Spanish
SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORÍS. – The Águilas Cibaeñas achieved a key victory this Tuesday by defeating the Gigantes del Cibao 6-5 at the Julián Javier stadium, a result that keeps them in the fight for the top spots during the semifinal of the Dominican Professional Baseball Tournament 2025-2026.
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With the victory, the yellow team improved its record to 4-4, placing itself two games behind the leaders Toros del Este and Leones del Escogido (6-2) in the round-robin tournament. Meanwhile, the Gigantes extended their losing streak by falling for the eighth consecutive time and remain without victories (0-8) in this phase. The victory went to Yoán López (3-0), while the loss went to Luis Frías (0-1). Burch Smith pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the semifinal.Match Development
The Eagles took the lead from the first inning with a solo home run by Leody Taveras, but the Giants tied the score in the bottom of the inning after a walk to Gustavo Núñez, who stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on a single by Johan Rojas. In the second inning, the Aguiluchos regained the lead (2-1) after a walk to Aderlín Rodríguez, who scored after a defensive error by the left fielder in a play initiated by a single from Alberto Rodríguez. In the play, Rodríguez was hit by the ball in the face when reaching second base, so he had to leave the game and was taken by ambulance to a health center. The Giants reacted in the bottom of the second inning with a double by Francisco Mejía and a two-run home run by José Sirí, to take a 4-3 lead. The decisive moment came in the eighth inning, when the Águilas manufactured a four-run rally to put the scoreboard at 6-3. The offense started with a double by Leody Taveras, followed by another two-base hit by Geraldo Perdomo that drove in the tying run. Perdomo later scored on a single by Cristhian Adames. With the bases loaded, Adames crossed the plate on a wild pitch, while Steward Berroa, who entered as a pinch runner, scored after an error on the catcher's throw. The Giants scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pablo Reyes walked and scored after a ground ball by Leury García, while Francisco Mejía crossed the plate driven in by a single from Carlos Franco, leaving the final score 6-5.Pitching
For the Eagles, Osvaldo Bidó opened the game and allowed three runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings. The relief was in charge of Deurys Carrasco, Jean Carlos Henríquez, Yunior Marte, Jonathan Hernández, Andrew Pérez, Yoán López, Carlos Belén, Vidal Nuño and Burch Smith. For the Giants, Shane Greene pitched two innings, giving up two runs (one unearned). The bullpen included Aidan Anderson, Bryan Rodríguez, Ofreidy Gómez, Tayron Guerrero, Luis Frías, and Jimmy Cordero.Batting
On the offensive for the Águilas, Leody Taveras hit 5-2, with a home run, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored; Cristhian Adames went 4-3 with an RBI, and Geraldo Perdomo contributed a double with an RBI.
For the Giants, José Sirí hit a home run and drove in two runs; Francisco Mejía went 2-4; Johan Rojas and Leury García each drove in a run.
