Display posts from previous
Sort by

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5476 by joez
Image
Guided by Cora, Puerto Rico looks to make mark in Caribbean Series

By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com | + 0 COMMENTS

CULIACAN, Mexico --

Alex Cora wakes up every morning to the sound of his smartphone rattling on the night stand.

Somebody on the other end of the line wants to know about his Caribbean Series roster. On most days, he's on his phone fielding questions about Puerto Rico's World Baseball Classic team. He's starting to get calls from reporters in Puerto Rico who want to talk about the Astros.

Cora, the general manager of Puerto Rico's World Baseball Classic team and the Winter League champion Criollos de Caguas, might be the busiest man in baseball these days. He reports to Spring Training in Florida next month to begin his first season as Houston's bench coach.

"There's a lot of work, but I love it," Cora said from his home in Puerto Rico. "I'm excited about Spring Training. It's something I wanted to do and I wanted to be a part of. I can't wait to do my part."

Cora, who retired in 2011 after 14 seasons with the Dodgers, Indians, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers and Nationals, took over as general manager in Caguas during the 2012-13 season. He played for Caguas each winter during his big league career and knows what to expect from the competition this week in Mexico.

A team from Puerto Rico has not won the Caribbean Series since 2000.

"We are going to go in and people might look at our roster and wonder who these guys are, but we can play with anybody in the Caribbean," Cora said. "We are going to pitch our butts off. We will have 15 pitchers and there will be depth. We can match up with teams with our bullpen and shorten up the game. We are going to trust that offensively we are going to do enough and our defense will stay hot."

This year's Caribbean Series includes Winter League champions Tigres del Licey from the Dominican Republic, Mexico's Aguilas de Mexicali, Criollos de Caguas from Puerto Rico and Venezuela's Aguilas del Zulia. The Series starts on Wednesday afternoon at Estadio Tomateros in Culiacan.

Alazanes de Granma, the Serie Nacional champion, will represent Cuba as a special guest. (Not considered a professional baseball team

"We had a lot of ups and downs in the regular season, but we had a good winning streak in the middle of November that put us in a position to make it to the playoffs," Cora said. "We beat two good teams in Mayaguez and Santurce. I felt like if we caught the ball and pitched well, we could play with Santurce in the finals and we did. The guys also really started playing with emotion and passion."

The initial design of the Caribbean Series was 12 games, with each team squaring off against each other twice. A new format extended the double round-robin format an extra day in 2013, with a championship game played between the teams with the two best records. The latest format pits each team against each other once, followed by two semifinals and a championship game.

The history of the Caribbean Series can be traced back to the union of the leagues in Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico and Venezuela and the formation of the Caribbean Federation in 1948. The first tournament was held a year later.

Overall, the Dominican Republic has won the Caribbean Series title 19 times and Puerto Rico has the second-most championships (14). Mexico has won nine times -- including last year's title -- Cuba has won eight times, and Venezuela has seven championships.

A Caribbean Series title by Puerto Rico this year would add momentum to the island's recent baseball resurgence. Cora's World Baseball Classic team begins play in March.

"This is a good time for Puerto Rico. We are in a good place," Cora said. "With what Javy Baez and Francisco Lindor and Roberto Perez did in the World Series, and it was unreal for the playoffs, especially Game 8 in Caguas. There are prospect showcases and young talent that will go in the Draft. It's getting better and people are starting to enjoy baseball and hopefully, we can keep that rolling."

The field:

• A team from Mexico has won the Caribbean Series championship in 2013 (Yaquis de Obregon), '14 (Naranjeros de Hermosillo) and '16 (Venados de Mazatlan). Obregon also won the title in '11. Mexicali won its first and only Caribbean Series title in 1986.
Players to Watch: Nationals reliever Oliver Perez and free-agent reliever Sergio Romo.

• Licey has won 10 Caribbean Series titles. The Dominican's last championship came in 2012 by the Leone del Escogido.
Player to Watch: Arizona shortstop Sergio Alcantara, the club's No. 28 prospect.

• A team from Puerto Rico has won the Caribbean Series 14 times, but the island has not taken home the title since Santurce won in 2000. Overall, Caguas has three Caribbean Series titles with championships in 1954, 1974, and 1987.
Players to watch: Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo, Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario and Brewers pitcher Hiram Burgos.

• Venezuela has won seven Caribbean Series championships with its most recent coming in 2009 by the Tigres de Aragua in Mexicali. Zulia won the Caribbean Series title in 1984 and 1989.
Player to Watch: Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis and right-handed pitcher Tayron Guerrero, No. 23 on Marlins Top 30 prospects list.

• In 2014, Villa Clara became the first team from Cuba to participate in the Caribbean Series since 1960, and it was eliminated in four games. In 2015, the team from Pinar del Rio defeated Mexico for the title. Cuba's Ciego de Avila was eliminated in the semifinals last year and finished the tournament with a 1-3 record.
Players to Watch: Outfielders Alfredo Despaigne, Victor Mesa, and Yoelkys Cespedes, younger brother of Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, plus infielder Guillermo Aviles.


• The schedule (all games available live on Gameday).
Wednesday: Cuba vs. Dominican Republic, 5 p.m. ET; Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, 10 p.m. ET.
Thursday: Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico, 5 p.m.; Mexico vs. Dominican Republic, 9 p.m.
Friday: Cuba vs. Puerto Rico, 5 p.m.; Venezuela vs. Mexico, 9 p.m.
Saturday: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico, 5 p.m.; Cuba vs. Venezuela, 7 p.m.
Sunday: Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela, 3 p.m.; Mexico vs. Cuba, 7 p.m.
Monday: Semifinal game between second seed and third seed, 3 p.m.; semifinal game between top seed and fourth seed, 7 p.m.
Tuesday: Final, 9 p.m.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5477 by joez
Image
Eight players to watch at this week's Caribbean Series

If you were tired of watching every season of "Gilmore Girls" for the fourth time this winter, you're in luck: The Caribbean Series starts on Wednesday, with the first game at 5 p.m. ET. With Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela all squaring off for the title, which players should you be watching?

