Cleveland Sports Forum

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE (LVBP)

Jorma Rodriguez (Tiburones de La Guaira, backup 3B) - no plate appearances - Jorma-Rod did not come to the plate on Thursday night after entering the game in the top of the ninth as a defensive replacement. This marked a return to backup duty for Rodriguez following multiple at-bats (including his only two hits of the season thus far) in each of his last three games played.

Yonathan Mendoza (Cardenales de Lara, PR) - no plate appearances - Mendoza replaced starting catcher Yojhan Quevedo on the basepaths in the seventh inning and was replaced by backup catcher Gustavo Molina to start the eighth frame. Mendoza's playing time has become even more sporadic as of late, with Yonathan only coming to the plate once in the last five games he has played in.

D.J. Brown (Tigres de Aragua, RP) - 1 IP, 1 H - Brown remains unscored upon in 12.2 innings through ten outings this Venezuelan season. He has allowed only nine hits and has a 5:2 K:BB ratio and 0.90 WHIP. If he can pitch this well in Columbus next summer, he will likely make a strong case for a spot in the bullpen at Progressive Field.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Ronny Rodriguez's hot bat produced two more hits in the night game and he has 11 in his past 24 at-bats for a .458 average in that stretch. He currently has five straight multiple hit games and eight all season. Today leads the league with 22 hits ...

The Houston Astros could come to Puerto Rico to celebrate

Carlos Correa gave the news

The Houston Astros team could reach the island soon to celebrate the triumph of the World Series .

According to the stellar Puerto Rican baseball player, Carlos Correa is set with the players to come to Puerto Rico. He said that they only need the approval of the owner, Jim Crane .

"We hope that the owner of the Astros team comes to Puerto Rico with all the Houston team," Correa released in a television interview (Noticentro Al Amanecer).

Then he added that "I hope that ( Carlos) Beltrán , who has that pull of being a captain, a leader, can convince the owner of the Astros to come to Puerto Rico to celebrate with the people of Puerto Rico, who so needs it."

Venezuelan League (LVBP):

Yonathan Mendoza (3B, Cardenales de Lara) 1-2, 2B, RBI. Mendoza did not start the game Friday, but entered as a pinch runner and would come around to drive in his first run. The hit was his first in seven at-bats spanning 13 games as he has been used primarily off the bench.

Luis Lugo (RP, Cardenales de Lara) 2.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO. Lugo was hit hard Friday in what was by far his worst appearance to date. His ERA ballooned to six after allowing just one earned run in his previous seven innings.

Jorma Rodriguez (SS, Tiburones de La Guaira) 1-1. Rodriguez was a pinch-hitter late and was successful connecting for a knock. He is batting .231 in sporadic playing time.

Dominican League (LIDOM):

Alsis Herrera (RP, Leones del Escogido) 0.0, 3 H, 3 ER. Herrera was awful Friday allowing a hit to all three batters he faced, and eventually all three would come around to score. Alsis hadn’t allowed a run in his first two appearances, but this clunker bloated his ERA to 20.25. He hasn’t been used a lot out of the ‘pen and an outing like this won’t help his cause.

Anderson Polanco (RP, Leones del Escogido) 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 SO. Polanco was sharp in his inning of work and remains unscored upon this fall. This was just his second appearance after going two-thirds of an inning on October 15th.

Ronny Rodriguez (RF, Aguilas Cibaenas) 1-4, RBI, BB, SO. Rodriguez extended his hitting streak to six games. Ronny-Rod has been locked in lately as this was his first game of the streak where he did not get multiple hits. He now has nine RBI in 15 games.

Joe Colon (RP, Aguilas Cibaenas) 1.1 IP, H, 0 ER, BB, SO. Colon continues to be a key part of the back-end of the Aguilas bullpen with another scoreless performance. He now has four straight scoreless appearances, and his ERA sits at three over six innings of work.

Michael Martinez (2B, Estrellas Orientales) 0-3, BB. Martinez returned to the line-up after having four days off, and saw his modest four game hitting streak come to an end. He has been everything you expect out of the veteran hitting for a good average at .318 and playing solid defense all around the diamond.

Carlos Frias (RP, Gigantes del Cibao) 1.2 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 SO. Frias pitched very well Friday, and has not allowed an earned run in all seven innings of relief this fall. It is good to see him bounce back and have some success after registering an awful 8.05 ERA with Columbus last season.

