Tag: Baseball

Photo credit: @MiLB

MEXICO: 8 | 9 | 0

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 1 | 8 | 6

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 7, 2018

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

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–Mexico’s hopes for a Caribbean Series championship died when the Dominican Republic defeated Cuba on Monday. The next day, a large gathering of the team’s fans came to Charros Stadium to mourn that loss and abuse the losers.

Thunderous boos and cat calls showered down from the stands when Mexico’s starting lineup was introduced over the public address system, especially at the mention of manager Benjamín Gil and and Japhat Amador, the burly slugger from the hometown Jalisco Charros who was one of Culiacán Tomateros’ 15 reinforcements for the Series. The only players who escaped this display of the crowd’s displeasure were the starting battery of pitcher Sergio Mitre and catcher Gabriel Gutiérrez.

The booing of the home team’s line up was made even more unusual by the scheduling rules of the Caribbean Series, under which each team in the elimination round plays two games as home team and another two as visitors. In this contest, Mexico played as the visitors, so the team that the home town crowd incongruously was jeering technically wasn’t even the home team. This situation was only one of many that gave a surreal flavor to the night’s events.

It seemed as if the team that had been Mexico on Monday had become the Tomateros de Culiacán on Tuesday. But even this seeming reversion to form was unreal because of the large number of re-enforcements in the Tomato Growers’ roster.

To make matters stranger, the hapless Mexicans soundly trounced the high flying Dominicans, who played as if they were the team that hadn’t been able to win any of its first three games. The Aguilas Cibaeñas made one error in each of the first three innings and a total of six for the game. The Mexicans slugged out all of their eight runs and nine hits in the first seven innings of play. The Mexican attack included a double and homer by the previously heartily abused Amador, who received delirious cheers upon performing these exploits.

It was a game in which the public address announcer, while action was occurring on field during the home — or was it the visitors’? In the half of the seventh, they asked the crowd to please stop dancing and remember that baseball is a game that brings people together, so they should turn their attention to the giant screen where a young man was asking a young woman to marry him. (She said yes!)

As the last out of the game was being made, the public address system played “Cielito Lindo,” wilth its refrain of “¡Ay, ay, ay, ay! Canta, no llores,” “Ay,ay, ay, ay! Sing, don’t cry.”

The crowd joined in.

Mitre got the win with the help of four relievers. Losing pitcher Angel Castro took the loss. Of a total of six Aguilas pitchers, only Rafael de Paula and Cesilio Pimentel escaped without giving up an earned run. They pitched two-thirds of an inning and an inning, respectively.

More inhibited crowds are expected to see the semi final games, to be played later today, with Puerto Rico playing the Dominican Republic in the afternoon game and Cuba and Venezuela duking it out in the night game.

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.

Photo credit: @MiLB

CUBA: 1 | 7 | 1

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 7 | 13 | 1

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

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

Zapapan, Jalisco, Mexico–Last night’s one sided game between Cuba and the Dominican Republic, like yesterday afternoon’s between Puerto Rico and Venezuela, was short on dramatic tension; but contain a variety of interesting episodes and determined that all four teams would advance to the semifinals of this year’s Caribbean Series.

They also helped clarify where each team would stand in the seeding chart. Puerto Rico’s margin of victory was five runs, and they eliminated Mexico from the tournament. Aguilas Cibaeñas’ six-run victory affects their position against all the other remaining teams because the run differential is a major tiebreaking factor.

One of the similarities between yesterday’s games was that in each of them, a player took a licking and kept on ticking. In the matinee, it was Caguas catcher. Jonathan Morales, who was taken out at home in the third inning by Rafael Ortega’s aggressive base running. In the nightcap, it was was the Dominican’s Abitail Avelino, who was on third base in the fifth and broke towards the plate just in time to be plastered in the stomach by teammate Junior Lake’s hard line drive. Both victims stayed in the game.