Here's eight that we think are worth keeping an eye on this week:

Freddy Galvis - Venezuela

Galvis has always been known for his defense, with his smooth as silk glovework making the sublime seem easy and in the realm of human achievement. The numbers back that up as, according to FanGraphs, he was the third-most valuable defensive shortstop last year, behind only Brandon Crawford and Francisco Lindor.
Image
But Galvis was also a part of the offensive explosion across the Majors last season, as he more than doubled his previous career high with 20 long balls. Defense and dingers? That's the best combo since a burger and fries.
Image
Jose Castillo - Venezuela

The 35-year-old Castillo hasn't played in the Majors since 2008, but he's kept active in the Mexican League and Venezuelan ball. While his age means he may no longer turn acrobatic plays like he did in his prime, he still crushed the ball to the tune of a .332/.383/.439 line this winter.
Image
Rusney Castillo - Puerto Rico

Castillo may not have become the player that the Red Sox hoped for when they signed him to a $72.5 million contract in 2014, but there's always a hope that a breakout could come. Perhaps the Caribbean Series will be that moment when all the impressive tools that once impressed scouts emerge again.

After posting just a .664 OPS in Triple-A in 2016, Castillo has done much better in winter ball with a .392 average. Granted, it's just 51 at-bats, but hey, if you can do this once, you can do it 100 times, right?
Image
Leury Garcia - Dominican Republic

While Garcia is a useful player, he's hardly the kind of big-name star that the Dominican Republic usually features. Last year, the team had a dynamite bullpen with Joel Peralta, Francisco Rodney and Rafael Soriano just some of the big leaguers on the roster.

Of course, maybe that's part of the plan. Garcia has also played every position other than first base and catcher in the Majors, so perhaps he'll become the on-field relief ace.
Image


He also managed to hit an inside-the-park home run during last year's Series:

Yoelkis Cespedes Maceo - Cuba

Yes, that's right: The man with the goldenrod arm has a brother. Only 19 years old, there is plenty of reason to be excited by the outfielder.

Playing for Granma in the Cuban league, Yoelkis hit .297/.361/.460 with six home runs this year. While it's not the 23 home runs that his older brother hit with the team at that age, the Caribbean Series and upcoming World Baseball Classic will be his first real international exposure.

Given those family ties, you'll want to watch closely. And if he hits a home run, it will be a great excuse to yell, "Getting yoked!"

https://youtu.be/_5KN4r0IomQ

Alfredo Despaigne - Cuba

You want dingers? This 30-year-old is your man. He destroyed the baseball at the 2013 World Baseball Classic -- winning MVP of Pool A as he blasted three home runs and drove in eight runs in the group stage:
Image
Currently playing for Chiba Lotte in the Japanese NPB, Despaigne led the team with 24 home runs -- more than doubling Yamaico Navarro's total of 10.
If you want to see a mighty hack, this is a mighty hack:

https://youtu.be/XWRPgYRIE2U

With the start of the Caribbean Series, airing on ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN, winter is almost over. Baseball is back.

Yuniesky Betancourt - Mexico

Surprised to see Betancourt on here? Don't be. While he no longer plays in the middle of the infield, he's grown into his power and now holds down first base. Just look at this grand slam he hit in the final playoff game of the Mexican Winter League:

https://youtu.be/3CaPlJzThK0

Sergio Romo - Mexico

While the Nationals' Oliver Perez is also on the team, we'll be watching Romo closely for two reasons.

1. He's currently a free agent, so Major League teams and fantasy players hungry for possible closers will be paying close attention. While an elbow injury pushed him to the 60-day DL last year, he returned to post a 2.64 ERA. That includes a 1.86 mark with an 11/1 K/BB ratio over the last month of the season.

2. This slider. This gorgeous, glorious slider. Batters have managed only a .161 average against the pitch since Romo entered the Majors in 2008.
Image
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5478 by joez
Image

Code: Select all

Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Ronny Rodriguez	  1B	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.250

Code: Select all

           1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	H	E
Cuba       1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0    4	7	0
Dom. Rep.  0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0    0	7	2 
W: Blanco (1-0, 0.00) L: Pineyro (0-1, 8.31) 
S: Moinelo (1)

Code: Select all

Team	       W	L	  PCT	  GB
Cuba	       0	0	1.000	   -
Mexico  	   0	0       -	 0.5
Puerto Rico	0	0  	  -	 0.5
Venezuela	  0	0	    -	 0.5
Dom. Rep.	  0	0	 .000	 1.0
Image
Yoelkis Cespedes' defense in the Caribbean Series ought to make his brother Yoenis proud

On Wednesday, players representing Cuba and the Dominican Republic clashed in the Caribbean Series opener in Culiacan, Mexico. One of the players worth some attention heading into the series was Yoelkis Cespedes, outfielder for Cuba and, yes, the younger brother of one Yoenis Cespedes.

You know, the guy with the ridiculous throwing arm, all-around flair, intimidating offensive presence (and bat-flips) that have made him the cornerstone of the Mets' roster.

Well, the younger Cespedes wasted no time introducing himself to the masses with his running catch and cannon shot to first base, which was ultimately ruled a double play in the third inning of Wednesday's contest:

https://twitter.com/Culiacan2017/status ... 0193624064

That bit of dazzling defense was more or less exemplary of the game, which Cuba won, 4-0, over the Dominican Republic. Yoelkis, by the way, went 1-for-2 with a run scored in addition to the defensive play.

It's all really quite unfair -- but entirely representative of the Cespedes name. It's just what they do.
Image
The Alazanes de Granma enjoyed a good performance from pitcher Lázaro Blanco and with timely offense beat the Dominican Licey Tigers 4-0 at the start of the Caribbean Series.

In Culiacán, Blanco combined his fast ball with breaking balls, especially a good slider and dominated in difficult times to score the victory.

The Cubans of manager Carlos Martí took the lead in the first inning on a lead off triple by Roel Santos who scored on a pass ball.

The Dominicans hit Blanco hard in the first innings but could not sustain any consistancy.

With a good fast ball and a harsh slider, the Cuban starter posted zero after zero and in the fifth innin his teammates extended their lead to 4-0. With one out, Carlos Benitez walked. Frank Morejon singled. Carlos Benitez advanced to 2nd. Yoelkis Cespedes singled on a line drive to right field to load the bases. Carlos Benitez to 3rd. Frank Morejon to 2nd.

After a pitching change, a wild pitch by Edgar Garcia brought home Carlos Benitez. Frank Morejon and Yoelkis Cespedes advanced to second and third. Roel Santos doubled. Frank Morejon and Yoelkis Cespedes scored.

The Tigers of manager Audo Vicente wasted several scoring opportunities and left a dozen runners on bases.

For Cuba, Roel Santos led the attack with a triple, double and three RBIs in four innings. The Dominican's Webster Rivas was 2-2.

