LINESCORE
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
Hamilton 002 150 000— 8 151
Barrie 000 001 000— 1 8 2
Boon (W, 3-1), Warkentin (8), Cory (9) and Magill;
Benítez (L, 1-2), Encarnacion (5), Moreta (6), Grieveson (8) and Ciprian.
HRs: Ham — Magill (5), Brown 2(4); Bar — None.
OTHER SCORES
Brantford 4 Kitchener 3
Welland 20 Chatham-Kent 4
Guelph 7 Toronto 4
Jaden Brown went deep in consecutive plate appearances, the second homer capping off a five-run fifth inning that pushed the Hamilton Cardinals (13-7) to an 8-1 win over the Barrie Baycats (15-8) on Saturday at Athletic Kulture Stadium.
It was the first meeting between the teams this season, and the sixth consecutive win for the Cardinals.
Brown homered in the fourth and fifth innings off Baycats starter Juan Benítez (1-2), who also surrendered a two-run homer to Evan Magill as Hamilton built an 8-0 lead midway through the game.
Along with Yolki Peña, Brown and Magill each had three hits and two RBI, with Peña driving in two on a single just before Brown's second homer.
Benítez went 4 1/3 innings and struck out two. He allowed at least one hit in every inning in what was his shortest outing of the season.
"He was okay up until about the fourth," acting Baycats manager Andrew White told Barrie360 postgame. "You could see that his legs were getting a little tired, he was starting to leak a lot of pitches middle-middle... gotta leave him out there, trust that he can get through it."
White managed the game in place of Josh Matlow, who was suspended one game after a benches-clearing incident in the team's win in Toronto on Friday night. The aftermath also saw Francisco Hernandez suspended for three games for inciting the matter, and he served the first game of that ban on Saturday.
Hernandez entered Saturday riding the club's longest active on-base streak at 19 games. He won't be eligible to return until July 16 against Toronto.
Darlin Germán and Reyny Reyes drove in Hamilton's other runs in the fifth with a double and single, respectively.
Cardinals centerfielder Tyler Duncan went 0-for-5, snapping his season-opening 19-game on-base streak.
On the mound, reigning MVP Owen Boon (3-1) showed his award-winning form, holding Barrie to just one run on six hits and a walk through seven innings while striking out eight. His performance lowered his league-leading ERA to 2.09.
"He's hard to hit because he locates three pitches very well," White said. "When you face a guy like him, you have to have an approach. Not to say the guys didn't, but you have to lock in on a pitch that you got to hit hard, and when you get it, you have to hit it. And he beat us to the spot more often than we did."
Barrie's only tally came on an RBI groundout by Noel McGarry Doyle. Brandon Hernandez scored after leading off the inning with a double and finished 3-for-3.
Canice Ejoh and Clayton Keyes also had multi-hit efforts for Barrie, with Keyes extending his on-base streak to 13 games.
Barrie entered the week atop the CBL standings but now sits 1½ games back after going 2-2 since Canada Day, including a loss to the league-leading London Majors.
"[We've got to] keep each other accountable, but at the same time pick each other up," White said. "Tomorrow's another day, and I know when these guys come back and perform next week, they'll be ready to go."
UP NEXT
Barrie looks to maintain its undefeated record against Welland on Thursday at home. Frank Garcés (4-1, 3.62 ERA) is expected to start for the Baycats.
The Cardinals are in Toronto on Wednesday.
