Photo credit: @deportes_vm

VENEZUELA: 6 | 14 | 1
MEXICO: 4 | 8 |  0

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 5, 2018

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

Caribbean Series host Mexico came within striking distance of an incredible comeback against a strong Venezuelan team in tonight’s contest at Charros Stadium, but its hopes disappeared in the time it takes to say “double play.”

Each of the tournament’s five entrants plays four games in the elimination phase, with the one with the worst record being eliminated from the two-day, three-game championship round. One more loss and the Culiacan Tomato Growers will be eliminated from competition. Even a win in their next outing would not guarantee the Tomateros a play off berth.

Venezuela’s Caribes de Ariastegui got off to an impressive start when lead off batter blasted the sixth pitch from Culiacan’s starter, Rolando Valdez, into the right field bleachers.

Even though Valdez overcame this inauspicious beginning to close out the inning with two ground outs and a strike out, the mood in the hometown crowd was anxious.

Tomatero manager Benjamin Gil didn’t do anything to reassure the spectators when–in the bottom of the first–with one out and a runner on first, he ordered number three batter to lay down a bunt.

Either that or Elizalde took it on himself to attempt this inopportune maneuver or was for some reason bunting for a hit. He advanced the runner to second, where he was stranded when clean up hitter Joey Meneses struck out on four pitches.

Mexico had more success in the second inning, notching the tying run against Venezuela’s starting pitcher, Nestor Molina–on a lead off single to left center by Jesse Castillo–was advanced to second and third by ground outs by Ronnier Mustanier and Fernando Perez. Castillo scored to even the score Gabriel Gutierrez smashed a hard line drive that bounced off third baseman Nieuman Romero’s glove into left field for a single.

The Caribes broke the tie two innings later on singles by Williams Astudilla, Alexi Amarista and Luis Domoromo, but the Tomateros bounced right back with Joey Meneses’s double to right center, followed by Castillo’s run producing single to left. Mexico threatened to break the tie when Castillo advanced to second and then was sacrificed over to third by Alfredo Amezaga, who had replaced Mustanier as the Tomatero third sacker. But, after Molina walked Perez, Gutierrez went down swinging on a one and two pitch and Walter Ibarra grounded into a force out made when Amarista, playing second for Venezuela made a nifty backhanded flip of the ball to Luis Sardiñas to end the inning. That was Mexico’s last hurrah until the bottom of the ninth.

Meanwhile, the Caribes took the lead in the sixth when Astudillo’s fly ball landed just inside the left field foul line for a home run off of Miguel Peña, who had relieved Valdez after the end of the fourth. Venezuela tacked on another run in the following inning when Peña was tagged by Domoromo for a double to center and driven in by Romero’s single to left.

Matters stood at 4-2 until the Venezuelans tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Derrick Loop, who had entered the game to pitch the eighth inning for Culiacdan, surrendered another double to Domoromo, who still was on second two batters later when Gil brought in Ryan Kussmaul to pitch to Reyes.

The move backfired when Reyes singled to center to bring Domoromo home with Venezuela’s fifth run. Fuenmayor then doubled to deep right center field, sending Reyes to third. With the count one and one on pinch hitter Luis Hernandez, Kussmaul launch a wild pitch that allowed Reyes to score the run that put the Caribes up 6-2.

Ricardo Gomez came in to close the game for Venezuela in the bottom of the ninth. Meneses’ lead off double lit a spark of hope for the host team fan. But slugger Jesse Castillo fanned, allowing the Tomato Growers only two more outs to tally four runs if they were to send the game into extra innings. Gil called on Chris Roberson, the Oakland native who had come off the bench to in the ninth inning hit a pinch double the previous night’s loss to Cuba. This time, he homered, but still left Mexico trailing by three runs. Perez singled to center, and suddenly it seemed that catching up with the Venezuelans wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

Victor Capellan relieved Gomez and induced Japhat Amador, pinch hitting for Gutierrez, to hit a grounder to Romero at third. But Romero muffed the play, Amador was safe at first on the error, and Mexico had runners on first and third with only one out. Walter Ibarra, at the plate, represented the potential tying run. With no balls and two strikes on him, Ibarra made hard contact with a ball he sent towards shortstop Luis Sardiñas, who fielded it, stepped on second, and threw to first for the game ending double play.

The win went to Molina, the loss to Peña, and the save to Capellan.

Puerto Rico plays Venezuela Monday afternoon. Cuba faces the Dominican in the night cap. Game times are 2:00 and 8:00 here in Zapopan; two hours earlier in the Pacific time zone.