Blanco, who came out in the seventh inning after throwing 104 pitches, took the win on five hits in six innings and a third. He struck out six opponents and walked three. Tiger's starter Iván Piñeyro suffered the loss giving up four hits and four runs in four innings and a third.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5479 by joez
Image

Code: Select all

            1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9     R	 H	E
Puerto Rico 0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0     2	 5	2
Mexico      0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	x     4	10	0 
 
W: Loop (1-0, 9.00) L: Cabrera (0-1, 54.00) 
S: Sanchez (1)

Code: Select all

Team	       W	L	  PCT	 GB
Cuba	       1	0	1.000	  -
Mexico	     1	0	1.000	  -
Venezuela  	0	0	    -	0.5
Dom. Rep.	  0	1	 .000	1.0
Puerto Rico	0	1    .000   1.0
Image
Late Roberson homer lifts Mexicali to 4-2 win in CS opener

Hector Daniel Rodriguez turned in a brilliant start for Mexicali Wednesday night, as the Aguilas lefthander allowed just one Caguas hit over six innings, but it was Chris Roberson's two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh that put the Mexican Pacific League champions ahead for good as Mexicali went on to defeat the Puerto Rican champ Criollos, 4-2, in the second game of the 2017 Caribbean Series at Estadio Tomateros in Culiacan, Sinaloa. The Aguilas are attempting to become the fifth team representing Mexico to win the Serie del Caribe since 2011. Mexicali last won the CS in 1986 at Maracaibo, Venezuela under Salon de la Fama manager Benjamin "Cananea" Reyes.

MEXICALI (MEX) 4-10-0, Caguas (PR) 2-5-2

After retiring the first four Caguas batters he faced, Rodriguez gave up consecutive walks to Ruben Gotay and David Vidal with one out in the top of the second, but got the final two outs without incurring any further damage. From that point, the 32-year-old portsider carried his no-hitter into the fifth inning, when Ivan de Jesus Jr. lined a single to center to momentarily break the Culiacan native's spell. It was a good thing for Mexicali that Rodriguez continued the tradition of being at his best in big games because Criollos starter Orlando Roman matched him zero for zero through the fifth inning until Caguas manager Alex Cora brought in William Oliver from the bullpen to pitch a scoreless sixth. Rodriguez threw 93 pitches to 21 Caguas batters through six innings before making way for reliever Derrick Loop, who got the first two outs in the top of the seventh frame before giving up a homer to Vidal for the first run of the game.

In the bottom of the seventh, Aguilas rightfielder Ronnier Mustelier greeted new Criollos reliever Fernando Cabrera by hitting a full-count pitch for a grounder through the right side of the infield into right field for a single. Agustin Murillo then tapped a sacrifice bunt toward the mound to advance Mustelier to second. Xorge Carrillo's single to right moved Mustelier to third, giving Mexicali runners at the corners with one out. At that point, Aguilas manager Roberto Vizcarra called on reinforcement Jesse Castillo to pinch-hit for Ramon Rios and sent Isaac Rodriguez in to pinch-run for Carrillo at first. Cora countered by replacing Cabrera with J.C. Romero, who got Castillo to hit a roller to second to force Rodriguez for the second out, but Mustelier came in from third on the play to tie the game at 1-1. Then Roberson strode to the plate and lofted Rodney's first pitch into the left field stands for a two-run homer to put Mexicali up by a 3-1 score. Jason Bourgeois grounded out to first to end the inning.

MLB vet Sergio Romo was brought in to pitch for the Aguilas in the top of the eighth, but De Jesus socked Romo's second pitch over the same left field wall Roberson cleared for a solo homer to cut Mexicali's lead to one run. After striking out Jesmuel Valentin, Romo let up back-to-back singles by Jorge Padilla and Rey Navarro before inducing Rusney Castillo to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. In the bottom of the eighth, with Hiram Burgos now pitching for the Puerto Ricans, leadoff batter Yuniesky Betancourt whacked a 1-0 pitch out to right for a solo homer to make it a 4-2 game. Jake Sanchez, who has given up one earned run all season, entered the game in the top of the ninth and retired the Criollos in order for the save and the win.

Loop was awarded the win but the laurels must go to Rodriguez, who dazzled the Caguas lineup and the folks at home with his six innings of one-hit shutout pitching, striking out four batsmen. Cabrera took the loss in relief for the Criollos, sparing Roman the indignity after the former Mets minor leaguer's five frames of five-hit shutout hurling kept pace with Rodriguez. Mexicali outhit the Puerto Ricans by a 10-5 margin, with Roberson, Mustelier and C.J. Retherford collecting two hits apiece.

Mexicali will next play Dominican champions Zulia on Thursday night at 8:00PM MST (0300 UTC) in a battle of Los Dos Aguilas. MexPac Pitcher of the Year Hector Velazquez will start for the Mexican side.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5482 by joez
Image
DAY 2; 2/2/17

Code: Select all

            1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	H	E
Venezuela   0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0    4	8	0
Puerto Rico 0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0    3	9	2 
W: Bencomo (1-0, 1.80) L: Flores (0-1, 4.50) 
S: Pena (1)

Code: Select all

	              G	W	L	  PCT	DIF
 Cuba	         1	1	0	1.000	 -
 Mexico	       1	1	0	1.000	 -
 Venezuela	    1	1	0	1.000	 -
 Dominicana	   1	0	1	.000	  1
 Puerto Rico	  2	0	2	.000	 1.5
Image
Venezuela scores first victory 4-3 in the Caribbean Series against Puerto Rico

A week after obtaining the championship of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League , and after a series of roster changes, nothing seems to have changed for the Aguilas del Zulia. The Zulians scored a victory in their debut in the Caribbean Series , 4-3, against the Criollos de Caguas of Puerto Rico.

In 2017, Zulia is almost perfect having lost only two games , one in the semifinals and one in the finals. The team is lead by Lipso Nava. The team remained intact and showed cohesiveness and delivered all year and it was reflected in the first game of the series.

Zulia opened the scoring in the second inning and took the early lead 3-0. After one out, Rene Reyes doubled (1) to center field. Alex Romero reached on a fielding error and Rene Reyes scored. Jesus Flores followed with a two run homer.

Puerto Rico starting pitcher Omar Bencomo Jr. did not disappoint and held the Criollos Of Cagua to four hits and one run (in the second inning) over a period of six innings with six strikeouts.

