Home runs carry the day in Brisbane. Errors are big in Perth and Sydney.
BRISBANE 5, MELBOURNE 2 IN BRISBANE
Twins: Logan Wade (Brisbane) was 0-for-4.
Melbourne: Brad Harman was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his fourth. Justin Trapp (Kansas City) was 2-for-3 with a walk. Jared Schlehuber (Kansas City) was 2-for-4.
Brisbane: Justin O'Connor was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, scoring twice. Patrick Leonard (Tampa Bay) was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. Casey Barnes pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The game: Harman homered in the first to give Melbourne a 1-0 lead. Leonard hit a two-run homer in the third to put Brisbane in front and O'Connor hit a three-run shot in the fourth to put them in control. Melbourne got one in the seventh and had the tying run up to bat with one out, but got no closer.
PERTH 3, CANBERRA 2 IN PERTH
Canberra: Jack Murphy (Toronto) was 3-for-4 with a home run, his second. Jeremy Barnes was 1-for-4 with a home run. Steven Chambers pitched six innings, giving up three unearned runs on one hit and four walks with one strikeout.
Perth: Tucker Nathans was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run. Daniel Schmidt pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The game: In the third, three walks loaded the bases for Perth and a two-out error by the center fielder allowed all three runs to score. It remained 3-0 until the ninth, when Barnes and Murphy hit back-to-back homers to start the inning. The next man reached first on an error, but he was caught stealing and the next two men struck out.
ADELAIDE 3, SYDNEY 1 IN SYDNEY
Adelaide: Ben Lodge was 2-for-4. Chris Adamson (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with a run. Blake Holovach (Seattle) pitched five innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Sydney: Zach Shepherd was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jacob May (White Sox) was 2-for-4 with a run. Aaron Sookee (Angels) pitched six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
The game: Shepherd doubled in a run in the fourth to give Sydney a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, an RBI ground out and a two-run error gave Adelaide a 3-1 lead. Sydney had two on in the sixth, two on in the seventh, and two on in the eighth, but did not score.