DUBAI: Karan Patel struck out 10 batters in 5.0 innings, whilre Miguel Ojeda Jr. hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to put Mumbai Cobras ahead in the United Series after beating Mid East Falcons 3-1 at Baseball United Ballpark on Friday night.
Patel had his best performance of the season after 81 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. He allowed only four hits and struck out Alejandro de Aza, Jake Hjelle, Shuhei Fukuda and Federico Celli twice each.
Chandler Woolridge, who earned the first win in United Series history (1.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO), Brandon Kaminer (1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 SO) and Akeel Morris (2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 SO) completed the pitching line for the Cobras.
In addition to Ojeda, Gedionne Marlin went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the seventh inning, which was his team’s third. Brantley Bell went 1-for-4 with a run scored, and Ian Mercado went 1-for-2.
With this victory, the Mumbai Cobras moved one win away from taking the United Series and becoming the first champions in Baseball United history.
Other highlights
- Starting pitcher Shute Sakurai had a solid performance, after 6.0 innings in which he allowed six hits, one earned run and struck out seven. Shingo Hirata, who took the loss (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) completed the pitching line for Mid East.
- Hiroyuki Nakajima went 2-for-3 as the standout man in the Falcons offense.
- Mid East left a total of seven runners on base.
- Mid East need to win Game 2 of the United Series, to force Game 3 and take the series to a decider on Sunday, Dec. 14.
