Venezuelan League: Games of December 19

An excellent outing for Deolis Guerra.  Anzoategui wins with a walkoff.

MAGALLANES 7, ARAGUA 3 IN ARAGUA

Twins:  Deolis Guerra (Magallanes) retired all six batters he faced, four by strikeout.  Oswaldo Arcia (Aragua) was 0-for-4.  Edgar Ibarra (Aragua) pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on three hits and one walk.

Magallanes:  Endy Chavez (Seattle) was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in two.  Carlos Maldonado was 2-for-3 with a walk and a double.  Alberto Callaspo (Oakland) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Aragua:  Wilson Ramos (Washington) was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.

The game:  An RBI ground out and a run-scoring wild pitch put Magallanes ahead 2-0 in the first.  Aragua came back with single runs in the first, second, and third to take a 3-2 lead, scoring runs on a ground out, a double play, and an error.  They held the lead until the seventh, when Chavez hit a two-run double to put Magallanes in front and a sacrifice fly made it 5-3.  Magallanes added two more in the eighth.  The last fifteen Aragua batters were retired.

ZULIA 6, LARA 5 IN ZULIA

Twins:  Miguel Sulbaran (Zulia) retired the only man he faced.

Lara:  Gabriel Noriega (Seattle) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double.  Andrew Lambo (Pittsburgh) was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Luis Valbuena (Cubs) was 1-for-2 with two walks and scored twice.

Zulia:  J. C. Linares was 3-for-4 with a walk and a home run, driving in two.  Sandy Leon (Washington) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a double, driving in one.  Freddy Galvis (Philadelphia) was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  In the first and in the fifth, Lara scored two and Zulia scored one, leaving Lara ahead 4-2.  Hernan Perez hit a two-run double as part of a three run sixth that put Zulia up 5-4.  A sacrifice fly tied it at five in the eighth.  In the ninth Zulia got three singles and the third one, by Linares, brought home the game-winning run.

ANZOATEGUI 4, LA GUAIRA 2 IN ANZOATEGUI (11 INNINGS)

Twins:  Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 0-for-5.

La Guaira:  Rene Reyes (Dodgers) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a double.  Jamie Romak was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Mario Hollands (Philadelphia) struck out eight in six innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk.

Anzoategui:  Oscar Salazar was 2-for-5 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth) and three RBIs.  Gustavo Molina was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double, scoring once.  Toru Murata (Cleveland) struck out seven in five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk.

The game:  Salazar's homer in the second put Anzoategui up 1-0.  La Guaira took a 2-1 lead in the first, scoring on a ground out and a Salvador Perez RBI single.  Jackson Melian singled in a run to tie it up in the seventh.  Salazar hit a two-run walkoff homer with none out in the eleventh to win it.

CARACAS 9, MARGARITA 8 IN CARACAS

Margarita:  David Peralta (Arizona) was 3-for-5 with a double and a two-run homer, scoring three times.  Junior Sosa (Pittsburgh) was 4-for-5 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Max Ramirez (Cincinnati) was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Caracas:  Bobby Abreu was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Aharon Eggleston was 3-for-4 with three runs.  Armando Galarraga pitched five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks.

The game:  Caracas got three in the first to take the lead.  They led 4-3 going to the bottom of the seventh, when they scored four to apparently take control of the game.  Abreu and Alex Gonzalez each had a two-run single in the inning.  In the eighth, however, Margarita got four of their own, including Peralta's two-run homer.  A sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth put Caracas up 9-7, but Margarita scored again in the ninth and had the tying run thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a single.  They still had men on second and third with two down but could not score.