Cesar Valdez leads the Tigres del Licey to a key victory
The experienced pitcher César Valdez shone from the mound, guiding the Tigres del Licey to a resounding 6-1 victory over the Gigantes del Cibao this Wednesday at the Quisqueya Juan Marichal Stadium, in the continuation of the winter baseball tournament.
With this triumph, the current national champions tied for third place in the standings, sharing a record with the Giants, both with a 17-21 record.
Valdez (2-0) demonstrated his dominance on the mound, working five solid innings in which he allowed only one run and four hits, in addition to striking out four batters.
The loss fell on Alberto Pacheco (0-1), who was punished with three runs in just two innings of work.
Early attack and mistakes defined the game
The Tigres del Licey secured the course of the game from the second inning, capitalizing on the Giants’ defensive errors and their pitchers’ lack of control.
In that inning, Mel Rojas Jr. received a walk, Francisco Mejía reached base on an error by the right fielder, and Cal Stevenson hit a single to short that drove in the first run. On the same play, two errors allowed the runners to advance to third and second base.
Subsequently, Michael De La Cruz got on base by a selection play, with Mejía scoring. After the pitching change and the entry of Aidan Anderson, Esteury Ruiz failed in a bunt attempt, Sergio Alcántara negotiated a walk, and Gustavo Núñez flied out to left. Finally, another walk to Cristhian Adames allowed Stevenson to score the third run of the inning.
Giants score, but Licey responds
The Giants’ only run came in the fifth inning, the result of consecutive doubles by Pablo Reyes and Carlos Jorge.
However, Licey responded immediately in the bottom of the inning with three more runs, driven in by a two-run single from Sergio Alcántara and a shortstop error on a hit by Gustavo Núñez.
The blue bullpen completes the task
After Valdez’s outstanding performance, the Licey bullpen maintained the lead. Enyel De Los Santos (6th inning), Luis Frías (7th), Wander Suero (8th) and Jean Carlos Mejía (9th) were in charge of keeping the Giants’ offense at bay.
- Mel Rojas Jr.: 2 hits
- Sergio Alcántara: 1 hit and two RBIs
- Cal Stevenson: 1 hit
- Michael De La Cruz: 1 hit