The Eagles walk off against the Giants of the Cibao 2-1

SANTIAGO.-

The Cibaeñas Eagles walked off against the Giants when Juan Carlos Perez walked with the sacks full, which allowed the winning run to score last night at the Cibao stadium.

The eaglets filled the bases in the ninth with consecutive singles by Reese McGwire and Rafael Inoa, filled the bases with an intentional walk to Ronny Rodriguez and Perez received four bad for the forced race.

Reliever Josh Judy in a relief role scored the victory and the loss went to Eric Yardley.

Yunesky Maya, Ulises Joaquín (5), Víctor Payano (5), Joe Colón (5), Richard Rodríguez (8), Juan Grullón (9) and Josh Judy (9) paraded to the mound for the eaglet.

The arms of the Giants that climbed the mound are: Alfredo Simón, Manuel Solimán (5), Carlos Frías (4), José Leclerc (6), Rhiner Cruz (7), Eric Yardley (8)

The offensive of the home team was led by, Reese McGwire, two hits, Ronny Rodriguez, Zoilo Almonte and Rafael Inoa, a single.

The Giants had their best hitters in, Miguel Andújar, two singles; Moisés Sierra, a double; Ramón Torres, Rafael Bautista, Melvin Mercedes, Beau Taylor and Rosell Herrera, one per at bat.

The visitors took the lead with a run in the fourth inning for consecutive singles by Miguedl Andújar and Beau Taylor and an error by the shortstop in the double play attempt.

The locals tied the board in the lower part of the same inning, with consecutive walks to Luis Jiménez and Reese McGwire, Rafael Inoa tried to sacrifice himself but Lucho was eliminated at third, after Luis Valenzuela failed, Ronny Rodríguez singled

Magallanes applied it to the Cardinals in Valencia

Navegantes del Magallanes achieved a more than convincing victory, 19-2 over the Cardinals of Lara , crushing the crepusculos and managed to stay in third place in the standings, a game played inl Caracas.

The victory went to Ismael Guillón , while the defeat was taken by Cardinal de Lara's starter , Néstor Molina.

Magallan scored 3 in the first and second innings, added another in the third and five more in the fourth. Magallan added three more in the sixth and another four in the seventh and lead 17-0 heading into the eighth innings.

Cardinal de Lara scored with a run in the eighth produced by Yonathan Mendoza and another in the ninth, thanks to a double by Henry Paul Urrutia in a painful defeat, which was eventually 19-2.

Hawks capture Japan Series crown on Keizo Kawashima’s sayonara single in 11th

BY JASON COSKREY

STAFF WRITER

NOV 5, 2017

FUKUOKA – There will be no Game 7.

Seiichi Uchikawa, Dennis Sarfate and Keizo Kawashima made sure of that, and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and their fans breathed big sighs of relief before succumbing to the joy and elation of winning the Japan Series.

Uchikawa hit a game-tying solo home run in the ninth, Sarfate threw three scoreless innings of relief and Kawashima finished off this Japan Series with a sayonara single that gave the Hawks a series-clinching 4-3 victory over the Yokohama BayStars in Game 6 in front of a crowd of 36,118 on Saturday night at Yafuoku Dome.
It was the fourth time the Japan Series was decided on a sayonara hit.

“Including my time as a player, I’ve never been as thrilled as I was during this series,” said Hawks manager Kimiyasu Kudo, who won 11 Japan Series titles as a player and has now captured two as a manager.

The Hawks, pushed to six games after winning the first three of the series, are Japan Series champions for the third time since 2014. They also wore the crown in 2011.

“This feeling, it doesn’t get old,” Sarfate said.

It’s a feeling the BayStars haven’t felt since 1998, the last time the franchise was in the Japan Series. After falling behind 3-0 in the series, the BayStars, who finished third in the Central League, came two outs away from forcing a Game 7.

“I told the players what a wonderful year it was for us,” Yokohama manager Alex Ramirez said. “This is not a loss to me. We gained so much from being here.”

One of their former stars helped put the nail in the coffin in Game 6.

Uchikawa spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Yokohama before signing with the Hawks and returning to his native Kyushu Prefecture in 2011.
“We didn’t get the chance to give our fans the dream of becoming Japan Series champions when I was with the team,” Uchikawa said. “People were saying I was facing my former team, but I was focused on winning the title.”

