Day one of the Venezuelan League playoffs. Eduardo Escobar is a hero for Anzoategui. A big comeback falls short in Caracas.
ANZOATEGUI 7, LA GUAIRA 6 IN ANZOATEGUI (10 INNINGS)
Twins: Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a home run, scoring twice.
La Guaira: Joe Thurston was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Hector Sanchez (San Francisco) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a home run. Carlos Sanchez (White Sox) was 1-for-5 with a run and an RBI.
Anzoategui: Gorkys Hernandez (Kansas City) was 3-for-5 with a walk, a double, and a home run, scoring twice. Jose Castillo was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in two. Alexi Amarista (San Diego) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a home run.
The game: A sacrifice fly in the first and a Sanchez homer in the second put La Guaira ahead 2-0. Anzoategui tied it in the third on a two-run double by Castillo and took a 3-2 lead later in the inning on an RBI single by Hector Gimenez. Cesar Suarez doubled in a run in the sixth to tie it at three, but Escobar and Hernandez homered in the bottom of the sixth to put Anzoategui back in front 5-3. Each team scored in the seventh, so the lead was still two going to the ninth. RBI singles by Sanchez and Thurston tied it at six and sent the game to extra innings. Escobar led off the bottom of the tenth with a walk and went to second on a bunt. An intentional walk and a hit batsman filled the bases with two out. Jackson Melian then delivered a single, scoring Escobar to end the game.
MAGALLANES 9, CARACAS 8 IN CARACAS
Magallanes: Mario Lisson (San Francisco) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer, scoring three times. Robinson Chirinos (Texas) was 1-for-3 with a walk and two-run homer, scoring three times. Eliezer Alfonzo was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.
Caracas: Bobby Abreu was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and two runs. Alex Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a walk and a two run homer, scoring twice. Gregorio Petit was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
The game: Alfonzo hit a two-run homer in the second to give Magallanes a 2-0 lead. Chirinos hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth, but Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, making it 4-2. A sacrifice fly in the fifth cut the lead to 4-3. It stayed there until the seventh, when Alberto Callaspo (Oakland) hit an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-3. Lisson hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Frank Diaz singled in a run later in the inning to giver Magallanes a seemingly comfortable 9-3 lead. Caracas got one back in the eighth, then scored four times in the ninth to make it 9-8. Abreu hit a three-run homer and Aharon Eggleston came through with an RBI single with two out. The winning run was up to bat, but a ground out ended the game.