By The TimesLedger
Major Division
RANGERS VS RED SOX: The Red Sox beat back a late-inning charge by the Rangers to take a 15-14 opening-day squeaker. Ryan Sylvestri fanned four over an equal number of innings, helping his own cause with a two-run homer in the third. Armando Colon took the win in relief, getting off to a fast start with three stolen bases.
RBI sac’s by Miguel Medina and Colon scored Reuben Marty and Jason Guzman in the first. Medina led off the third with a double, followed quickly by a Colon single and Silvestro’s two-run shot to deep center. Xavier Machado greeted the new Ranger pitcher with a lead-off homer in the fifth. Kenneth Noriega singled in that frame, as the Sox added a pair of runs to this see-saw battle.
Sonia Marquez set the pace in the sixth, drawing a walk and coming around to score. A Machado singled and a base-on-balls to Kenny Noriega set the table for Guzman, who cleared the bags with a two-run double. Medina returned the favor by driving in Guzman with his first home run of the season.
Eric Marquez reached base safely in the fourth, while Alexis Mendoza platooned with Marquez in right field. Fernando Valdez scored — along with William Noscaldo — on a three-base hit by Raymond Maldonado. Greg Castillo homered in the fourth, while Ian Fitts walked and scored on Charlie Batista’s RBI-triple. Allam O’Neal followed up with a single to score Batista.
Gustavo Hinojosa kept the momentum going with a lead- off base-hit to open the fifth. Lili Cerpa took first the hard way, avenging her brush-back by scoring on a three-run round-tripper by Valdez. Mr. Dean pitched two-plus before giving way to Fitts, who fanned four. Batista hurled the final two, striking out a pair. Kevin Nolasco worked the outfield skillfully, while brother William played alongside in right.
YANKEES VS METS: Alexis Marinez fanned 11 as the pinstripers out-dueled the Mets, 9-8. The Rangers bats piled up impressive stats despite spotty fieldwork. Andrew Dean opened up the second with a deep lead-off triple. Justin Gratta singled and took second on a throwing error, scoring on a Matthew Molbury double. Emerson Morillo rocketed a two-base smash, scoring on a bases-loaded triple by Joshua Guzman, which also drove in Evan Medrano.
Marinez and Morillo struck again in the second, launching back-to-back home runs. Morillo sparkled defensively, ending the second and third innings with terrific catches. Marinez tripled in the fifth, scoring on Guzman’s second extra-base hit of the day.
Leftfielder Jeremy Urena was effective defensively while going 1-for-2. His platoon-partner Ariel Zapata reached base safely and stole second. Nick Anglade rapped the ball sharply in the first, while Kevin Talavera made it to second in the fourth. Niaz Ahsan and Omar Machado worked well together in center field. Molbury’s bullet to Morillo notched him his first gun-down of the year. Mr. Guzman ended the game with his catch of a towering pop-up.
Skipper Pete Ramirez went with his ace Travis Mahado, who did not disappoint. The T-Man went all the way, fanning 10 while batting a red-hot .750. Great glove work came from the arm of third baseman Dominick Davalos, who fired from deep in the hole to first baseman Mike Estevez. Carlos Galarza and Estevez drew back-to-back walks, scoring on first-inning singles by Mahado and Jose Ramonez. After a quiet second frame, the Mets erupted again in the third, as Mahado doubled in Estevez and Galarza. Travis later scored on a Kevin Ramirez single. Ramirez launched a solo shot in the fifth, while Davalos scored in the sixth to keep the Mets in contention. Gabriel Espinosa drove in Mahado with a third-inning single. Amaad Anwar alertly waited out a walk, reaching second in the third. Walter Escobar took over left field duties midway through the game, notching a base-on-balls. Kevin Lides played second to help the Mets defensively.
ANGELS VS WHITE SOX: Irving Rosario crossed the plate with the winning run, bringing to a close an 11-run, three and a half hour pitcher’s duel won by the Angels, 6-5. Visham Ramroop hurled the first six, struck out 11 and kept the Sox bats silent over the crucial fifth and sixth innings. The Angels took advantage and rallied to tie. Jeremy Somoza pitched the last four, fanning eight while surrendering only one run in a gutsy performance.
Catcher Anthony Ace-vedo saved the game in the sixth with a bullet fired to shortstop Alfred Vargas for an inning-ending tag. With the Angels trailing in the fourth, 4-0, O’Neil Moralez smashed a lead-off double. Vargas singled, putting two on the bags for Ramroop, who promptly emptied them with a double. Moralez and Vargas each singled in the fifth. This time it was Nelson Vargas’ turn to clear the bases with a sharp two-base hit. Ramroop kept the Angels alive in the eighth, his homer matching an earlier White Sox score to keep the game tied. Donner Bermudez’s ninth-inning walk loaded the bases, but the team failed to score, taking the game to its nail-biting conclusion in the 10th.
