Venezuelan View: Games of 12/1

Three out of four Twins had good games.  A grand slam wins it for La Guaira.  Big innings for Aragua and Zulia.

LA GUAIRA 7, MAGALLANES 5 IN MAGALLANES

Twins:  Yorman Landa (La Guaira) struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.

La Guaira:  Jamie Romak (Dodgers) was 2-for-5 with a grand slam, his second homer.  Alex Cabrera was 2-for-3 with two walks and a home run (his eighteenth) scoring twice.  Hector Sanchez (San Francisco) was 2-for-5 with a home run, his second.

Magallanes:  Eliezer Alfonzo was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run (his seventh), scoring twice and driving in two.  Juan Rivera was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Frank Diaz was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

The game:  Alfonzo homered in the second and Mario Lisson and Rivera delivered RBI singles in the third to give Magallanes a 3-0 lead.  Back-to-back homers by Cabrera and Sanchez made it 3-2 after four.  In the fifth, Romak hit a one-out grand slam to give La Guaira a 6-3 lead.  An error brought in an extra run in the sixth.  Three doubles in the eighth plated two for Magallanes and a hit batsman put the tying run on base with two out, but that was as close as Magallanes could come.

ANZOATEGUI 8, CARACAS 4 IN CARACAS

Twins:  Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Anzoategui:  Cory Aldridge was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his tenth.  Gorkys Hernandez (Kansas City) was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Niuman Romero was 2-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two.

Caracas:  Hernan Perez (Detroit) was 2-for-3 with a double.  J. D. Martinez (Houston) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Luis Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.

The game:  A Leslie Anderson (Tampa Bay) RBI single put Anzoategui ahead 1-0 in the first.  A Romero double and a ground out made it 3-0 after three.  A single, two doubles, and another single made it 6-0 after five.  Caracas made a comeback, getting one in the bottom of the fifth and three in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-4, but Aldridge hit a two-run homer in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Caracas did not get a man past first base after that.

ARAGUA 11, LARA 4 IN LARA

Twins:  Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer (his eighth), scoring twice.

Aragua:  Wilson Ramos (Washington) was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring twice.  Hector Gimenez was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Alex Romero was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring three times.

Lara:  Luis Valbuena (Cubs) was 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Guilder Rodriguez (Texas) was 1-for-3 with two walks and a run.  Cruz Pereira pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks.

The game:  Arcia hit a two-run homer in the second to put Aragua up 2-0 in the second.  Aragua then put it away early with a six-run third.  Luis Hernandez had a two-run double in the inning.  Lara never got closer than within five.

ZULIA 18, MARGARITA 4 IN MARGARITA

Twins:  Miguel Sulbaran (Zulia) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and no walks with one strikeout.

Zulia:  Ernesto Mejia (Atlanta) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run (his ninth), scoring twice and driving in four.  Freddy Galvis (Philadelphia) was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.  Jose Flores was 4-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring three times and driving in two.

Margarita:  Wilmer Flores (Mets) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Max Ramirez (Cincinnati) was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Junior Sosa (Houston) was 2-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  A two-run single by J. C. Linares made it 3-0 Zulia after three.  Zulia then scored six in the fourth to take control of the game.  Henry Rodriguez (Cincinnati) had a three-run double in the inning.  Margarita never really got back into the game, but they had closed to 10-4 after seven.  Zulia then put together an eight-run inning in the ninth.