The BayStars didn’t go down without a fight. Playing with their backs against the wall yet again, Yokohama nearly lived to fight for one more day

Starter Shota Imanaga did his part, striking out 11 over seven-plus innings. He was charged with a pair of runs and allowed two hits.

Nobuhiro Matsuda got the Hawks on the board with a solo homer in the second inning. Yokohama tied the score on a solo shot by Hiroyuki Shirasaki in the fifth and went ahead later in the inning on a two-run single by Jose Lopez.

SoftBank pulled a run back on an RBI groundout by Yuki Yanagita in the eighth.

Kudo then went to Sarfate, the closer who recorded an NPB-record 54 saves this season, to make sure the BayStars didn’t add to the lead in the ninth.

Sarfate ended up throwing three innings after not tossing more than one all year.

“Coming into the ninth inning, If I could get a quick inning, I knew we had a chance,” Sarfate said. “I just wanted to go one, and then we tied it, and I go, yeah, I’ve gotta go another one. Once I came in from that second one, I said I’m not coming out of this game. I knew if we kept putting up zeros, we were going to score first. My teammates always back me up, and that’s what they did.”

Sarfate was named MVP of the series.

Uchikawa stepped to the plate with one out in the ninth and ignited the crowd with his home run off BayStars closer Yasuaki Yamasaki.

“I was definitely thinking I needed to do something, because we were behind by a run and Dennis was pitching,” Uchikawa said. “It wasn’t my first time to face Yamasaki. So I had something to work off.”

Yamasaki was left to rue a fat pitch that got hit.

“At the end of the day, Uchikawa was better than me,” Yamasaki said. “That one pitch is something I have to try not to do again. It was a two-seamer, and he got it good.”
In the 11th, Uchikawa and Akira Nakamura each drew a walk with one out, with Shuhei Fukuda coming on to run for Uchikawa. Matsuda hit a grounder to third, but while Yokohama forced out the lead runner, the BayStars couldn’t double up Matsuda at first.

That gave Kawashima a chance, and he delivered with a ball through the right side that allowed Nakamura to score the series-winning run.

“We had to win today, because I had nothing left for tomorrow,” Sarfate said. “These guys, they played so hard. First of all, I have to thank God, because without God, I can’t do any of this.

“The BayStars, what a great job that they did. But my teammates, man, I would go to war with these guys. I love them all. A guy like Keizo comes up, I’m yelling, ‘be the hero buddy, be the hero,’ and there he was. He’s the hero.”

Thousands of people lost their homes as a result of Hurricane Maria more than 40 days ago.

Academics estimate that the island will lose 14% of its inhabitants by 2019

Dramatic population reduction after María's passage

From 2006 to 2016, Puerto Rico lost 525,769 inhabitants, also 14% of the population. Before the start of the 2006 recession, Puerto Rico had 3,850,000 inhabitants. This year, the figure fell to 3,411,000.

If the Meléndez and Hinojosa projections are fulfilled, by 2019 the population of Puerto Rico will have dropped to 2,940,000, dropping below three million inhabitants for the first time since the 1970s.

"One of the most worrying trends related to the prolonged economic crisis that began in 2006 has been the acceleration of the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Hurricane Maria has accelerated this propensity to a point where we can refer to the depopulation of Puerto Rico as one of the most important obstacles to the future economic recovery, "says the report.

Researchers estimate that in the next year between 114,396 and 212,207 people will leave Puerto Rico .

The report says that what happened in the city of New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana, after the devastation caused there by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, "offers an example of what awaits Puerto Rico." A year after Katrina, the report says, the population of New Orleans had dropped by 44%.

The report attributes the acceleration of migration to the effects of Hurricane Maria, which crossed the island with winds of up to 155 miles per hour on September 20, leaving thousands homeless and causing economic losses that have not yet been quantified.

The hurricane, in addition, demolished the entire electrical grid of the island, to the point that, more than 40 days after the phenomenon, about 70% of the country remains without light, causing heavy economic losses and dramatically increasing unemployment levels.

It also caused considerable damage, not yet fully rehabilitated, in the island's telecommunications network.

"After more than a decade of economic stagnation, the impact of Hurricane Maria on the economy has been devastating and will push Puerto Rico even further into a downward economic spiral," the report says.

