Binarao shines anew as Patriots grab solo spot by Jonas Terrado
Patriots 6, Mariners 1
Southpaw Ernesto Binarao lived up to his resume as one of the best all-around players in Baseball Philippines, helping the Forward Taguig Patriots snatch solo spot following a 10-7 defeat of the Muntinlupa Mariners Saturday morning.
The 30-year old Binarao did it both on the mound and at the plate to lead the Patriots to their sixth consecutive victory and thus overtake the Cebu Dolphins for first place in the team standings with a 6-1 record.
Taguig got some help from the Batangas Bulls, who defeat Cebu, 4-3, in the next game to fall to 6-2.
A win over the Mariners in the second game of their weekend series would enable the Patriots to nail the first outright semifinals berth.
A member of the RP national team, Binarao threw four combined innings and yielding four runs on four hits to win his third game of the tournament. But he also starred at the plate, when he had a perfect four hits in four at-bats with four RBIs and his second home run of the tournament.
“He is really dependable on both pitching and hitting,” said Taguig playing coach Ricky Jimenez in Filipino. “It’s nice to have a player like him who could play on different aspects of the game.”
Binarao helped give Forward Taguig an early 6-0 lead in the opening frame when he drilled a two-run double before he smacked a two-run homer off losing pitcher Romeo Jasmin in the next inning that made it an 8-2 advantage.
Fernando Badrina also contributed two hits in four at-bats that resulted in two RBIs, which saw him hit a one-run double in the second that extended the lead to seven runs.
The Mariners did mount a short-lived comeback when Alejandro Velasquez smashed a two-run single in the eighth before Wilfredo Hidalgo scored and Jasmin hit an RBI single that cut the margin to three runs in the last frame.
But with runners on first and second, Muntinlupa’s Meljon Aranzanzo became a victim of a game-ending double play that sealed Taguig’s victory.
Jasmin led the Mariners with three hits in five times he batted but he was saddled with the loss after he allowed nine runs on just four hits due to the Muntinlupa defense committing four errors.
Velasquez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs but was not enough for the Mariners to suffer their third straight defeat and fell to 3-4, paving way for a tie with Batangas for third place.
Ferdinand Recto led Taguig with three hits in five times he batted with two doubles. Reliever Ronaldo delos Reyes threw five innings, but gave up three runs on nine hits before Binarao was brought back for the last frame.