VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas 6, Bravos de Margarita 4 (Afternoon game) — Anthony Claggett pitched 5 innings in his start for Los Bravos. He gave up a double and a single in the top of the 1st, then retired the side in order in the 2nd. Claggett hit a batter, then gave up a walk and a single in the 3rd. He then pitched two scoreless innings in the 4th and 5th, and the only batter who reached base did so on a fielding error. Claggett had the lead when he was relieved to begin the 6th inning. Former Pirate farmhand Ronald Uviedo made the start for Los Leones, but he had more troubles than Claggett. Los Bravos scored one run in the 2nd on a single and a double, then 2 runs int he 4th on a single and two doubles. Margarita also scored a run off Uviedo’s replacement with 3 singles in the 5th. Los Bravos held the lead until the top of the 8th, when Los Leones added 4 runs and got their manager, Pirates’ Luis Dorante, and their catcher Henry Blanco ejected. Three consecutive singles and a fielding error brought in one run, then two RBI singles and a sacrifice fly plated 3 more runs.
Leones 4, Bravos 2 (Evening game) — C Carlos Maldonado blasted a 3-run homer for Los Leones in the 2nd inning, then LF Jose Castillo added some insurance with a solo homer in the 6th. Los Bravos scored their 2 runs in the 8th, on a single, a walk, and a 2-RBI double. Jhonathan Ramos pitched the top of the 9th for Margarita, and allowed a single and a walk, but no runs. Jose Ascanio pitched the bottom of the frame for Caracas, and allowed a single, but also no runs, earning his first save.
Cardenales de Lara 13, Navegantes del Magallanes 10 — Los Cardenales and Los Navegantes held a hit-fest, with each team posting 14 hits, though neither team homered. Los Navegantes scored 3 runs in the 3rd, then scored in each of the last 5 innings. Los Cardenales posted three big innings — 4 runs in the 1st, 4 again in the 7th, and 3 in the 8th. Jean Machi came on to pitch in the 8th for Los Navegantes, with runners on the corners and no outs. He got a fielder’s choice out at the plate on the first batter he faced. Then he gave up a 2-RBI double and an RBI single, but was charged with only one earned run due to an error. Romulo Sanchez pitched the 9th inning for Lara, and allowed one run, on three singles.
Tiburones de La Guaira 15, Tigres de Aragua 12 — Another Venezuelan hit-fest, with a total of 29 hits in this game. Los Tigres had “medium” innings in the 3rd (3 runs) and 6th (2 runs) plus a big 5th inning (6 runs). Los Tiburones posted 5 runs in the 1st, then had a huge 9-run 5th inning. SS Ronny Cedeno singled and dropped down a sacrifice bunt. CF Jorge Cortes doubled and walked. 1B Hector Gimenez had a big night with 3 singles and a walk, and scored twice.
MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE
Venados de Mazatlan 3, Tomateros de Culiacan 2 — RF Rogelios Noris singled twice and put down a critical sacrifice bunt as Los Venados won in the bottom of the 9th. Los Tomateros scored a single run in the 3rd, and another in the 7th, both with a double and a single. Noris’ hit in the 5th was one of three consecutive singles which brought in a run for Los Venados in the 5th, to tie the game at 1-1. Mazatlan tied the game again in the bottom of the 8th with two walks and a single. Then in the bottom of the 9th, Noris followed a walk with a sacrifice bunt to move the runner into scoring position. A single by SS Heber Gomez drove in the run for the walk-off win. Noris also singled in the 7th and put down another sacrifice bunt in the 3rd.
