SANTO DOMINGO.– The Leones del Escogido took a decisive step towards the Final Series of the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball Tournament by defeating the Gigantes del Cibao 5-1 on Wednesday night, while the Toros del Este took the opportunity to stay alone in second place after blanking the Águilas Cibaeñas 3-0 in Santiago.
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With their victory, the Escogido improved their record to 11-4 and secured, at a minimum, a tie in the qualifying zone, with three games remaining to be played in the Round Robin. In any multiple tie scenario, the Leones dominate both in run differential and in particular series, so their pass to the final is practically assured.
Chosen hits early in San Francisco
In San Francisco de Macorís, the reds defined the game from the first inning against starting pitcher Daniel Mengden. Alcides Escobar opened the scoring with a solo home run and, after two outs, a combination of hits and walks loaded the bases. José Marmolejos then hit a single to left field that, combined with an error in the throw by outfielder Leury García, allowed three more runs to score to put the game at 4-0.
The Lions' fifth run came in the fifth inning, when Erik González scored after a ground ball that turned into a defensive error.
Mexican left-hander José Urquidy was the figure from the mound, pitching five innings of only two hits, no walks, and four strikeouts to earn the victory. Daniel Mengden took the loss, allowing four runs in just one-third of an inning.
Toros imponen su pitcheo en Santiago
At the Cibao Stadium, the Toros del Este relied on a solid performance from their pitching staff to shut out the Águilas Cibaeñas 3-0 and take absolute control of second place with a 9-6 record.
The orange offense broke the tie in the eighth inning when Jeimer Candelario hit a two-run double, which was then complemented by a sacrifice fly from Sergio Alcántara to seal the score.
Emailín Montilla (2-0) took the win in relief, Joe Corbett earned his fifth save, while Oscar De la Cruz (2-1) suffered the loss.
Standings after the matchday
With these results, the Round Robin is led by the Escogido (11-4), followed by the Toros (9-6), the Águilas (8-7) and the Gigantes (2-13), already eliminated.
This Thursday, the Lions will visit the Bulls in La Romana and the Giants will travel to Santiago to face the Eagles, in another key day of the Everyone against Everyone.
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