The extensive 13-day inactivity didn’t make a dent in the Criollos at the start of the final series of the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Lbprc).
The Caguas team came out strengthened on Thursday and, together with a phenomenal work by starting pitcher José de León, scored an initial 4-0 victory over the Mayagüez Indians at the start of the battle for the winter baseball title in a game held at the Hiram Bithorn stadium.
“We play excellent baseball. Today (Thursday) all the relievers who came have done the job. It was an excellent evening for us and yet Ramón’s actions on the defensive level quickly paid off. It was one of those evenings when, as they say, everything comes out, but the team has continued to work towards it, ”De Jesús said after the game.
Caguas was productive on the offensive side from the start when catcher Yadier Molina, who is listed as the designated hitter, opened in a Creole uniform connecting for the first connection, sending him an RBI triple – which was even revised as a homerun when touching the top of the fence – and that gave him the first two runs of the game.
Then Víctor Caratini, the other major leagues reactivated by the Criollos, did the same by linking a hit to his counterpart Molina to reach race third in just the first inning of the match.
In the fourth inning, the sacrifice fly by Jonathan Morales brought the Criollos’ fourth score over the legs of Jancarlos Cintron.
Righthanded De León silenced the attack of the Indians with 12 strikeouts and only two hits in six innings. Relievers Anthony Maldonado, Zach Muckenhirn and Fernando Cruz did the rest of the trip.
“We were out for two weeks and thank God I was able to throw six innings and throw as deep as possible to give the team a chance to win. It was a really good evening, ”said De Jesús, who also acknowledged that the Criollos’ early advantage in the first inning gave him enough confidence for the rest of the game.
Left-handed Héctor Hernández took the backhand for the Indians. In seven innings, he gave way for six hits and three runs.
The second game of the final series will be held on Friday at 6 pm in the Isidoro “Cholo” García de Mayagüez stadium.
The third and fourth games will be played on Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 AM respectively.
If necessary, the fifth game will be on Monday, January 25. While the sixth and seventh games were to be played on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.