Cleveland Sports Forum

Jose Tena (Estrellas, starting SS): 4-5, HR, SB, 2 RBI – A huge night for Tena with a combo meal (HR and SB) with four hits total. His average already jumped to .300 with his recent hot streak but the four hits and homer here pushes his OPS over .800 this winter.

Brayan Rocchio (La Guaira, 2B): 0-4 – Rocchio couldn’t follow up a strong start in the LVBP from the other night and took and 0-for here but he did work a walk.

Trenton Brooks (Licey, DH): 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI – Brooks needed a night like this. He’s not been hitting much in the LIDOM and those teams have a tendency to bench or release struggling players quickly (which is why George Valera hasn’t played in over a week for Estrellas). Brooks is a minor league free agent here soon.

José Tena (archive image), from the Estrellas Orientales, drove in two runs, including one with a solo home run against the Gigantes del Cibao. ( COURTESY ORIENTAL STARS )

Stars beat Giants backed by three home runs

José Tena, Luis Campusano and Erick Mejía each hit a solo home run

Carlos Sanchez Twitter Carlos Sanchez G. - Facebook

Santo Domingo - Oct. 31, 2022 | 11:09 pm | 1 minute read

José Tena, Luis Campusano and Erick Mejía hit a home run each and the Estrellas Orientales prevailed on Monday night 5 - 2 against the Cibao Giants, at the Julián Javier Stadium.

Tena drove in two runs, including one for his solo shot to give the Stars a second straight win and stop the Giants from their winning streak of two.

Oscar de la Cruz pitched four complete innings, two hits, one (unearned) run and five strikeouts and Elvis Alvarado (1-0), who won the game, followed with two scoreless innings against the third-best offensive team, 47 RBIs, not including game of the night.

The Giants were left at four hits in the game.

Jose Tena (Estrellas, starting SS): 4-5, HR, SB, 2 RBI

Stars defeat the Giants at the Julián Javier

With this victory, the Orientals are placed one game behind the third position, occupied by the Giants

by Jorphy Star 31 October, 2022 in Sports

In the LIDOM autumn-winter baseball tournament, where Los Gigantes faced the Estrellas Orientales at the Julián Javier, the Estrellas won 5-2.

The Stars began batting immediately, when leadoff hitter José Tena homered (his first in the league) and gave the Greens a 1-0 lead.

The Giants respond in the same first episode, with a single by Carlos Peguero that drove in Tito Polo, tying the match 1-1, not for long since debutant Luis Campusano hit homers in the second episode for the Stars who went up 2-1.

The game remained with that score until the fifth inning when Matthew Batten hit the single that brought the third round in the legs of Junior Lake and the scoreboard marked 3-1, leading the Stars.

In the seventh José Tena returned to drive in a run for the green with a single to make it a 4-1 ballgame but the Giants this time responded with a single by Webster Rivas that brought the game closer to 4-2.

In the eighth episode, Erick Mejía hit the third home run of the game for the Stars and placed the game at 5-2 and thus ended the match.

The pitching of the Giants allowed 2 homers in the game, these being the numbers 9 and 10 that the Giant pitching has allowed and their collective effectiveness rose from 2.62 to 2.71, they added another error and are the leaders in the campaign with 17 errors in 14 games.

[Still waiting for George Valera to make it back in the lineup. George has been AWOL for over a week now. Going 1-21 is not working in George's favor either. George played the first 6 of the 14 Estrellas games. He had 1 hit, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 1 stolen base, an AVG of .048, an OBP of .091, a SLG % of .048, and an OPS of .139. These numbers are not going to cut it this league. It's all about winning in the Dominican Republic. One manager has already been fired after 14 games. If George gets back into the lineup, he has to produce or he'll be gone.]

Dominican Republic: – The Toros del Este announced the hiring of the well-known Andy Barkett as the new manager of the club, replacing the also North American Pat Listach.

Alexfri Planez (Caracas, CF): 0-3 – The first Guardian who’s game went final in the Caribbean fared little better.

Jaison Chourio (Zulia, PR-backup DH): no plate appearances – Glass half empty: Chourio also went hitless. Glass half full: that’s only because he didn’t come to the plate.

Trenton Brooks (Licey, LF): 0-3, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SF – The lone Guardian to play in LIDOM last night continued the offensive futility, but did drive in an insurance on a sac fly in the ninth in Licey’s combined no-hitter victory.

