BCL Americas: Saturday’s Semifinals Set; Diablos Rojos Will Start Grotz Saturday Night

Santa Maria Pirates 19, Tigres de Chinandega 11 – Santa Maria jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first and held on, despite allowing nine runs in innings five through eight in the BCL Americas.

Juremi Profar went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, four RBIs and a homer, and Johannes Gregorius Jr. went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and four RBIs. Jonathan Martijn homered for Santa Maria, and Jiandido Tromp and Kevin Moesquit each had four hits, with Tromp scoring four runs and Moesquit scoring three.

Chinandega chipped away at the lead, getting two runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings and three in the eighth, but couldn’t complete a comeback to stay alive.

The win advances Santa Maria to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will face the Diablos Rojos del Mexico at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

Lenadores de Las Tunas 11, Titanes de Florida 6 – Yoennis Yera, who has pitched in Mexico since 2022, threw five innings, allowing four runs on six hits as the Lenadores cruised past Puerto Rico’s Titanes de Florida to set up a semifinal rematch against the Kane County Cougars Saturday afternoon.

Yosvany Alarcon continued to be among the biggest offensive threats at the BCL Americas, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs, two runs, scored, and two doubles, while Yoelkis Guibert hit a solo homer and Roberto Baldoquin went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and two walks.

The Lenadores will face the Kane County Cougars in Saturday afternoon’s semifinal at 4 p.m. EDT.

Today’s Starters and Projections – In the early game, righty Landen Bourassa will start for Kane County, facing righty Yadian Martinez for Las Tunas. Bourassa has a career ERA of 4.12 in four seasons in the American Association, all with the Winnipeg Goldeyes with 246 strikeouts and 99 walks in 356 1/3 career innings. Martinez went 7-3 with Mayabeque in the Serie Nacional throwing 102 innings in 16 appearances with a 3.53 ERA, 48 strikeouts and 37 walks in 102 innings of work. Bourassa hasn’t made an appearance at the BCL Americas, while Martinez threw 1.1 innings against Santa Maria on April 9, allowing one run on three hits and striking out three.

In the nightcap, righty Scott Prins will start for Santa Maria against righty Zac Grotz for the Diablos Rojos del Mexico. Grotz started against the Titanes de Florida in group play, throwing three shutout innings and striking out four while allowing one hit. Prins started for the Pirates on April 8 against Kane County, throwing four innings and allowing five runs on four hits and a walk.

Facing elimination, both the Lenadores and Pirates survived and advanced, even if the pitchers continued to struggle in the light air. Expect to see a lot of offense in the early game, as the Lenadores have put up 57 runs in three games, while the Cougars have scored 35. The team that wins the early game will be the team that gets halfway decent pitching. Maybe stringing together three or four of scoreless innings will be enough to get through a semifinal slugfest and on to Sunday afternoon’s final.

In the late game, expect Grotz to have a good outing for the Diablos, as he’s probably the best starter in the tournament. The Diablos also have a strong bullpen, and will likely be able to use Stephen Nogosek and Tomohiro Anraku both today and tomorrow if they are needed, and that should help them get by Santa Maria’s powerful lineup. The Pirates’ achilles heel is their pitching, and they’re facing a Diablos lineup that is the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol equivalent of the 1998 New York Yankees. It’d be a huge upset if Santa Maria made the final.

Remaining Schedule at the BCL Americas

Saturday, April 12
4 p.m. EDT – Semifinal 1 – Group A Winner vs. Winner of Friday Matinee
7:30 p.m. – Semifinal 2 -Group B Winner vs. Winner of Friday Nightcap

Sunday, April 13
2 p.m. – Championship Game

Broadcast Info – The 2025 Baseball Champions League Americas will be broadcast on Fubo Sports Network, RYZ Network, and streamed live on AAbaseball.tv.