Game 3 - Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela
Puerto Rican starter Adalberto Flores retired the side in the first inning, but then gave up three runs in the second at bat.
With one out, René Reyes drove the ball into centerfield for a double.
Venezuela wanted a challenge, as it stated that the veteran had hit a homerun.
The call was reviewed and upheld, meaning Reyes had to settle for a double.
Moments later, Reyes (who turns 39 later this month) scored when a hit into centerfield by Alex Romero was missed by centerfielder Eddie Rosario.
Romero advanced to second base on the error, then scored when next batter Jesús Flores did hit a homerun to make it a 3-0 score.
Venezuelan starter Omar Bencomo retired the first five batters he faced, three of them with a strikeout.
Last season, Bencomo pitched in Double-A and Triple-A in the organization of the Minnesota Twins.
But after striking out the first two batters in the second inning, the righthander gave up three consecutive singles.
David Vidal, Henry Ramos and Iván DeJesús, Jr. all singled to bring in a run, but Puerto Rico then left two runners behind.
The team from Zulia added another run in the top of the fourth.
With two outs, Jesús Flores doubled and scored on a following single by Ronny Cedeno to lift the lead to 4-1.
In the fifth inning, Venezuela appeared to add another run.
Dereck Rodríguez took over the pitching for Puerto Rico, but was greeted with a lead-off single by Freddy Galvis, who then stole second base.
With one out, Galvis also stole third base.
Hereafter, José Pirela lined out to centerfielder Eddie Rosario.
Galvis took off to score, but was eliminated at the plate in a double play.
Venezuela challenged the play, but this call also was upheld and so, the inning ended.
...René Reyes playing for Venezuela during the...
...2009 World Championship in Haarlem (Neth.)...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
After the Puerto Rican champion stranded runners on first and second base in the bottom of the fifth inning, it got two more baserunners in the sixth.
Tiago Da Silva took over the Venezuelan pitching, but he hit lead-off hitter Randy Ruiz with a pitch, then gave up a single to Ruben Gotay.
But the next three batters then flied out.
Brazilian-born Da Silva pitched for San Marino in the Italian Baseball League in 2008-2013 and participated with the Italian National Team in several tournaments, including the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic.
The Venezuelans got their first two batters on base in the seventh.
Jesús Flores led off with a walk and then Ronny Cedeno singled.
A force out on third base followed, but then the bases got loaded when Freddy Galvis walked.
However, Venezuela failed to add another run, as a pop-out and force out ended the at bat.
Puerto Rico got another scoring chance in the bottom of the seventh.
Off of new pitcher Pedro Rodríguez, René García led off with a bunt-single.
He advanced to third base on an one-out single by Rey Navarro, who then was eliminated trying to stretch his hit into a double.
A strikeout then ended the inning.
The Puerto Rican Criollos then did score in the eighth off of new pitcher Leonel Campos.
With one out, Ruben Gotay walked and hereafter, David Vidal homered to narrow the deficit to 4-3.
In the top of the ninth, Venezuela again failed to add an insurance run.
New pitcher Ricardo Gómez gave up an one-out double to Ali Castillo, then walked José Castillo with two outs, but closed with a strikeout.
With a 4-3 lead, Hassan Peña took the mound for Venezuela in the bottom of the ninth.
He got two quick outs, but then gave up a single to Rusney Castillo.
However, he stranded on first base when next batter Randy Ruiz fouled out to rightfielder René Reyes, ending the game.
|
Venezuela hands Puerto Rico second loss in Serie del Caribe
CULIACÁN, Sinaloa (México) -
Águilas del Zulia, the champion of Venezuela, won 4-3 against vs. Puerto Rican champion Criollos de Caguas on Thursday-afternoon (February 2), Day 2 of the 59th edition of the Serie del Caribe, which opened on Wednesday in the Mexican city of Culiacán.
In the evening, Mexican champs Águilas de Mexicali won 7-2 against Tigres del Licey from the Dominican Republic.
At Estadio BBVA Bancomer, the new home of Tomateros de Culiacán, the Venezuelans scored three runs in the top of the second inning.
They added a run in the fourth, but failled to add insurance runs in the following innings.
Puerto Rico narrowed the deficit to 4-3 by scoring twice in the eighth, but ended up short.
This was the first game of the event for the Venezualan squad.
For Puerto Rico, it was its second loss.
The team lost its first game on Wednesday-evening with a 4-2 score against México.
The Mexicans opened the score in the top of the first inning.
Chris Roberson led off with a single, advanced on a grounder and scored on a 2-out single by C.J. Retherford.
After Mexicali stranded a runner on second base in the top of the third, Licey took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of that inning.
Again, Rodríguez led off and reached base, this time with a walk.
He then scored all the way from first base on a single in rightfield by next hitter Leury García.
With one out, Mel Rojas, Jr. also singled, but the inning then ended when a double play followed.