Randy Ramrattan was hit by a pitch, but the speedy youngster was stopped attempting to take second base. Irving Rosario got on and advanced to third on an Acevedo single. After Acevedo was caught on a daring steal attempt, Somoza came up and rapped the ball sharply up the middle. Rosario took off from third and beat the throw, ending a day in which all three games in this division were decided by a single run.
Robert O'Neill started for the White Sox, handcuffing the Angels with six solid innings of heat and striking out 11. Battery-mate Shawn Hammond shed his catcher’s gear in the seventh, pitching four impressive innings, giving up only two runs while whiffing a pair. The offense hit the ground running, scoring in each of the first four frames. Diego Torres muscled a two-out triple, scoring on an RBI single by Hammond. Leftfielder Justin Woei crossed the plate courtesy of a well-hit triple by first baseman Chandler Ramcharitar. Torres took advantage of fielding miscues by the Angels to score on a single. Tabish Imran walked, stole and scored on an error to give the Sox a 4-0 lead.
O’Niell shook off a second-inning strikeout to double his next two times up. Ramcharitar kept the game alive in the ninth with a running catch in foul territory. David Gega had a sparkling day with his flashy infielding, backing up plays and snaring a spectacular running catch with his back to the plate. More defensive acrobatics came from a Hammond-to-Imran tagout play at third and an unassisted double-play by Torres. Joseph McKenna and Ray Salazar shared center field duties, while Eric Borden played right, helping the offense with a third inning base-on-balls.
METS VS. ANGELS: After spotting the Angels a 6-3 lead, skipper Pete Ramirez stayed with his ace Mike Estevez long enough for his crew to catch up and win, 14-11. Estevez proved up to the task, pitching a complete-game win while striking out an even dozen. Dominic Davalos was superb behind the plate, keeping the Mets in the game with a crucial sixth-inning gun down. Amaad Anwar worked the first half of the game at second, sacrificing home Gabriel Espinal, who had earlier singled. Carlos Galarza took over second down the stretch, scoring twice and stealing once. Esteves went 3-for-4, including a two-run homer in the sixth which put the Mets ahead for good. Travis Mahado again proved he’s one of the best middle-fielders in the league.
Two great grabs and a 3-for-4 hitting tear were Jose Ramonez’s contribution, while Kevin Ramirez doubled, singled twice and stole four times to register the best start of his career. Michael Soto served his team well in right and platoon-mate Reyn Saint-Vil made an auspicious debut with a pair of steals and a run scored. Kevi Lides swiped two bags and scored in the third. Carlos Galarza played center field late in the game, while the left field duo of Espinal and Walter Escobar split two singles and four stolen bases between them.
Anthony Acevedo got the starting nod for the Angels, going five innings and fanning four. Alfred Vargas pitched the last two frames, helping his own cause with a double and a run scored. Donner Bermudez was extraordinary behind the plate, keeping the Angels alive with a close tag-out play at the plate. The Angels broke out big-time in the third, as Nelson Garcia led off with a double. Visham Ramroop walked and stole his way into scoring position, setting up an opportunity for Randy Ramrattan to score them both with a triple . Singles by Acevedo and Irving Rosario made it 6-3 as the third inning drew to a close.
Heads-up base-running by Jeffrey Somoza enabled the speedy rookie to score on a pair of throwing errors. Gustavo Genao capped the fifth with an RBI-double, which scored Acevedo. Rashawn James led off the sixth with a single, scoring on Garcia’s fourth hit of the game. O’Niel Moralez put in another error-free shift in right field as the Angels evened their record at .500.
RED SOX VS WHITE SOX: Miguel Medina had a no-hit bid going into the fifth. He finished with a complete-game victory and 14 strikeouts to even the Red Sox’s record at 1-1. Kenneth Noriega led off with a walk, stealing his way to third before Medina drove him in with a double. Armando Colon followed up with a base hit, scoring on an RBI smash by Jason Guzman. Ryan Silvestri and Alexis Mendoza joined Guzman on the bags, but the inning ended with the bases loaded and no further offense on the part of the Red Sox.
The White Sox got no breaks in the second, however. Catcher Reuben Marty opened up the frame with a free pass, scoring on Xavier Machado’s well-hit double. Medina belted the first of two home runs to give his mates a 4-0 lead. Singles by Eric Marquez and Guzman failed to produce any runs in the third, but by this point it was clear that, with Mendoza’s heater in full effect, the lead would prove more than enough for the Red Sox. Leti Marquez took over in center field, drawing a walk and stealing her way to second.
