Historical execution of Emmanuel Rivera against the Athenians of Manatí

Emmanuel Rivera had one of the most spectacular performances ever in Puerto Rican winter baseball history this Sunday, and the Indians of Mayagüez They came back big after two weeks of inactivity due to the COVID-19 virus infections with a resounding triumph 30-8 About the Athenians of Manatí to put the semi-final series B 2-0 in their favor.

It was a historic day held at the Pedro Román Meléndez Stadium, in Manatí, where in addition to Rivera’s record performance, legendary Major League-catcher Yadier Molina made his comeback in the national tournament after an eight-year absence.

Rivera hit two homeruns and scored ten runs, which is an all-time record in both regular series games and playoffs in the Puerto Rico Winter League.

According to the portal Baseball101, by historian Jorge Colón Delgado, the figure was eight RBIs shared by Fernando Díaz Pedroso (1947), George Crowe (1951), Félix Torres (1962), Benny Ayala (1973) and Nelson Simmons (1989 playoffs).

Likewise, Colón Delgado recalled that this afternoon’s meeting was a draw of more runs scored between the two teams. The record was held by a match on November 7, 1981, in which Santurce defeated Caguas with a score of 20-18.

Rivera was 4-for-5-4 with two homeruns, a pair of doubles and three runs scored. With the interference, he hit two home runs of three runs each, for a total of six. In his pair of doubles, he drove the other four.

The athlete, a player with excellent defensive qualities, admitted that he found out the record he had set once the game was over.

“I didn’t know anything. Héctor Otero (manager) just told me. I found out after the game was over”Rivera told The new day. “I was very excited. I didn’t know it was a record. It is another achievement in my career ”.

Rivera, selected as third baseman in the All Stars of the Winter League, said that once he was replaced by manager Luis Matos, he was notified of his performance having pushed those ten rounds.

“I hadn’t thought about that, but in the seventh inning, when Luis Matos (coach) eliminated me and they put another guy in, they said to me, ‘You pushed ten runs.’ Then I found out because I didn’t even know how many I had. I had never experienced this situation. I still can’t believe it ”.

Did you save races to push tomorrow (Monday), he wondered.

“Sure, that’s what we work for,” he said with a laugh.

The total number of runs scored by the Indians also represents a figure in national baseball. The 30 scored leaves the record of 23 set by the vanished Brujos de Guayama in 1939 when they beat the Cangrejeros de Santurce 23-0.

Mayaguez’s third baseman’s performance joined other notable performances in the game. Kennys Vargas drove in five laps and Iván de Jesús Jr. put another four in the rubber and added 19 of the 30 achieved by the visitors. In addition, De Jesús Jr. five wide. He came within one of the milestones of Luke Easter (1955). He also scored five times.

The Indians will be back in Manatí tomorrow for the third match of semifinal B. The series is a maximum of seven. The winner will advance to the final to take on the Criollos de Caguas who have been waiting for two weeks to meet their rival.

After Semi-Final B was halted on January 2 due to four positive coronavirus cases detected in the team, which later went up to 11, Mayagüez’s ninth opened the game with a return in the second inning from a Kennys homerun Vargas. and three more in the third product of a house run by Jeremy Rivera and a double by Emmanuel Rivera.

In the fifth, they added five more, with the first of Emmanuel Rivera’s two homers intervening.

The Indians, who had a good chunk of left-handed Héctor Hernández, continued their offensive game by scoring nine more lines in the sixth, although they were not satisfied with that advantage, stepping on the plate nine more times in the first half of the game. eighth act.

Other notable appearances on Sunday included Danny Ortiz and Jeremy Rivera, who went 4-for-7. The Indians closed the afternoon with 25 hits.

For the Athenians, Molina, who joined Manatí as a backup as he belongs to the Carolina Giants, hit third in the line-up as designated and hit 1 for 5 with a run scored..