Puerto Rican Publication: Games of 12/30

No good Twins news.  An error made the difference in Caguas.  A comeback for Ponce.

CAGUAS 5, MAYAGUEZ 3 IN CAGUAS

Twins:  Eddie Rosario (Mayaguez) was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Kennys Vargas (Mayaguez) was 0-for-4.  Daniel Ortiz (Mayaguez) was 0-for-2 with a walk.

Mayaguez:  Randy Ruiz was 3-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and three RBIs.  Irving Falu (Milwaukee) was 1-for-4 with a run.  Luis Figueroa was 1-for-3 with a double.

Caguas:  Aaron Bates was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Miguel Abreu was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Efrain Nieves (Toronto) struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing one hit and no walks.

The game:  RBI singles by Luis Mateo (St. Louis) and Abreu gave Caguas a 2-0 lead in the second.  Two runs scored on an error in the third to make it 4-0.  Ruiz hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 4-2, but that was as close as Mayaguez would come.  Abreu singled in another run in the sixth to increase the lead to 5-2.  Mayaguez tallied in the ninth and brought the tying run up to bat with two out.

PONCE 5, CAROLINA 4 IN CAROLINA

Ponce:  Reymond Fuentes (San Diego) was 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs.  Ivan De Jesus (Baltimore) was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Adalberto Flores struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.

Carolina:  Anthony Garcia (St. Louis) was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.  Osvaldo Martinez (Dodgers) was 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI.  Eliecer Navarro (Pittsburgh) pitched three shutout innings, allowing one hit and no walks.

The game:  Garcia singled in a run in the first and in the second Carolina scored on a wild pitch and a ground out to take a 3-0 lead.  Ponce got on the board on a Henry Ramos (Boston) RBI single but Carolina got the run back in the sixth when Martinez drove in a run with a single.  In the seventh, Fuentes delivered a two-out two-run single to cut the lead to 4-3 and in the ninth De Jesus singled in a pair with two out to give Ponce the lead.  Carolina got the tying run to second with two out in the bottom of the ninth.