Brayan Rocchio (La Guaira, 2B): 0-3, 1 R, 2 BB – Despite also going hitless, Rocchio’s performance was arguably the best of a rough night for the org as he reached twice and scored.

11/2/22

Jose Tena (SS, Orientales): 1-for-4, BB – From the leadoff spot, Tena stepped to the plate five times and reached twice. He drew a walk in the bottom of the second in the midst of a two-run frame to get ahead 4-0. He deposited the first pitch he saw in the fourth inning for a single into center field as well.

Alexfri Planez (CF, Caracas): 0-for-0 – Planez entered the game as a defensive replacement heading into the top of the ninth in center field. He did not get the opportunity to make a play after a flyout to left, double to right and back-to-back punchouts by the Caracas reliever.

Brayan Rocchio (2B, Tiburones): 0-for-5 – Rocchio was hitless in five plate appearances for the Tiburones on Wednesday and had a shot with the game’s tying run in scoring position in the ninth. Rocchio advanced the runner to third base on a groundout to the shortstop and he later came around to score to tie the game at six.

11/3/22

Jaison Chourio (Zulia, PH): 0-1 – Chourio grounded into the game’s penultimate out 6-3 as he remains hitless while receiving only sporadic late-inning at-bats.

11/4/22

Alexfri Planez (Leones, CF): 0-0 – Planez came on as a defensive replacement. So far this offseason, Planez is 0-10 with four walks, which is incredibly ironic.

Brayan Rocchio (2B, Tiburones): 0-4, BB, R – Rocchio is off to a slow start, hitting .100/.480. He’s probably earned himself the benefit in his home country but as we know, slow starts tend to get guys benched in these leagues. George Valera had a slow start in the Dominican and has been glued to the bench. Rocchio probably has some more ripe, but I guess we’ll see how much

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-3 – Tena came on for Giants prospect Marco Luciano at short and collected a hit, and unfortunately also made an error.

11/5/22

Alexfri Planez (Leones, CF): 0-0 – Planez came on as a pinch runner. He doesn’t seem to be in line for many at bats with his club at this point.

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4, CS – Tena continues to carry a good average .324 but was caught stealing for a second time.

11/6/22

Trenton Brooks (Licey, PH-backup RF): 0-1 – Brooks stranded a pair of crucial runners on an inning-ending lineout to center in the top of the ninth.

Jose Tena (Estrellas, SS): 0-4, 1 E – Tena’s Sunday was an uncharacteristically unimpressive one, as he went hitless for only the third time in 18 games this season.

Alexfri Planez (Caracas, backup CF): 1-2, 1 SB – Planez, who has only seen sporadic playing time this season (20 PA/16 AB in 10 games), got his first LVBP hit of his rookie season on Sunday.

Brayan Rocchio (La Guaira, 2B): 2-4, 1 R, 2 E – Rocchio went 3-for-7 over the past two days after an 0-for-16 workweek.

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF): 0-3, 1 K – Rodriguez reached only once, on a fielding error in the ninth, on a rough Opening day for both him and the Gigantes as a whole.

Eric Rodriguez (Carolina, backup C): 0-1 – Rodriguez grounded out 6-3 to end the game and strand Johnathan at third.

11/7/22

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF): 0-2, 2BB, OF assist – Rodriguez shook off a rough opening night to work two walks, which is good considering the patient approach he was drafted with back in 2017 seemed to evaporate in 2022. We’ll see if he can regain that patience. Meanwhile, he also threw a runner out, which is another calling card of his. You have to wonder how much attention teams are paying attention to his PR league performances to assess his viability in the Rule 5 draft this year.

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4, 2B, 2 K – Tena is still hitting over .300 and continued to contribute as his club’s leadoff hitter with a double in the loss.

11/8/22

Jose Tena (Estrellas, SS): 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 E – Tena went hitless for the second time in three games, but is still fourth among Estrellas hitters who have appeared in half or more of the team’s twenty games so far in OPS (.713). Speaking of games played, he is the only Estrella to not miss one so far.

George Valera (Estrellas, LF): 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 SB – On the day he was named to the Eastern League postseason All-Star team, Valera finally returned to the lineup and did his best to make sure he stays there.

Brayan Rocchio (La Guaira, starting 2B): 0-1 – Rocchio left the game in the third inning after being hit in the face by a ground ball that took an unexpected hop. He is currently listed as day-to-day after receiving a few stitches in his lip.

Jaison Chourio (Zulia, backup RF): 0-1 – Chourio played three innings in the field and grounded out in his only plate appearance despite a challenge by Aguilas manager Marco Davalillo.

