Following Friday night’s Game 4 win of the LBPRC championship series against the Leones de Ponce, the Cangrejeros de Santurce are one win away from representing Puerto Rico at the 2026 Caribbean Series in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Santurce’s 8-4 victory over Ponce was another dominant performance, with the help of a six-run seventh inning. The Leones have scored no more than four runs in any one of the four games.
The two teams were scoreless until the top of the sixth inning at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Leones starting pitcher Brady Tedesco ran into trouble on a leadoff double by Yohandy Morales, followed by an RBI single by Nelson Velazquez to give the Cangrejeros a 1-0 lead. A few batters later, a throwing error to first base by Tedesco permitted Velazquez to score from second.
Ponce ran 40-year-old starter Daryl Thompson from the game in the bottom half of the sixth with back-to-back singles from Jesmuel Valentin and Emmanuel Rivera. Thompson was responsible for the run that scored on Matthew Batten’s RBI groundout to make it 2-1, but otherwise was efficient, striking out four with two walks in five innings.
Santurce’s offense broke through for six runs in the seventh, tagging Jalen Miller and Andrew Marrero for three runs each. The big swing of the inning came off the bat of catcher Brian Navarreto, whose bases-clearing double against Marrero extended the lead to 8-1.
Valentin’s two-run in the bottom half of the seventh cut the lead to 8-3, and the Leones plated one more in the eighth on William Simoneit’s RBI single. Ponce struggled with runners in scoring position for a second consecutive night, capitalizing on just two of their 12 chances.
Robert Gsellman pitched a scoreless ninth for the second straight game for the Cangrejeros, as Rivera’s game-ending double play wrapped things up abruptly.
The LBPRC championship series resumes Sunday at 6 p.m. EST at Estadio Francisco Montaner in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Where to Watch: Puerto Rico’s LBPRC streams its games live on its YouTube page and on the league’s official app, available on the App Store and Google Play.
WBN Puerto Rico: https://worldbaseball.com/league/puerto-rico/