Melendez and Hinojosa cite a study from the Climate Impact Laboratory, a climate study organization that has experts from the universities of Berkeley, in California; Chicago, in Illinois and Rutgers, in New Jersey, which estimates that Maria will cause a 21% reduction in the income of Puerto Ricans over the next 15 years, with an accumulated economic impact of $ 180,000 million.

"They estimate that Maria can be as costly for Puerto Rico as the Asian financial crisis of 1997 was for Indonesia and Thailand and twice as damaging as the Mexican peso crisis was in 1994, and this time in US territory," says the report.

The researchers estimate that the largest number of Puerto Rican migrants will be received by the state of Florida, followed by Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, California and Illinois.

The largest group of migrants will be adults between 25 and 64 years old, according to the analysis. In the next year, migrants of these ages will be between 50,458 and 104,091.
http://thehill.com/sites/default/files/ ... k=0owSg-mC

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Puerto Rican Winter League may be shortened or cancelled due to hurricane damage

With the island’s infrastructure in disarray after it was hit by hurricane Maria, this year’s winter league in Puerto Rico may be shortened. Nothing is engraved in stone yet, but in a special meeting of the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, the idea of a shortened season was brought forward.

President of the league, Hector Rivera Cruz, said that no decision has been made yet but shortening the season is a serious option as all ballparks of the five RCPBL clubs have suffered from the hurricane Irma.

“Today, I had a meeting with the representatives of the five clubs to evaluate the situation of their ballparks and to prepare for the upcoming competition which will start on November 15”, Cruz stated to the media.

Some owners think that not all ballparks cannot be repaired before the upcoming season, so next to a shorter season, another possibility may be to play day games in the stadiums that suffered the least from the hurricane Maria.

The owners of the team realize that repairing the league’s ballparks isn’t a priority. Of course, the destructed infrastructure is much more important.

WEEKLY RANKING: ONLY THE START? ...
LOS ALAZANES ARE FAVORITES TO RECLAIM THE TITLE


SECOND PHASE QUALIFIERS;
REGULAR SEASON (FIRST PHASE) RESULTS
SECOND PHASE

Los Alazanes de Granma is the sensation at the moment in the 57th National Baseball Series. They have won their first six games with four wins from their starters, and special consideration to reinforcement number "36", Yosver Zulueta, winner of two games and a save.

Here is the Power Ranking of the beginning of the week, analyzing the first six games of each team in the second phase:

1. Alazanes de Granma

Ranking in Second Phase : 6-0.

What matters : That the pitching is strong, although 1.90 ERA is too good for the first 52 innings. They have jumped with that (6-0) record hitting .258 / .395 / .352, which indicates an offense below the average. But take a look at their speed: They score 5.83 runs per game, with just three homers and no games of 10 or more hits. Their hitters have 36 walks and 27 strikeouts and 232 plate appearances, they have never hit into a double play. Is that having such a bad offense?

The worrying thing : The average with runners in scoring position is only 3-for-18 per game. The question is: When they can not get on base and run, how much will that cost?

Key Player : Yoelkis Céspedes.
He is hitting .450 / .522 / .700, with home run, six RBIs, 4-for-10 RISP, pair of stolen bases and only two strikeouts - his biggest problem - in 24 PA's. He has only three extra bases and an impeccable defense in the right field, without errors in 11 games. It seems that the rest was good for him, no matter how much his potential stands out at 20 years old.

2. Matanzas crocodiles

Ranking in Second Phase : 3-2.

What matters : That the bats keep producing with that .494 slugging with runners on the bases. But production with men in scoring position should improve, assuming that poor .161 BA. What distinguished Matanzas, the ability to take walks and good at bats with runners on base, has been seen below with those 17 strikeouts and only five walks, not counting the intentional ones.

The worrying thing : That starting pitching continues to do the heavy lifting, especially in the durability of the starters, since the bullpen has been poor .400 BA with 5.79 ERA in just 9.1 innings.

Key Player : Yoanis Yera.
The teams have to exploit to the maximum each outing of Yoanis Yera, right now the only pitcher that offers real and high chances of winning. In his last outing, the left-hander had nine strikeouts, but reliever Miguel Lahera aided on an error by Yurisbel Gracial, which broke Yera's excellent quality outing losing 2-1.

