Venezuelan View: Games of 1/16

Day fifteen of the playoffs.  A big day for Oswaldo Arcia isn't enough for Zulia.  Lots of runs and lead changes in Magallanes.

CARACAS 12, ZULIA 11 IN ZULIA

Twins:  Oswaldo Arcia (Zulia) was 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, and a home run, driving in two.  Miguel Sulbaran (Zulia) gave up a home run to the only man he faced.

Caracas:  Bobby Abreu was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventh), scoring three times and driving in two.  Henry Blanco (Arizona) was 3-for-4 with a walk and two doubles, scoring once and driving in three.  Alex Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Zulia:  Jose PIrela (Yankees) was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Sandy Leon (Washington) was 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs.  Freddy Galvis (Philadelphia) was 3-for-6 with a run and two RBIs.

The game:  Caracas scored single runs in the first and second and put together a three-run rally in the third to take a 5-0 lead.  Zulia tallied twice in the fourth, but Caracas got one back in the top of the fifth to go ahead 6-2.  Zulia tied it in the bottom of the fifth, getting two-run doubles from Pirela and Leon to tie it at six.  In the top of the seventh, Blanco hit a three-run double to highlight a five-run seventh and give Caracas an 11-6 lead which seemingly put them in control of the game.  It was 12-7 going to the bottom of the eighth, but a sacrifice fly and a two-run single by Leon made it 12-10 after eight.  Zulia scored one in the ninth to make it 12-11 and had the tying run at second with two out.  Pirela lined a single to right by Abreu threw out Luis Ugueto at the plate to end the game.

ANZOATEGUI 11, MAGALLANES 8 IN MAGALLANES

Twins:  Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 1-for-4.

Anzoategui:  Oscar Salazar was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in three.  Cory Aldridge was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs.  Jose Castillo was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

Magallanes:  Alberto Callaspo (Oakland) was 1-for-3 with two walks and a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Ronny Cedeno was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run, scoring twice.  Juan Rivera was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his third.

The game:  Anzoategui got three in the first, but Magallanes came back with three in the second to tie it up.  Aldridge homered in the third to put Anzoategui ahead 4-3, but Magallanes got two in the fourth, including Cedeno's homer, to get the lead 5-4.  Anzoategui scored two in the fifth to get the lead back, and each team scored once in the sixth, making the score 7-6.  There was no more scoring until the ninth.  A single-and-error by Hector Gimenez (White Sox) scored two for Anzoategui, a single-and-error by Jose Gil (Yankees) plated one more, and a force out scored yet another to put Anzoategui into a seemingly comfortable 11-6 lead.  In the bottom of the ninth, however, Rivera hit a two-run homer with one out to cut the lead to 11-8.  That was all Magallanes could do, though, as the next two batters went out to end the game.

PLAYOFF STANDINGS

Magallanes, 8-4
Anzoategui, 7-5
Caracas, 7-5
La Guaira, 4-8
Zulia, 4-8