A walkoff in Brisbane. A comeback in Perth. A big inning carries Melbourne.
BRISBANE 4, CANBERRA 3 IN BRISBANE (13 INNINGS)
Twins: Logan Wade (Brisbane) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.
Canberra: Mike Crouse (Toronto) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run homer, his eighth. Jon Berti (Toronto) was 2-for-5 with a walk and a run. Brian Grening struck out nine in seven innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks.
Brisbane: Joey Rickard (Tampa Bay) was 3-for-6 with a double and a home run (his fourth), driving in two. Justin O'Conner (Tampa Bay) was 1-for-5 with a home run, his second. Mickey Jannis pitched seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The game: In the first, Crouse hit a two-run homer and Casey Frawley doubled and scored on a pair of ground outs to give Canberra a 3-0 lead. Canberra would not score again. In the third, Brad Dutton and Joshua Roberts doubled to cut the lead to 3-1. It stayed 3-1 until the eighth, when O'Conner led off the inning with a home run. Wade then walked, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on Rickard's single to tie it at three. They went in to extra innings, and Rickard led off the bottom of the thirteenth with a home run to end the game.
PERTH 5, ADELAIDE 4 IN PERTH
Adelaide: Joe Sclafani (Houston) was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once. Stefan Welch (Boston) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, driving in two. James Campbell (Dodgers) pitched five innings, giving up one run on two hits and four walks with two strikeouts.
Perth: Corey Adamson (San Diego) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a triple, scoring once and driving in two. Brandon Tripp was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run. Brendan Wise struck out four in three shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks.
The game: Chris Adamson singled in two in the second to give Adelaide a 2-0 lead. Welch delivered a two-run double in the fifth to make it 4-0, Perth started its comeback in the sixth on a Jesse Barron RBI double. They added a run in the seventh on two singles, a walk, and a wild pitch to make it 4-2. In the eighth, three singles, one of them a run-scoring hit by George Barber, cut the lead to 4-3 and Corey Adamson followed with a two-run triple to give Perth its first lead of the game at 5-4. Adelaide put men on second and third with one out in the ninth but could not even the score.
MELBOURNE 6, SYDNEY 3 IN SYDNEY
Melbourne: Ryan Casteel (Colorado) was 2-for-4 with a double and a grand slam, his eleventh homer. Tyler Massey (Colorado) was 2-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one. John Hussey (San Diego) struck out six in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks.
Sydney: Joshua Dean was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Mitch Dening was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Matthew Rae struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing one hit and no walks.
The game: There was no scoring until the fifth, when Melbourne put it away with a six-run inning. A double, an error, and two walks scored the first run. A sacrifice fly brought home the second. Following another walk, Castell hit a grand slam to make it 6-0. Sydney tried to come back, scoring single runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth, but did not bring the tying run up to bat.