3. Lumberjacks of Las Tunas

Ranking in Second Phase : 3-2.

What matters : That the batters keep that .797 OPS, and the starting pitching continues to offer its best starts. Remember that, at the same time, trying not to overload the bullpen. Something was positive in the sweep of Las Tunas to Pinar del Río between Monday and Wednesday last: Manager Pablo Civil did not have to use all his relievers. He allowed Yosbel Alarcón (.254 BA / Opp, 1.69 ERA, 8 saves) and Diego Granados (.252 BA / Opp, 3.76 ERA, 7 saves), and the reinforcement Carlos Pérez, who reached his tenth save.

The worrying thing : That Rafael Viñales and Yosvany Alarcón end their combined slump of 5-for-37, without homers, with only three driven in 46 PA's.

Key Player : Alexander Ayala.
While the Camagüeyan reinforcement covers a good performance batting third in the lineup, the possibility of reaching Yosvany Alarcón or Rafael Viñales with runners on base, is great. In addition, Ayala must also find runners in scoring position, since batters in front of him average .427 OBP. Only Yuniesky Larduet is hitting with a low average of .214, but has entered base with a percentage of .353.

4. Vegueros de Pinar del Río

Ranking in Second Phase : 2-4.

What matters : That the Vegueros have an exciting series as soon as possible, should be in Artemisa, to return the confidence of when they won a couple of games against the Industriales.

The worrying thing : The player who drives the team, Donal Duarte went 0-for-19, with two errors in five games. That has affected the team, but the worst is that it will be difficult to find a formula for all the reinforcements to play regularly. At the same time, the fruits of Michel Enriquez and Raúl González, who were called to be strengths in the line up, are still to be seen. Both are 2-for-18, which shows a 4-for-36, six strikeouts and a single run batted in (Raul) after finding 19 runners in scoring position between the two.

Key Player : Frederich Cepeda.
He has 24 plate appearances, the same number as his legendary jersey. Cepeda has carried on his back the offensive of this team. He has three home runs, five RBIs and nine walks, everything decisive to inspire that lineup as he did when the Vegueros entered the Latin American in their debut of the second phase. However, baseball is a game of nine batters ... and if everyone does not respond, even with the best pitching in the country, things could take on the color of an ant. Remember that campaign of 2015, when the winners fought to the end and could not reach the playoffs: There they lost 25 games by difference between 1 and 3 runs, enough to have led in the standings with only nine wins in that streak.

5. Artemis hunters

Rankings in Second Phase : 2-4.

What matters : Discount the difference of games behind the first four teams, taking advantage of home games.

The worrying thing : Two lost series at home would force them to have series wins as a visitor. If they failr, then returning to the winning path would be extremely difficult.

Key Player : Vladimir García.
He lost his first decision pitching with the Artemisa Hunters, but retired 10 by way of the strike out. His performance will be vital, especially when joining with Miguel Lahera and José Ángel García, the latter as a main member of the bullpen.

6. Industrial Lions

Rankings in Second Phase : 1-5.

What matters : Nothing beyond breaking that chain of defeats but for the urgency of their batters to get hot, as they only have Leonardo Urgellés as reinforcement.

The worrying thing : That the pitching, with its four reinforcements do not offer the performances that are needed to defend advantages. The data is scary: The Industriales pitchers have walked 37 in six games, during 49.1 innings.

Key Player : Yordanis Samón.
He has been distant from his great offensive power and run production, although the lineup has also not placed many runners in scoring position. Of six games, Samón has three rbi, even with that 4-for-22 with three strikeouts and the same number of hits for double plays.

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Sunday's Class A Baseball Playoffs Resume

Friday, November 3, 2017 • 2:39 pm

SAN JUAN -

The action of the post season of Class A Baseball will resume this Sunday, November 5, with two games on the calendar, which marks the continuation of the playoffs, which were interrupted by Hurricane Maria's passage through Puerto Rico.

The indicated games will be played in the Estadio Efrain de Jesus de Vega Alta.

The first encounter will continue with the fourth game between Carmelita de Vega Alta and Mameyal de Dorado, which was in the third inning with a score of 1-0 favoring Vega Alta. The clash will start at 10:00 in the morning. Carmelita needs a victory to advance to the national semi final, while Mameyal de Dorado looks for the triumph that takes this series to a decisive game.

