Cueto calms Straphangers for Game 5 win

Johnny Cueto rebounded from a weak Game 1 outing to go 7-plus innings while the Vancouver offense got in gear early and held on for a 4-2 win in Game 5 to force Game 6 in Sardine City.
The top-seeded Iron First battered Daniel Norris for 5 hits in the first two innings, although all were singles, they were aided by 3 walks to push across 4 runs for an early advantage.

Francisco Cervelli's one-out single was followed by a single from Anthony Rendon before J.D. Martinez grounded to second, forcing Rendon and putting men on the corners. Robbie Grossman obliged with a grounder up the middle to score Cervelli and make it 1-0 before John Jay struck out for the third out.

In the 2nd, Will Myers singled and then Norris walked No . 9 hitter Brandon Crawford and Charlie Blackmon to load the bases. Cervelli then knocked in two with a single to left. Rendon struck out before Martinez lined an RBI single to right for a 4-0 lead. Norris settled down, getting out of the 2nd then striking out 5 batters in a row, yielding just a single through 5 innings. Norris, the winner in Game 2, allowed 6 hits and 4 runs with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts over 5 innings.

Tyler Saladino greeted Joe Blanton with a double to start the 6th and reached third when Corey Seager flubbed a grounder from Myers. Blanton struck out Crawford and got the next two outs to get out of it, still down just 4-0, and also tossed a perfect 7th.

Meanwhile, Cueto was cruising, giving up just a single in the 4th, a single in the 6th that was erased on a double play, and another walk and single that was mitigated by a double play to end the 7th. A mild threat emerged in the 5th when Tyler Flowers was hit by a pitch and advanced all the way to third on groundouts before he was stranded there.

Cueto, a 22-game winner this season, had limited the Straphangers to three hits over seven innings and took the mound to begin the 8th. He surrendered a leadoff single to Stephen Piscotty, who advanced to second on an Addison Russell groundout. Ryan Schimpf provided Sardine City with its two runs via two-run blast, his league-leading 6th of these playoffs.

Cueto followed that up by plunking the Straphangers' leading postseason hitter, Christian Yelich (.316/.422/.763 with 5 home runs), and called it a night after 7 1/3 innings. Xavier Cedeno got the final two outs of the inning to keep it at 4-2.

Another Sardine City reliever was greeted by a double, this time Pedro Baez by Jay but Baez proceeded to strike out the side in the 8th.

The HBP of Yelich might have played into some 9th inning drama when Tyler Flowers took a called third strike from Andrew Miller for the second out then got into it with the umpire, eventually getting ejected with just one out to go. Eric Hosmer grounded out to end the game, giving the Iron Fist a 4-2 at home.

Cueto got the win, going 7 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 5. Cedeno went 2/3 scoreless before Miller pitched the 9th inning for the save. Norris took the loss.

Vancouver left eight men on base while Sardine City stranded four runners.

The scene shifts to Sardine City for Game 6, with the 4th-seeded Straphangers up 3-2 and one game away from their first DMBL World Series appearance.