In the fourth inning, Venezuela would score their fourth run off of losing pitcher Adalberto Flores. With two outs, Jesus Flores doubleds (1) to center and Ronny Cedeno followed with an rbi single.

The Venezuelan relief pitchers was responsible for holding the lead until Leonel Campos had problems in the eighth inning and gave up a two - run homer th David Vidal but Hassan Pena was responsible for ending the rally and closed the ninth to seal the Eagle victory.

The victory for the Eagles went to Bencomo while the defeat was inflicted on the opener Adalberto Flores.

Ruben Gotay lead the Puerto Rico attack with one hit, one run, and two walks; David Vidal one home run, one single, one run and two rbi; Ivan De Jesus Jr two hits, one walk, and one rbi.

Venezuela was lead by Freddy Galvis two hit and a walk; Jesus Flores one home run, one double, two runs, and two rbi.
Image
NOTABLE PERFORMER:

Vidal, who signed a Minor League deal with the Marlins in October, hit his second home run in as many games and continues to show his power. He hit .320 with 62 RBIs in 85 games for the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League last season.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

Flores' home run gave Venezuela a 3-0 lead in the second inning and was the early highlight of the afternoon. Two innings later, he scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a single by Cedeno and a throwing error by De Jesus to give Venezuela a 4-1 lead.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5483 by joez
Image
DAY 3; 2/3/17

Code: Select all

Player	           Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Ronny Rodriguez	   1B	 4	2	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 1	 1	.250

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	 H	E
Mexico        1	0	0	0	2	0	3	1	0    7	15	2
Dom. Rep.     1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0    2	 6	1 
 
W: Velazquez (1-0, 1.80) L: Valdez (0-1, 6.23)

Code: Select all

	TEAM	               W	L	  PCT	  GB
	México	             2	0	1.000	   -
	Cuba     	          1	0	1.000	   -
	Venezuela	          1	0	1.000	 0.5
	Puerto Rico	        0	2	 .000	   2
	Republica Dominicana  0	2	 .000	   2
Image
Mexicali tops Licey, 7-2, pull into lead in CS standings

Chris Roberson went 4-for-5 and scored twice, Jason Bourgeois (pictured) blazed his way to two triples, one of them a two-run three-bagger, and scored once while Mexicali starter Hector Velazquez (recently named the Mexican Pacific League Pitcher of the Year after leading the loop in wins and strikeouts) gave the Aguilas their second straight solid start after Hector Daniel Rodriguez dominated Caguas on Wednesday to lead Mexico's winterball champs to a 7-2 victory over Dominican pennant winners Licey Thursday at Culiacan's Estadio Tomateros in Day Two of the 2017 Caribbean Series. A crowd of 19,177 watched the Aguilas rise to 2-0 for the tournament with a clear claim to first place in the round robin standings while the ten-time CS champion Tigres dropped to 1-1.
Image
Mexicali (MX) Aguilas 7-15-2, Licey (DR) Tigres 2-6-1

Chris Roberson led off the game for Mexicali by rapping a single to right on a 2-2 pitch from Tigres starter Cesar Valdez, taking second on Jason Bourgeois' groundout to Valdez on the mound and steaming home on C.J. Retherford's line drive single to right. Ronny Rodriguez likewise reached first leading off for Licey on a throwing error by Aguilas shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt, then came in all the way from first to score on Zoilo Almonte's double off Velazquez to tie the game.

The Dominicans regained the lead in the bottom of the third when the pesky Rodriguez drew a walk to open the inning, followed by a flight around the basepaths on Leury Garcia's long single to right. Mexicali went back on top with a pair of scores in the top of the fifth, chasing Valdes in the process. The entrada opened with Xorge Carrillo geting hit by a Valdez pitch and moving to second on Ramon Rios' sacrifice bunt. Roberson then laid down another bunt and beat the throw on a disputed play at first as Carrillo made his way to third. Bourgeois stepped up and ripped a Valdez delivery past Licey centerfielder Mel Rojas Jr. for a two-run triple, giving Mexicali a 3-2 advantage.

Bourgeois also played a prominent role in the Mexicali seventh by larruping his second triple of the night off reliever Ramon Ramirez with two out and nobody on, then plating a run when Tigres shortstop Sergio Alcantara mishandled a Betancourt grounder. The nine-year big leaguer was safe on third when Retherford rang up Ramirez for a two-run homer, smoking a 2-1 pitch into the left field bleachers to extend the Aguilas lead to 6-2. Mexicali scored again in the top of the eighth when Rios doubled off Phils' minor leaguer Ulises Joaquin and pinch-runner Isaac Rodriguez ran in on Roberson's fourth single of the game. With a five-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth, Aguilas manager Roberto Vizcarra gave co-closers Jake Sanchez and Sergio Romo the night off in favor of middleman Fautino De Los Santos and the former Oakland A's reliever responded by retiring Licey without a hit to earn the save and end the contest.

Velazquez, who was selected LMP Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in wins and strikeouts for Navojoa during the regular season, went five innings and allowed one earned run on four hits and three walks for the win, whiffing seven Licey batsmen along the way. Valdez gave up three runs on six hits in 4.1 frames with two strikeouts to absorb the loss. Besides Roberson's four-hit, two-run night for Mexicali, Bourgeois' two triples netted a pair of RBIs and a run scored and Retherford finished with two hits and three RBIs.

Mexicali will be back in action Friday with a game against Venezuelan champs Zulia at 8:00pm MST (0300 UTC) at Estadio Tomateros.

NOTABLE PERFORMERS:

Roberson and Bourgeois combined to go 7-for-9 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Bourgeois, who has played parts of eight seasons in the big leagues with the White Sox, Brewers, Astros, Royals, Rays and Reds, signed a Minor League deal with the White Sox on Jan. 7.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

Roberson, who finished 4-for-5, set the tone for the evening with a 10-pitch at-bat to start the game. He eventually singled and scored the game's first run on a single by Retherford.
Image
Ronny Rodriguez scored both of the Dominicans' runs in the game against Mexico on Thursday night.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5484 by joez
Image
DAY 4; 2/3/17

Code: Select all

             1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	 H	E
Puerto Rico  0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0    1	 8	1
Cuba         0	1	3	0	0	0	2	0	x    6	12	0 

W: Garcia (1-0, 1.50) L: Leverett (0-1, 15.43)

Code: Select all

	              G	W	L	  PCT	DIF
Mexico	        2	2	0	1.000	 -
Cuba	          2	2	0	1.000	0.5
Venezuela	     1	1	0	1.000	0.5
Dominicana	    2	0	2	 .000	2.0
Puerto Rico	   3	0	3	 .000	2.5
Image
CULIACÁN.-

Vladimir Garcia had a quality start and William Saavedra homered and drove in three runs to propel Cuba to a 6-1 victory over Puerto Rico in the third round of the 2017 Caribbean Series.

