SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORÍS – The Águilas Cibaeñas secured a crucial victory this Tuesday by defeating the Gigantes del Cibao 6-5 at the Julián Javier Stadium. This result keeps the Águilas in the fight for the top spots in the semi-finals of the Dominican Professional Baseball Tournament 2025-2026.
With this triumph, the yellow team improves its record to 4-4, remaining two games behind the leaders Toros del Este and Leones del Escogido (6-2) in the Round Robin. On the other hand, the Gigantes extend their bad streak, suffering their eighth consecutive defeat, and have not yet achieved victories (0-8) in this phase.
The victory went to Yoán López (3-0), while Luis Frías (0-1) took the loss. Burch Smith secured the game by pitching a scoreless ninth inning, earning his second save of the semifinal.
Party Development
The Eagles took the lead in the first inning thanks to a solo home run by Leody Taveras. However, the Giants tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Gustavo Núñez received a walk, stole second base, advanced to third on a catcher’s error, and scored on a single by Johan Rojas.
In the second inning, the Eagles regained the lead (2-1) after Aderlín Rodríguez received a walk and scored following a defensive error by the left fielder, caused by a single from Alberto Rodríguez. In this play, Rodríguez was hit by the ball in the face and had to leave the game, being transferred to a medical center.
The Giants reacted in the bottom of the second inning with a double by Francisco Mejía and a two-run homer by José Sirí, putting the score at 4-3 in their favor.
The decisive moment came in the eighth inning, when the Eagles put together a four-run rally to go up 6-3. The offense began with a double by Leody Taveras, followed by another double by Geraldo Perdomo that drove in the tying run. Perdomo subsequently scored on a single by Cristhian Adames. Adames scored on a wild pitch, while Steward Berroa, who entered as a pinch runner, scored after an error by the catcher.
The Giants scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pablo Reyes walked and scored after a groundout by Leury García, and Francisco Mejía scored on a single by Carlos Franco, leaving the final score at 6-5.
Pitching
For the Águilas, Osvaldo Bidó opened the game, allowing three runs (two earned) in 1.1 innings. The relief was handled by Deurys Carrasco, Jean Carlos Henríquez, Yunior Marte, Jonathan Hernández, Andrew Pérez, Yoán López, Carlos Belén, Vidal Nuño and Burch Smith.
For the Giants, Shane Greene pitched two innings, allowing two runs (one unearned). The bullpen included Aidan Anderson, Bryan Rodríguez, Ofreidy Gómez, Tayron Guerrero, Luis Frías, and Jimmy Cordero.
Batting
In the Eagles’ offense, Leody Taveras went 2-for-5, including a home run, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Cristhian Adames went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Geraldo Perdomo contributed a run-scoring double.
For the Giants, José Sirí hit a home run and drove in two runs. Francisco Mejía went 2-for-4, while Johan Rojas and Leury García each drove in a run.
Next Match
The Águilas Cibaeñas will face the Toros del Este this Wednesday at the Cibao Stadium, in a game scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with Jorge Tavárez as the starting pitcher.
