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.