MELBOURNE

MELBOURNE 9, SYDNEY 2 AT SYDNEY

Blake Gailen hit a three-run homer in the first and Melbourne led all the way.  Sydney cut it to 3-2 after two, but Melbourne scored one in the fourth, two in the fifth, and three in the sixth.  Damek Tomscha was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Colin Willis was 3-for-6 with a triple.  Gailen was 1-for-2 with two walks and the home run was his eighth.  Tyler Beardsley pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out four.

Stats:  Ex-Twin Delmon Young was 1-for-3 and is batting .402.  Willis is batting .333.  Darryl George was 1-for-4 and is batting .325.  Tomscha is batting .313.  Josh Tols pitched a scoreless inning and has an ERA of 1.98.

Record:  Melbourne is 18-8, in first place in the Australian League, three games ahead of Perth.

Next game:  Melbourne is at Sydney this afternoon.

CARIBBEAN SERIES

PUERTO RICO 9, PANAMA 8

Panama scored five in the first, but after three it was 5-5.  Puerto Rico led 9-6 after five and it stayed there until the ninth, when Panama scored two.  They had the bases loaded with one out but could not push any more runs across.  For Puerto Rico, Jarren Duran was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, and three runs.  Henry Ramos was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Jonathan Morales was 2-for-3.  Jason Garcia started put pitched just two-thirds of an inning, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks.  For Panama, David Rodriguez was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Allen Cordoba was 2-for-4.  Hector Gomez was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jesus Lopez was 2-for-5.  Harold Arauz lasted just two innings, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3, COLOMBIA 2

Rangel Ravelo had a walkoff single in the ninth to win it for the Dominican.  Ramon Torres was 2-for-3.  Melky Cabrera was 2-for-5 with a double.  Ravelo was 2-for-5.  Yunesky Maya pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out four.  For Colombia, Evan Mendoza was 2-for-4.  Harold Ramirez was 2-for-4.  Edison Frias pitched five shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out four.

MEXICO 4, VENEZUELA 3 (10 INNINGS)

Venezuela led 3-0 through seven.  Mexico scored three in the eighth to tie it and Juan Carlos Gamboa delivered an RBI single in the tenth to win it.  Sebastian Elizalde was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jose Guadalupe Chavez was 2-for-5.  Efren Navarro was 2-for-5.  Edgar Arredondo pitched 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.  For Venezuela, D. Vazquez was 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and two runs.  Ali Castillo was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Ex-Twin Logan Darnell pitched seven shutout innings, giving up seven hits and no walks and striking out six.

STANDINGS

Dominican Republic, 5-0
Puerto Rico, 4-1
Mexico, 3-2
Panama, 2-3
Venezuela, 1-4
Colombia, 0-5

NEXT GAMES

We move to the semi-finals.

Panama v. Dominican Republic
Mexico v Puerto Rico