Mondays in the winter leagues are typically slow:
VENEZUELAN LEAGUE
Leones del Caracas 5, Tigres de Aragua 4
Los Leones won this battle of the Big Cats with 3 runs n the bottom of the 9th. Los Tigres scored single runs in four different innings, including their last 3 at-bats. SS Ronny Cedeno doubled with one out in the 4th, moved to third on 1B Hector Gimenez’s single, and scored on an RBI ground out. A solo homer gave Los Tigres a run in the 7th. With a runner on first base in the 8th, Cedeno dropped down a sacrifice bunt, then was safe at first on a fielding error by Los Leones’ catcher. An RBI double of Caracas reliever Justin Thomas brought in the lead runner with another run for Los Tigres. LF Jonel Pacheco picked up the RBI in the 9th with a single into left field, after a single and a stolen base. Caracas scored a run in the 3rd and had a solo homer in the 6th. They went into the bottom of the 9th trailing 4-2. The lead-off batter homered, bringing the score to 4-3. A single, a ground-rule double, and a walk loaded the bases with Los Leones runners, then a sacrifice fly tied the score. The next batter lined a single into left field to bring in the winning run.
AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE
Perth Heat 12, Melbourne Aces 1
The Heat held the Aces to just one run, while they pounded out 12 runs on just 8 hits, taking advantage of wild pitching and errors by the Aces. Two singles and a walk brought in the first two Heat runs in the 2nd. A walk forced in a run in the 3rd, and 1B Aaron Baker’s sacrifice fly plus another single made it 3 runs in the 3rd. A solo homer followed by a walk, a stolen base, and a double gave Perth 2 runs in the 4th. Baker hit a 3-run homer in the 7th. In the 8th, the Heat added 2 runs on two walks, a hit batter, two wild pitches, and a passed ball.
The Australian League will be playing their All-Star game on Wednesday (early morning in the US). There will be a delayed broadcast on the MLB network on Wednesday afternoon. The format for the game is Australian All-Stars vs. World All-Stars. New Pirate minor leaguer Stefan Welch is on the Australian All-Star roster, while Pirate minor leaguer Rinku Singh is on the World roster. Interesting that Welch is on the All-Star roster when he has not played in any of the Adelaide Bite’s games thus far in the season. He’s listed on their roster as “reassigned”. The Bite regular first baseman all season has been Pirates’ Calvin Anderson.