Fan interference would have been an important factor in the Granma Sorrels’ loss if the Aguilas (Eagles) hadn’t blow the game open a few innings later. The incident occured with Cuba at bat in the top of the fourth, trailing 1-0. Roel Santos led off the inning with a drive into the right field corner and ended up on third base when the ball rebounded away from Ronny Rodríguez. But Santos was sent back to second when a video replay determined that a fan had reached onto the field and deflected kept Rodríguez from fielding the ball cleanly. Yordan Manduley´s infield hit to third failed to advance Santos, and the Aguilas starter, Bryan Evans, late of UC Davis and most recently with the Tacoma Rainiers, got Yurisbel Gracial to hit into a double play and struck out Cuban star Friederich Cepeda.

Cuba eventually scored on a Santos home run into the right field bleachers, but that was their only run off of Evans, who threw seven complete innings, the furthest into the game of any start so far this series. Wirfin Obispo shut Granma out on one hit in the eighth, and Juan Grullón did the same to them in the ninth. The great Alfredo Despaignes’ return from his calf injury in that inning, even though he only flied out to center, may turn out to be a turning point in the series.

The public address announcer treated the presence of Yasiel Puig in the stands as a major event, several times referring to the controversial Dodger as an idol. It was that kind of a game!

The real story was Evans’ stellar outing and the Dominican team’s hitting. In addition to Lake’s home run, they got two doubles from Avelino–the one that eventually put him in harm’s way in the fifth and another in the sixth–and one each fron Edwin Espinal and Juan Carlos Pérez, as well as a triple from Luis Valenzuela.

Bryan Evans got the win; Cuban start Bladimir Baños, the loss.

The current standings:
Team. W. L. Run Differential

Dominican. 2. 1. -2

Puerto Rico. 2. 1. +5

Cuba. 2. 1. -3

Venezuela. 2. 2. +6

Mexico. 0. 3. Eliminated.

Tomorrow sees Cuba and Puerto Rico face each other at 2:00 pm CT (noon PT). Mexico will try to save face against the Dominican Republic at 8:00 pm CT (6:00 pm PT).

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

Photo credit: @MiLB

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 6 | 15 | 2

PUERTO RICO: 3 | 11 | 2

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 4, 2018

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

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–The Dominican Republic’s Aguilas Cibaeñas quickly bounced back from the 15-4 drubbing that the Caribes de Anzoátegui had administered to them yesterday afternoon by jumping all over Puerto Rico’s Criollos de Caguas and their left-handed starter Giovanni Soto, to score five runs in the first two frames and then hold on to preserve a 6-3 victory in this afternoon’s Game 5 of the sixtieth Caribbean Series.

The Dominican Republic played as the visiting team and unexpectedly hit first. Lead off batter Abital Avelino’s sinking line drive resulted in an infield single to second, the first of three singles that produced two runs for the Aguilas Cibaenas (Eagles from the Cibao Region). Juan Carlos Perez and Edwin Espinal provided singles to center and right, respectively.

In the second inning, the wheels fell off for the Criollos (the nickname refers to a breed of horses, not to any of the groups of people known by that name, the English version of which is Creoles).

The Eagles filled the bases on a single to left centerfield by Hector Gomez, who advanced to third on Carlos Paulino’s double down the right field line. Gustavo Nunez hit a grounder to third, and the time it took for Puerto Rico’s third baseman, David Vidal, took to check on Gomez’s intentions allowed the Eagles’ second sacker to reach first with a bases loading infield single. Avelino got his second hit in as many innings, this time to center field. The Aguilas were ahead 3-0, the bases still were loaded, and Soto was through for the afternoon.

Right hander Ivan Maldonado allowed a sacrifice fly to left off the bat of Juan Carlos Perez, increasing the Dominican Republic squad’s advantage to four runs. Junior Lake’s 1-0 single to left brought Avelino in with the fifth run charged Soto, who was eventually charged with the loss.