A second encounter will pit El Maní de Mayagüez and Los Changos de Naranjito, in the continuation of the fourth game of this series, which was at zero in the second inning. The Changos also need a victory to advance to the semi final series, while Naranjito seeks to extend the series to a fifth and decisive encounter.

Dominican League

Ronny Rodriguez (2B, Aguilas Cibaenas): 0-4. Rodriguez's hit streak was snapped at six on Saturday as the 25-year-old utility player went 0-for-4 in a 4-2 loss to Estrellas. Despite his hitless night, Rodriguez is still batting an impressive .329 with two homers and nine RBI's in 16 winter league games this offseason.

Michael Martinez (3B, Estrellas Orientales): 0-4, 1 K. While Martinez had been swinging the bat well entering Saturday at .318 over seven games, the veteran has now gone hitless in back-to-back games (0-for-7) with one walk and a strikeout after going 0-for-4 on Saturday.

Venezuelan League

Jose Flores (RP, Navegantes del Magallanes): 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Flores has had an unusual winter ball campaign so far as the former Indians farmhand has made six appearances thus far and only recorded outs in three of them. Such was the case on Saturday as the right-hander faced only two batters and allowed a hit and a walk before being pulled. Fortunately neither runner would score as Magallanes went on to win 8-5.

HAVANA

Joasán Guillen and Jorge Luis Barcelán, both had two run homers in the industrialist 6-1 win Friday over Las Tunas. In the game played at Latin American stadium, Guillen decided the game in the second inning with his two-run home run, off of starterr and loser Yudiel Rodríguez, to whom the Blues scored six runs in 4 and two thirds. Frank Monthiet won and Eddy Abel García scored the save throwing 3 and two thirds of inning without allowing anyone to reach base.
Havana.-

Supported by their powerful offensive, which had 10 hits including four decisive extra-base hits, Granma defeated Matanzas 8-7 today and maintained its unbeaten record in seven games in the second round of the LVII National Baseball Series. In the win at Victoria de Girón stadium in Yumur, the key hit for the Alazanes managed by Carlos Martí was the fourteenth home run by batter Lázaro Cedeño, good for three runs. In addition, Yoelkis Céspedes hit 2-3 with a run driven in. The Alazanes fell quickly on the pitches from the opener and loser Dachel Duquesne, Avilanian reinforcement of the Crocodiles, who gave up six earned runs in five innings, while the other two were given up by the first reliever Félix Fuentes. With this triumph, the Alazanes are momentarily placed two and a half games ahead of Las Tunas and Matanzas.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Carlos Frias (Gigantes del Cibao, RP) - W (3-0), 1 IP, 1 BB - Frias picked up his third relief win in eight appearances this winter ball season. He is yet to allow a run in eight innings and has only allowed 7 baserunners (four hits, three walks), which equals a 0.88 WHIP.

Henry Martinez (Leones del Escogido, RP) - 1 IP 2 BB (1 intentional) - Martinez pitched his sixth scoreless outing in seven games this Dominican season on Sunday. He has allowed only one run this LIDOM campaign for an ERA of 0.79 and his five hits and three walks allowed in 11.1 innings pitched give him a 0.71 WHIP.

Ronny Rodriguez (Aguilas Cibaenas, 2B) - 1-4, 1 2B - Ronny-Rod is currently in his first mini-slump of the winter season, with only two hits in twelve at-bats (.167 batting average) in his three most recent games. Even with those three games, his season slash line is still an impressive .356/.370/.467. Those numbers should increase soon as Rodriguez is unlikely to hit this poorly for long.

Joe Colon (Aguilas Cibaenas, RP) - H (4), 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB - Colon also made it six scoreless outings in seven winter appearances on Sunday. Colon's 2.57 ERA is a result of allowing his only two earned runs of the season in 1.1 innings pitched on October 24 (his second outing of the offseason).

VENEZUELAN LEAGUE (LVBP)

Jorma Rodriguez (Tiburones de La Guaira, SS) - 0-3, 3 K - Jorma-Rod, whose batting average (now .188) fell below the Mendoza Line with this hat trick, hasn't seen much playing time this LVBP season and nights like this are not how he's going to get more.

