Previewing the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League Final Series: Criollos de Caguas vs Gigantes de Carolina

The final series of the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League will get underway on Friday, when the Criollos de Caguas visit the Gigantes de Carolina for the first game at the Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium.

The matchup was established when the Gigantes eliminated the Leones de Ponce on Wednesday in an exciting semifinal series that took seven games to decide. The Criollos, for their part, dispatched the Cangrejeros de Santurce in five games.

Next, what you should know about the final series of Puerto Rican winter baseball

Format

Contrary to past years, this final series will be a maximum of nine games, or the first team to win five. Carolina, after accumulating a better record in the regular season, will begin the series in its park and then the teams will alternate locations. In the regular phase, Carolina finished second with 24-16 and the Criollos fourth with 21-19. Caguas dominated the particular series in the regular season, 5-3.

Team history

Caguas reaches this final with 20 championships in winter baseball, the highest historical winners of the tournament. The Criollos’ last two championships were won consecutively, in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. Last year, Caguas fell in the semifinals to eventual champions Indios de Mayagüez.

Carolina, for its part, only has two championships after those won consecutively in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 campaigns. Curiously, the current leader of the Criollos, Yadier Molina, wore the Giants uniform in those championships. Carolina is in its second consecutive final after losing a year ago in seven games to the Indians.

The hottest

Vimael Machín, captain of the Criollos, is coming off a spectacular series against the Cangrejeros in which he hit .350 in 20 at-bats. He added two doubles and an RBI. Cuban Pedro León also stood out for Caguas, with an average of .294 in the series and three RBIs with a home run. Creole reliever Yacksel Ríos, who saw action in the last World Baseball Classic, has just signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. For Carolina, Félix Stevens stood out in the semifinal against Ponce with an average of .345 in 29 at-bats. Bryan Torres, one of the candidates for the Most Valuable Player award after hitting .299 in the regular season – second highest in the tournament – continued his good momentum by hitting .300 in the semifinal against the long-haired team.

Vimael Machín, from the Criollos, has been hot with the wood. (Josian Bruno Gómez)ScheduleGame 1, Friday, January 12: Caguas in Carolina, Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium Game 2, Saturday, January 13: Carolina in Caguas, Yldefonso Solá Morales StadiumGame 3, Sunday, January 14: Caguas in Carolina, Roberto Stadium Clemente WalkerGame 4, Tuesday, January 16: Carolina in Caguas, Yldefonso Solá Morales StadiumGame 5, Wednesday, January 17: Caguas in Carolina, Roberto Clemente Walker StadiumGame 6, Friday, January 19: Carolina in Caguas, Yldefonso Solá Morales Stadium*Game 7 , Saturday, January 20: Caguas in Carolina, Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium*Game 8, Sunday, January 21: Carolina in Caguas, Yldefonso Solá Morales Stadium*Game 9, Tuesday, January 23: Caguas in Carolina, Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium*

*If necessary. Matches start at 7:15 pm, broadcast on Wapa Deportes.

2024-01-12 02:07:30
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