Five Red Sox players went down swinging under the skillful pitching of White Sox starter Diego Torres. David Gega came on in the fifth, getting the next six outs on third strikes. Ilya Geikov added two steals to his growing collection. Shawn Hammond worked the backstop with cool efficiency, walking twice and swiping three bags. Robert O’Neill broke up the shut-out bid in the sixth with his second hit of the game, scoring Hammond. A hit-by-pitch greeted rightfielder Eric Borden in the fifth. He got even by stealing second. Joseph McKenna kept the Red Sox honest in right, while Justin Woei joined him in left, fresh from a two stolen bases in the sixth. Chandler Ramcharitar was flawless at first, while Tabish Imran caught a wicked grounder at third, throwing to first from deep in the pocket to end the second inning.
RANGERS VS YANKEES: Aggressive base-running paid off for the Rangers, as both Alexis Espinal and Batista walked and scored to open the first. Defensive gems came in the form of running tagouts by Ian Fitts, in-the-sun catches by Charlie Batista and Raymond Maldonado. Fernando Valdez and Gregory Castillo belted back-to-back singles to tie the game at 3-3. Ian Fitts hit safely in the third, joining Allam O’Neal on the basepaths as Batista came through again with an RBI-single.
After Castillo singled to start the fourth, the Nolasco brothers — William and Kevin — each took one for the team to load up the bases for Alexis Espinal. He cleared the bags with a three-base shot for the Rangers. In the outfield, Andrew Dean and Raymond Maldonado split left field duties. Gus Hinojosa captained at center, while Lili Cerpa contributed defensively in right.
Yankee coach George Marinez gave the ball to starter Emerson Morillo, who struck out eight in a complete-game effort. The pinstripers loaded the bases as Justin Gratta, Matthew Molbury and Alexis Marinez reached base. Morillo’s long single cleared the bases to make it 3-0. Ariel Zapata and Ravi Singh drew free passes in the second, but the Yankees would leave their baserunners stranded until the following inning. Evan Medrano smacked a one-out single to score Marinez.
The Yanks had an opportunity to cash in on baserunners Niaz Ashan and Nicholas Anglade, but again they left their runners stranded. After the Rangers took the lead with four in the bottom of the fourth, the pinstripers struck back with a Morillo triple, which scored Marinez and catcher Matthew Molbury. Medrano singled in the final Yankee score, stealing his way to third before the rally was nipped by the Rangers. Jeremy Urena showed great defensive promise at second, while fearless catching was supplied by Matthew Molbury.
Senior Division
Briarwood opened up the season with an 11-5 win over their cross-town rivals Ridgewood/Glendale. Starting pitcher Balty Contreras took advantage of a first-inning fielding error to score on Joseph Molbury’s triple. Josh Jairam racked up run No. 3 for the Bulldogs, courtesy of an RBI-single by Bruce Rushing. Mr. Pennifield and Tino Roman turned second-inning hits into additional runs scored. Shortstop Glen Gratta and Contreras made it 7-1, as Molbury demolished a 2-1 offering into left-center for a triple.
Jay Lopez kept Ridgewood at bay in right field, while first baseman Rafael had a hand in five defensive put-outs. Kitaro manned the left side of the grass, reaching base safely in the sixth.
Triple-A Division
METS VS YANKEES: Determined baserunning erased a five-run deficit to give the Mets a thrilling victory to open their season. Daniel Arango and Luis Chanez started the comeback with sharp singles. Vishai Gunraj walked, bringing up Dylan Bustillo, who drove home in a pair with a base hit. Shaine Jairam iced the victory with a bases-loaded walk. Chris Konkowski dazzled on the mound, hurling four before Bustillo pitched the rest of the way. Rightfielder William Morales made a stunning catch, while Chanez killed a Yankee rally with an unassisted double-play at third. In the fifth, Arango doubled to begin another Mets rally. Chanez and Gunraj loaded the bases for Bustillo, who tied the game with a bag-clearing single. Peter Loukissas scored the winning run, taking advantage of a single, steal and wild throw.
METS VS INDIANS: The Mets traded goose-eggs with the tribe until Chris Konkowski broke it open in the fourth with his base-hit and two steals. Carlos Guevara celebrated his birthday with style, scoring in the fifth to rally the Mets. Shayne Jairam and Dylan Bustillo singled their way on, coming home courtesy of Konkowski’s RBI-triple. A salute to Steven Ortiz, who put in a gutsy performance despite an injury.