D.J. Brown (Tigres de Aragua, RP) - 1.1 IP, perfect, 1 K - Four up, four down. Just another dominant day for the seemingly invincible Brown, who has allowed only nine hits and two walks (0.85 WHIP) in 13 innings of scoreless baseball in ten relief appearances in the current Venezuelan campaign.

Yandy Díaz: "I come with a desire to win crown 21"

Yandy Díaz landed in Venezuela on Sunday afternoon and before taking a break after his long trip, the infielder went to the University Park where the Leones del Caracas were playing against the Zulia Eagles.

Notably excited and committed to the fullest, the infielder greeted his teammates and officially joined the pack where he will begin his preparation to get into action as quickly as possible.

"I'm happy to return to Venezuela and meet again with my teammates. They received me very well", said the utility after his visit to Chaguaramos stadium.

Díaz said that getting in shape will take him about a week before his expected debut with Leones.

"I'm still not available to play because I was solving some issues in the United States and I could not play much baseball. I'll need a few days of training, but soon I'll be ready, "he added.

Last year with his batting and his level of production he quickly became one of the offensive forces on the team. Aware of what he did in 16-17, he does not set personal goals, his only intention will be to help the Leones achieve victories.

"I do not know if I'm going to hit just like last year, but maybe I can help more. I have been waiting for some games and my expectation is to contribute in every way I can to win the 21st crown, "he said.

Yandy comes from finishing the season with the Cleveland Indians' major league team that reached the postseason.

"It was a very nice experience because I had worked hard to make that dream come true and thank God it was fulfilled. In short, everything impressed me, "said the Cuban. "When the playoffs started the manager kept me there with the team as insurance in case anything happened, then I was going to play."

After fulfilling the goal of reaching the best baseball in the world, Díaz stressed that participating in the LVBP was a further impetus that helped him achieve that goal.

"It helped me a lot to play here, I was able to hit the breaking pitches better. This league reminded me a lot of Cuba for the aggressiveness and the desire with which it is played, "the utility continued.

The manager Mike Rojas highlighted before the game yesterday that Yandy would arrive "to take over third base", opinion that the player himself shares since he must work on some aspects of the position.

"I still need to work a few things out at third, but I think that with daily playing time things are going to improve," said the slugger, who last year played in the outfield with Caracas.

"Since I finished last season with Leones I made it clear to the management that I wanted to return and if I made the big leagues I would come with more desire to play because I liked this league. Also the atmosphere of the games and the fans, who although sometimes behaved somewhat rowdy with us, I still missed them, "he concluded.

Losing streak of Lions continues at four, fall to the Giants 5-2

SANTO DOMINGO.-

Escogido fell by 5-2 against the Giants of the Cibao in 10 innings, during the a game held this Sunday at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal Stadium.

With the game tied at two at the top of the tenth, Eloy Jiménez found runners on first and third with one out and off of the pitches of Rafael de Paula ripped a triple to center field that cleared the bases. On the play, Jiménez also scored when the ball deflected off of the glove of second baseman Pablo Reyes.

The victory went to Carlos Frías (3-0), who faced three batters in the ninth inning. De Paula (0-1) was charged with the loss and Ramírez saved his fourth game.

DOMINICAN LEAGUE (LIDOM)

Michael Martinez (Estrellas Orientales, 2B) - 1-3, 1 2B - Martinez ended a two-game hitless streak on Monday with his first hit of November when he hit a one-out double in the top of the second inning.

Cole Sulser (Estrellas Orientales, RP) - H (4), 1 IP, perfect, 2 K - Sulser continued a solid winter league season with this perfect seventh frame, which earned him his fourth hold in seven relief outings (each exactly one inning in length) during the current LIDOM campaign.

Ronny Rodriguez (Aguilas Cibaenas, RF-2B) - 1-5, 1 R, 1 K - Ronny-Rod continues to struggle at the plate recently, hitting only .188 (3-for-16) in his last four games. Even when he isn't hitting well, Rodriguez still manages to get on base. Only one game of the mini-slump has been hitless and he has at least one hit in eight of his last ten games played. His slump has nothing to do with not being able to get a hit. The issue is his recent inability to get more than one of them on the same night.

Joe Colon (Aguilas Cibaenas, RP) - H (5), 0.1 IP, 2 BB - While far from being Colon's best effort of the winter, it was enough to earn him his fifth hold in eight appearances, all in relief, this LIDOM season.