The Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) season in Puerto Rico began one day later than scheduled. Last Thursday’s game between the Gigantes de Carolina and Criollos de Caguas at Estadio Yldefonso Solá Morales was postponed due to rain.
The rainy weather forced fans to wait at least one more day for baseball. On Friday, the Gigantes de Carolina defeated the Leones de Ponce 8-4 in the first game of the 2024-25 LBPRC campaign.
Here’s everything else you missed from this weekend and how each of the league’s six organizations performed.
Gigantes de Carolina (2-0, 1st Place)
Two games into the season, the Gigantes are showing they are a force to be reckoned with. In Friday’s win against the Leones de Ponce, Japanese flamethrower Shintaro Fujinami allowed one earned run in three innings in his LBPRC debut. Outfielder Jan Hernandez went 3-for-3 with three RBI.
The Gigantes defeated the Leones again on Saturday, 6-3. Texas Rangers farmhand first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, who hit 18 home runs with Double-A Frisco in 2024, hit a solo shot in the bottom of the third inning, his first of the winter.
Criollos de Caguas (1-0, 2nd Place)
The Criollos played just one game that counted in the LBPRC standings this weekend as participants in the Choque de Gigantes tournament, held at loanDepotPark in Miami, Florida. They defeated the LBPRC’s Cangrejeros de Santurce 2-1 on a dramatic go-ahead two-run double by Vimael Machin in the top of the ninth inning.
On Sunday, the LVBP’s Navegantes del Magallanes defeated the Criollos 4-3 in 10 innings in the Choque de Gigantes championship game. The loss did not affect the Criollos’ LBPRC record.
Senadores de San Juan (1-1, 3rd Place)
On Saturday, the Senadores lost their first game of the season 10-5 to the Indios de Mayagüez but quickly bounced back on Sunday, convincingly defeating the Indios 11-4.
Starting pitcher Brady Tedesco threw five scoreless innings for the Senadores on Sunday, allowing just three hits. Sunday’s win was the Senadores’ first win in the LBPRC since the 2010-11 season. The organization, led by MLB Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar, underwent a rebrand during the offseason, changing the team name from the RA12 to the Senadores de San Juan.
Indios de Mayagüez (1-1, 3rd Place)
Third baseman Emmanuel Rivera went 4-for-4 in the 10-5 win against the Senadores de San Juan on Saturday, and starting pitcher Daryl Thompson earned the win despite giving up two home runs in five innings.
Outfielder Danny Oritz connected for his 400th career hit in the LBPRC on Sunday, and he went 3-for-5 with two RBI, including a solo home run in the sixth inning in the 11-4 loss.
Cangrejeros de Santurce (0-1, 5th Place)
On Saturday, the Cangrejeros fell to the Criollos de Caguas 2-1 in the Choque de Gigantes tournament, but a 5-3 loss to the LVBP’s Leones del Caracas on Sunday did not affect their LBPRC regular season record.
The Cangrejeros held a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth inning against the Criollos, but a two-run double from Vimael Machin was all the Criollos needed to secure a win in the bottom of the ninth. Cangrejeros starting pitcher Félix Doubront threw scoreless innings and allowed just two hits in the loss.
Leones de Ponce (0-2, 6th Place)
The Leones lost two games in a row this weekend against the Gigantes de Carolina, 8-4 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday.
Shortstop Andrew Velazquez picked up four hits this weekend, including a solo home run in the fourth inning on Saturday. Velazquez hit 12 home runs in 275 MLB games from 2018-23, including a career-high nine with the Los Angeles Angels in 2022.
How to Watch:
All games of the 2024-25 season can be streamed for free on the league YouTube page and the LBPRC mobile phone app.
