Blue Jays strike first in Masters League playoffs

The Blue Jays struck first in the 2023 Tan Holdings-SBL Masters League playoffs that started last Wednesday at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field.

In what seemed to be one fell swoop, they won over the Marlins, 25-18. The Blue Jays’ bats exploded and beat the Marlins’ pitching staff black and blue in the second inning when they scored 21 of their 25 runs.

Marlins pitching was on life support as they could not get out of the second inning with multiple back-to-back hits and runs scored by the high flying Blue Jays. The Blue Jays restarted their lineup a few times before the third out was mercifully made, but at the end of it, the damage was done.

Alvin Takai first hit a triple, then went the extra 90 feet to home when he scored on an inside-the-park homer in his next at-bat. RBI singles were hit left and right, with addition of walks, errors, and doubles by Paul Salalila, Jess Takano, and Andave Camacho.

The Blue Jays’ 21-run inning basically erased the Marlins’ efforts when they scored 10 runs by the second inning as they were still down by 11. The Marlins then added five more in the third, but the Blue Jays’ lead was just ever-growing as they scored three more runs for a 24-15 game.

Both teams went silent after one run scored for the Marlins in the next inning, but the Blue Jays’ lead was more than enough to take the victory.

In the last regular season game last Tuesday, the Reds took down last place Spartans, 27-25.

It seemed like the Reds would have an easy time, but the Spartans fought back toward the end of the game. The first and second inning was a nightmare that the Spartans couldn’t wait to wake from, as the Reds scored nine in the first, then eight in the second for a 17-5 lead.

However, the Spartans scored four in the third and six in the fourth, while the Reds added just three, for a 20-15 Reds lead. The Reds tried to score more insurance runs but mustered up only two runs in the fifth and no runs in the sixth, which gave Spartans hope of redemption.

The Reds then brought in five runs in the last inning and their 27-15 lead held up even as the Spartans hacked away and came up short by two runs when they scored eight for a 27-25 final.