Puerto Rico didn’t mount a credible threat until the bottom of the sixth, when it almost turned the tables on the Dominican Republic. At the start of the inning, right handled Samuel Deduno replaced the Eagles’ left-handed starter, Francisley Bueno, who had held Puerto Rico to six hits and no runs over his five innings of work. Vidal greeted the reliever with a single to center and then advanced to third on Dameck Tomscha’s single to right. Dayrun Varona singled in Vidal home with Puerto Rico’s first run, and that was the end of Deduno’s day.

Ramon Ramirez, who relieved him, got Wilfredo Rodriguez to strike out swinging, but the two runners advanced a base each on an errant throw by catcher Paulino. Ramirez walked Wilfredo Rodriguez, and Irving Falu drove in Tomscha and Varona with a single. But Rosney Castillo ground into a rally, killing the double play, and Ramirez’s strike out of Jesmuel Valentin ended the Criollos’ scoring.

A second to short fielder’s choice Nunez scored Yefri Perez with an insurance run for the Dominican Republic in the eighth.

Bueno won, Soto lost, and Josh Judy got the save.

Both teams now have 1-1 records.

Venezuela plays Mexico in 15 minutes. It’s now 7:45 pm in Zapopan.

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

Photo credit: @lajornadaonline

MEXICO: 4 | 11 | 1

CUBA: 5 | 8 | 0

By Lewis Rubman

Zapopan, Jal., February 4

The end of my dispatch about Game 3 of the Caribbean Series contained a glaring error. The next game scheduled was not between Puerto Rico and Mexico, but between Cuba and Mexico. There was also a lot to say about the end of that game.

It was a see-saw of a match between the repeat champions of Cuba’s National Series, the Granma Sorrels (Alazanes de Granma), and the Mexican Pacific League champs, the Culiacan Tomato Growers (Tomateros de Culiacan).

Granma was playing without its star right fielder, Alfredo Despaigne, who left yesterday’s game against the Anzoategui Caribes after he suffered a calf injury running out a double in the first inning. They still managed to put up quite a show, posting a come from behind victory and surviving a ninth inning challenge from the Tomateros.

Culiacan, which was playing as the visiting team, took an early lead when Justin Greene singled to center to start the game. He stole second and scored on Rico Noel’s single to center off Cuba’s left handed starting pitcher Yoannis Yiera.

Mexico and its lefty starter, Hector Daniel Rodriguez, held on to that lead until the bottom of the third inning, when third baseman Raul Gonzalez singled to center, followied by Roel Santos’s bunt single and Yordan Manduley’s sacrifice bunt.

This use of little ball paid off for the Cubans because Yurisbel Gracial tied the score with a sacrifice line drive to Justin Greene in left. Mexico’s manager, Benjamin Gil, yanked Rodriguez and replaced him with Jesus Castillo, the first of the five relievers Gil would use before the night was over. Castillo got out of the inning, but not before Frederich Cepeda’s double had driven in Santos to give the Alanzanes a 2-1 lead.

That advantage was short-lived. The Tomateros drove Yiera from the mound in the top of the fourth with singles by Walter Ibarra and Sebastian Valle. Right handed reliever Alain Sanchez allowed a bunt single to Noel and a single to left by Sebastian Elizalde that scored Valle.

With Noel on third, Joey Meneses grounded to second baseman Carlos Benitez, whose toss to shortstop Manduley to force Elizalde at second. But Meneses beat Manduley’s throw to first, allowing Noel to score a run to put Mexico up by two runs, 4-2.

Gil appealed the out call at second, but it was upheld after a lengthy review. Sanchez got DH Japhet Amador to end the inning with a ground ball to third. Sanchez would go on to pitch into ninth frame without allowing another Culiacan run.

With one out in the Granma half of the seventh, Gonzalez smashed a home run to left center off an offering of Aldo Montes, who had relieved Castillo to start the top of the fifth. A walk to Santos, the next batter, was enough to make Gil to bring in Nick Struck to replace Montes. The one-time Cubs and Dodgers farm hand only stayed around long enough to hit Mandulay with a pitch and walk Gracial. Struck’s replacement, Daniel Moskos, gave up a sac fly to Cepeda, which scored Santos and tied the score at four apiece.

