Caribbean Series Semifinals: Culiacán vs. Escogido and Jalisco vs. Santurce

Caribbean Series Semifinals: Epic Battles in Guadalajara

Guadalajara is preparing to vibrate with the semifinals of the Caribbean Series, which will take place this Friday at the Pan American Baseball Stadium. Two exciting matchups will define the finalists of this prestigious tournament. The first encounter, scheduled for 3:00 PM (Eastern Time), will be a rematch between the Tomateros de Culiacán (Green Mexico) and the Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic). This clash comes just 24 hours after their match at the end of the round robin. In their previous encounter, the Tomateros staged a remarkable comeback, scoring six runs in the eighth inning, driven by a home run from Estevan Florial, securing a 10-7 victory.

We know we hadn’t played at our level, especially offensively. That game showed what we are capable of

Lorenzo Bundy, Tomateros manager

For this crucial match, the Tomateros manager, Lorenzo Bundy, will rely on right-hander David Reyes, who in his first start pitched 4.1 innings allowing two runs against the Cangrejeros de Santurce. For his part, the Lions’ manager, Ramón Santiago, has announced Oscar de la Cruz as his starting pitcher. De la Cruz allowed three runs in 4.1 innings against the Charros de Jalisco, in a game that ended with a Dominican victory 5-4.

Cangrejeros and Charros: In Search of a Spot in the Final

The second semifinal will pit the Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico) against the Charros de Jalisco (Red Mexico), the host team of the tournament. In their only previous encounter, Jalisco defeated Santurce with a solid performance by Luis Fernando Miranda, who pitched six innings allowing only two hits. Benji Gil, manager of the Charros, will send left-hander Manuel Bañuelos, former Major League pitcher, to the mound, who will seek to recover after allowing five runs in his previous outing against the Escogido. Despite registering the lowest collective round robin average (.235), Jalisco has the hottest bat in the tournament in Michael Wielansky, who averages 16-10, with two doubles, four RBIs and four runs scored, being key in the 3-1 record of the Mexican team. Regarding Santurce, its manager Omar López has not announced his starting pitcher, after eliminating the Federales de Chiriquí (Panama) with an 8-3 victory. The Panamanian team says goodbye to the tournament without victories in the initial phase.