Ramón Vázquez throws flowers at Iván Maldonado’s work in Puerto Rico’s victory over Panama

Veteran righthanded Iván Maldonado came in the game of Criollos against the Chiriquí Federales de Panamá, trailing the Puerto Ricans 5-0 and only two outs in the first inning.

40-year-old Maldonado bet on his long career and experience in the Caribbean ball to give his team a chance and come back.

After starter Jason Garcia was punished with five hits and five touchdowns, Maldonado held up the Panamanian offense for 3.1 innings and threw a four-hit, one-run ball. On his departure, Puerto Rico rallied for six stripes in the first four innings to eventually win the game on Thursday 9-8, a fourth straight win that secured Criollos’ home advantage in Friday’s semi-final at the Teodoro Mariscal Stadium in Mazatlán. , Mexico.

The ninth Puerto Rican is waiting for his rival between Mexico, Panama and Venezuela tonight.

“I am very proud of many players for the game that was played today. I do not want to fail to mention the work that has been done since the beginning of the game. If we win all this, Iván Maldonado will be the MVP of the entire Caribbean Series, ”said Creole leader Ramón Vázquez at a press conference.

“He helped us save nearly half of the bullpen today. Be sure to take my hat off to him. The move with Ivan was obvious. It was the freshest it was, but I didn’t expect it to get me more than two tickets and it did, ”he added.

Maldonado is in its tenth Caribbean Series and is in charge by competing in the 2018 Cagüeña edition in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The Puerto Rican offense was not intimidated by being on the board so early and their comeback immediately started with a solo homer by Jarren Durán in the first inning.. The Boston Red Sox prospect finished 3-2 with three runs scored. Henry Ramos and Vimael Machín each drove in two races. Reymond Fuentes, Jonathan Morales, Juan Centeno and Jeremy Rivera also brought runners to the plate.

Relievers Giovanni Soto, Chris Muller and Cristian Torres all gave up one basehit in four relief innings. Joshua Torres had the ball to end the game, but ran into problems giving up two touchdowns for the Panamanians to hit 9-8 with the bases loaded and one out.

While he wanted to give him a day off, Vazquez chose to replace Joshua with effective closer Fernando Cruz, who again looked great when he retired the last two outs on seven pitches. Cruz has three saves and a win in 3.2 innings with no hits and seven fans.

“It means something special to me, my family to Puerto Rico and our team. There is no individuality here. We all row for the same place and it is special for us. As our leader said, there is still a lot of work to be done. We celebrate the standings but the emotion has to be transferred tomorrow (Friday), that is the important day to reach the final, ”said Cruz.

Vázquez agreed with his closing remarks by pointing to the teamwork that has been done to defeat some fierce federals.

“He was thinking about releasing these two (Soto and Cruz). They both did a great job. There were many things. They lost by one race. Centeno’s block (catcher) in the fifth inning with a runner on third base and two outs could have been another run and the game would have been tied before the ninth. Not many people watch that play. We did the job with a sacrifice fly by Morales, Fuentes with a great turn for a basesloaded lefthanded and walked to bring in another run. Morales with his double attempt to score later. Durán’s homerun in the first inning set the tone, ”said Vázquez.