Pittsburgh Pirates flame throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman was suspended for two games, after being ejected earlier this week for arguing the strike zone with an umpire.
I wrote about the ejection earlier in the week, noting how...
I normally limit the featured section of this article to a single player. On Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates had top pitching prospects Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler on the mound, so it felt appropriate to...
The Caribbean Series wrapped up on Monday, as Mexico (Los Yaquis de Obregon) won the championship with a 4-2 record. Venezuela (Caribes de Anzoategui) finished last, with a 2-4 record. Both the Dominican team (Toros del Este) and the Puerto Rican team (Criollos de Caguas) finished tied for second place with 3-3 records.
Mexico 3, Venezuela 2 -- Very compact scoring in this game. Venezuela scored first, with a 2-run homer in the 4th. They rallied again in the 5th, and tried to score on a passed ball, but the runner from third was tagged out in a run-down. Mexico had only 2 hits over the first 5 innings, but came through in the 6th with a double and a single. One run scored on a ground out, and a 2-run homer gave them all the runs they needed. Mexico loaded the bases in the 7th with a walk and two singles, but a ground out ended the inning without further runs scoring.
Dominican Republic 3, Puerto Rico 0 -- Dean Treanor's Dominican team finished the series with a win. They scored 2 runs in the 4th inning. With two outs, a single and a fielding error by Puerto Rican SS Luis Figueroa put two Dominican runners on base. A triple by LF Alejandro De Aza drove both runners in. De Aza began another rally in the 7th with a single up the middle. A bunt moved him to second, and he advanced to third on a ground out, then scored on an RBI single. The Dominicans posted just 6 hits in the game, and they also collected 3 walks. Two Dominican pitchers held Puerto Rico to just 4 hits. Starter Raul Valdes pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and one walk, with 6 strikeouts. He retired 13 straight batters over the middle innings. Reliever Julio Manon earned a save, retiring all 4 batters he faced. Puerto Rico's best chance came in the 8th, when Valdes gave up a single, had Figueroa reach on a throwing error, and then hit a batter to load the bases. The bases were left loaded though, thanks to Manon.
