Sports Radio Service is the only Bay Area outlet covering the 2018 Caribbean Series

Photo credit: @ZagaDeporte

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 4 | 8 | 2

VENEZUELA: 15 | 20 | 1

By Lewis Rubman

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 3, 2018

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–The second day of the Caribbean Series opened with a blast as Venezuela’s Caribes de Anzoategui overwhelmed the Dominican Republic’s Aguilas Cibaenas 15-4 this afternoon in game three of the 13-game tournament that features the champions of the five major winter leagues in the Western Hemisphere, the Cuban National Series, the Dominican League, the Mexican Pacific League, the Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente Porfessional Baseball League, and the Venezuelan League of Professional Baseball.

The Dominican Reppublic’s defeat would have been even more devasting if the victors had observed baseball’s unwritten rules and tried to score at every easy opportunity.

Venezuela’s Balbino Fuenmayor launched two blasts of about 420 feet each. The first, in the bottom of the second inning, landed just to the right of the centerfield score board. The second, which came one inning later, was a mirror image of its predessor, landing just slightly to the left of the score board. Fuenmayor must have run out of steam, because all he could achieve in his next plate appearance was a deep fly to right center that bounced into the bleachers on one hop for what is erroneously called a ground rule double but really is a rule book double. In the sixth, the Caribes’ first baseball hit a grounder to short, where Abiiatal Avelino was stationed so deep that the slugger had no difficulty beating it out of a single. He rounded out his five for five day with a fly ball single to center.

Fuenmayor wasn’t the only hitter who validated Charros Stadium’s Reputation as a batters’ paradise. In the home half of the sixth, his teammates Rafael Ortega and Rene Reyes parked one of Rafael de Paula’s pitches in the center and right field bleachers, respectively. It was in that inning that Fuenmayor varied his act with an infield single.

The Aguilas (Eagles) got their runs in the fifth and sixth innings. The first and seventh innings were the only ones in which the Caribes (the name of the nation that inhabited the area before the colonization of the Caribbean basin) didn’t score. The put up crooked numbers in the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth frames. It goes without saying that they didn’t bat in the ninth.

Major League veteran Freddy Garcia started for Venezuela but didn’t last long enough to get credit for the victory, having been pulled after pitching four and two-thirds innings.

He was followed on the mound by Cesar Jiimenez, who got the win, Carlos Navas, who pitched last year for the A’s farm teams in Stockton and Midland, Mayckol Guaipe, and Ricardo Gomez for the Caribes. The Aguilas’ left handed starter Raul Valdes got the loss. Ulises Joaquin, Cesilio Pimentel, Rafael de Paula, Angel Castro, and Esmerling de la Rosa comosed the parade that followed him. Of that list, Pimentel was the only one to turn in a respectable performace, facing two batters without allowing a hit and forcing one one of them to hit into a double play.

Besides Fuenmayor, five members of Venezuela’s line up had a mutliple hit afternoon, Rafael Ortega, Rene Reyes, Williams Astudillo, Alexi Amarista, and Cesar Valera. Christian Bethancourt account for three of his team’s hits. Hector Gomez hit a two run homer ln the fifth off Garcia for the Dominican. The Eagles’ third baseman made a spiffy play on Luis Sardinas’ liner in the bottom of the third, and second baseman Alexi Amarista made a sparkling play on pinch hitter Luis Valenzuela’s grounder to second in top of the ninth.

Host team Mexico will be the visiting squad for the purposes of tonight’s game against Puerto Rico. Game time is 8:00 pm (6:00 Pacific).