Games of December 15

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

MAGALLANES 6, CARACAS 2 IN CARACAS

Josmil Pinto delivered a two-out two-run single in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie.

LARA 6, LA GUAIRA 2 IN LARA

Already leading 2-0, Lara scored three in the sixth to put the game out of reach.  Raul Rivero struck out six in five shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk for Lara.  Jesus Montero hit his sixth home run for Lara.

ARAGUA 5, ZULIA 1 IN ZULIA

Aragua scored three in the third to take a 3-0 lead.  Austin Bibens-Dirkx pitched 5.2 innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts for Aragua.  Ramon Flores was 4-for-4 with a double for Aragua, scoring once and driving in one.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

GIGANTES 3, ESCOGIDO 1 AT GIGANTES (GAME 1)

Two walks, a single, a hit batsman, and another walk produced two seventh-inning runs that broke a 1-1 tie.  Terry Doyle pitched five innings for the Gigantes, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

ESCOGIDO 12, GIGANTES 5 AT GIGANTES (GAME 2)

Escogido scored five in the eighth to break a 5-5 tie.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-5 with a home run and a walk, driving in four.  The Gigantes used thirteen pitchers, with none going more than two innings and only three going as many as one.

ORIENTE 4, LICEY 3 IN ORIENTE

RBI singles by Michael Martinez and Audry Perez gave Oriente a victory in the bottom of the ninth.  Jason Krizan was 3-for-4 for Oriente.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

MAYAGUEZ 3, CAROLINA 2 IN MAYAGUEZ

Yadiel Rivera's RBI single in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run for Mayaguez.  Benji Gonzalez was 1-for-2 with a walk for Mayaguez.  Dereck Rodriguez pitched a perfect inning for Mayaguez, lowering his ERA to 0.64.

CAGUAS 3, SANTURCE 1 IN CAGUAS

Three singles and two walks, in that order, produced two runs for Caguas in the second and they led the rest of the way.  Jose De La Torre struck out six in six innings for Caguas, giving up one run on four hits and a walk.  Rey Navarro was 3-for-4 with a double and a run for Caguas.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

JALISCO 7, OBREGON 3 IN JALISCO

Jalisco scored all seven of their runs in the sixth inning.  Joe Gardner pitched five innings for Jalisco, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

NAVOJOA 3, MEXICALI 2 IN NAVOJOA

Jesus Castillo hit a two-run homer (his fifth) in the first for Navojoa and they led the rest of the way.  Hector Velazquez pitched seven innings for Navojoa, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Tony Thomas was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a double, and a walk for Navojoa.

CULIACAN 1, LOS MOCHIS 0 IN CULIACAN

A pair of two-out singles and a wild pitch produced the game's only run in the second inning.  Salvador Valdez pitched six shutout innings, giving up four hits and a walk with one strikeout.

HERMOSILLO 8, MAZALTAN 5 IN HERMOSILLO

Hermosillo scored three times in the sixth, turning a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 lead.  Brian Goodwin and Efren Navarro each hit a two-run homer for Hermosillo.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*

BRISBANE 10, ADELAIDE 6 IN ADELAIDE

Donald Lutz hit a three-run homer in a four-run third that put Brisbane up 6-1.  Adelaide cut it to 7-5, but Mitch Nilsson hit a two-run homer in the seventh to secure the victory for Brisbane.  Aaron Whitefield was 0-for-5 for Brisbane.  Logan Wade was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs and is batting .348 for Brisbane.

MELBOURNE 5, SYDNEY 4 IN MELBOURNE

Jared Cruz' two-run triple tied the game 4-4 in the eighth and a sacrifice fly in the ninth won it for Melbourne.  Cruz was 3-for-4 in the game.

*Games played December 16.  It's timey-wimey.

Games of December 14

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

MARGARITA 7, ANZOATEGUI 6 IN MARGARITA

Anzoategui led 6-0 half-way through, but Margarita competed the comeback with a two-run eighth.  Willie Argo was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a double for Margarita, driving in two.  Sean Halton hit a two-run homer, his third, for Margarita.

MAGALLANES 4, LA GUAIRA 1 IN LA GUAIRA

Mario Lisson hit a two-run homer (his seventh) to give Magallanes a 3-0 lead and put them in control of the game.  Stolmy Pimentel pitched six innings for Magallanes, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ZULIA 3, ARAGUA 2 IN ZULIA

It was 2-0 going to the bottom of the ninth, but Trayvon Robinson's two-run single capped a three-run comeback victory for Zulia.  Logan Duran pitched seven innings for Zulia, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 3 ESCOGIDO 2 AT AGUILAS

Jonathan Villar's sacrifice fly in the ninth scored Rafael Ynoa with the winning run.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI for Escogido.