The Alazanes of Granma , Cuba representatives, have won their first two games in the competition, and secured their place in the semifinals on Monday.

Instead, Puerto Rico conceded their third defeat in as many games . But the Creoles of Caguas are still alive: they will rest this Saturday and Sunday and will play the Licey Tigers of Dominican Republic in a duel that could define the eliminated team of the group phase.

Garcia (1-0) allowed one run and five hits in six innings to clinch the win. Jarret Leverett (0-1) suffered the loss after being punished with six hits and four runs in two innings and a third.

Saavedra led the offense as he went 3-4, including his two-run homer in the seventh inning. Carlos Benítez contributed two hits and two rbi, while the star Alfredo Despaigne hit a double and batted in his first run of the tournament with a single in the third inning.

Mexico (2-0) and Cuba (2-0) lead the tournament, both qualify for the semifinals. Venezuela (1-0), Dominican (0-2) and Puerto Rico (0-3) .

NOTABLE PERFORMERS:

Saavedra provided the spark on offense, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Right-handed starter Vladimir Garcia kept Puerto Rico's offense in check with six strong innings of one-run ball. He struck out two batters and walked one.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

Puerto Rico's offense struggled for most of the game, but the effort on defense never wavered. Left fielder Henry Ramos went 0-for-4 at the plate, but he made an outstanding running catch in foul territory on a ball hit by Cuba center fielder Roel Santos to end the seventh inning.
Image
<
Image
<
Image
<
Image
<
Image
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5485 by joez
Image
DAY 4; 2/3/17

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	H	E
Venezuela     0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0    1	7	2
Mexico        0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4    5	8	1 

W: Perez (1-0, 0.00) L: Rodriguez (0-1, 36.00)

Code: Select all

	              G	W	L	  PCT	DIF
 Mexico	       3	3	0	1.000	 -
 Cuba	         2	2	0	1.000	0.5
 Venezuela	    2	1	1	 .500	1.5
 Dominicana	   2	0	2	 .000	2.5
 Puerto Rico	  3	0	3	 .000	3.0
Image
Valle walkoff grand slam gives Mexicali a win, berth in CS semis

Friday night's "Battle of the Eagles" between the Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali Aguilas and Venezuela's flag-winning Zulia Aguilas was a knucklebiting pitcher's duel throughout. However, the contest ended with a clap of thunder when Mexicali's Sebastian Valle (a reinforcement catcher from LMP finalist Los Mochis) poleaxed a full-count pitch for a grand slam home run to hand Mexicali a 5-1 win in a Day Three-ending thriller at Culiacan's Estadio Tomateros. With the win, the MexPac champs punched their ticket to the Caribbean Series Final Four as the club from Baja California Norte continues their quest to be the fifth CS champ from Mexico since 2011.

This one had fans in Culiacan on the edges of their seats from the beginning. Mexicali's Barry Enright and Zulia's Carlos Hernandez swapped zeros through the first two innings before the Venezuelans struck for a run in the top of the third. Jonathan Herrera poked an 0-and-2 Enright delivery into left field for a leadoff single, followed by a first-pitch groundout by Ali Castillo that moved Herrera into scoring position. After Freddy Galvis struck out when Mexicali catcher Valle snagged a Galvis foul tip for strike three, Jose Castillo poked a single up the middle to drive Herrera home from second to give Zulia a 1-0 lead. Valle led off the bottom of the third with a line-drive double to center and reached third on Isaac Rodriguez' sacrifice bunt, but died 90 feet away from paydirt when Chris Roberson and Jason Bourgeois (two of Thursday night's heroes) both flew out to end the inning.

Neither team advanced a rare baserunner to second from that point until the top of the sixth when Zulia's Rene Reyes drew a two-out walk from Manny Barreda (a surprise pick by Mexicali to relieve Enright after five innings) and took third on Alex Romero's single, but was picked off at third by a snap throw from Valle for the receiver's second big play behind the plate of the night.

Mexicali finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the sixth. Bourgeois stroked a one-out single off Hernandez and then, one out later, sped around the bases to score on a C.J. Retherford single, beating the throw to the plate from Zulia leftfielder Jose Pirela to tie the contest. Retherford advanced to second on the throw, leading to Hernandez issuing an intentional walk to Luis Juarez to set up a force at any base for the final out. Zulia manager Lipso Nava (whose return next winter was announced this week) came out and replaced Hernandez with Romulo Sanchez. Ronnier Mustelier topped a ball to deep short that Galvis was unable to make a play on for an infield single to load the bags, but Sanchez struck out Agustin Murillo on four pitches to kill the rally.

The game continued without any further nudging of the scorer until the fateful bottom of the ninth. Incoming Zulia reliever Pedro Rodriguez started out with two strikes on Juarez, who rapped pitch number three through the right side of the infield into right for a single. Mustelier followed by laying down a bunt, which Rodriguez picked up and threw to second to force Juarez. However, the throw sailed past the sack into center field, allowing Juarez to continue to third while Mustelier was safe at first. Mexicail skipper sent in Jesse Castillo to pinch-hit for Murillo and was rewarded when Castillo finagled a walk on five pitches. That brought up Valle, who was 1-for-3 on the night. The Mariners minor leaguer fell behind in the count at 1-2 before working Rodriguez into a full count before sending the seventh pitch of the at-bat sailing into left field bleachers to end the game, sending the 24,065 mostly-partisan fans in the overflowing stands into a state of ecstacy as the Mexican champions tightened their grip on first place in the CS standings.

While Enright (5 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 5 K) turned in Mexicali's third outstanding start in as many nights, it was longtime MLBer Oliver Perez (a son of Culiacan) who got the win after tossing a scoreless ninth on another Vizcarra hunch as both Sergio Romo and Jake Sanchez received their second straight nights off. Zulia starter Hernandez (5.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3K) matched Enright's work and certainly pitched well enough to win, but it was the luckless Rodriguez (who never did retire a batter) who was tagged with the loss. Valle, Bourgeois and Juarez each had two of Mexicali's eight hits while DH Alex Romero went 3-for-4 for Zulia.

