Yohan Pino makes a less-than-stellar return to the Twins. Aragua couldn't get runners past third.
ANZOATEGUI 6, MAGALLANES 5 IN MAGALLANES
Twins: Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 0-for-4.
Anzoategui: Cory Aldridge was 4-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth), scoring twice and driving in three. Jose Castillo was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, his eighth. Niuman Romero was 2-for-5 with a run.
Magallanes: Alberto Callaspo was 2-for-4 with a walk and a home run. Mario Lisson was 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer, his fifteenth. Orangel Arenas pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.
The game: Castillo's three-run homer in the first capped a four-run inning that put Anzoategui ahead 4-0. Aldridge homered in the third to make it 5-0, and it looked as if Anzoategui would have an easy game. In the fourth, however, Callaspo led off with a homer, Lisson hit a two-run shot, and Carlos Maldonado singled in a run to make it 5-4. Aldridge provided an insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth and Anzoategui needed it, because in the eighth, three singles cut the lead to 6-5 and put the tying run on second with two out. That, however, was as close as Magallanes would come.
ZULIA 5, ARAGUA 0 IN ZULIA
Twins: Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) was 0-for-3 with a walk. Yohan Pino (Aragua) started and pitched 3.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Dakota Watts (Aragua) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks with one strikeout.
Aragua: Yangervis Solarte was 1-for-3 with a double.
Zulia: J. C. Linares was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run (his second), scoring twice. Ender Inciarte (Arizona) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once and driving in one. Alex Torres (Tampa Bay) struck out eight in 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and four walks.
The game: Zulia took a 1-0 lead in the first on an error. A Sandy Leon (Washington) homer and an RBI double by Inciarte made it 3-0 in the fourth. Zulia added single runs in the fifth and sixth. Aragua had runners thrown out at the plate in the first and third.
LARA 3, MARGARITA 2 IN LARA
Margarita: Max Ramirez (Cincinnati) was 2-for-3 with a walk and two doubles, scoring once. Edgar Duran (Philadelphia) was 2-for-4. Omar Bencomo struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and one walk.
Lara: Andrew Lambo (Pittsburgh) was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, scoring once and driving in one. Tomas Perez was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double, driving in one. Chris Jakubauskas pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
The game: RBI singles by Wilfredo Tovar and Duran put Margarita up 2-0 in the second. Lara tied it in the fourth on consecutive doubles by Paulo Orlando (Kansas City), Lambo, and Perez. The game remained even until the eighth, when Mike Moustakis (Kansas City) drove in the go-ahead run for Lara with a single. Margarita got a man on in the ninth but did not advance him past first base.
CARACAS 7, LA GUAIRA 2 IN LA GUAIRA
Caracas: Ramon Cabrera (Detroit) was 3-for-3 with a double. Gerardo Parra (Arizona) was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one. Franklin Morales (Colorado) pitched five innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
La Guaira: Carlos Sanchez (White Sox) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a double, driving in one. Miguel Rojas (Dodgers) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. C. J. Retherford was 1-for-4 with a home run, his tenth.
The game: Gregorio Petit singled in a run in the second and Jesus Guzman (Houston) hit a two-run homer in the third to give Caracas a 3-0 lead. Each team scored once in the fourth and again in the fifth. Caracas added two in the sixth to put the game out of reach.