Baseball Philippines: Manila wins Series V opener

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Sharks leaned on a late-inning scoring spree as they edged the Forward Taguig Patriots, 9-6, Saturday at the start of the Baseball Philippines Series V at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. Francis Candella starred for the Sharks’ three-run eighth inning hitting a two-out, bases-loaded, double off losing pitcher Fernando Badrina to send Jarus Inobio and Christian Galedo home. Charlie Labrador fanned out all three batters he faced in the last inning. Taguig’s defeat overshadowed RP team mainstay Ernesto Binarao’s strong effort on the mound. The 30-year old Zamboanga City hurler gave up only two runs off four hits in four innings before he was rested after tossing 74 pitches. A new ruling for this tournament was enforced allowing a maximum of 75 pitches in order for the pitcher to play the next game. Binarao also had a big day at the plate as he made four RBIs off three hits, including a two-run double at the top of the seventh for Taguig's last lead, 6-5. Manila tied the game in the bottom half of the seventh when Nino Tator hit a one-run double that drove home Galedo. From there, the Sharks took the lead in the eighth. Badrina walked Galedo with the bases-loaded to score catcher Rommel Roja from third before Candella made his key hit to beat the Patriots. – GMANews.TV