The Caribbean Series wrapped up on Monday, as Mexico (Los Yaquis de Obregon) won the championship with a 4-2 record.  Venezuela (Caribes de Anzoategui) finished last, with a 2-4 record.  Both the Dominican team (Toros del Este) and the Puerto Rican team (Criollos de Caguas) finished tied for second place with 3-3 records.

Mexico  3,  Venezuela  2  --  Very compact scoring in this game.  Venezuela scored first, with a 2-run homer in the 4th.  They rallied again in the 5th, and tried to score on a passed ball, but the runner from third was tagged out in a run-down.  Mexico had only 2 hits over the first 5 innings, but came through in the 6th with a double and a single.  One run scored on a ground out, and a 2-run homer gave them all the runs they needed.  Mexico loaded the bases in the 7th with a walk and two singles, but a ground out ended the inning without further runs scoring.  

Dominican Republic  3,  Puerto Rico  0  --  Dean Treanor's Dominican team finished the series with a win.  They scored 2 runs in the 4th inning.  With two outs, a single and a fielding error by Puerto Rican SS Luis Figueroa put two Dominican runners on base.  A triple by LF Alejandro De Aza drove both runners in.   De Aza began another rally in the 7th with a single up the middle.  A bunt moved him to second, and he advanced to third on a ground out, then scored on an RBI single.  The Dominicans posted just 6 hits in the game, and they also collected 3 walks.  Two Dominican pitchers held Puerto Rico to just 4 hits.  Starter Raul Valdes pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and one walk, with 6 strikeouts.  He retired 13 straight batters over the middle innings.  Reliever Julio Manon earned a save, retiring all 4 batters he faced.  Puerto Rico's best chance came in the 8th, when Valdes gave up a single, had Figueroa reach on a throwing error, and then hit a batter to load the bases.  The bases were left loaded though, thanks to Manon. 

The Caribbean Series continues on Sunday:

Venezuela  3,  Dominican Republic  0  --  Dean Treanor's Dominican team was shut out this afternoon despite posting 8 hits.  They managed only one hit over the first three innings, and that base runner was eliminated with a double play.  The Dominicans had at least one hit, plus 4 walks over the rest of the game, but only one time (6th inning) got a runner as far as third base.  Venezuela scored on a walk, a throwing error on a bunt, and their first single of the game in the 4th inning.  They added a solo homer in the 5th, then one more insurance run in the 8th with a walk and two singles.  

Puerto Rico  7,  Mexico  6  --  Puerto Rico began with a run in the bottom of the 1st on a walk and two singles.  The Puerto Rican starter, Joey Newby worked around a walk and a single in the 1st, then began the 2nd inning with 3 consecutive walks.  He was relieved, but two runs scored on a fielding error by SS Luis Figueroa.  Figueroa redeemed himself by driving in two runs with a double in the bottom of the inning, and another RBI single made the score 4-2 for Puerto Rico.  Both teams scored 2 runs in the 5th inning.  Mexico used a double and three singles, while Puerto Rico used a walk, a double, a single, and a sacrifice fly.  A solo homer by Mexico in the top of the 7th brought Mexico within one run of Puerto Rico, for a 6-5 score.  But the Puerto Ricans added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th on a walk and two singles.  Three singles again brought Mexico within one run in the top of the 9th, but Puerto Rico was able to cut short their rally and hold on for the win.


The current standings:  Puerto Rico and Mexico are tied for first place with 3-2 records.  Venezuela and the Dominican are also tied with 2-3 records. 

Former Pirate C Carlos Maldonado has signed a minor league contract with the Nationals. 

In the Caribbean Series:
Mexico  6,  Dominican Republic  3  --  The Dominicans were leading 3-1 going into the 8th inning, but Mexico rallied for 2 runs in the top of the inning to tie the score.  A single, a wild pitch, and a single brought in the first run before an out was recorded.   Then with two outs (from two different relief pitchers), a walk and a single scored the tying run.  The Dominicans went down in order in the bottom of the 8th, and the Mexicans came right back to break the tie in the top of the 9th with a 3-run homer.  The Dominican Republic put two runners on in the bottom of the 9th, but could not score, and Mexico had the win.

Puerto Rico  4,   Venezuela  2 --  Two runs in the top of the 10th gave Puerto Rico this win.  The Puerto Ricans began the scoring when a throwing error contributed to an unearned run in the 2nd inning.  They scored again in the 3rd on a single, a walk by SS LuisFigueroa, a bunt that turned into a ground out at second (but they weren't fast enough to turn two), and a sacrifice fly.  Venezuela got onto the scoreboard in the 5th with a bases-loaded RBI ground out, then tied the score with the help of an error in the 7th inning.  Puerto Rico threatened in the top of the 9th, but did not score until the top of the 10th. Figueroa walked, then moved to third on a bunt complicated by a throwing error.  A hit batter loaded the bases, and Figueroa crossed the plate on a walk.  The next batter also walked, forcing in an insurance run.  

Mexico now leads the series with a 3-1 record.  Venezuela is last with a 1-3 record, and both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are tied at 2-2.

A few signing notes for some former Pirates.  Of course the biggest news is that OF Lastings Milledge has signed a minor league deal with the White Sox.  Inf/Of Alfredo Amezaga (Indy Indians 2005) signed with the Rockies for 2011.  Inf Ramon Vazquez has signed with the Cardinals.

