Santo Domingo. – The Leones del Escogido and the Toros del Este remain as leaders of the round-robin of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, after achieving new victories in the day that marked the halfway point of this semifinal phase.
The long-haired team improved their record to 7-2 after defeating the Gigantes del Cibao 5-0, who continue without knowing victory (0-9) and are dangerously close to elimination, suffering their ninth consecutive defeat.
El Escogido manufactured three runs in the third inning against starting pitcher Aidan Anderson and completed the scoring with a two-run home run by Pedro Severino against Antonio Santos.
The victory went to Travis Lakins Sr. (2-0), who pitched 5.2 innings of just two hits, while the reds are now preparing to travel to Santiago, where they will face the Águilas Cibaeñas at the Cibao Stadium.
Bulls beat up the Eagles
In the other game of the night, the Toros del Este unleashed a demolishing offensive to crush the Águilas Cibaeñas 17-1, inflicting their most lopsided defeat of the entire season.
Rafael Lantigua led the attack with three RBIs, while four other players drove in two runs each. With this victory, the Romanenses tied with the Escogido in first place, both with a 7-2 record, while the Eagles fell to 4-5, three games behind the lead.
Justin Courtney (1-1) was credited with the victory and Jorge Tavárez (0-2) took the loss. Now, the Toros return home to receive the Gigantes del Cibao.
Standings (as of today)
Equipo
G
P
PCT
Dif.
Escogido
7
2
.778
–
Toros
7
2
.778
–
Águilas
4
5
.444
3.0
Gigantes
0
9
.000
7.0
With the round entering its second half, the Escogido and the Toros look firm in the fight for tickets to the Final Series, while the Gigantes face an uphill battle almost impossible to overcome.
