The Anzoátegui Caribs only needed to win on Tuesday to secure their place in the final Round Robin of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
Instead, their 5-4 loss to the Navegantes del Magallanes was combined with triumphs by the Bravos de Margarita and the Tigres de Aragua. And that guaranteed a dramatic close on Wednesday, with three teams seeking the final two spots in the postseason.
The Caribs held a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, securing their place in the postseason. However, Jackson Valera hit a two-run homer and the Navigators rallied.
Valera was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, in addition to his home run. Leonardo Reginatto hit a two-run home run and Rayder Ascanio had a one-run RBI single.
Enderson Franco (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings as a reliever and scored the win. The defeat went to José Domínguez (2-3), after allowing two touchdowns in his one-episode relief.
In Porlamar, the Braves thrashed the La Guaira Sharks 11-4 and remained with a chance to qualify.
Omar Carrizales hit a two-run homer, Diego Rincones went 3-1 with a double and three RBIs, Adonis Garcia went 3-2 with two RBIs and Luis Castro went 3-2 with a double and two RBIs.
Yander Cáramo (2-1) retired 2 2/3 innings without conceding with three strikeouts and scored the victory. The setback went to the record of David Davadillo (0-1), after allowing five touchdowns in just one and a third inning.
In Caracas, César Jiménez delivered a good opening and received the support of his offense, and the Tigres de Aragua avoided elimination with a vital 6-5 victory over the Leones del Caracas.
Jiménez (2-6) responded at a crucial moment in a season of ups and downs, and the victory was credited with a work of five innings, in which he allowed only one run and five hits with four strikeouts. The loss went to Yoimer Camacho’s record (6-1), after conceding four runs and six hits in six innings.
Wilfredo Giménez was 3-2 with a double and two RBIs, and Deiner López was 4-2 with an RBI.
In La Guaira, the Águilas del Zulia ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Cardenales de Lara.
Héctor Sánchez rocked a two-run RBI single to break at the top of the eighth, in support of a solid start by Giussepe Velázquez (1-1), who allowed only one touchdown and a pair of hits in five innings to win the meeting.
Luis Lugo (0-3) fell, after admitting a touchdown and three hits in two chapters.
With only one match left in the regular season, the Navegantes lead the circuit with a 31-17 record, followed by the Cardinals (28-20) and the Leones (26-22) already classified. The Caribs (25-23), Braves (24-24) and Tigers (24-24) are fighting to advance. Eagles (19-29) and Sharks (15-33) have already been eliminated.
The best five qualify for the final Round Robin of the contest.
MEXICO
The Tomateros de Culiacán, current two-time champions of the Mexican Pacific League, had a solid start from Manny Bañuelos and defeated the Charros de Jalisco 2-0 to secure their spot in the postseason of the Mexican Pacific League.
Bañuelos (4-3) completed five 2/3 innings without allowing a run, throwing six hits and five strikeouts to win the game. Javier Solano lost (4-6), after allowing two annotations and seven hits in five innings.
Culiacán’s two runs came in the fifth inning, Francisco Lugo hit a 3-pointer and scored thanks to a Ramiro Peña sacrifice fly, and Sebastián Elizalde hit a solo home run to provide everything needed in the winners’ attack.
At Los Mochis, Alex Robles hit a bases-loaded home run and Keven Lamas capped a solo homer to cap an explosive six-touchdown attack in the sixth inning as the Los Mohos Cañeros beat the Venados de Mazatlán 6-0. , which were eliminated from the competition.
Kyle Friedrichs (2-2) covered six blank innings of just four hits to score the victory, while the reverse went to the record of Francisco Ríos (0-4), after allowing four touchdowns and three hits in 5 1/3 episodes .
In Monterrey, the Algodoneros de Guasave rallied from a four-score deficit with six scores in the last three innings to defeat the Sultanes de Monterrey 7-5.
Miguel Guzman was 2-for-5 with an RBI, Jhoan Arena went 4-2 with an RBI and Jeese Castillo went 3-for-1 with an RBI to excel in the Algodoneros’ offense.
Matt Pobereyko (1-0) retired a blank chapter with two strikeouts to win the game. The loss went to Jeff Kinley (2-3), after allowing two touchdowns in his relief of just a third of inning.
In Navojoa, Víctor Ruiz and Gilberto Vizcarra each hit one-run RBI singles in the eighth inning, and the Mexicali Eagles defeated the Navojoa Mayos 2-1.
Isaac Jiménez (3-3) pitched a scoreless episode to win the game. Damian Mendoza lost (0-1) after tolerating two annotations, one and a third inning. Jake Sanchez allowed one run and two hits in the ninth inning and posted his 26th save of the season, an all-time track record in one season.
In Obregón, Alonzo Harris went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, Sergio Burrell went 4-2 with a triple and three RBIs, Victor Mendoza was 4-for-3 with a RBI and Michael Wing went 4-2 with a triple and RBIs. He managed to produce a pair of touchdowns despite not hitting hits in four at-bats, in the victory of the Yaquis of Ciudad Obregón 10-2 over the Naranjeros of Hermosillo.
Mexicali maintains the leadership of the second round with a record of 21-13, followed by Navojoa (19-15), Hermosillo (18-16), Obregón (18-16), Monterrey (17-16), Guasave (17-17) ), Jalisco (16-17), Tomateros (16-18) Venados (15-19), and Los Mochis (12-22).
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