Keeping Track

Puerto Rican Publication: Games of 12/23

A back-and-forth game in Santurce.  Errors, wild pitches, and passed balls decide things in Carolina.

PONCE 4, SANTURCE 3 IN SANTURCE

Ponce:  Jose Lozada (Washington) was 1-for-3 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one.  Jordan Lennerton (Detroit) was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Reymond Fuentes (San Diego) was 1-for-4 with a triple and a run.

Santurce:  Jonathan Rodriguez (St. Louis) was 1-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Angel Morales was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jorge Martinez pitched 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

The game:  Lozada tripled in a run and scored on a ground out to give Ponce a 2-0 lead in the first.  They held the lead until the fifth, when Santurce scored three on Rodriguez' home run, an RBI single by Jack Lopez (Kansas City), and a run-scoring double by Christian Vazquez (Boston).  That lead, in turn, held until the eighth, when the tying run scored on an error.  In the ninth, Greg Rohan (Cubs) had an RBI single to give Ponce a 4-3 lead.  Santurce went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

CAROLINA 6, CAGUAS 4 IN CAROLINA

Caguas:  Rey Navarro (Cincinnati) was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Ramon Castro was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Fernando Hernandez pitched 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Carolina:  Ruben Gotay (Cincinnati) was 1-for-3 with a double.  Osvaldo Martinez (Dodgers) was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Gaby Hernandez struck out four in three shutout innings, allowing two hits and no walks.

The game:  Jorge Padilla singled in the first run in the second, and a run scored on a ground out later in the inning to give Caguas a 2-0 lead.  They held the lead until the sixth, when an RBI ground out and a run-scoring wild pitch tied it at two.  In the seventh Carolina went ahead to stay, scoring one run on a passed ball and two more on an error to go ahead 5-2.  It was 6-2 going to the ninth.  Caguas scored twice in the ninth and had the bases loaded with two out, but a strikeout ended the game.