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF): 1-4, 1 RBI – Rodriguez’s line drive single to center in the third, his first hit of the season, drove in the Gigantes’ second and ultimately game-winning run.

11/9/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBIs, 2 BBs, SB – It was an eventful day at the plate for Tena that was highlighted by a three-run homerun, his second of the Dominican Winter season. His bomb to right in the fifth cut into the deficit for Estrellas at 6-4 and in his final two plate appearances, Tena drew walks. His first came in the sixth inning where he reached on balls then swiped second base, his fourth of the season. He then led off the top of the eighth with a walk and advanced on a wild pitch, but the offense failed to produce a run after an inning-ending double play.

George Valera (RF, Estrellas): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs, BB, SB – Valera joined his teammate Tena in reaching base three times in the 12-9 loss, but recorded two base knocks. He followed a homerun in his first plate appearance and drew a walk from the opposing pitcher. He missed the mark on his next two at-bats, but brought in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh with a double to centerfield. He stole a base to get 90 feet from home, but with two outs, he was left stranded. He ended his day on a high note individually with an RBI single in the ninth, but it was not enough with the team entering the inning trailing by four.

Trenton Brooks (1B, Licey): 1-for-2, 2B – Brooks only got two at-bats for the Tigres del Licey on Wednesday, but was able to record an extra base hit before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the sixth. He led off the bottom of the third inning with a double that deflected off the left fielder, his fourth of the Dominican Winter League season. In his second at-bat in the fifth, Brooks grounded out to the shortstop trying to go the other way.

Gabriel Arias (3B, Santurce): 1-for-3, 2B, BB, CS – Arias made his Puerto Rican League debut after an appearance on the postseason roster for the Guardians in the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees. In his debut, Arias reached base twice, including a double to left with two away in the top of the third. He drew a walk as well in the sixth, but was retired after being picked off trying to get a jump to second.

Johnathan Rodriguez (LF, Carolina): 1-for-4, RBI – Rodriguez drove in a run with an RBI single into center field in the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead in the game. His two-out RBI was the game-winning run in a 3-1 victory. A groundout and two flyouts were the other results in his 1-for-4 day.

Jaison Chourio (RF, Zulia): 0-for-1, 2 BBs – The 17-year-old Chourio drew a pair of walks in three plate appearances, including base on balls in the third and sixth innings.

11/10/22

Gabriel Arias (Santurce, 3B): 0-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K – Arias made it a season-opening two-game on-base streak despite going hitless on Thursday.

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF-RF): 2-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – Rodriguez’’s multi-hit effort included the lone Gigante RBI of the game on a game-tying single in the fourth (The go-ahead and ultimately game-winning run scored later in the inning on wild pitch.).

Jaison Chourio (Zulia, PR): no plate appearances – After getting his first career LVBP start on Wednesday, Chourio returned to his usual late-game role on Thursday night.

Alexfri Planez (Caracas – Game 1, PH-backup LF): 0-1, 1 K – Planez, who also saw limited playing time last night, struck out in his only plate appearance of the game.

11/11/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas Orientales): 1-4, K, E – Not one of Tena’s better days in the Dominican this fall. But he’s still at the top of the order and got on base.

George Valera (RF, Estrellas Orientales): 0-4, BB, K – Valera had a couple of games with hits that looks like it got him back into the lineup after a slow start this fall, but he wasn’t good in this one.

Carlos Vargas (RP, Tigres del Licey): 1IP, ER, 2BB – A messy start to the winter for Vargas who was still reportedly slinging 100 mile an hour heat with periods where he didn’t know where it was going.

11/12/22

11/12/22

Alexfri Planez (CF, Leones): Planez continues to be a defensive replacement for his winter league club, not logging an at bat for a second straight game and didn’t come on till the ninth in this one.

Gabriel Arias (3B, Cangrejeros de Santurce): 1-4, 3K – Well, that’s a three game hitting streak for Arias in the Pureto Rican Winter League but he’s struck out five times over the last two games. Perhaps he’s just shaking off some rust from the end of the season because his strikeout issues weren’t his bad during the season.

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas Orientales): 0-2, 2K – Tena was dropped in the order by his Dominican club and was pinch hit for late in the game after striking out twice in two bat bats. He could be losing his grip on his staring job.

George Valera (RF, Estrellas Orientales): 1-3, BB – While Tena may be falling out of favor, Valera seems to be regaining some. He’s walked three times in the last two games and picked up a hit.

