ZAPOPAN, Jalisco.– A decisive hit by Rubén Castro on the left side, with two outs in the ninth inning, sealed a spectacular comeback by the Cangrejeros de Santurce, who defeated 5-4 to México Verde in the opening game of the 68th Caribbean Series, held at the Estadio Panamericano of the Charros de Jalisco.
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Puerto Rico arrived at the end of the ninth inning down by one run, but managed to react against the Mexican relief.
Isán Díaz started the threat after being hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Jack López and, after the walk to the pinch hitter
Jeremy Arocho, the manager
Lorenzo Bundy turned to the reliever
Miguel Vázquez.
Joneshwy Fargas entered as a pinch runner and a ground ball by
Andrew Velázquez put the runners in scoring position before the hit that defined the game.
The victory went to reliever
Gabriel Rodríguez, who pitched a perfect inning, while
Anthony Gose took the loss. On offense,
Yohandy Morales hit a home run for the Puerto Ricans.
Green Mexico took the lead from the first episode against the starting pitcher Colin Wiles. Estevan Florial started with a single, Allen Córdoba negotiated a walk and a double by Rodolfo Amador drove in the first run. Subsequently, Córdoba scored after a sacrifice fly by Joey Meneses.
In the second chapter, the Mexicans extended their lead with singles by Jason Atondo and Alí Solís, as well as a double by Luis Verdugo, actions that marked Wiles’ early exit from the mound.
The Cangrejeros reacted in the fourth inning with a home run by
Yohandy Morales, who found
Gabriel Cancel on base, bringing Puerto Rico closer on the scoreboard. Later, in the seventh episode,
Christian Vázquez scored after a productive ground ball by
Rubén Castro, leaving the game one run apart.
Castro led the Puerto Rican offense by batting
5-2, with
two RBIs, while Morales contributed
a home run and two RBIs.
Nelson Velázquez also stood out by going
4-2. For Mexico,
Rodolfo Amador was the most outstanding by batting
4-3, with a double and an RBI.
For Puerto Rico, in addition to Wiles, pitched
Jordan Morales,
Brady Tedesco,
Derek West,
Roel Ramírez and
Gabriel Rodríguez. Meanwhile, for Mexico,
David Reyes,
David Gutiérrez,
Sasagi Sánchez,
Rafael Córdova,
Lupe Chávez,
Anthony Gose and
Miguel Vázquez worked.
In their next commitment,
Puerto Rico will face this Monday, on the first day,
Dominican Republic, while
Green Mexico will return to the field on Tuesday after their free date to face
Panama.
Later, after the official opening ceremony —in which
Sergio Ramos will make the honorary pitch—, the defending champion
Leones del Escogido from the Dominican Republic will face
México Rojo, represented by the
Charros de Jalisco.
