Venezuelan View: Games 12/18

Another good game for Eduardo Escobar.  A near-cycle for Magallanes.

CARACAS 7, ARAGUA 3 IN CARACAS

Twins:  Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) was used as a pinch-hitter and was 0-for-1.  Dakota Watts (Aragua) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and one walk.

Aragua:  Hector Gimenez was 2-for-4 with a run.  Yangervis Solarte was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Luis Hernandez was 0-for-1 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Caracas:  Bobby Abreu was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Jesus Guzman (Houston) was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Miller Diaz (Mets) struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing no hits but three walks.

The game:  Abreu's ground-rule double produced the first run of the game, putting Caracas up 1-0 in the first.  In the third, two walks and an error gave Aragua its only lead of the game at 2-1.  An RBI single by Guzman tied the score at two after three, and a run-scoring double by Gregorio Petit and an RBI single by Aharon Eggleston put Caracas in the lead to stay in the fourth.  Caracas added a run in the fifth and two in the seventh to go ahead 7-2.  The last Aragua run came in the ninth.  They had the bases loaded with two out in the ninth, bringing the tying run up to the plate, but could do no more damage.

ANZOATEGUI 9, LA GUAIRA 2 IN ANZOATEGUI

Twins:  Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

La Guaira:  Miguel Gonzalez (White Sox) was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Rene Reyes was 1-for-2 with two walks.  Rafael Alvarez hit a pinch-hit home run, his second.

Anzoategui:  Niuman Romero was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, driving in one.  Oscar Salazar was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Anthony Capra struck out six in five shutout innings, allowing two hits and three walks.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fifth, when Escobar drove in two with a single-and-error.  Romero later doubled him in to make it 3-0.  Anzoategui added one in the sixth and got five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Alexi Amarista (San Diego) had a two-run single and Salazar a two-run double in the inning.  La Guaira got single runs in the eighth and ninth.

MAGALLANES 12, MARGARITA 2 IN MAGALLANES

Margarita:  Wilfredo Tovar was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Breyvic Valera (St. Louis) was 2-for-5 with a run.  Nate Tenbrink (Seattle) was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.

Magallanes:  Endy Chavez (Seattle) was 3-for-6 with a double, a triple, and a home run, scoring twice and driving in three.  Alberto Callaspo (Oakland) was 3-for-4 with two walks and a double, scoring once.  Carlos Zambrano pitched five innings, allowing an unearned run on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

The game:  Each team scored once in the first.  Magallanes took control with a three-run second, getting an RBI double from Argenis Diaz (Cincinnati) and a two-run homer by Chavez.  Juan Rivera had a two-run single as part of a four-run fourth that put the game out of reach.