MAZATLAN, GAME 47
MAZATLAN 9, NAVOJOA 4 IN NAVOJOA
Batting stars: Isaac Paredes was 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Anthony Giansanti was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fifth), a double, a walk, and three runs. Daniel Sanchez was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, a double, and two runs. Edson Garcia was 2-for-5.
Pitching stars: Juan Ramon Noriega, Marco Antonio Rivas, and Roberto Espinosa each threw a scoreless inning.
Opposition stars: Jorge Sesma was 3-for-4 with a double. Jorge Flores was 2-for-4 with a double. Alonso Gaitan was 2-for-4. Josuan Hernandez was 2-for-4.
The game: Navojoa took a 2-0 lead in the first, but it was 3-3 after five. In the sixth, Maxwell Leon broke the tie with an RBI double and Paredes had a two-run double, putting Mazatlan up 6-3. They led the rest of the way.
WP: Matt Gage (3-0). LP: Octavio Acosta (3-4). S: None.
Stats: Paredes is batting .391. Jose Augusto Figueroa was 1-for-3 and is batting .301. Noriega's ERA is 3.00. Rivas is at 1.54. Espinosa is at 1.67. Jesus Pirela gave up a run in one inning and has an ERA of 1.83.
Record: Mazatlan is 24-23, tied for fifth place with Culiacan in the Mexican League, six games behind Obregon. They are 1.5 games behind fourth-place Jalisco.
Next game: Mazatlan is again at Navojoa this afternoon.
GIGANTES, GAMES 22 AND 23
GIGANTES 6, TOROS 1 AT TOROS (GAME 1--7 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Alfredo Marte was 3-for-3 with a double. Jose Siri was 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs. Juan Francisco was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and three RBIs. Ronald Guzman was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Chris Ellis struck out seven in five innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk. Ryan Kussmaul and Ramon E. Ramirez each pitched a scoreless inning.
Opposition star: Miguel Andujar was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk.
The game: Francisco hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Gigantes a 3-0 lead. They scored three in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Siri had a two-run double in the inning.
WP: Ellis (1-0). LP: Carlos Hernandez (0-2). S: None.
TOROS 6, GIGANTES 5 AT TOROS (GAME 2--8 INNINGS)
Batting stars: Moises Sierra was 2-for-4. Jose Siri was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.
Pitching star: Domingo Tapia struck out two in a perfect inning.
Opposition stars: Miguel Andujar was 3-for-4 with a double. Jorge Mateo was 2-for-3. Peter O'Brien was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.
The game: The Gigantes led 4-2 after six. An error with two out in the seventh brought home two runs and tied the score. O'Brien hit a walkoff two-run homer in the eighth.
WP: Keury Mella (1-0). LP: Juan Minaya (0-1). S: None.
Stats: Alfredo Marte was 0-for-2 and is batting .438. Ronald Guzman was 0-for-4 and is batting .326. Richelson Pena gave up two runs in 4.2 innings and has an ERA of 2.84. Edgar Santana retired the only man he faced and has an ERA of 3.00. Tapia has an ERA of zero. Wily Peralta gave up two runs in an inning but both were unearned, so he still has an ERA of zero.
Record: The Gigantes are 11-12, in fifth place in the Domincan League, 2.5 games behind Este. They are 2.5 games behind fourth-place Escogido. The games behind numbers look odd because weather has cause a number of postponements, so that the teams have played a very dissimilar number of games.
Next game: The Gigantes host the Toros this afternoon.
LARA, GAME 20
LARA 7, ZULIA 3 IN LARA
Batting stars: Yordanys Linares was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Osman Marval was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Gorkys Hernandez was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double.
Pitching stars: Wilking Rodriguez retired all five men he faced, striking out two. Jesus Sanchez pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. Yapson Gomez and Ricardo Gomez each pitched a scoreless inning.
Opposition stars: Ex-Twin Alex Romero was 2-for-4 with a double. Humberto Arteaga was 2-for-4. Daniel Brito was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk. Carlos Betancourt pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out one.
The game: Zulia led 3-2 through six, but Lara scored five in the seventh to take control of the game. The last two runs scored on an error.
WP: Rodriguez (1-1). LP: Arcenio Leon (0-1). S: None.
Stats: Ildemaro Vargas was 1-for-4 and is batting .382. Josmar Cordero was 0-for-3 and is batting .373. Yonathan Mendoza was 1-for-4 and is batting .313. Linares is batting .308. Hernandez is batting .306. Jecksson Flores was 0-for-4 and is batting .302. Yapson Gomez has an ERA of zero. Ricardo Gomez has an ERA of 1.29.
Record: Lara is 12-8, tied with Magallanes for first place in the Venezuelan League.
Next game: Lara plays a doubleheader in Margarita today.
MAYAGUEZ
Their game at Manati was postponed. Mayaguez remains 7-2, in second place in the Puerto Rican League, 1.5 games behind Caguas. They will play a doubleheader against Manati today.
MELBOURNE, GAME 2
MELBOURNE 4, SYDNEY 2 IN SYDNEY
Batting stars: Blake Gailen was 3-for-5 with two doubles. Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 2-for-4 with a double. Darryl George was 2-for-5. Damek Tomscha was 1-for-4 with a home run.
Pitching stars: Drew Anderson struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Cameron Gibbens struck out all four men he faced. Mitch Ellis pitched a scoreless inning despite giving up two hits and two walks. He struck out one.
Opposition star: Matthew Rae struck out four in four innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks.
The game: Gailen singled home a run in the seventh to tie it at two. Tomscha homered leading off the eighth to give Melbourne the lead. Young doubled and scored later in the inning to provide an insurance run.
WP: Gibbens (1-0). LP: Zac Shepherd (0-1). S: Anderson (1).
Stats: Gailen is batting .625. Young is batting .571. Jarryd Dale was 1-for-3 and is batting .333. George is batting .300. Ellis, Gibbens, and Anderson each has an ERA of zero.
Record: Melbourne is 1-1, tied for second place with Sydney in the Australian League, a half game behind Perth.
Next game: Melbourne is again at Sydney for an afternoon game.