LICEY 1, ORIENTE 0 IN LICEY

Mel Rojas, Jr. homered (his second) leading off the fourth for the game's only run.  Yohan Flande pitched four shutout innings for Licey, giving up three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

ESTE 7, GIGANTES 4 IN ESTE

Este led 6-0 after three and held on to win.  Raul Valdes pitched six shutout innings for Este, giving up four hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

SANTURCE 3, CAGUAS 2 IN SANTURCE

Hector Olivera's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth led Santurce to victory.  Adalberto Flores struck out eight in six innings for Santruce, giving up one run on one hit and no walks.

MAYAGUEZ 8, AGUADILLA 3 IN AGUADILLA

Already leading 3-2, Mayaguez scored five in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-3 with a walk and two runs for Mayaguez.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

JALISCO 10, OBREGON 2 IN JALISCO

Jesus Valdez hit a three-run homer (his fifth) in a six-run first that put Jalisco in control early.  Octavio Acosta struck out five in five shutout innings for Jalisco, giving up two hits and no walks.  Amadeo Zazueta was 4-for-5 with a home run (his second) and a triple, scoring twice and driving four.  Japhet Amador was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs for Jalisco.  Eduardo Arredondo was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for Jalisco.

MEXICALI 4, NAVOJOA 1 IN NAVOJOA

With Mexicali leading 2-1, C. J. Retherford hit a two-run homer (his ninth) in the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Kameron Loe struck out six in 5.2 innings for Mexicali, giving up one run on eight hits and a walk.

LOS MOCHIS 3, CULIACAN 0 IN CULIACAN

Los Mochis scored two in the first and led all the way.  Yudai Mori pitched six shutout innings for Los Mochis, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out four.

MAZATLAN 4, HERMOSILLO 3 IN HERMOSILLO

Heber Gomez' RBI single in the ninth brought home the go-ahead run for Mazatlan.  Jesus Sanchez pitched 5.2 innings for Mazatlan, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.  Brian Hernandez was 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI for Mazatlan.  Jose Aguilar was 3-for-4 with a walk for Mazatlan, scoring three times and driving in one.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*

CANBERRA 5, PERTH 2 IN CANBERRA

D. J. Davis hit a three-run homer in the seventh, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead.  Louis Cohen struck out five in 5.1 innings for Canberra, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

*Game played December 15.  It's timey-wimey.

Games of December 13

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

ANZOATEGUI 8, MARGARITA 5 IN MARGARITA

Luis Jimenez hit a two-run homer in a four-run sixth that gave Anzoategui a 5-3 lead.  They scored three more in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  The teams combined to use eighteen pitchers (eleven by Anzoategui) with eleven of them (eight by Anzoategui) going less than an inning and six (five by Anzoategui) facing only one batter.  Jimenez was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth) and three RBIs.

LA GUAIRA 6, CARACAS 0 IN CARACAS

Hector Sanchez hit a two-run homer in the fourth to open the scoring and the La Guaira pitchers took it from there.  Kelvin De La Cruz struck out seven in 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up six hits and no walks for La Guaira.  Yonathan Diaz was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk for La Guaira.

ZULIA 5, ARAGUA 1 IN ZULIA

Reynaldo Rodriguez hit a two-run double in a three-run first that gave Zulia all the runs they needed.  Carlos Hernandez struck out eight in six innings for Zulia, giving up one run on four hits and no walks.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 6, ESCOGIDO 3 IN ESCOGIDO

Hector Luna hit a two-run single in the third to open the scoring and the Aguilas led the rest of the way.  Danny Santana was 0-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Aguilas.  Jorge Polanco was 2-for-4 with a run for Escogido.

LICEY 6, ORIENTE 2 IN ORIENTE

With Licey leading 3-2, Jorge Bonafacio hit a three-run homer in the eighth to put the game out of reach.  Confesor Lara pitched two-thirds of an inning for Oriente, giving up a run on a hit and a walk.

GIGANTES 5, ESTE 3 AT GIGANTES

In a scoreless tie, the first two Gigantes went out in the fifth inning.  Then came two walks, two singles, and two doubles (in that order), producing all five of the Gigantes runs, which was all they needed.  Sam Gaviglio pitched four shutout innings for the Gigantes, giving up a hit and three walks with one strikeout.  Leury Garcia was 3-for-4 with two triples for the Gigantes, scoring once and driving in one.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

CAGUAS 1, CAROLINA 0 IN CAROLINA

The game's lone run came in the fourth on a single, a walk, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly.  J. J. Fernandez was 0-for-2 for Carolina.

