Solo home runs can hurt you. An eight-run inning wins it for Caracas. Two four-run innings win it for Aragua.
LA GUAIRA 1, ZULIA 0 IN ZULIA
Twins: Ryan O'Rourke retired the only batter he faced.
La Guaira: Jose Gonzalez (Colorado) was 1-for-3 with a home run. Odubel Herrera (Texas) was 2-for-3 with a double. Edgmer Escalona (Yankees) pitched six shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Zulia: Giovanny Urshela (Cleveland) was 2-for-4. Yeiper Castillo (Oakland) pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
The game: Gonzalez led off the third with a home run for the only run of the game. The closest Zulia came to scoring was in the sixth, when they had a man on third base with two out.
ANZOATEGUI 4, MAGALLANES 2 IN ANZOATEGUI
Magallanes: Chris Dominguez (San Francisco) was 2-for-4 with a run. Tomas Telis (Texas) was 2-for-4 with a double. Orangel Arenas (Angels) struck out four in four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk.
Anzoategui: Orlando Arcia (Milwaukee) was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk. Niuman Romero (Baltimore) was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Jose Alvarez (Angels) struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk.
The game: Magallanes took a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second, but Anzoategui tied it at two with single runs in the second and third. Romero's RBI single put Anzoategui ahead and a bases-loaded walk produced an insurance run, both in the seventh.
CARACAS 8, MARGARITA 5 IN CARACAS
Margarita: Eliezer Alfonzo was 5-for-5 with a home run (his third) and four RBIs. Wilfredo Tovar (Mets) was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs. Omar Bencomo (Tampa Bay) pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk with one strikeout.
Caracas: Gregorio Petit (Houston) was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three. Danry Vasquez (Houston) was 3-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Miguel Socolovich (Mets) struck out three in a scoreless inning, allowing no hits and no walks.
The game: Caracas trailed 5-0 going to the bottom of the fifth, then scored all eight of its runs to take control of the game. Petit had a two-run double in the inning, which also included two errors.
ARAGUA 11, LARA 5 IN ARAGUA
Lara: Carlos Rivero (Boston) was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fifth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two. Gabriel Noriega (Seattle) was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Jhondaniel Medina (Pittsburgh) pitched two scoreless innings, giving up three walks with one strikeout.
Aragua: Renato Nunez (Oakland) was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in three. Jose Martinez (Oakland) was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two. Eduardo Sanchez pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit with one strikeout.
The game: Nunez had a two-run double in a four-run first that put Aragua ahead 4-2. It was 5-4 Aragua when Aragua four more in the fifth, an inning which included a two-run double by Ji-Man Choi (Seattle) and a two-run single by Teodoro Martinez (Texas). Lara did not get back into the game after that.
TODAY'S TILTS
La Guaira at Zulia
Margarita at Aragua
Lara at Caracas
Magallanes at Anzoategui