Tag Archives: Venezuelan Winter League

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Zulia 5, Aragua 3 in Zulia.  The Aguilas built a 5-0 lead after six innings.  Darin Mastroianni singled and doubled for Zulia, scoring twice.  Dwayne Pollock gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in six innings to get the win.  Edgardo Alfonzo had two hits to lead the Tigres.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 and drove in a run.  Cesar Ciurcina pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up just one hit.  Darin Downs (Florida) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk in 4.2 innings.

In Venezuelan action not involving Twins players, Caracas overwhelmed La Guaira 14-4, Lara defeated Magallanes 5-3, and Anzoategui edged Margarita 1-0.

In other Caribbean action involving Twins players, Estarlin de los Santos made his debut for Cibao in the Dominican League.  He was used as a pinch-hitter and laid down a successful sacrifice bunt as Cibao lost to Escogido 3-2.  Gonzalo Sanudo made his debut for Culiacan in the Mexican League.  He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, giving up only a walk, as Culiacan lost to Mazatlan 10-4.

In today's Venezuelan League action, Aragua is at Zulia, Lara visits Magallanes, Caracas travels to La Guaira, and Caribes is at Margarita.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Aragua 4, La Guaira 0 in La Guaira.  The Tigres scored single runs in four innings.  Alex Romero (Florida) led the offense with a triple and a home run.  Joe Benson was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once.  Deunte Heath (White Sox) worked five shutout innings, giving up three hits and four walks, to get the win.  Victor Moreno got the save with 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up two hits and a walk.

No other Twins played yesterday.  Anzoategui shutout Lara 2-0, Caracas blanked Magallanes 5-0, and Zulia defeated Margarita 4-1.

The VWL takes Monday off.  In Tuesday's action, Aragua is at Zulia, La Guaira is at Caracas, Magallanes travels to Lara, and Anzoategui is at Margarita.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

Aragua 10, La Guaira 8 in Aragua.  The Tigres lost a 5-1 lead but came back to win.  Luis Hernandez led the way with two singles and a double.  Luis Maza singled and tripled, Hector Gimenez singled and doubled, and Lastings Milledge had two hits.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Rich Rundles (St. Louis) gave up a hit but struck out three in a scoreless inning to get the win.  Francisco Butto pitched a perfect ninth to get the save.

Magallanes 6, Caracas 5 in Caracas (12 innings).  The Navagantes scored in the twelfth to win a see-saw game which featured eleven errors.  Bryan LaHair (Cubs) led the way with two doubles and a single, driving in three.  Kole Calhoun (Angels) had two singles and a double.  Ezequiel Carrera (Cleveland) singled and doubled, and Jose Altuve (Houston) and Luis Landaeta each had two hits.  Deolis Guerra did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning for Magallanes despite allowing a hit and two walks.  Clevelan Santeliz retired all four batters he faced, two by strikeout, to get the win.  Pedro Guerra struck out one in a perfect twelfth to get the save.

In games in which no Twins played, Caribes defeated Lara 5-0 and Margarita trounced Zulia 13-2.  Today, Aragua is at La Guaira, Lara at Anzoategui, Caracas at Magallanes, and Zulia at Margarita.

Keeping Track

Venezuelan View

TUESDAY

Caracas 7, Aragua 2.  Joe Benson was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Oswaldo Arcia pinch-hit and struck out.

Lara 7, La Guaira 2.  Rene Tosoni was 0-for-3. 

WEDNESDAY

Magallanes 8, Aragua 1.  Joe Benson was 0-for-5.  Josmil Pinto was used as a substitute but did not bat.  Oswaldo Arcia pinch-hit and was 0-for-1.

LaGuaira 5, Lara 3.  Rene Tosoni was 0-for-4. 

THURSDAY

Neither Aragua nor Lara played.  No Twins players appeared in any of the other games.

FRIDAY

Aragua 3, Magallanes 1.  Joe Benson was 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk, scoring once.

Anzoategui 9, Lara 2.  Jairo Perez was 1-for-3.  Andrew Baldwin got the win for Anzoategui, going seven innings and giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk.

Keeping Track

Weekly Winterball Whiparound

Who's hot:  Andrew Baldwin is 1-0, 2.31, 0.69 WHIP in 11.2 innings (2 starts).  Cesar Ciurcina is 0-0, 0.00, 0.30 WHIP in 3.1 innings (2 appearances).  Deolis Guerra is 1-0, 3.86, 1.29 WHIP in 4.2 innings (3 appearances).  Pedro Guerra is 0-0, 3.00, 0.83 WHIP in 8 innings (2 appearances, 1 start). 

Who's in the middle:  Joe Benson is hitting .240/.424/.360 in 25 at-bats.  Jairo Perez is hitting .250/.400/.300 in 20 at-bats.

Who's cold:  Rene Tosoni is hitting .235/.333/.235 in 34 at-bats.

Who's barely played:  Josmil Pinton is hitting .000/1.000/.000 in 0 at-bats (walked in only plate appearance).  Manuel Soliman is 0-0, 0.00, 2.00 WHIP in 1 inning (1 appearance).  Junior Subero is 0-0, 9.00, 3.00 in 1 inning (1 appearance).

Magallanes is in first place in the VWL.  La Guaira is second a half game out; Caracas is third, two back; Aragua is fourth, 2.5 games behind; Anzoategui is fifth, four games out; Lara is sixth, 4.5 games back; Zulia is seventh, five games behind; and Margarita is eighth, 5.5 games out of first.