The Caribbean Series began play today with each of the for teams holding a 1-1 record.

Mexico  7,  Venezuela  3  --  The Venezuelans scored a single run in three consecutive innings -- a pair of doubles in the 5th, a fielding error with the bases loaded in the 6th, and a single, a walk, and a sacrifice fly in the 7th.  But Mexico's 4-run 5th inning was enough to overcome all of that.  Two singles and an error on a sacrifice bunt loaded the bases for the Mexicans.  A double cleared the bases for 3 runs, and a single with an error by LF Jose Castillo added the fourth run.   An RBI double and an RBI single gave Mexico 2 runs in the 3rd inning.  Two walks and a throwing error added an unearned run to the Mexico total in the 6th.  

 
Dominican Republic  4,  Puerto Rico  3  --   A 9th inning rally by the Dominicans upended Puerto Rico on their home turf.  Puerto 
Rico took the early lead with one run in the 3rd inning on a walk, a wild pitch, and an RBI double.  Another wild pitch plus a fielding error in left field contributed to Puerto Rico's run in the 5th inning.  The Puerto Rican pitching staff made 2 wild pitches in the top of the 6th, to give Dean Treanor's Dominican team their first run of the game.   Puerto Rico kept ahead with another single run in the 7th inning, on a walk, a sacrifice bunt by SS Luis Figueroa, and an RBI single.  The 9th inning began with Puerto Rico leading 3-1, but with one out, back-to-back walks and a triple drove in 2 runs for the Dominicans to tie the score.  An intentional walk put runners on the corners, then a grounder to first allowed the runner from third to score the go-ahead run before the final out was made.  Puerto Rico tried for a comeback with a single to lead off the 9th, but a double play got the Dominicans out of the inning with the win.


The Australian League
 Adelaide Bite  4,  Sydney Blue Sox  0  --  The Bite got their revenge for being no-hit in Game One by shutting out the Blue Sox in the second game of the semifinal series.  Starter Brandon Maurer allowed the Blue Sox only 4 hits in his 7 innings of work.  He worked around runners on base in 6 of those 7 innings, and walked a batter in each of the first 5 innings, but did not let anyone come around to score.  Reliever Adrian Burnside finished things up for Maurer with two perfect innings.  On the offensive side, DH Quincy Latimore was responsible for 3 of the Bite's 4 RBI.   The run he did not drive in came in the 4th, on a double and a single.  Latimore had the third of three singles in the 5th inning, and he drove in both of the runners on base.  A single, a bunt, and a wild pitch put a runner on third for the Bite in the 7th inning, and Latimore drove that runner in with another RBI single.  Latimore also reached base on an error in the 2nd inning, and made it as far as third base, but a double play ended that inning.  The Bite and the Blue Sox have now each won a game in this 3-game series.  The rubber match will be played on Sunday (early, of course), and the winner will face the Perth Heat in the championship series next weekend.

Day Two of the Caribbean series:

Dominican Republic  6,  Venezuela  5  --  Two runs in the top of the 9th were not enough for Venezuela to catch up to Dean Treanor's Dominican team.  Each team scored a run in the 2nd inning, with a solo homer for the Venezuelans and a walk and a triple for the Dominicans.  A 2-run double by DH Kevin Barker gave the Dominican Republic a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the 3rd.  The Venezuelan team came right back with a 2-run homer in the top of the 4th to tie the score again.  Then the Dominicans took the lead with single runs in three different innings.  A walk and two singles plated a run in the bottom of the 4th.  A sacrifice fly brought in an insurance run in the 6th, and Barker homered in the 7th.  The Venezuelan team made 2 outs to begin the top of the 9th, then kept the game alive with a single and a 2-run homer, but that was all they could get, as a ground out ended the game.

Check out a story about Dean Treanor here.  He used to be a police officer.


Puerto Rico  7,  Mexico  3  --  Puerto Rico began the game with their first six batters reaching base safely:  a single, a double by SS Luis Figueroa, a fielding error, two singles, and another error, accounting for 4 runs.  After a double play, a double drove in the 5th run of the inning.  Mexico got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning with a walk and two singles.  Two more singles and an error added 2 more runs for Mexico in the 2nd inning.  That was as far as the Mexicans would get, despite posting 12 hits.  Puerto Rico scored again in the 5th with two singles and a double play.  Figueroa had another RBI single in the 6th for Puerto Rico's final run.  


Australian League
Sydney Blue Sox  8,  Adelaide Bite  0  --  Sydney pitcher David Welch opened the semi-final round of the Australian League playoffs by pitching a no-hitter against the Adelaide Bite.  Welch walked the first batter he faced, but left him on base.  He also walked the lead-off batter in the 2nd inning, but picked him off first.  After striking out the side in the 3rd, Welch worked around a missed catch error in the 4th and his third walk in the 5th.  He also had a batter reach base against him in the 8th on another error, but erased that runner with a double play.  DH Quincy Latimore went 0-for-4, and had one of Welch's 10 strikeouts.  Meanwhile, Welch's teammates were providing him with plenty of run support.  They scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st, knocked a 2-run homer in the 2nd, and added 2 more runs in the 3rd.  One more run scored in the bottom of the 8th.