lead, Rogolifoi pulled out Lenny Sablan in favor of the veteran Celis. The Brewers closer showed some stability despite a short stint at the mound and drew help from his teammates for the strong finish that gave the defending champions a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3 will be played tonight with the Brewers aiming to close the show and Yankees hoping to live for another day.

The Brewers’ Roy Celis shows a Yankees batter the ball before throwing a pitch during Game 2 of their title series in the 2014 Saipan Baseball League last Monday night at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Ballfield. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)