Winter Wonderland: Games of December 21

MAZATLAN, GAME 50

OBREGON 9, MAZATLAN 8 IN OBREGON

Batting stars:  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-4 with a double.  Hector Mora was 2-for-4 with a double.  Carlos Munoz was 2-for-4.  Maxwell Leon was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching stars:  Irwin Delgado struck out three in two innings, giving up an unearned run on no hits and two walks.  Ivan Zavala pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Sepulveda was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Victor Mendoza was 2-for-4.  Sebastian Valle was 2-for-5 with a double.  Hector Velazquez pitched three shutout innings, giving up no hits and one walk and striking out two.

The game:  Obregon scored six in the third to take a 6-0 lead, but Mazatlan came back with eight in the fourth to go up 8-6.  That was as good as it got, though.  Obregon got one in the fifth, tied it on Sepulveda's RBI double in the eighth, and won it in the ninth on Jonathan Aranda's run-scoring double.

WP:  Mario Meza (3-2).  LP:  Gabino Avalos (1-1).  S:  None.

Stats:  Isaac Paredes was 1-for-3 and is batting .388.  Jose Augusto Figueroa was 1-for-4 and is batting .304.  Marco Antonio Rivas did not allow a run in two-thirds of an inning and has an ERA of 1.44.  Roberto Espinosa allowed a run in an inning and has an ERA of 1.86.  Avalos allowed a run without retiring anyone and has an ERA of 1.80.

Record:  Mazatlan is 25-25, in sixth place in the Mexican League, eight games behind Obregon.  They are a half game behind fifth-place Culiacan.

Next game:  Mazatlan is again at Obregon today.

GIGANTES, GAME 27

GIGANTES 6, TOROS 2 AT GIGANTES

Batting stars:  Kelvin Gutierrez was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Ronald Guzman was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Moises Sierra was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third), a double, and four RBIs.  Oneil Cruz was 2-for-4.  Jose Siri was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Scott Harkin struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.  Marcos Molina struck out five in three innings, giving up a run on no hits and two walks.  Yerry De Los Santos and Wily Peralta each pitched a scoreless inning.

Opposition star:  Peter O'Brien was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.

The game:  The Gigantes scored two in the second and three in the fifth to take a 5-0 lead.  Sierra hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

Stats:  Guzman is batting .347.  Gutierrez is batting .326.  Alfredo Marte was 0-for-4 and is batting .300.  Molina has an ERA of 2.61.  De Los Santos and Peralta each has an ERA of zero.

Record:  The Gigantes are 14-13, tied for third place in the Dominican League with Estrellas.  They are a game and a half behind the Toros and Aguilas, which are tied for first.

Next game:  The Gigantes host Estrellas for a doubleheader today.

LARA

Lara did not play yesterday.  They remain 14-9, in first place in the Dominican League West, a half game ahead of Margarita.  Their next game is at Caribes tonight.

MAYAGUEZ

Mayaguez did not play yesterday.  They remain 9-3, in second place in the Puerto Rican League, two games behind Caguas.  Their next game is at RA12 tonight.

MELBOURNE

Melbourne did not play yesterday.  They remain 1-1, tied for second place in the Australian League with Sydney, a half game behind Perth.  Their next game is at Canberra Friday afternoon.