SANTO DOMINGO – The Gigantes del Cibao, representatives of the Dominican Republic and favorites to win the Caribbean Series at home, defeated the Astronautas de Santos de Panamá this Sunday 7-3 and secured one of the four places in the tournament semifinals after maintain his perfect record after three days.
With three victories, Cibao cannot be caught up by Puerto Rico (0-3). Mexico and Panama, both 1-2, meet on the final day, so that ensures that one of these teams reaches at least three losses, assuring the Dominicans a place in the top four even if they lose. his two remaining commitments.
“The important thing is to win the last game, we have already taken a good step which is to pass the semifinal with these three victories, but we are clear that it is useless to arrive undefeated for six games and lose the final. We are focused on reaching and winning the big game on next Thursday, each game is important and we have to go out every day to win and put on a good show”, considered Dominican driver Luis Ureta,
The Dominicans fell behind in the second inning when Panama scored two runs on RBI singles by Daniel Jimenez and Eduardo Thomas. But they reacted with a three-run rush to take a lead in the third inning thanks to an RBI triple by José Siri, a double by Hanser Alberto, and an error by second baseman Édgar Muñoz that allowed Alberto to reach the register.
Panama tied the score in the seventh inning with a grounder by Olmo Rosario to first base that allowed Tres Hair to score. But the Dominicans defined the match with another three-run attack in the lower part of the same chapter.
Alberto responded again with a tie-breaking double, while Marcell Ozuna and Kelvin Gutiérrez each traded walks with the bases loaded to produce two runs and stretch the lead.
Robinson Canó put the final numbers on the board by bringing in Webster Rivas with a double in the eighth inning.
“I was very focused and fortunately I was able to connect that important shot with the bases loaded to take the lead in the game and we were able to get the victory, very happy with the work of the whole team and we must continue playing like this to win the tournament”, declared Alberto after the victory.
Ryan Kussmaul won (1-0) after giving up one run in one inning. Wilfredo Pereira (0-1) lost when he was shaken with three runs and three hits and failed to retire a single enemy in his relief work.
