A big comeback by Caguas. A big inining for Santurce.
SANTURCE 7, MAYAGUEZ 4 IN MAYAGUEZ
Twins: Kennys Vargas (Mayaguez) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, driving in two. Eddie Rosario (Mayaguez) was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third. Daniel Ortiz (Mayaguez) was 1-for-4 with a run.
Santurce: Jack Lopez (Kansas City) was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Neftali Soto (Cincinnati) was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Jon Velasquez (Mets) struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.
Mayaguez: Dee Gordon (Milwaukee) was 5-for-5 with a run. Martin Maldonado was 1-for-2 (Milwaukee) with a run. Randy Ruiz was 1-for-5 with an RBI.
The game: Santurce got a two-run single by Lopez, a two-run double by Soto, and a run-scoring wild pitch all in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, however, Mayaguez got right back into the game when Ruiz singled in one and Vargas doubled in two to make it 5-3. Each team scored once in the fourth to make the score 6-4. Santurce added one in the fifth on an RBI triple by Angel Morales. And that was it for the scoring. Mayaguez loaded the bases in the seventh, but did not score.
CAGUAS 6, CAROLINA 5 IN CAGUAS (11 INNINGS)
Carolina: Rene Garcia (Houston) was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in two. Mel Rojas was 1-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Joe Testa pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks with one strikeout.
Caguas: Ramon Castro was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Andy Gonzalez was 2-for-5 with a walk and a double, scoring twice. Shaun Garceau pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
The game: Carolina opened the scoring on Rojas' two-run double in the third. Garcia delivered a two-run double in the fourth, and another run scored later in the inning on an error to give Carolina a 5-0 lead. In the sixth, Castro doubled in a run, a run scored on a double play, and Edgardo Baez singled in a run to get Caguas back into the game at 5-3. In the eighth, Castro doubled in another run and a run scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the score at five. Kristopher Negron (Cincinnati) opened the eleventh with a single and took second on a bunt. An intentional walk was followed by an accidental walk to load the bases. A sacrifice fly brought home the winning run.
Caguas is close to Cayey, my favorite spot in Puerto Rico for pernil asado.
You drive less than an hour south from San Juan, past Caguas, and take the first exit in Cayey to Guavate (towards the park and the prison), take a left to go east, you soon pass several lechonarias (my favorite is Bruno).
Pick out some root vegetables and plantains, order a beer, and the guy walks out to the pig on the spit, brandishes his machete, and whacks off some crispy pork. Unbelievable.