Mexicali takes a perfect 3-0 record and a berth in Monday's semifinals into Saturday's bye while Zulia dropped to 1-1.

https://twitter.com/Culiacan2017/status ... 4015941633

Valle walkoff grand slam VIDEO
Image
NOTABLE PERFORMERS:

Former Major League pitcher Barry Enright allowed only one run in five solid innings for Mexico. He also struck out five batters. Enright pitched in the big leagues for the D-backs in '10 and '11 and for parts of two seasons for the Angels starting in '12.

PLAY OF THE GAME:

It was a night to remember for Valle. He has hit 74 home runs during his 10-year Minor League career, but his grand slam will forever live in Caribbean Series lore and will be one he never forgets.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5486 by joez
Image
DAY 5; 2/4/17

Code: Select all

Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG*
Ronny Rodriguez	  1B	 3	0	0	 0	 0	 0	  0	 1	 1	.182

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9    R	 H	E
Dom. Rep.     0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0    2	 5	2
Puerto Rico   2	0	0	1	3	3	0	1	x   10	11	0
 
W: Santiago (1-0, 0.00) L: Evans (0-1, 7.71)

Code: Select all

	           G	W	L	  PCT	 DIF
Mexico	     3	3	0	1.000	  -
Cuba	       2	2	0	1.000	0.5
Venezuela	  2	1	1	 .500	1.5
Puerto Rico	4	1	3	 .250	2.5
Dominicana	 3	0	3	 .000	3.0
Image
Criollos beat Tigres

CULIACAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -

Ivan de Jesus Jr., Rusney Castillo and Puerto Rico crushed the Dominican Republic Saturday 10-2 and lifted their options to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2017 Caribbean Series.

After losing their first three games in the contest, the Dominican Licey Tigers were left with the rope around the neck. The Licey would have to beat the Eagles of Zulia of Venezuela (1-1) by a wide margin of runs to be able to unseat Puerto Rico (1-3) for the fourth place in the series. The format of the tournament only eliminates one of the five contenders after the round robin.

De Jesus, infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, was 3-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored. Of Jesus remained like leader of all the hitters of the contest with an average of .692.

For his part, Cuban outfielder Castillo, of the Boston Red Sox, hit 2-5 with a homer and three RBIs. In addition, third baseman David Vidal provided three hits and scored a run.

Andrés Santiago (1-0) pitched two innings and a third allowing no runs in relief to take the win, while the setback went to Bryan Evans (0-1), after giving up three hits and two runs in two innings and A third of work.

In the second game, the Eagles of Zulia are measured against Granma de Cuba (2-0). Granma and the Mexicali Eagles of Mexico are already classified in the semifinals.
Image
Criollos add their first win in the Caribbean Series
Beat the Licey Tigers of the Dominican Republic 10-2

The Caguas Criollos and Puerto Rico took an important step in their aspirations to not only go to the semifinal round but keep alive their chances of winning the Caribbean Series 2017 held in Culiacan, Mexico.

The Criollos defeated this Saturday 10-2 the Licey Tigers of Dominican Republic to get their first victory of the tournament after three losses. A win for Venezuela in the second game on Saturday night, or a Sunday win by Puerto Rico over the Dominican Republic, would ensure the Creoles will advance to play one of the two semi-final games on Monday.

But advancing to the top four is still not safe for the Puerto Ricans because another possibility is that there will be a triple tie between Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, if the Venezuelans lose the two games they have left. In that case the three would finish the first round with a record of 1-3.

To define the remaining two teams that would go to the semifinal, would apply the new rule that came into force when the Caribbean Series changed its format a few years ago, which includes a round of the best four teams after the preliminary phase.

The formula, somewhat complex, takes into consideration the total number of runs scored, a number that must be divided among the total games played to the offense. In addition the allowed runs are considered and the total divided between the games played to the defense. For that analysis only the runs scored or runs allowed are considered but only in the games between the three teams that triple tie.

During the afternoon game, the Puerto Rican leader Luis Matos made changes in the lineup in search of his first victory. Thus, the Puerto Rican lineup opened with center fielder Henry Ramos, followed by Ivan de Jesus as designated hitter, David Vidal third and Rusney Castillo clean up. First baseman Ruben Gotay was fifth in the order, followed by Jorge Padilla, second baseman Jesmuel Valentin, shortstop Yariel Rivera and catcher Jonathan Morales.

The pitcher was John Brownell.

Code: Select all

Dominican Republic
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG*
Ronny Rodriguez	  1B	 3	0	0	 0	 0	 0	  0	 1	 1	.182
Zoilo Almonte	    DH	 3	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  2	 1	 1	.444
Mel Rojas Jr.	    LF	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.182
Engel Beltre	     RF	 3	1	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 1	 0	.375
Anderson Hernande   2B	 4	1	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.167

Code: Select all

Puerto Rico
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Ivan De Jesus Jr.	DH	4	3	3	 1	 0	 0	  2	 1	 0	.692
David Vidal	      3B	4	1	3	 1	 0	 0	  0	 1	 1	.467
Rusney Castillo	  LF	5	2	2	 0	 0	 1	  3	 0	 1	.214
Jonathan Morales	  C	3	1	1	 0	 0	 0	  1	 0	 1	.250

Code: Select all

Dominican Republic
Player	             IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	 ERA*
Bryan Evans (L, 0-1) 2.1	3	2	 2	 2	 4	 1	 7.71
Ulises Joaquin	    0.2	0	1	 1	 2	 1	 0	10.80
Edgar Garcia	      1.1	1	2	 0	 0	 0	 0	 0.00
Wirfin Obispo	     1.0	3	3	 3	 1	 0	 0	13.50

Code: Select all

Puerto Rico
Player	                   IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR    ERA
John Brownell	           4.2	4	2	 2	 3	 3	 0	3.86
Andres Santiago (W, 1-0)	2.1	1	0	 0	 0	 2	 0	0.00
Miguel Mejia	            1.0	0	0	 0	 0	 1	 0	0.00
Ricardo Gomez	           1.0	0	0	 0	 1	 1	 0	0.00
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5487 by joez
Image
DAY 5; 2/4/17

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9     R	 H	E
Cuba          0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0     3	10	2
Venezuela     3	0	0	1	3	0	1	0	x     8	15	0 
 
W: Ledezma (1-0, 0.00) L: Entenza (0-1, 6.23)

Code: Select all

	           G	W	L	  PCT	DIF
Mexico	     3	3	0	1.000	 -
Cuba	       3	2	1	 .667	1.0
Venezuela	  3	2	1	 .667	1.0
Puerto Rico	4	1	3	 .250	2.5
Dominicana	 3	0	3	 .000	3.0
Image
FREDDY GALVIS

Venezuela did the job against Cuba and advanced to the semifinals

Las Aguilas del Zulia of Venezuela did the job and got into the semifinals of the Caribbean Series after beating the Alazanes of Granma in Cuba 8-3 after a solid performance by Freddy Galvis who contributed four runs.

