A pitcher’s duel is suspenseful until the last out, and game six of the Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente championship series Tuesday night is a prime example.
Both starters combined for 12 innings of four-hit ball and one run between them, all but ensuring a dramatic finish.
And so it was, when Jeremy Rivera lined an opposite field double in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run from second. But it was an ending for which the fans would have to wait.
Emmanuel Rivera led off the bottom of the fourth for Mayaguez with a double to left field, and then was driven home when Josh Palacios ripped a single through the right side of the infield to make it 1-0 Indios.
Mayaguez starter Ronnie Williams worked deep into the game, throwing 96 pitches though 6.1 shutout innings, striking out six and walking one. His night ended in the top of the seventh, when, after getting Gabriel Cancel to ground out to short, Anderson Feliz singled to right, and then Williams walked his final batter, Jose Sermo, on four straight pitches.
Carolina put Chris Nunn on the mound to start the bottom of the seventh, lifting starter Luis Leroy Cruz after a 90-pitch start that saw him give up one hit and one earned run with four strikeouts in six innings of work.
In the eighth, Carolina evened the game at one apiece on a sac fly by Ruben Castro that scored Bryan Torres.
Danny Ortiz led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to left. Then Anthony Garcia singled up the middle, giving Mayaguez runners at first and second with no outs. Laying down a bunt the third base side, Roberto Perez reached on a fielder’s choice when pitcher Miguel Romero fielded it and threw to third to get the lead runner, Ortiz, for the first out of the inning.
But it was the only out Carolina would get.
The next batter, Rivera, pushed Romero’s first offering, an outside fastball, the other way down the left field line, scoring pinch runner Brett Rodriguez from second for a 2-1 Mayaguez victory.
And so they’ll head back to Carolina, the Indios and the Gigantes, to play one more game, tomorrow at 6:10 p.m.at Estadio Roberto Clemente in Carolina. The game can be streamed for a fee via r1live.com.
