Spanish
Zapopan, Jalisco.– The Tomateros de Culiacán staged a spectacular comeback by scoring six runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Leones del Escogido, taking away their undefeated status in the 68th Caribbean Series Guadalajara 2026, in the game that closed the fifth day of the tournament.
You may be interested in: Cangrejeros defeat Federales and secure their classification to the semifinals
The decisive rally was crowned by a two-run homer by Estevan Florial, which sealed the Mexican comeback and left the Dominican team without an answer, which fell for the first time in the tournament and left its mark at 3-1. The Tomateros' offense exploded in the eighth inning when Sepúlveda opened with a triple, Córdova was hit by a pitch, and Amador hit a single to center field to drive in the first run. Then, Drake hit a single and an error on the throw allowed two more runs to score. Meneses drove in another with a sacrifice fly, Vergudo singled, and finally Florial hit a home run to right field that completed the six-run rally. The victory went to L. Chávez, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief, while C. Greene took the loss after allowing three runs in the decisive inning. The Mexican offense connected 14 hits in the game. For the Leones del Escogido, the attack was led by Franchy Cordero, who went 3-2, with two home runs, two runs scored and two RBIs. Captain Jimmy Paredes also shone with two hits in four at-bats, including a home run.The two consecutive home runs by the Dominicans evoked a historical event, as a back-to-back-to-back occurred on one occasion in the Caribbean Series. It happened on February 11, 1990, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, during the XXXII Caribbean Series, in a game between the Senadores de San Juan and the Leones del Escogido, starring Barry Jones, Carlos Baerga and Héctor Villanueva.
Furthermore, it was recalled that the first player from a Dominican team to hit two home runs in a game was Howard Johnson (Tigres del Licey) on February 4, 1983 in Caracas, while the first Dominican to achieve this was George Bell in 1984. In the mound for the Leones, veteran Radhames Liz opened, working four innings, allowing five hits, two runs, gave two walks and struck out four. He was followed by Phillips Valdez, who pitched the fifth and sixth innings.For the Tomateros, M. Barreras started, with a performance of five innings, five hits allowed, five runs, four walks and three strikeouts. The Lions took an early lead with three runs in the first inning, after a double by Sócrates Brito and a groundout by Cristian Adames. Culiacán responded in the third with a home run by Sepúlveda with one on base and scored again in the sixth inning, again driven in by the same player. In the fourth, Franchy Cordero hit his first home run of the night, and in the sixth he repeated the dose, followed by a home run by Jimmy Paredes, extending the Dominican lead. In the seventh, Sócrates Brito scored after stealing second and third and taking advantage of an error in the catcher's throw. Mexico scored in the seventh inning against reliever Telles, before completing the final comeback in the eighth.
This Friday at 4:00 PM (Dominican time), Leones del Escogido and Tomateros de Culiacán will face each other again in the first semifinal of the tournament. The winner will advance to the final, while the loser will be eliminated