11/13/22

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina – Game 1, LF): 1-2, 1 K, 1 CS – J-Rod reached base once in the opener, but didn’t fare well once he reached the basepaths.

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina – Game 2, LF): 1-3, 1 K – The nightcap went similarly, but without the caught stealing.

Gabriel Arias (Santurce – Game 1, 3B): 2-3 – While he wasn’t involved in the game’s lone run, Arias accounted for half of the Santurce hits in Game 1.

Gabriel Arias (Santurce – Game 2, 3B): 0-3, 1 K – Game 2, however, did not go as well for Gabriel, whose hitting streak ended at four games.

Alexfri Planez (Caracas, CF): 1-5, 2 RBI, 2 K – Planez doubled his season RBI total on a two-run single in the second to kick off the Leones’ Sunday scoring.

George Valera (Estrellas, RF): 1-5, 1 R, 1 K – Valera scored the game’s first run after singling to lead off the Estrellas’ day at the plate and extend his on-base streak to five games.

Dahan Batista (Barranquilla, RP): W, 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (earned), 1 BB – Batista’s solid fifth and sixth frames earned him the individual victory via score’s decision.

11/14/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4, 2K – Tena did have another hit but two more strikeouts and he had a throwing error. He continues to hit second in the Dominican lineup right now after mostly being a leadoff hitter but things have been tough for Tena lately and continue to get tougher.

11/15/22

Alexfri Planez (Caracas, PR-backup CF): no plate appearances – Planez entered as a pinch runner and played an uneventful inning in the field in the Guardians org’s only action of the night in the LVBP.

Johnathan Rodríguez (Carolina, LF): 0-4, 1 K – Rodríguez is still hitting .276 after this hitless effort, but is only posting a .640 OPS.

Gabriel Arias (Santurce, 3B): 0-5 – Arias shone in the field, starting both of Santurce’s double plays, to make up somewhat for a rough night at the dish.

11/16/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 0-for-3, RBI, SF – A sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning was the most productive at-bat for the middle infielder Tena on Wednesday. That run tied the game up at 2-2 before Leones walked it off in the bottom of the ninth. In his other plate appearances, he struck out, flew out and popped out.

Johnathan Rodriguez (LF, Carolina): 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB – In the Gigantes de Carolina’s 2-0 win, Rodriguez drove in the game’s eventual winning run with an RBI double in the top of the first inning and came around to score on a single to be a part of both runs scored in the game. He drew a walk as well in the top of the sixth, but was retired on a double play.

Eric Rodriguez (C, Carolina): 0-for-3 – Nothing going for the backstop and number nine hitter in the Carolina lineup. Two groundouts and a flyout at the dish for the 24-year-old.

Gabriel Arias (3B-1B, Santurce): 0-for-5 – Arias was hitless in five trips to the plate in Puerto Rican League action Wednesday. He was shifted from third base over to first defensively after Santurce had built up a solid advantage. He struck out with runners on second and third in the top of the fifth inning where a ball in play would have most likely driven in a run – luckily the team provided more than enough run support.

Brooks is an "organizational player" and now a minor league free agent. The non-baseball job market is good for those looking for work [although not in big tech] so I;d suggest this could be a good time to retire.

11/17/22

Gabriel Arias (Santurce, 3B): 0-4, 1 K – Arias continues to struggle in Puerto Rico, seeing his OPS drop to .382.

Eric Rodriguez (Carolina, backup C): no plate appearances – E-Rod remains hitless for the Puerto Rican season after catching the top of the eighth before being pinch hit for in the bottom of the frame.

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF): 2-3, 1 RBI. 1 BB.1 K, 1 Outfield Assist – Speaking of the bottom of the eighth, J-Rod drove in the Gigantes’ second run for the only Carolina RBI of the evening earlier in the inning (the first run scored even earlier in the half-inning on a wild pitch).

Alexfri Planez (Caracas, backup CF): no plate appearances – The entirety of Guardians action in Venezuela last night consisted of a top of the ninth in which the ball was never hit in Planez’s direction. Heck, the ball was only put into play once all inning (a leadoff single to left). The limited playing time is not surprising as Planez is hitting .091 with a .322 OPS. On the positive side, Planez was the only Guardians to take the field for a winning team on Thursday.

11/18/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4, K, E – Tena continues to hit second in the lineup and is still hitting .270, but his OPS continues to drop with all of his one on-base performance and this was his seventh error of the offseason. Hard to guess what the official scorers are like in these leagues. In the minors it can be hit or miss. Which is why it’s a good reminder to not take minor league error totals and fielding percentages as a good way to evaluate player defense.

