Brewers mangle the Mets, 13-2

The Miller Lite Brewers earned their first win of the 2005 Saipan Major League season Friday night despite being out-hit by the San Antonio Mets, as they consistently found a way to score in all but two of the nine innings at the Francisco M. Palacios Baseball Field in Oleai.

Winning pitcher Jonathan Camacho went five and a third innings atop the mound allowing two runs before being chased from the hill amidst a two-run, four-hit sixth inning. Camacho struck out six and gave up 10 hits on the night, before relief ptcher Frank Camacho finished the job with a pair of strikeouts, four hits, and a run allowed.

Third baseman Tony Celis led the charge for the Brew Crew, hitting 3-for-6 with a single, two doubles, two runs batted in, and a pair of runs scored, while catcher Manny Sablan got a few good cuts in as well.

The only ballplayer to hit a homerun at Tan Ko field with a wooden bat went 2-for-4 at the plate with a single and a double that yielded a pair of ribbies and two runs scored, while teammate Mark Toves traded in his outfielder’s glove for a Louisville Slugger to hit 2-for-5 with a bunt and a triple. Toves also crossed the plate for two scores and drove in a run.

The Metropolitans had a few hitters that were unfazed by the defending champions, as shortstop Mike Palacios went 3-for-5 on the night with two singles and a double, while second baseman Hector Efrain went 3-for-4 with three singles, a run batted in, and a plate crossing.

First baseman Jess Cabrera also had good numbers, as he singled once in two attempts with two ribbies, and Dexter Palacios extended hit hitting streak to 3-for-3 on the season with a single in the bottom of the eighth.

The Mets were plagued by a mix of walks, errors, and overall erratic pitching that was awe inspiring at times and awful at others. Staring pitcher Ryuji Kobayashi allowed just five hits in the first four innings, but the Brewers reaped the benefits of the Mets’ poor play to score six runs.

By the time reliever Toru Tarutani got the call, the San Antonio squad was in a sizable hole, and it got deeper when the side-armed style hurler plunked a pair of batters en route to a four inning stretch in which he surrendered five runs off of four hits.

Former Brewers pitcher Bobby Castro took the mound for the Mets in a brief stint in the top of the ninth, but his sore arm allowed him only two-thirds of the way before calling it quits.