Sitting comfortably in first place for the better portion of the first handful of games in the 2024-25 LBPRC season, the Indios de Mayagüez have lost five consecutive games. Now, each of the league’s six organizations has played 15 or more games, and the Senadores de San Juan are just 0.5 games behind the Indios for first place in the regular season standings.
Here’s everything else you missed from this weekend and how each of the league’s six organizations performed.
Indios de Mayagüez (10-7, First Place)
On Saturday, the Indios fell to the second-place Senadores de San Juan 2-1, allowing the Senadores to creep even closer to first place. The Indios scored their only run of the game on an RBI single by second baseman Shed Long Jr. in the top of the fifth inning.
The offense mustered just two hits in a 3-0 loss to the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. An 8-3 loss in game two marked their fifth consecutive tally in the loss column after winning 10 of their first 12 games of the season.
Senadores de San Juan (9-7, Second Place)
The Senadores went 1-1 this weekend, defeating the Indios 2-1 on Saturday and losing 11-5 to the Gigantes de Carolina on Sunday.
An RBI double from pinch-hitter Kenen Irizarry in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie against the Indios. Closer Sidney Duprey collected his second save of the season in the top of the ninth, retiring three Indios hitters in a row to secure the win. First baseman José Abreu leads the LBPRC with four home runs and 14 RBI.
Gigantes de Carolina (9-8, Third Place)
The Gigantes went undefeated this weekend, defeating the Leones de Ponce 5-3 on Saturday and the Senadores de San Juan 11-5 on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Gigantes’ big inning came in the first, with a two-run double from second baseman Anthony Vilar and an RBI single from third baseman Adeiny Hechavarría. Gabriel Cancel lifted a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, and Bryan Torres added an RBI single in the seventh.
Left fielder Jonathan Rodriguez had the top-hitting performance of any LBPRC player during the weekend, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI in Sunday’s defeat of the Senadores.
Cangrejeros de Santurce (8-8, Fourth Place)
In addition to Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of the Indios de Mayagüez, the Cangrejeros defeated the Criollos de Caguas 2-1 on Saturday with an excellent performance from the pitching staff.
Starter Austin Bergner allowed one earned run on two hits in five innings, and four Cangrejeros relief pitchers combined to allow one hit and two walks in the final four frames. Closer Jordan Johnson now has three saves on the young season.
Leones de Ponce (7-8, Fifth Place)
The Leones dug a deeper hole in the standings this weekend, losing both games. On Saturday, they lost 5-3 to the Gigantes and 10-0 to the Criollos de Caguas on Sunday.
The primary reason for the Leones’ struggles is their offense. Fifteen games into the season, the pitching staff carries a respectable 3.65 ERA, but the offense has scored just 52 runs, less than four runs per game. Their -13 run differential is second-worst in the LBPRC behind the Criollos de Caguas (-18).
Criollos de Caguas (5-10, Sixth Place)
The Criollos fell to the Cangrejeros de Santurce 2-1 on Saturday but exploded for ten runs in a dominant 10-0 win over the Leones de Ponce on Sunday.
Center fielder Óscar Mercado collected four RBI on Sunday, including a three-run home run over the left-center field wall in the top of the sixth inning to extend the Criollos’ lead to a commanding 8-0. Second baseman Mickey Gasper hit an RBI triple in the top of the first inning, his first professional triple since 2022 with Double-A Somerset (New York Yankees).
Tonight in the LBPRC
All Times Eastern Standard Time
6 p.m. – Leones de Ponce at Senadores de San Juan
6 p.m. – Gigantes de Carolina at Criollos de Caguas
How to Watch the LBPRC:
The 2024-25 regular season can be streamed for free on the league’s YouTube page and the LBPRC mobile phone app.
