SAN ANTONIO- The third day of Texas Winter League play saw three lopsided games highlighted by outstanding performances by Alamos’ starting pitcher Matt Orefice, Capitals’ starting pitcher Alex Mann, and a home run from Wranglers’ third baseman Jake Taylor.

CAPITALS 11 - PERICOS de PUEBLA 2

Recently Alex Mann made the transition from reliever to starter. After two years as the Tabor University Blue Jays’ closer, he started and threw complete games at the end of his senior year to lead his team to the NAIA World Series.

Whether the 6-5 Mann’s (1-0) future lies in the first or ninth inning is yet to be determined, but on Friday morning at the Missions’ Academy No. 2 Field his strong four innings was the standout performance of an 11-2 Capitals victory.

Though he started a bit wild, striking Parrots’ right fielder Andrew Maludo with a pitch with one out in the first, he would only allow two hits and no earned runs in a four inning stint featuring four strikeouts and only one walk.

The same could not be said of Parrots’ pitchers Young Kyu Lee and Rene Rubio. Lee (0-1) walked the first three batters he faced and seven overall while also hitting a batter in a 6-run Capitals’ first inning that featured only one hit, a 2-run single from Connor Battalia that completed the stanza’s scoring.

Rubio would relieve Lee following his seventh walk but had just as many control issues, walking six consecutive batters in a 5-run second. Not until Sho Nagashima retired the final six batters he faced in a 2-inning stint did the Parrots’ appear to have any quality pitching.

Every Caps batter except Kazuki Nakayama collected a walk. Instead, Nakayama hit a sacrifice fly in the first to drive in Battaglia with the game’s first run and also hit a long line drive double to right field off Rubio to lead off the second.

RJ Perucki’s one out double in the fourth to drive in Jason Merjano was the lone offensive highlight for the Parrots.

Battaglia drove in three runs in the game for the victors, who moved into sole possession of first place with the triumph with a 2-0 record.

The Parrots fell to fourth place with a 1-1 record following their 14-0 victory against the Apaches on Thursday.

The Parrots were managed by Simon Walters, the manager of the Moses Lake Rattlesnakes of the Mount Rainer Professional Baseball League. Regular skipper Chris Paterson will be absent for a week with commitments regarding his scouting duties with the Miami Marlins.

WRANGLERS 19 - APACHES 9

The Wranglers scored eight first inning runs to take an early 7-run lead then answered the Apaches’ comeback with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth in a 19-9 victory Friday morning at Missions Academy Field No. 3

Four different Wranglers; Yusuke Oyama, Warren Stehn, Jack Morrow, and Joshua Arriaga had multi-hit games while Jake Taylor hit his first home run of the year in leading the Wrangers (1-0-1) to their first victory of the season. Oyama’s three hits led all players in the game, while Morrow and Oyama both scored three runs while Morrow drove in the same. Stehn also had a trio of RBIs for the Wranglers.

Kori Melo and Nathan Lewellyn both had two hits in a losing cause, while Jacob Fabry drove in a pair of runs.

Both teams’ pitchers had control issues, with the two teams combining to walk 18 batters. James Brown (1-0) took the victory with three innings of one-hit pitching, but also walked six batters in allowing one earned run.

ALAMOS 12 - TEJANOS 2

Matt Orefice pitched four shutout innings while the Alamos scored nine seventh inning runs to turn a close game into a 12-2 laugher against the Tejanos.

Orefice (1-0) started shaky by loaded the bases in the top of the first on a walk and hits from Dillon Sauers and Ryan DiMascio, but quickly rebounded by striking out the next two hitters before inducing Gabe Garza to fly to center and retire the side.

“I had it in my head, ‘Now you’re done messing up. Time to get to work,’” said Orefice. “Felt really good; not my best, not my worst. A good start to the winter league.”

Orefice credited his ability to pace himself for his success. He would only allow one more hit, a double to Atsuya Tokoh in the fourth with two out, while the Alamos (1-0-1) manufactured two runs without the benefit of a hit.

In the second the Alamos loaded the bases courtesy of three walks from Tejanos (0-2) starter Forrest Moore before Dr. Conrad Woolsey grounded into a 4-6-3 double play for the game’s first run. Former Fort Worth Cat Rob Perrin then scored on a wild pitch in the following frame after walking with one out, advancing to second when Bob Boykin was hit by a pitch, and then reaching third when Andrew Caradella flew to centerfield.

Moore (0-1) did not allow a hit in three innings, but walked five batters while striking out three.

Perrin doubled to lead off the fifth off reliever Hiroki Taniguchi in the fifth and would score when, after stealing third, catcher Garza’s throw deflected off third baseman Ryan DiMatteo’s glove into left field, allowing Perrin to score.

DiMatteo would redeem himself in the bottom of the frame, however, when he hit a home run to left field with Dillon Sauers on off Hirkoru Ogawa.

The game was 3-2 going into the final inning before reliever Curtis Batten ran out of gas in his second inning of relief. First he hit Carmadella with a pitch that ricocheted off his helmet on to his face, necessitating his removal from the game. Bobby Orozco, listed as a pitcher but inserted into the game as an outfielder, then collected a single to right followed by a run-scoring single to right from Joseph Charles. Mike Shada was hit by a pitch before Woolsey got his second hit of the game and first RBI to chase Batten and make the score 5-2.

Fellow right-hander Billy Purilla was called on to relieve, but the next four hitters all reached. Shintaro Yokata made it 6-2 when he reached on an error by second baseman Shin Komori, Charles Shapiro singled to right to make it 7-2, and Perrin then cleared the bases with a triple to left. Following a walk to Boykin, pinch-hitter Cam Margis then hit a sacrifice fly to deep left that made both base runners advance 90 feet followed by an Orozco second single of the inning to conclude the scoring.

Ogawa would earn the save by pitching the final three innings.

Orefice’s final line had him strike out four batters and walk two in the game.