11/19/22

Gabriel Arias (3B, Santurce): 1-4, BB, K – Arias hasn’t hit much in his time in the Puerto Rican winter league but he remains in the lineup playing while waiting for his visa issues to be taken care of.

Johnathan Rodriguez (LF, Carolina): 0-4 , BB – Rodriguez has hit well so far this winter and has worked plenty of walks, which is a nice return from his lack of patience in the regular season this year.

11/20/22

Gabriel Arias (Santurce, 3B): 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB (intentional) – Arias scored the first run of Sunday’s pitchers’ duel in the top of the tenth on a wild pitch after being intentionally walked earlier in the inning.

Angel Contreras (Cartagena, DH): 3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K – Contreras, who entered Sunday 1-for-6 over his first three games of the LPB season, exploded out of his slump with this first extra-base hits and second and third RBI of the Colombian campaign in his first game as a DH this season.

11/21/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4 – While Tena continues to consistently pick up a hit a night for his winter club, that has dropped his overall production in the order and he has been dropped in the order as this has been a pretty common theme for Tena this winter. He was first dropped to second in the order and now sixth. The lack of patience at the plate that he’s always had is part of the reason why his hit tool has to carry him and makes him more volatile.

11/22/22

Johnathan Rodriguez (Carolina, LF): 2-4, 1 K – While not involved in any of the team;s three runs, Rodriguez got a third of the team’s six hits in yesterday’s extra-inning contest.

Gabriel Arias (Santurce, 3B): 0-4, 2 K, 1 E – Arias, on the other hand, continued to struggle in Puerto Rico.

Jose Tena (Estrellas, SS): 1-5, 1 K – Tena, who extended his hit streak to three games on Tuesday, has a productive plate appearance in each of his last five games and 25 of the 28 he has played this winter, including an eleven-game hitting streak last month.

Dahan Batista (Barranquilla, RP): 1 IP, 2 BB, 1 K – Not the cleanest ninth inning to close out a game, but when you’re up eleven, it’s more than good enough.

11/23/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrelles): 2-for-5, R, RBI, E6T – Tena had a pair of hits, including an infield single that produced the game’s tying run in the bottom of the ninth. Tena stepped to the plate with two away and runners on the corners and beat out an infield single on a soft grounder to short. His hit put the winning run in scoring position and the next batter walked it off with a single. His other hit on the day came all the way back in the first when he had a single to right and later scored on a double to go up 1-0. On the defensive side, Tena was charged with his eighth error of the season.

Johnathan Rodriguez (LF-RF, Carolina): 0-for-4, SF – Rodriguez was without a hit on the day, but drove in Carolina’s only run in the 2-1 loss on Wednesday. His eighth RBI of the season came on a sacrifice fly in the third inning.

Gabriel Arias (3B, Santurce): 0-for-4 – Back-to-back hitless games for Arias for Santurce and he stranded a team-high five runners on.

Angel Contreras (2B, Tigres): 0-for-2, HBP, E4 – Contreras was 0-for-2 with a flyout and strikeout, but reached base on a hit by pitch before being relieved in the eighth inning.

The Estrellas Orientales celebrate their victory after Gustavo Núñez's winning hit against the Tigres del Licey on the night of Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium.

Gustavo Núñez singled to right field to drive in the winning run and leave the Tigres del Licey on the field this Wednesday night at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium.

The Stars trailed 6-4 in the ninth and scored three runs against Tigers' star reliever Jairo Asencio, who had struggled to close out a game at Tetelo Vargas before.

Estrellas with a 12-20 mark, is two complete games out of fourth place occupied by the Toros, who lost this Wednesday.against El Licey (21-10) who continues in second, but is a game and a half behind the first placeÁguilas Cibaeñas.

Domingo Leyba and José Tena each drove in runs in the ninth for Estrellas, which also included an error by blue third baseman Dawell Lugo on a grounder by Erick Mejía.

The game was won by Abner Uribe (1-0, 27.00) and lost by Asencio (0-1, 3.45).

11/24/22

Brayan Rocchio (La Guaira, 2B): 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 SF – Rocchio drove in the lone Tiburon run on a sac fly in the top of the fourth. The SF gave Rocchio his fifth RBI of the season and the La Guaira nine a brief lead before the Leones scored all seven of their runs in the bottom of the frame.