The Zulians stung in the first inning. Freddy Galvis, Ronny Cedeno, and Rene Reyes hit consecutive singles loading the bases with no outs. Jose Castillo singled to shortstop Alexander Ayala. Freddy Galvis and Ronny Cedeno scored. With two out, Alex Romero singled in Rene Reye to take the early 3-0 lead.

Cuba tied the game in the top of the second inning. With one out,
William Saavedra and Guillermo Aviles singled. Both runners scored when Carlos Benitez hit a homers (1) to left field.

The Creoles went up again in the fourth inning. Freddy Galvis singled and stole (3) 2nd base. Ronny Cedeno singled to center. Freddy Galvis scored. The Creoles took a 4-3 lead.

One inning later, Zulia increased their lead to 7-3. Jose Pirela flied out to open the inning. Alex Romero singled. With two out, Ali Castillo singled driving home Alex Romero scored, Francisco Arcia advanced to 2nd. Freddy Galvis doubled (1) on a line drive to left. Francisco Arcia and Ali Castillo scored.

Wil Ledezma pitched out of a complicated situation at the top of the seventh when Cuba loadedthe bases but retired the final two outs on strikeouts. Venezuela added to another run at the bottom of the seventh.

With this result, the Venezuelan team advanced to the semifinals of the Caribbean Series. Wil Ledezma was credited with the win (1-0), Yoelvis Entenza took the loss (0-1).
Image

Code: Select all

Cuba
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG*
Roel Santos	      CF	 3	0	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.364
William Saavedra	 1B	 4	1	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.417
Guillermo Aviles	 DH	 4	1	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 2	.125
Carlos Benitez	   2B	 3	1	2	 0	 0	 1	  3	 0	 1	.556

Code: Select all

Venezuela
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Freddy Galvis       SS    4   2   3    1    0    0     2    1    0   .417
Ronny Cedeno	     3B	 5	1	3	 0	 0	 0	  1	 0	 0	.556
Jose Castillo       1B	 5	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  1	 0	 0	.231
Jose Pirela	      LF	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 1	 0	.154
Alex Romero	      DH	 5	1	2	 0	 0	 0	  1	 0	 2	.417

Code: Select all

Cuba
Player	                   IP	 H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	  ERA*
Freddy Alvarez	           0.1	5	3	 2	 0	 0	 0	54.00
Yoelvis Entenza (L, 0-1)	 4.1	5	3	 3	 2	 2	 0	 6.23

Code: Select all

Venezuela
Player	                   IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	 ERA
Wilfredo Boscan	         4.1	7	3	 3	 1	 5	 1	6.23
Wil Ledezma (W, 1-0)	    2.2	3	0	 0	 0	 3	 0	0.00
Image
HIGHLIGHTS

https://youtu.be/3Ypc_E9V9b0
Image
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5488 by joez
Image
DAY 6; 2/5/17

Code: Select all

Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG*
Ronny Rodriguez	  1B	 4	2	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.200

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9     R	H	E
Dom. Rep.     0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0     3	8	0
Venezuela     0	0	0	1	0	0	3	x         4	7	2
 
W: Da Silva (1-0, 0.00) L: Grullon (0-1, 27.00) 
S: Butto (1)
Image
Las Aguilas del Zulia in Venezuela came from behind to beat the Tigres de Licey of the Dominican Republic by a 4-3 score after rallying for three runs and one homer by René Reyes in the eighth to finish with 3-1 mark in the first round of the Caribbean Series .

Both teams started evenly throughout the first innings by having a pitching duel. Los Tigres de Licey got a nibble in the fourth. Alfredo Marte singled batting in Ronny Rodriguez and Mel Rojas Jr.

The Eagles reacted with a run in the next inning on a solo homer by Jose Castillo.

In the sixth, Ronny Rodriguez reaches on a fielding error by third baseman Ronny Cedeno. Zoilo Almonte singled. Ronny Rodriguez advanced to 2nd then stole third (2) and scored on Alfredo Mart's ground out.

The Dominican bullpen kept the Creoles at bay until the eighth inning, when Zulia turned the tables. Ronny Cedeno hit a RBI double down the left line and Herlis Rodriguez scored. Later, René Reyes hit a homer with Cedeno on base to take the 4-3 lead.

Tiago Da Silva got the win (1-0), Juan Grullon was charged with the loss (0-1) and Francisco Butto the save.
Image

Code: Select all

Dominican Republic
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	  AVG*
Ronny Rodriguez	  1B	 4	2	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	 .200
Alfredo Marte	    RF	 4	0	2	 0	 0	 0	  2	 0	 0	 .286
Michael De Leon	  SS	 2	0	2	 1	 0	 0	  0	 2	 0	1.000

Code: Select all

Venezuela
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Ronny Cedeno	     3B	 4	1	2	 1	 0	 0	  1	 0	 1	.538
Rene Reyes	       RF	 4	1	2	 0	 0    1	  2	 0	 1	.333
Jose Castillo	    1B	 4	1	1	 0	 0	 1	  1	 0	 1	.235
Herlis Rodriguez	 CF	 3	1	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.333

Code: Select all

Dominican Republic
Player	                       IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	   ERA*
Ariel Pena	                  5.0	3	1	 1	 1	 6	 1	   1.80
Warner Madrigal (H, 1)	      1.0	1	0	 0	 0	 1	 0	   0.00
Ramon E Ramirez (H, 1)	      1.0	0	0	 0	 0	 1	 0   	0.00
Juan Grullon (BS, 1)(L, 0-1)	1.0	3	3	 3	 0	 0	 1	  27.00

Code: Select all

Venezuela
Player	                  IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	 ERA
Raul Rivero	            5.0	5	3	 1	 1	 2	 0	1.80
Yorman Bazardo	         1.2	2	0	 0	 0	 1	 0	0.00
Edgar Alfonzo	          0.1	0	0	 0	 0	 1	 0	0.00
Tiago Da Silva (W, 1-0)	1.0	1	0	 0	 0	 2	 0	0.00
Francisco Butto (S, 1)	 1.0	0	0	 0	 1	 0	 0	0.00
Image
HIGHLIGHTS




https://youtu.be/Lyz-qW2e6ZQ



Image
[ GIOVANNY URSHELA HAS TO BE DISAPPOINTED. HE WANTED TO PLAY IN THE POST SEASON. ]
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: Winter/Fall/Latin/Asian/World Ball

