Majors' Winning Streak Ends in Road Loss to Royals
Written by: Evan Frederiksen / Photos By Matt Hiscox and Mason Dawdy
Every game presents a new challenge in the CBL, regardless of how well a team has been playing. After putting together three consecutive wins, including Sunday's extra-inning comeback over the Hamilton Cardinals, the London Majors travelled to Hastings Stadium Tuesday night looking to keep their strong stretch going against the Guelph Royals. A tightly contested battle followed, but the Royals found enough offense to defeat London 4-2 and bring the Majors' three-game winning streak to an end.
Given that the Majors scored ten runs in their last outing and the Royals scored eight in theirs, it would have been easy to expect another high-scoring game.
Majors vs. Royals offence entering Tuesday’s contest:
But no, runs were hard to come by, as Elvin Liriano got the start for the Royals and pitched five scoreless frames while giving up three hits and striking out four. Liam Watt, Gleyvin Pineda, Claudio Custodio, and Kevin Escorcia all followed Liriano in relief.
Cesilio Pimentel countered for the Majors and was solid through five and two-thirds innings.
Cesilio Pimentel's Final Line Against Guelph:
The Royals would break through early, though, as Garrett Takamatsu lined an RBI single to center field in the bottom half of the first inning, giving Guelph an early 1-0 lead.
Pimentel, who entered the matchup with a 119 ERA+ and was making his eighth road start in nine starts this season, continued to show consistency during the middle innings. He continued to mix his fastball and breaking ball effectively, keeping Royals hitters guessing and limiting their ability to make solid contact. Caleb Cassie and Daniel Orfaly followed Pimentel in relief.
(Photo by Mason Dawdy)
Neither team found the scoreboard from the second inning through the first half of the sixth. The Royals then broke through in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two runs after Victor Mascai came home on a balk and Nathaniel Ochoa crossed the plate on a wild pitch, extending Guelph's lead to 3-0 after six innings.
Guelph would then add another run as Miguel Hiraldo, who had just been 1-for-21 (.048) in his last five games, homered to center field, extending the Royals' lead to 4-0.
The Majors would then get their first runs, and only runs, of the game in the top half of the eighth when Trent Lenihan hit a ball deep to left field, scoring Cristian Inoa and Maikol Escotto, cutting the Royals' lead in half to 4-2.
(Photo by Matt Hiscox)
Unfortunately, for the Majors, that would be all the offence they could generate on the night. London's five-hit effort wasn't enough to overcome the Royals, as Kevin Escorcia was called upon in the ninth inning and recorded his fifth save of the season.
With the loss, the Majors now move to 21-11 on the season, 9-8 on the road, but still maintain the number two seed in the CBL.
CBL standings:
Team W-L GB STRK
London will now look to get back in the win column on July 31, when the Kitchener Panthers come to town. First pitch at Labatt Memorial Park is set for 7:05.