Eduardo Escobar leads Anzoategui to victory. LEWWWWW and some Lively pitching carry Magallanes. Lara was Thurston for a win.
LARA 4, MARGARITA 2 IN MARGARITA
Twins: Antoan Richardson (Margarita) was 1-for-5.
Lara: Joe Thurston was 3-for-3 with two walks, a double, and a home run, scoring three times. Anthony Vasquez (Seattle) struck out five in five innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.
Margarita: Adam Duvall (San Francisco) was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Cesar Hernandez (Philadelphia) was 2-for-5 with a double and scored once. Luis Chirinos struck out five in five innings, allowing one run on four hits and one walk.
The game: Margarita scored one in the first and Lara tied it with one in the third. It stayed tied at one until the eighth, when each team scored to tie it at two. Paulo Orlando (Kansas City) and Robert Perez delivered RBI singles in the ninth to give Lara a 4-2 advantage. Margarita got the tying run on base with two out in the bottom of the ninth.
MAGALLANES 5, CARACAS 2 IN CARACAS
Twins: Deolis Guerra (Magallanes) struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.
Magallanes: Lew Ford was 3-for-5 with a double and a home run (his second), driving in three. Frank Diaz was 2-for-3 with a walk and a double, scoring once. Mitch Lively (San Francisco) pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and four walks with four strikeouts.
Caracas: Rico Noel (San Diego)was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Tiago Da Silva struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and no walks.
The game: Magallanes scored one in the third and took control with four in the fourth. An error brought home two runs and Ford hit a two-run homer to make it 5-0. Caracas got both their runs in the seventh. Caracas loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but a double play ended the inning.
ANZOATEGUI 7, ARAGUA 1 IN ARAGUA
Twins: Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. Jermaine Mitchell (Aragua) was 1-for-4. Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) was 0-for-3.
Anzoategui: Cory Aldridge was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third) and three RBIs. Jose Castillo was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring twice and driving in two. Paulo Espino (Cleveland) struck out six in 5.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.
Aragua: Luis Maza was 2-for-4 and scored once. Jan Granado pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk.
The game: Aragua got on the board in the first, but it was all Anzoategui from there. Escobar hit a two-run triple to cap a three-run second to make it 3-1, and in the third Aldridge hit a two-run homer to make it 5-1. Aragua did not get back into the game.
ZULIA 7, LA GUAIRA 3 IN ZULIA
La Guaira: C. J. Retherford was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs. Miguel Gonzalez (White Sox) was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cesar Suarez was 2-for-4.
Zulia: Freddy Parejo had a pinch-hit grand slam.
The game: Zulia scored single runs in the second and third, but La Guaira came back with single runs in the fourth and fifth. In the sixth, a bases-loaded walk put Zulia ahead 3-2 and a Parejo grand slam put the game out of reach.