5489 by joez
Image
DAY 6; 2/5/17 GAME 2

Code: Select all

              1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9     R	 H	E
Mexico        0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0     0	 6	0
Cuba          0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	x     4	11	0

W: Banos (1-0, 0.00) L: Solano (0-1, 7.71) 
S: Garcia (1)

Code: Select all

	           G	W	L	 PCT	  DIF
Cuba	       4	3	1	.750	   -
Mexico	     4	3	1	.750	   -
Venezuela	  4	3	1	.750   	-
Puerto Rico   4	1	3	.250	   2
Dominicana	 4	0	4	.000	   3  (ELIMINATED)

<

Cuba (3-1) VS Puerto Rico (1-3) first game on Monday
Venezuela (3-1) VS Mexico (3-1) second game on Monday.

<

CHAMPIOSHIP GAME ON TUESDAY
Image
Vladimir Banos

Alazanes Whitewash the Eagles of Méxicali

Vladimir Banos dominated Mexico's offense while the stellar Alfredo Despaigne blasted a three-run homer in a four-run fifth-inning attack to propel Cuba to a 4-0 win Sunday.

In the semifinals, Cuba (3-1) will face Puerto Rico (1-3) in the first round on Monday, and Venezuela (3-1) will play Mexico (3-1) in the final match.

Baños (1-0) threw eight innings and two-thirds on just four hits to pick up the win for the Granma Alazanes. He gave two walks and decorated his brilliant work with five strikeouts against an opponent who lost their first game in the first phase.

Javier Solano (0-1) was loaded with the loss, punished for nine hits and four runs in four and two-thirds innings.

On the offensive, Despaigne connected for his first homer of the series that produced three runs. William Saavedra shot his second home run of the series, with no runners on the bases in the same fifth inning, everything needed for the winners.

Mexicali blanked 4-0 by Banos, Cubans; CS semis set for Monday

Vladimir Banos came within one out of a complete game shutout and Granma scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Cuban National Series champions closed out the round robin stage of the Caribbean Series with a 4-0 win over the Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali Aguilas Sunday night in Culiacan. A sellout crowd of 19,177 (the fourth full house in five nights at Estadio Tomateros) saw Mexico's nine-game CS winning streak come to an end, although the Aguilas finished tied with both Granma and Venezuelan champs Zulia at the top of the first round stadings at 3-1 apiece. Caguas of Puerto Rico will be the fourth team in Monday's semifinals with a 1-3 record while Dominican titlist Licey is done at 0-4.

GRANMA (CU) Alazanes 4-11-0, Mexicali Aguilas 0-6-0
Image
As was the case in Mexicali's first three games at the Serie del Caribe, the Aguilas benefitted from a strong pitching start. This time, it was last winter's MexPac Pitcher of the Year, Javier Solano, who matched Banos zero for zero through the first four innings of the contest. After Banos held up his end of the scoreless pitcher's duel in the top of the fifth, the bottom of the fifth proved costly for the Mexican righty.

Solano had two outs with Roel Santos standing at second and Yunior Paumier on first when he threw the wrong pitch to Cuba's veteran superstar Alfredo Despaigne, who sent Solano's second pitch into the left field bleachers for a three-run homer. The next Alazanes batter, William Saavedra, required four Solano deliveries to send another ball sailing over the left field wall for a solo homer to give Granma a 4-0 lead. For Mexicali, that was pretty much all she wrote as Banos had settled down after a sometimes-rocky start and carried the shutout into the top of the ninth, when (after inducing Jason Bourgeois into a groundout), Betancourt (pictured above) lined a single to right, C.J. Retherford flew out to left and Ronnier Mustelier singled sharply to right. At that point, Granma manager Carlos Marti brought in Jose Angel Garcia for Banos, who'd thrown 123 pitches to 32 Aguilas batters. Garcia got Yordanys Linares to pop out to Alazanes third baseman Paumier in foul territory to end the game, vaulting the Cubans into the three-way tie for first place.

Four players each had two of Granma's 11 hits: Santos, Cespedes, Guillermo Aviles and Carlos Benitez. Betancourt was the only multiple-hit batsman for Mexcali with two singles. Banos got the win for his 8.2 innings of work, in which he scattered six hits and walked two while striking out five. Solano absorbed the loss for Mexicali, whose three relievers (Jose Meraz, Edgar Gomez and Jose Manuel Lopez) allowed no runs on two hits over the final 3.1 innings. With the potent Aguilas batting order silenced, it was all for naught.
Image
Alfredo Despaigne

Code: Select all

Mexico
Player	          Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG*
Ronnier Mustelier	DH	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.400
Chris Roberson	   CF	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 1	.412
Ronnier Mustelier	DH	 4	0	1	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.400

Code: Select all

Cuba
Player	            Pos	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	 AVG
Roel Santos	        CF	 4	1	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.400
Alfredo Despaigne	  LF	 4	1	1	 0	 0	 1	  3	 0	 1	.133
William Saavedra	   1B	 4	1	1	 0	 0	 1	  1	 0	 0	.375
Guillermo Aviles	DH-1B	 4	0	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.250
Carlos Benitez	     2B	 4	0	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.538
Yoelkis Cespedes	   RF	 3	0	2	 0	 0	 0	  0	 0	 0	.357

Code: Select all

Mexico
Player	                 IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	 ERA*
Javier Solano (L, 0-1)	4.2	9	4	 4	 0	 0	 2	 7.71
Jose Meraz	            0.1	1	0	 0	 0	 0	 0	 0.00
Edgar Gomez	           2.0	1	0	 0	 0	 1	 0	 0.00
Jose Manuel Lopez	     1.0	0	0	 0	 0	 0	 0	 0.00

Code: Select all

Cuba
Player	                    IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	 ERA
Vladimir Banos (W, 1-0)	  8.2	6	0	 0	 2	 5	 0	0.00
Jose Angel Garcia (S, 1)	 0.1	0	0	 0	 0	 0	 0	0.00
Image
William Saavedra And Alfredo Despaigne
Image
William Saavedra
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller

Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO
Post Reply

Return to “Cleveland Guardians”