Cangrejeros fall to Dominican Republic’s Leones at Caribbean Series

The Cangrejeros of Puerto Rico rallied for three runs in the sixth inning but fell short against the Leones of the Dominican Republic on Monday night.

By THE STAR STAFF

The Cangrejeros of Puerto Rico fell 5-3 to the Leones of the Dominican Republic at Pan American Stadium in Zapopan on Monday in the second day of the Caribbean Series in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

The Leones (Lions) now have a 2-0 record, while the Cangrejeros (Crabbers) are 1-1.

For the second time in as many games, the Cangrejeros’ starting pitching faltered. In the first inning, leadoff hitter Gustavo Núñez opened the Leones’ offensive attack with a single and reached third base on an error by Christian Vázquez, who had attempted to pick him off at second base. Cangrejeros starter Daryl Thompson then walked Sócrates Brito, and Junior Lake hit an RBI single to bring home the first run for the team representing the Dominican Republic’s professional league. Before the inning ended, a double by Cristhian Adames combined with a sacrifice fly by Aderlin Rodríguez brought in two more runs, making the score 3-0.

The next two runs for the Dominican Republic came on doubles. The first came off the bat of Erik González in the second inning, and the second was hit by Adames in the fifth inning.

Leones starter Enny Romero kept the Cangrejeros offense quiet until his departure from the mound at the end of the fifth inning. The left-hander earned the win in a game where the Puerto Rican lineup managed only three hits against him.

“Enny did a great job locating his fastball,” Cangrejeros manager Omar López said at the post-game press conference. “We had several opportunities to make contact, but we hit too many fly balls. We failed at the moment we had a chance to score.” 

Indeed, Puerto Rico left nine runners on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The Cangrejeros rallied for three runs after loading the bases to start the sixth inning. The runs came on a fielding error by Leones shortstop González on a hard-hit groundball by Emmanuel Rivera, an RBI groundout by Shed Long Jr. and an RBI single by Jack López.

The Cangrejeros put two men on with two out in the seventh, but Leones reliever Jefry Yan retired Rivera on a fly ball to center field to end the threat.

The loss went to Thompson, who allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Leones right-hander Jimmy Cordero earned the save.

Puerto Rico was to play its third game of the series on Tuesday night against the Charros of Mexico (Mexico Rojo/Red).