Photo credit: cubadebate.cu

CUBA: 6 | 11 | 0

PUERTO RICO: 3 | 6 | 1

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 6, 2018

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

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–Fraternal rivals Cuba and Puerto Rico faced each other Tuesday afternoon in a duel to better their place in the pecking order of the Caribbean Series semifinals, which will begin Wednesday afternoon.

The contest that was closer than its final score of 6-3 would indicate.

Puerto Rico’s representative, the Caguas Criollos, drew first blood with Anthony García´s home run off Cuban starter Ulfrido García that left the park just over 330 feet from home and the left field fence. It was his first round tripper of the tourrnament.

In the top half of the third, Frank Morejón homered, his second of the Series, off Caguas starter Jake Fisher’s 0-2 offering to even the score for the Granma Alazanes (Sorrels), Cuba’s representative in this week long battle of champions. It also was his first four bagger of the Series.

Each team tallied twice in the fifth frame. Morejón brought Carlos Benítez in from second with a rule book double to left and then advanced to third on Raúl González’s fly to right. An infield single to short by Roel Santos brought the Cuban catcher home with his team’s third run. The Criollos quickly wiped out the Cubans´ advantage with back to back homers into the left field bleachers by Rubén Gotay and the right field bleachers by David Varona, the first circuit blast for both them in this year’s Caribbean Series.

Caguas had a chance to make a definitive statement in the bottom of the sixth. Anthony García led off with a single to right. Rusney Castillo pinch hit for designated hitter Johnny Monell, fouled off the first pitch and then sent García to third with a single to right center. With runners on the corner and nobody out, manager. Carlos Martí called on Lenadro Martínez, a lefty like Ulfrido García, to pitch to switch hitting Rubén Gotay, who had homered in the previous episode. Between them, they worked the count to three and two before Martínez got Gotay to hit a grounder to shortstop Yordan Manduley behind second base, where he fielded it, stepped on the bag, and fired to Guillermo Avilés to complete the double play and preserved the tie.

Martínez completed his relief assignment in the good old fashoned way by entering the game, as he did in the sixth inning and shutting Puerto Rico out until its 27th batter was retired four innings later. He did this on 47 pitches, 27 of which were strikes.

The Criollos’ failure to capitalize on their opportunity in the sixth cost them dearly. They had brought Luis González in to pitch the sixth and replaced him with Joe Colón, the first right handed hander for either team, to pitch Cuba in the top of the seventh. Colón retired the first to Sorrels he faced, but then walked the dangerous.Morejón on four pitches before serving up a pitch that ninth place hitter Raul González whalloped into left field for a tie breaking double.

Righty Andrés Santiago took over for Colón in the top of the eighth, hoping to keep the Cuban lead at a single run. Instead, he allowed two Alazanes to cross the plate. Manduley started things with an infield single that could just as well have been scored as an error by shortstop Jesmuel Valentín. Madnuley continued to profit from sloppy Caguas fielding when Jonathan Morales´s passed ball enabled the Cuban shortstop to advance to second. Cepeda loaded the bases with a single to left, and Avilés drove them in with a double to left that sent Yoelkis Céspedes, running for Cepeda, to third. A cameo appearance by Alfred Despaigne was wasted by an intentional pass that set up an inning ending double play. But the damage was irreparable. Martínez continued his mastery over Puerto Rico’s batters, and the Cubans won by three.

The practical effect of Tuesday afternoon’s contest on the semi final schedule depends on the result of the Tuesday night game between Mexico, who will be fighting for pride in an attempt to salvage one victory in its horrendous Caribbean Series, and the Dominican Republic, who will be fighting for a second or third place berth.

Game time is 8:00 pm CT and 6:00 pm PT.