MAYAGUEZ 8, AGUADILLA 6 IN MAYAGUEZ

Mayaguez led 4-0, fell behind  6-4, and scored four in the bottom of the sixth to go in the lead to stay.  Kennys Vargas was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for Mayaguez.  Dereck Rodriguez struck out two in a scoreless inning for Mayaguez, giving up one hit while lowering his ERA to 0.69.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

OBREGON 9, JALISCO 4 IN JALISCO (12 INNINGS)

It was 4-4 through seven and stayed that way until the twelfth, when a two-run homer by Max Ramirez and a three-run shot by Jose Heberto Felix brought victory to Obregon.  Arturo Lopez pitched six innings for Obregon, giving up two runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Ramirez was 4-for-6 with two doubles in addition to the home run, scoring twice and driving in three.

MEXICALI 6, NAVOJOA 5 IN NAVOJOA

Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grand slam in a five-run third that put Mexicali ahead, but they also needed C. J. Retherford's homer in the sixth inning to put the game away.  It was Betancourt's third home run and Retherford's eighth.

LOS MOCHIS 5, CULIACAN 0 IN CULIACAN

Los Mochis scored two in the third and Rodolfo Amador added a three-run double in the sixth.  Roy Merritt pitched eight shutout innings for Los Mochis, giving up three hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

MAZATLAN 4, HERMOSILLO 3 IN HERMOSILLO

Cyle Hankerd's two-run homer in the fifth broke a 2-2 tie.  Hermosillo scored once in the ninth and had men on first and second when the game ended.  Jeremy Kehrt pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks with one strikeout for Mazatlan.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

Games of December 12

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

LARA 6, CARACAS 2 IN CARACAS

Lara scored four in the fourth to go ahead 4-1 and they were never threatened after that.  Jairo Perez was 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI for Lara.  Jesus Montero was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run for Lara.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

ESCOGIDO 4, ESTE 0 IN ESTE

Three walks and two singles produced three runs for Escogido in the sixth, and that was all they would need.  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run for Escogido.

ORIENTE 3, GIGANTES 2 AT GIGANTES

Junior Lake's RBI double tied it 2-2 in the eighth and a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run in the ninth.  Chris O'Grady pitched 5.2 innings for Oriente, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Orlando Calixte was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI and Aneury Tavarez was 3-for-5 with a run, both for Oriente.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

Games of December 11

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

MAGALLANES 12, LA GUAIRA 6 IN LA GUAIRA

Magallanes scored three in the second to take a 5-1 lead and was in control the rest of the way.  Luis Arraez was 1-for-5 with a walk and two runs for Magallanes and is batting .335.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 3, LICEY 2 IN LICEY

Two errors resulted in an Aguilas run in the fourth that broke a 2-2 tie.  Licey had only one hit after the second inning.  Danny Santana was 0-for-5 for the Aguilas.

ESCOGIDO 4, ESTE 1 IN ESTE

Wilkin Castillo singled in a run in the sixth to break a 1-1 tie and Escogido added two insurance runs in the eighth.  Jorge Polanco was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run for Escogido.

ORIENTE AT GIGANTES

Rained out.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

No games scheduled.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

LOS MOCHIS 5, JALISCO 2 IN LOS MOCHIS

Jake Fox' three-run double with two out in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie.  Jon Sintos pitched six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts for Los Mochis.  Rodolfo Amador was 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI for Los Mochis.  Fox was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) in addition to the double.

MEXICALI 5, CULIACAN 3 IN MEXICALI

Five first-inning singles produced three runs for Mexicali and they never trailed.  Xorge Carrillo was 3-for-4 with a home run (his third) for Mexicali, scoring twice and driving in two.  Yuniesky Betancourt was 3-for-4 with a double and a run for Mexicali.

MAZATLAN 2, NAVOJOA 0 IN MAZATLAN

Brian Hernandez drove in two runs with a fifth-inning double for the only runs of the game.  Walter Silva struck out seven in seven shutout innings for Mazatlan, giving up two hits and no walks.  Jeremias Pineda was 3-for-4 with a triple and a run for Mazatlan.

OBREGON 4, HERMOSILLO 3 IN OBREGON

The scoring was efficient, with Obregon getting all four in the fourth and Hermosillo all three in the sixth.  Rolando Valdez pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE

BRISBANE 5, SYDNEY 1 IN SYDNEY

Kevin Padlo hit a three-run triple in the first inning and that was all Brisbane needed.  Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-4 for Brisbane and is batting .317.  Logan Wade was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and is batting .339 for Brisbane.