Yoenis Cespedes’s half brother Yoalkis pinch ran for Benitez, who had singled with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Cespedes broke for second with a two and one count on Juan Carlos Torrente, pinch hitting for Morejon. Cepeda’s move pulled Ibarra, now playing shortstop, out of position, allowing a hole for Torrente’s low line drive to go into left centerfield. Cepeda advanced to third on the hit and scored on Gonzalez’s sacrifice fly to right, giving Cuba a one-run lead.

Culiacan came close to sending the game into extra innings. Oakland native Chris Roberson pinch hit for Valle with a screaming double down the left field line to open the top of the ninth. Granma’s manager Carlos Marti replaced Sanchez with Raidel Martinez, who was faced with the task of getting through the top of Mexico’s lineup without allowing the speedy Roberson to score from second base. Martinez succeeded by striking out Greene and getting pinch hitter Jesse Castillo and Elizalde to ground out.

Cuba now is 2-2, while Mexico is 0-2 half way through the elimination round of the Series.

The Dominican Republic goes against Puerto Rico in this afternoon’s game, followed by Venezuela against Mexico. Game times are 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, Central Time, noon and and 6:00 pm PT.

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).

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

Photo credit: @mexbaseball

Puerto Rico 7 | 15 | 0

Mexico 4 | 10 | 0

By Lewis Rubman
Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico
February 3, 2018

Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico–The 19th century Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodriguez de Tio is famous for her lines, “Cuba y Puerto Rico son/de un pajaro las dos alas.” Translation: “Cuba and Puerto Rico are two wings of the same bird.” If that’s true, that bird must be soaring because both country’s teams won their first game in this year’s Caribbean Series.

Following the Cubans’ 6-4 triumph over the Venezuelans, Puerto Rico’s Criollos de Caguas overcame host Mexico’s Tomateros de Culiacan by a score of 7-4 in a game featured a couple of surprises.

The first came before the game even began, when Bill Clinton came onto the field and was treated to a thunderous ovation when he was introduced as a friend of Mexico. More cheers followed when the ex-president proclaimed himself a lover of baseball.

The second surprise occurred in the top of the third inning with two outs and an 0-2 count on the Criollos’ Johnny Monell, Anthony Garcia attempted a straight steal of home. He was called out, and a long review was inconclusive, so the ruling was allowed to stand. But Garcia’s daring dash to the plate certainly was unexpected. He didn’t even get a good jump on starter Edgar Gonzalez’s pitch, and many spectators speculated that the play might have been a botched suicide squeeze attempt. In any case, Garcia definitely gave the crowd a jolt.

In spite of the failure of his act of daring do, he had a very successful night, going 3 for 5, hitting two doubles, and driving in two runs, Four other Caguas batters had multiple hit nights. Shortstop Jesmuel Valentin and thirdbasman David Vidal went 2 for 5, and first baseman Ruben Gotay and leftfielder Dayron Varona each got two hits in four at bats.

Puerto Rico opened the scoring in the top of the second with succesive singles by Vidal, Gotay, and Varona, followed by a walk to catcher Jonathan Morales off of Gonzalez.

Mexico closed the gap to one run in their half of the inning with a two out single to center by Dominican thirdbaseman Ronnier Mustellier, a walk to shortstop Issmael Salas, and a single in right by catcher Gabriel Gutierrez.

The Islanders tacked on another run in the third, only to see Mexico add another in the bottom of the frame and take the lead in the fourth when Criollos started Adalberto Flores hit Mustellier and Salas, who each moved up a base on Gutierrez’s sacrifice bunt. After Rico Noel struck out swinging, Sebastian Elizalde singled both runners home only to be caught stealing; 2-4-3-6.

