Photo credit: @MiLB

PUERTO RICO: 12 | 16 | 0

VENEZUELA: 7 | 13 | 1

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

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

There wasn’t much tension in this afternoon’s 12-7 trashing of the Venezuela’s Anzoátegui Caribes by Puerto Rico’s Caguas at Criollos. But there were enough events and outstanding plays during the three-hour, 49-minute game (I won’t call it a contest) to compensate for some its longueurs.

So, let’s start with the good stuff and then move on to a summary of the quotidian action.

You don’t often see a center field to first double play, and it’s less common to see the second out of the play take place to the left of second base, but that’s what happened in Puerto Rico’s half of the third today.

With one out, catcher Jonathan Morales, who was to survive a brutal collision at the plate in the Caribes’ half of the inning, hit a one out single and advanced to third on Irving Falú’s double to right center. Both runners stayed put when Rusney Castillo legged out a grounder to first. Then, with the bases loaded, Jesmuel Valentín smacked a line drive sacrifice to center, scoring Morales. Falú tagged up at second and was heading for third when Venezuela’s first baseman, Balvino Fuenmayor, cut off Rafael Ortega’s throw and began to chase Falú, who retreated towards second. But Castillo had advanced from first and was waiting there as his teammate approached. So, first baseman Fuenmayor tagged Falú out between second and third to end the inning. It didn´t make that much difference, because at that point the Puerto Ricans already held a 9-0 lead.

Venezuela cut that advantage by two runs on a single by Luis Domoromo and a walk to Ortega. Then, with two outs, one of them due to a spectacular jumping backhanded grab of Nieuman Romero’s line drive by Criollo shortstop Valentín, Tomás Tells bounced a ball past Rubén Gotay at first. Falú, playing second, picked up the ball and made a spectacular throw to try to get Domoromo out at home. Domoromo steamrolled into Morales, and, while Morales was on the ground, Ortega made it to third, from where he scored on Fuenmayor’s single.

There were other highlights. When Valentín made his breathtaking play in the the third, David Vidal had gotten Luis Hernández out at first with a bare handed pick at throw from third.

Vidal, Castillo, Valentína, and Anthony García homered for Caguas, which used five pitchers to gain the win, which went to Fernando Cruz in relief. Carlos Teller, the first of five Caribe hurlers, took the loss.

At 8:00 pm (6:00 pm PT and 35 minutes from now), undefeated Cuba takes on the Dominican Republic.