CANBERRA 2, MELBOURNE 1 IN MELBOURNE

Kyle Perkins singled in a run in the ninth to break a 1-1 tie.  Sean Guinard pitched four innings for Canberra, giving up an unearned run on one hit and three walks while striking out one.  Boss Moanaroa was 3-for-4 for Canberra.  By the way, Boss Moanaroa's given name is Crew Tipene Moanaroa.

Off Days, Again

Sorry, but my work schedule just won't give me time to do this for the next couple of days.  I hope to resume posting Monday.  Thanks for understanding.

Games of December 7

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE

MAGALLANES 9, ANZOATEGUI 8 IN MAGALLANES

Magallanes got all of their runs in the first two innings, scoring three in the first and six in the second to take a 9-0 lead.  Anzoategui cut the margin to 9-8 in the eighth but did not get the tying run on base.  Luis Arraez was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI and is batting .348 for Magallanes.

LA GUAIRA 2, MARGARITA 1 IN MARGARITA

Brian Burgamy's two-run single in the third gave La Guaira all the runs they would need.  Both teams made it a bullpen game, with no pitcher going more than 2.1 innings.

ZULIA 8, CARACAS 3 IN CARACAS

Caracas led 3-2 after six, but a four-run seventh, aided by three walks, an error, a wild pitch, and a passed ball, put Zulia ahead to stay.  Jose Pirela was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk for Zulia, scoring once and driving in two.  Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twelfth) and a walk for Zulia, scoring three times.

LARA 5, ARAGUA 4 IN ARAGUA

Lara led 5-0 after seven, then held on as Aragua scored two in the eighth and two in the ninth and had men on first and second before the final out was recorded.  Raul Rivero pitched seven shutout innings for Aragua, giving up three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE

AGUILAS 8, ESCOGIDO 1 AT AGUILAS

Already leading 3-1, the Aguilas scored five in the eighth, getting a single, two doubles, a triple, and a home run in the inning, to put the game out of reach.  Jorge Polanco was 0-for-4 for Escogido.

ORIENTE 4, LICEY 3 IN LICEY

Abiatal Avelino's two-run single in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie.  Licey scored once in the bottom of the eighth and got the tying run to third, but that was it.  Alexis Candelario pitched six innings for Oriente, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Gabriel Guerrero was 3-for-4 with a double.

ESTE 5, GIGANTES 1 IN ESTE

Abraham Almonte had a three-run double in a four-run second that carried Este to a win.  Bryan Evans pitched six innings for Este, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

PUERTO RICAN LEAGUE

CAGUAS 5, MAYAGUEZ 3 IN CAGUAS

Jorge Padilla homered with one out in the eighth to break a 3-3 tie and Caguas got an insurance run later in the inning.  Kennys Vargas was 0-for-2 with two walks for Mayaguez.

SANTURCE 3, CAROLINA 2 IN SANTURCE (10 INNINGS)

Jacob Hannemann hit a walkoff homer with two out in the bottom of the tenth.  J. J. Fernandez was 1-for-4 for Carolina.

MEXICAN LEAGUE

NAVOJOA 5, LOS MOCHIS 1 IN NAVOJOA

Leading 2-1, Navojoa scored three in the seventh to put the game out of reach.  Salvador Robles pitched five innings for Navojoa, giving up one run on four hits and a walk with no strikeouts.

CULIACAN 2, HERMOSILLO 1 IN CULIACAN (11 INNINGS)

Rico Noel led off the eleventh with a walk, was bunted to second, and scored on a single by Ronnier Mustelier to win the game for Culiacan.  Edgar Gonzalez pitched six innings, giving up one run on two hits and four strikeouts for Culiacan.

MAZATLAN 5, OBREGON 4 IN MAZATLAN (14 INNINGS)

It was 2-2 after nine.  Each team scored once in the twelfth.  Obregon scored once in the top of the fourteenth, but Jesus Fabela delivered a two-out bases loaded single that scored the tying and winning runs.  Nick Struck pitched 5.1 innings for Mazatlan, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  Fabela was 3-for-7 with a triple, scoring once and driving in three.  Jose Aguilar was 3-for-6 with two runs for Mazatlan.

JALISCO 3, MEXICALI 0 IN MEXICALI

Jalisco scored single runs in the third, fifth, and seventh.  Daniel Guerrero pitched five shutout innings for Jalisco, giving up three hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE*

ADELAIDE 5, PERTH 4 IN PERTH

Adelaide had a 5-0 lead and held on as Perth scored four in the seventh.  Perth had men on first and second with two out in the ninth but could not tie the score.  Steven Chambers pitched 5.2 scoreless innings for Adelaide, giving up seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.  Josh Altmann was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double, driving in three.

*Game played December 8.  It's timey-wimey.