Águilas Cibaeñas crush Gigantes and remain undefeated at home

SANTIAGO – Las Águilas Cibaeñas consolidated their dominance at the Cibao Stadium by obtaining their fifteenth victory as locals, surpassing the Gigantes del Cibao with a score of 8-3 on Tuesday night, in the continuation of the autumn-winter tournament 2025-2026. With this triumph, the Eagles increased their record to 27-10, securing their position at the top of the championship with a 15-3 home record and a 12-7 away record. The match marked the end of the Regular Series between both Cibao teams, with the Eagles dominating the series 7-3.

Solid Pitching and Timely Hitting

Panamanian pitcher Abdiel Mendoza (3-1) took the victory after an outstanding performance of 5.0 innings, allowing four hits and three runs, only one earned, without conceding walks and with one strikeout. The Eagles’ bullpen maintained control of the game with performances by José Cuás, Junior Fernández, Richard Rodríguez, and Burch Smith, who earned his fourth save.

On the Giants’ side, Daniel Mengden (0-2) took the loss after a short outing of 2.1 innings, in which he allowed four earned runs.

Unstoppable Eagles Offensive

The Eagles’ offense demonstrated its might with outstanding individual performances:

• Jerar Encarnación: home run and single
• Aderlin Rodríguez: home run and sacrifice fly
• Corey Joyce: double, double and single
• Ezequiel Durán: double
• Leody Taveras: single

For the Giants, Johan Rojas led with a home run and a single. Luis García, Deyvison De los Santos, Kelvin Gutiérrez, and Kenny Piper each contributed a hit.

Game Development

The Eagles took the lead from the start:

• In the first inning, Durán hit a double, followed by a two-run home run by Aderlin Rodríguez.
• In the third, Encarnación hit a home run.

The Giants scored two runs in the top of the third inning, but the Eagles responded in the bottom with a run driven in by a ground ball from Aderlin. Rojas brought the visitors closer with a solo home run in the fourth inning, but the home team extended their lead in the fifth with a double by Berroa, a single by Taveras, and a sacrifice fly by Aderlin. In the sixth, the Eagles added another run with a hit by Encarnación, a walk to Elih Marrero and a double by Joyce. The Giants tried to come back with two runs in the eighth, but the Eagles sealed the victory in the bottom of the inning with another double by Corey Joyce, a sacrifice by Alfredo Reyes and a deep fly ball by Berroa.