MEXICALI, Mexico – The Leones del Escogido in the driver’s seat against the Indios de Mayaguez, only to lose the lead and the game as the bullpen collapsed, allowing five runs over the final two innings.
Jumping out to an early lead, the Leones led 7-3 after three innings, only to lose 10-7 and fall to 2-2 at the Caribbean Series. The Indios improved to 2-2 with the win.
Asked if his team lost its concentration, Dominican manager Albert Pujols said, “We have too many professionals in our group, and that will never happen, starting with my image and coaching staff. We will never let that happen. It never happened in the tournament in Santo Domingo and we will not let it happen here in the Calibe series. These are things that happen in the game and sometimes you turn around and say, wow, why? Why? But it’s to teach us and maybe that’s what we had.”
Ruben Castro led off the game for Puerto Rico with a triple into center field, and the next batter, Emmanuel Rivera, lofted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Castro for a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Leones del Escogido answered loudly. Kelvin Gutierrez reached on a fielding error by Indios de Mayaguez second baseman Shed Long Jr., who couldn’t field ball cleanly and it trickled into right field, and Socrates Brito and Yamaico Navarro coming into score and go up 2-1.
Then Junior Lake smashed a 370-foot three-run home run over the left-center field wall, scoring Robinson Cano and Kelvin Gutierrez to extend the lead to 5-1.
In the top of the second, the Indios cut the lead in half when Isan Diaz raked a two-out line drive triple into center field, scoring David MacKinnon to make it 5-2. Then Shed Long Jr. cracked a line drive single into right field, scoring Diaz to make it 5-3.
The Dominican Republic offense rolling when designated hitter Sandber Pimental lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Cano to get a 6-3 lead in the third. Later that inning, During Luis Liberato’s at-bat, Lake scored from third base on catcher Marco Feliciano’s errant throw to Diaz covering second, as the Leones del Escogido extended the lead to 7-3.
In the top of the fifth, Puerto Rico cut the deficit to three when Castro hit a ground ball to Cano, scoring Diaz to make it 7-4.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Indios de Mayaguez stormed back into the game and put up five runs. Eddie Rosario hit a three-run single into right field, scoring Anthony Garcia and Danny Ortiz, and Robbie Merced came into score with when Navarro fumbled the throw from Brito in right field as the Indios tied the game at 7-7.
Mayaguez manager Wilfredo Cordero went to his bullpen and called on reliever Jimmy Cordero to replace Joe Corbett. Corbett threw ⅔ of an inning and allowed three hits, five earned runs, and one walk after replacing reliever Ulises Joaquin. Cordero’s second offering to Long went wild and Rosario came in to score and give Puerto Rico an 8-7 lead. Two pitchers later, Long drove an RBI double into center field, scoring Diaz to extend the lead to 9-7.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Indios designated hitter Anthony Garcia launched a solo home run to left field to make it 10-7.
Justin Yeager worked the bottom of the ninth and got Pimental to ground into a 3-4 double play to end the game, as the Indios de Mayaguez won 10-7 over the Leones del Escogido on Tuesday afternoon in the final day of pool play.
The Indios de Mayaguez pitching staff tossed nine innings, allowing 13 hits, three earned runs, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. The Leones del Escogido pitching staff threw nine innings, allowing 11 hits, 10 earned runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts in their second loss at the 2025 Caribbean Series.
“I’ll tell you something – You can’t control the future. You can only sometimes control the present, too,” Pujols said in Spanish following the game. “I am losing now, I can’t control the future, but I can control the rest. So, what we have to focus on is tomorrow. It doesn’t matter if it’s Japan, or if it’s Puerto Rico, Venezuela, or whoever. You have to be prepared to play, as we have been doing during the Caribbean Series[.]”
Pujols named Brooks Hall as the starter for the Leones against an opponent that will be determined following the conclusion of the nightcap between Japan and Venezuela.
The first semifinal wil begin at 5 p.m. EST Wednesday, and the second is scheduled for 10 p.m. EST. Every game of the 2025 Caribbean Series is televised live on MLB Network in English and on ESPN Deportes in Spanish.
Photo: Puerto Rico’s Indios de Mayaguez beat the Dominican Republic’s Leones del Escogido 10-7, getting five runs in the eighth to come from behind and secure a spot in the semifinals at the 2025 Caribbean Series. (Photo Courtesy of CBPC)