11/25/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-4 – Tena was re-installed as the leadoff hitter for this game for his Dominican club but once again came up with just one hit. He’s been consistently going 1-3 and 1-4 for quite a while so much that’s running up a good percentage of games being on base, just not consecutively and not more than once. He’s hitting .271 with a .683 OPS due to lack of power and walks, which is right in line with the concerns about him.

Gabriel Arias (3B, Santurce): 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R, 2K – Arias doubled and hit a massive home run for his Puerto Rican club. He still fanned twice, which was an issue for him early as he was getting settled in but at least he’s collecting from XBH now.

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Home runs by the crabber Gabriel Arias and the giant José Sermo helped define the results in favor of their ninths

Santurce and Carolina won on Black Friday in winter baseball

Santurce shutout Mayagüez"

A three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning was enough offense for the Santurce Cangrejeros to get their eleventh victory of the season, defeating the Indios de Mayagüez with a final score, 3-0, celebrating the “Caribbean Night” in the capital stadium.

Veteran Adalberto Flores was the winner of the game, pitching six complete innings allowing only four singles and five strikeouts, the save going to Andrés Machado. For the tribe, Willie Ríos lost giving up five hits, three earned runs, including a home run, three walks and four strikeouts.

Cleveland Guardians prospect Gabriel Arias hit his first homer of the season to lead the Crabs 2-0 in the fourth inning. Pedro León's with bases loaded brought the crustaceans' third run home on the legs of catcher Michael Pérez.

The Indians only had five hits leaving three players on base. For Santurce, Arias went 4-2 with two extra-base hits, a home run and a double, two RBIs and one run scored.


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Santurce marks its 12th win in the winter campaign

The Cangrejeros de Santurce won as visitors against RA12 by a final score of 7-2. This game was Nick Ortiz's second consecutive victory as manager.

The crustaceans began with a four-run offensive rally in the first inning to take advantage in the Capital stadium.

Moisés Gómez had an RBI double in the first inning driving in Didi Gregorius and, with two retired, a single by Gabriel Arias and a two-base hit by Roy Morales increased the Cangrejeros' lead to 4-0.

Arias continued to be sweet for Santurce, hitting a double to left field bringing Gomez to the plate in the seventh.

Alejandro Sanabia was the winner who has a 0.42 ERA, throwing seven innings with four singles and four strikeouts. Iván Houellemont lost allowing six singles, four earned runs, a walk and a strikeout in 3 1/3 innings.

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SPORTS

[NPB NOTEBOOK]

Triple Crown Winner Munetaka Murakami Has MLB Aspirations

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows standout, who is still only 22, may have a long wait ahead before he has an opportunity to test his talents in MLB.

Published 1 day ago on November 26, 2022

By Jim Armstrong Japan Forward

Like many of his countrymen, Triple Crown winner Munetaka Murakami has expressed an interest in moving to the major leagues.

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows slugger told reporters earlier this month that he would like to test his talents in MLB while he is still in his prime.

"Of course, I want to try," the 22-year-old Murakami said during a news conference on Monday, November 14 at the Japan National Press Club. "I don't know how old I'll be, but I'm still young, so the sooner the better."

Murakami has only played four full seasons for the Swallows. So he has a long way to go before achieving international free agency status.

For him to go sooner, the Swallows would have to be open to making him available through the posting system. Some teams in NPB are more open to posting than others.

The record of Japanese position players over the years in MLB has been spotty. Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui thrived in the majors. But many more failed or had only modest results. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, formerly of the Chiba Lotte Marines, comes to mind.

Generally speaking, MLB teams are more interested in Japanese pitchers. Hitters like Murakami are considerably easier to find than quality pitchers.



Murakami became Japan's youngest Triple Crown winner this past season when he hit 56 homers to surpass all-time great Sadaharu Oh's previous record for a Japanese-born player of 55. He also had a Central League-leading .318 batting average and 134 RBIs.

He said trying to make it in the majors is something that has been on his mind for a long time.

"Since I first joined [Yakult], the challenge of going is something I have eventually wanted to take on if given the opportunity," Murakami stated.

11/26/22

Jose Tena (SS, Estrellas): 1-5 – Surprise, surprise – Tena with another one hit performance although this time he scored a run but also struck out.

Gabriel Arias (3B, Santurce): 2-4, 3 RBI – Arias is on an extra base hit tear now with another double and move runs driven in as he continues to settle in this winter after some time off. It’s taking some time to figure out his visa situation apparently to get back to Venezuela so he continues to play here,