Giants Silence Bulls with Comeback in Ninth

LA ROMANA.– The Gigantes del Cibao staged an electrifying comeback in the ninth inning to defeat the Toros del Este 7-5, in a duel full of drama held this Thursday at the Francisco A. Micheli stadium. The victory maintains the intense fight for the qualifying positions in the autumn-winter tournament 2025-26, dedicated to Juan Marichal and in dispute for the Banreservas Cup. You may be interested in:Águilas Cibaeñas defeat Leones and achieve their 25th victory of the season

The Toros arrived at the ninth inning with a 5-3 lead and their closer Joe Colbert on the mound, but the Cibao bats took care of changing the story.
The rally began with a sacrifice fly by Leury García, which allowed Samad Taylor to score. Immediately afterwards, a wild pitch by Jorge Bautista with the bases loaded opened the door for Carlos Jorge to tie the score 5-5.

The final blow came thanks to Deyvison De Los Santos, who connected a three-pointer from the line to center field that drove in Johan Rojas and Luis García Jr., placing the definitive 7-5 and silencing the Romanense public. With the victory, the Giants reached their number 14 triumph (14-19) and tied for fourth place with the Tigres del Licey. In contrast, the Leones del Escogido fell to last place with 14-20, after suffering their second consecutive defeat.

Pitching Performance

• Emilio Vargas (7.99 ERA) left early after allowing four hits and three earned runs in the first inning.
• Raymin Gudúan (W, 4-2) worked the eighth inning with one hit allowed and one strikeout.
• Anderson Pilar (S, 3) closed the ninth inning efficiently, striking out one of three batters.
• Anderson Bidó (4.05 ERA) pitched 1.2 innings with two hits, two earned runs, one walk, and one strikeout.

For the Bulls, Joe Colbert (P, 3-1) couldn't complete the inning, allowing two hits, one earned run, and one walk in five batters faced.

Best on Offense

Gigantes del Cibao:

• Leury García: 4-1, one RBI
• Johan Rojas: 5-3, two runs scored
• Luis García Jr.: 4-0, one run scored, one walk
• Deyvison De Los Santos: 4-1, triple, two RBIs, one run scored
• Samad Taylor: 4-2, one run scored
• Carlos Jorge: 4-2, one run scored, one RBI

Toros del Este:

• Gilberto Celestino: 5-2, scored and driven in
• Allan Castro: 3-2, scored, two RBIs, one walk
• Bryan De La Cruz: 3-1
• Eloy Jiménez: 3-0, one RBI
• Jeimer Candelario: 3-0, scored

Upcoming matches (Friday)

• Águilas Cibaeñas vs. Gigantes del Cibao – 7:00 PM
• Tigres del Licey vs. Leones del Escogido – 7:15 PM
• Toros del Este vs. Estrellas Orientales – 7:30 PM

Updated Positions

After Thursday's session:

1. Águilas Cibaeñas: 25-8 (32 days in first place)
2. Toros del Este: 18-16, 7.5 games back
3. Estrellas Orientales: 16-19, 10 games back
4. Gigantes del Cibao: 14-19, 11 games back
5. Tigres del Licey: 14-19, 11 games back
6. Leones del Escogido: 14-20, 11.5 games back