Indonesian baseball team spared whitewash

Indonesian baseball team spared whitewash

Associated Press, Manila

Indonesia's baseball team lost to the host team on Tuesday, but at least they did not suffer the humiliation of Malaysia.

Indonesia went down 5-11 in the same Philippine ballpark that once welcomed baseball great Babe Ruth and witnessed one of sport's biggest blowouts on Monday.

The Philippines beat Malaysia 38-0 on Monday in a Southeast Asian Games preliminary game at Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium, which was built in 1934 and had the distinction of being visited by Major League greats Ruth and Lou Gehrig shortly after it opened.

Ruth and Gehrig were part of an all-star team, which included Jimmy Foxx, that embarked on an 18-game tour of Asia in 1934. Ruth and Gehrig's team stopped for a week at the Philippines in December that year.

Gehrig took bragging rights as the first to hit a home run at Rizal stadium on Dec. 2. Ruth hit the second home run in the same game, and another on Dec. 9.

The Philippines put together a mostly collegiate team for the championships, and judging by early results, will be favorites in the tournament.

The Philippines scored 22 runs in the second inning and had 24 hits in 4 1-2 innings before the mercy rule was invoked. Pitchers Joseph Orillana and Roy Baclay combined for a no-hit, no-run game, with Orillana striking out seven of nine batters he faced.

"I've never seen a game like it, and probably never will again," tournament executive director Ely Barabas said Tuesday.