After a walk to Irving Falu, who had replaced Rey Navarro at second base, followed by a wild pitch by Gonzlez that advanced him a base, and Garcia’s RBI single helped Puerto Rico retie the game at four apiece.

Thing stayed like that until the top of the eighth, when Casey Coleman, now pitching for Culiacan, gave up a double to deep left field to Garcia, who scored on Vidal’s rule book double to center. Vidal advanced one base on Gotay’s single to right.

At this point, manager Benjamin Gil replaced Coleman with Nick Struck, who proceeded to deliver a wild pitch on a 2 and 2 count to Varona, who tripled on his next offering, driving in both runners, and sealing Culiacan’s doom.

Elizalde and Gutierrez were the Mexicans’ leading hitters, with two apiece.

Lefty Luis Cruz got the win in relief. The save went to Miguel Mejia, who pitched a scoreless ninth. Coleman was charged with the loss.

This afternoon’s game will pit the Dominican Republics Aguilas Cibaenas against the Anzoategui Criollos of Venezuela. Game time is 2:00 pm (noon PT).

The 8:00 pm (6:00 pm PT) match up will see Mexico face Cuba.

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

Photo credit: @Territorioscore

CUBA 6
VENEZUELA 4

By Lewis Rubman

Zapopán, Jalisco, Mexico

February 2, 2018

Zapopán, Jalisco, Mexico–Cuba’s Alazanes de Granma won the opening game of the sixtieth Caribbean Series by defeating Venezuela´s Caribes de Anozátegui this afternoon by a score of 6-4 in a contest that wasn’t decided until a badly shaken Raidel Martínez got Venezuela’s designated hitter Luis Jiménez to swing and miss on a 1-2 count with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning. Granma jumped out to an early lead when Yordan Manduley singled Roel Santos in from second and was in turn driven in by

Yurisbel Gracial’s double off Anzoáregui’s starter, righty Daryl Thompson, in the bottom of the first inning.

Venezuela chipped away at Cuba´s lead in the top of the third, when Luis Sardiñas crossed the plate while Nieuman Romero grounded into a double play, short unassisted to first çagainst the Alazanes’ starting pitcher, right hander Lázaro Blanco. They evened the sccore on Luis Jiménez’s blast into the right field seats in the following frame.

Carlos Navas relieved Thompson with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the fifth. Gracial notched his second RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center that broke the tie and gave the Cuban’s a 3-2 lead.

They took a commanding lead in the seventh, mounting a two run, two out rally against Felipe Paulino , with two walks, an infield single and and a pinch hit single to left by Alexander Ayala.

Venezuela came roaring back in the top of the eighth on René Reyes’s double to right, followed by a single, also to right, by Balbino Fuenmayor, both off Miguel Lahera.

With two outs in the Cuban half of the inning, a two-base throwing error by shortstop Luis Sardiñas allowed pinch runner Yulián to score, putting the Cubans ahead with a commanding 6-3 lead.

But the Venezuelans put a scare into them. Alexis Amerista led off against Lahera with a single. After Sardiñas forced Amerista at second and Ortega flied out to right, Sardiñas stole second. Romero then worked a full count and walked. Reyes singled to right to load the bases, putting the tying run on base and bringing the potential leading run to the plate in the person of Fuenmayor, the clean up hitter. Granma manager Carlos Martí brought Martínez in to relieve Lahera. Martínez promptly balked Sardiñas home with the Caribe’s fourth run and advancing Romero and Reyes. A rattled Martínez walked Fuenmayor, wherre he represented the possible tying run. That’s when Martínez notched his clutch strike out.

Blanco got the win. Thompson was charged with the loss. The save went to Martínez.

This afternoon´s game will be followed at 8:00 pm this evening. (6:00 pm Pacific) between the winners of last year’s series, the Caguas Crollos of Puerto Rico, and the champions of the Mexican Pacific League, the Tomateros of Culiacán. Taking the mound for Caguas will be right hander Adalberto Florers. Another righty, Edgar González, will pitch for the Mexican team.