De la Cruz and Sánchez’s dominant pitching propel Toros to victory

December 1, 20258:23 am

LA ROMANA. – A powerful hit by Bryan de la Cruz and a solid pitching performance by Aaron Sánchez guided the Toros del Este to a 10-3 victory over the Águilas Cibaeñas, this Sunday, at the Francisco Micheli Stadium, in the continuation of the 2025-26 tournament of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), dedicated to Juan Marichal for the Banreservas Cup.

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With the victory, the Bulls remain firm in second place in the table, although still at a distance from some Eagles that have given little space at the top of the championship.

De la Cruz produces early and with force

The Romanenses wasted no time attacking the Aguilucho opener Devin Smeltzer (0-1), who took the loss after allowing six hits, six runs —five earned— in just two innings. In the first episode, Allan Castro opened the scoring with a double, and an error in José Rodríguez’s shot allowed Eloy Jiménez to score for 2-0.

In the second inning, the big hit came: a three-run home run by Bryan de la Cruz, his fourth RBI of the game, extending the lead to 5-0 and punishing Smeltzer again.

Eagles react, but the Bulls respond immediately

The Eagles scored their only three runs in the third inning, with a double by Steward Berroa and RBI singles by Alberto Rodríguez and Fernando Peguero, closing the score to 5-3. But the bullfighting response was immediate. In the bottom of the same inning, against reliever Lisalverto Bonilla, the Toros regained control:

Rafael Lantigua drove in one with a single,
Jared Oliva drove in another with a sacrifice fly,
De la Cruz added his fourth RBI with a hit to left field.

With this, the scoreboard was set to 8-3 in favor of the home team.

Eloy Jiménez secures the score

In the fifth inning, the Bulls completed their offensive production against Pedro Payano, when Eloy Jiménez hit a two-run single that sealed the final score 10-3.

Sánchez dominates from the mound

Veteran right-hander Aaron Sánchez took the victory with a performance of 7.0 innings, in which he allowed seven hits, three runs and no walks, controlling one of the most dangerous offenses in the tournament.