The Tigres host Caracas tonight.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

Magallanes scored two in the ninth to defeat Aragua 2-1 in Aragua.

Each team had only three hits.  Adonis Garcia hit a home run for the Navegantes.  Starter Jose Sanchez worked five innings, giving up a run on three hits and a walk.  Robert Coello (Cubs) struck out four in two perfect innings of relief.  Lino Urdaneta pitched a perfect eighth to get the win.  Jean Machi (San Francisco) walked one in a scoreless ninth for the save.

Joe Benson was 0-for-2 with 2 walks for the Tigres.  Sergio Perez (Houston) struck out nine in five shutout innings, giving up no hits but walking three.  The no-hitter lasted through four pitchers and eight innings.  In the ninth, however, Francisco Butto allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in one-third of an inning to take the loss.

Around the league, Jairo Perez was 0-for-2 as a substitute as Lara lost to Caracas 10-5.  Andrew Baldwin started and worked six innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks as Anzoategui lost to Zulia 8-6.

The Tigres are off today.  They will host Caracas tomorrow night.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

3 Comments

Aragua scored in five of the nine innings to defeat Caracas 6-1 in Caracas.

Alex Romero (Florida) and Joe Benson each had two doubles to lead the Tigres.  Benson was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Luis Hernandez singled and doubled, and Vinny Rottino had two hits.  Yohan Pino (Toronto) got the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one hit.

No player for the Leones had more than one hit.  The loss went to Victor Larez (Detroit), who surrendered four runs on six hits and a walk in 3.1 innings.

Around the league, Rene Tosoni was 1-for-5 and Jairo Perez was 0-for-4 with a walk as Lara fell to Magallanes 5-4 in 11 innings.  Pedro Guerra struck out two in two perfect innings of relief for Magallanes, and Deolis Guerra worked a perfect eleventh to get the win.  Anzoategui edged Zulia 4-3, and La Guaira beat Margarita 3-1.

Aragua hosts Magallanes this evening.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

La Guaira broke a 4-4 tie with three in the fourth, then broke the game open with five in the fifth on the way to a 15-6 victory over Aragua in La Guaira.

Terry Tiffee led the way for the Tiburones, pounding out four hits including a double.  Ehire Adrianza (San Francisco) had three hits including a double.  Luis Rodriguez (Seattle) and Cesar Suarez each singled and doubled, with Rodriguez driving in four.  Rafael Suarez (Colorado) got the win with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one hit.

Aragua was led by Alex Nunez, who had two singles and a double.  Joe Benson was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.  Raul Chavez (Mets) also had two hits.  Josmil Pinto was used as a substitute and walked in his only at-bat.  The loss went to Scott Drucker, who surrendered seven runs (six earned) on five hits and five walks in 3.1 innings.

Around the league, Rene Tosoni was 0-for-3 with a walk as Lara fell to Magallanes 5-0.  Margarita defeated Caracas 1-0, and Anzoategui beat Zulia 3-0.

In one we missed, over in the Dominican Winter League Manuel Soliman made his debut Wednesday, walking two but pitching a scoreless inning as Escogido defeated Aguilas 13-3.

Aragua travels to Caracas this evening.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

Aragua scored two in the tenth to take a 5-4 victory over La Guaira in Aragua.

No Tigres player had more than one hit.  The game-winning rally came on a walk, a single, and an error on the La Guaira right fielder, all with two out in the tenth.  Darin Downs (Florida) pitched five shutout innings, giving up just one hit and one walk.  Cesar Ciurcina worked a perfect eighth.  Carlos Vasquez retired the only man he faced to get the win.

The Tiburones out-hit Aragua 10-6.  Ehire Adrianza (San Francisco) led the way by going 3-for-3.  Hector Sanchez (San Francisco) and Scott Van Slyke (Dodgers) each singled and doubled.  Barry Enright (Arizona) threw six innings of one-hit ball.  The loss went to Gregory Infante (White Sox), who was charged with the two unearned runs in the tenth.

Around the league, Rene Tosoni was 2-for-5 and Jairo Perez was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs as Lara defeated Anzoategui 8-7 in ten innings.  In a game that did not involve any Twins players, Caracas beat Margarita 3-1.

Aragua plays La Guaira again tonight, this time in La Guaira.

Keeping Track

Tigres Tales

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Margarita scored four in the fifth, turning a 3-2 Aragua lead into a 6-3 Bravos victory in Margarita.

Alberto Gonzalez (San Diego) singled and homered to lead the Bravos.  Max Ramirez (San Francisco) singled and doubled, and Collin Cowgill (Arizona) had two hits.  Marcel Prado worked three innings of shutout relief, allowing only two walks, to get the win.  Ronald Belisario struck out two in a perfect ninth to get the save.

The Tigres were led by Edgardo Alfonzo, who had two hits.  Yorman Bazardo surrendered four runs on six hits in just one inning to take the loss.

Around the league, Jairo Perez was 1-for-3 with a run scored and Rene Tosoni was 0-for-4 with a run scored as Lara defeated Zulia 7-3.  In games in which no Twins appeared, Magallanes defeated La Guaira 13-4 and Caracas beat Anzoategui 12-3.

Aragua hosts La Guaira tonight.