Mayaguez. David Vidal did not make the Criollos de Caguas look bad by bringing him back to help his former team in the final of the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Lbprc).
The first baseman hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to break a tie and the “Yegüita” defeated the Indios de Mayagüez 2-1 on Saturday in the first game of the winter baseball championship series held in the Isidoro “Cholo” García Stadium before about 1,200 people allowed in the facility due to government restrictions due to the rise in COVID-19 infections on the island.
The second match is on Sunday at 7:10 pm at the Yldefonso Solá Morales Stadium in the Turabo Valley. With the loss, the Indians are 1-13 in four straight finals. His last victory in finals dates back to 2020 against the Cangrejeros de Santurce.
With the game tied 1-1 in the eighth, Mayagüez pilot Luis Matos did not hesitate and brought closer Fernando Cruz, chosen by the Cangrejeros in the special draw, to try to avoid a reaction from Caguas.
Cruz, who hadn’t allowed an earned run in 19 1/3 innings in the regular season, gave up a hit infield to Johneshwy Fargas and then hit Elger Beltre with a three-hit pitch. Caguas bet on the small ball with the touch of Jonathan Morales, advanced the runners to prepare the plate for Vidal, a former criollo before playing with Santurce this year, to drive the winning run.
Caguas used six pitchers to get out of the Sultana del Oeste. The 43-year-old right-hander Ricardo Gómez, with an ERA of 0.90 in 20 innings during the regular season, scored the rescue. Reliever Zack Muckenhirn got the win and Cruz the loss.
Left-hander Eric Stout started solid as the Indians’ starter and in 2 2/3 innings he got six outs via strikeouts. The dominance, however, stumbled when Fargas and Beltre hit back-to-back braces for the visitors to score first in the final.
The American southpaw fanned nine criollos for five full innings but ended with a loss in his spine.
Mayagüez, who was the leader in collective batting average during the regular season and hit the woodworker in the five semifinal games against the Carolina Giants with .311, managed just three hits in six innings against the solid arms of Yordy Cabrera and reliever Alexis Diaz. Cabrera pitched five effective scoreless innings with two strikeouts to finish in a no decision.
Danny Ortiz woke up the fans present with a double and one out in the seventh against shipments from Aneuris Rosario. Roberto “Bebo” Pérez followed with a single to set up runners in the corners. The Creole leader Ramón Vázquez retired Rosario and placed the imported left Muckenhirn on the mound, who gave Chavez Young the base to fill the bases.
After Jeremy Rivera struck out, Indian leadoff hitter Brett Rodriguez worked the count with Muckenhirn for a pitch to drive in the tying run. Muckenhirn was able to get out of the hole, fanning out the dangerous Emmanuel Rivera to finish off the local threat.
Ortiz finished 2-4, as did Pérez. Fargas e 4-2 by the Criollos.
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