Ronald Acuna Jr., the 2023 National League MVP, won’t play for the Tiburones de La Guaira for the remainder of the winter baseball season. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
Staff Reports
World Baseball Network
The Tiburones de La Guaira clinched a berth in the championship series in the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional after a 12-5 win against the Bravos de Margarita pushed their record to 10-1.
Yasiel Puig went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in the eighth, and Maikel Garcia went 4-for-6 with two runs scored and three RBI as the Tiburones romped to victory in the clincher.
But it’s not all good news for the Tiburones, who won’t have the services of 2023 National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., who has commitments with the Braves he has to honor, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN reported Monday.
In 21 games with the Tiburones this winter, Acuna batted a torrid .380/.529/.747 with a 1.276 OPS and a triple, six doubles, six stolen bases, seven homers, and 19 RBI.
Leones del Caracas 3, Cardenales de Lara 2 – A ninth-inning rally by the Cardenales fell short when Ildemaro Vargas grounded out to short to end the game with the tying run on third.
The Leones got a pair of runs in the seventh on successive bases-loaded walks issued to Freddy Fermin and Harold Castro. The Leones improved to 5-6 with the win.
The Leones del Caracas face the Bravos de Margarita Monday night at 6 p.m. EST, and the Tiburones de La Guaira face the Tigres de Aragua at 6 p.m. EST. All LVBP games can be streamed via Beisbolplay.com with a paid subscription.
Hermosillo Sweeps Mexicali With 7-0 Win – The Naranjeros de Hermosillo are on to the finals in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico with a 7-0 win against the Aguilas de Mexicali in game four Sunday night.
Isaac Paredes and Aaron Altherr had back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the third to give Hermosillo a 2-0 lead.
Altherr had a sac fly that scored a run as part of the Naranjeros four-run sixth, and they’d add another in the eighth on Augustin Murillo’s RBI single.
Five Hermosillo hurlers scattered seven hits and two walks over nine shutout innings.
The Naranjeros will await the winner of the series between the Venados de Mazatlan and the Tomateros de Culiacan.
Tomateros de Culiacan 6, Venados de Mazatlan 1 – Joey Meneses went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, including an RBI single in the four-run third, as the Tomateros took game four of the LAMP semifinals series from the Venados de Mazatlan.
The Venados lead the series three games to one.
Luis Verdugo’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the fifth capped the scoring for Culiacan.
Victor Castaneda threw seven innings, allowing three hits, one walk, and one earned run to earn the victory for Culiacan.
Game five is scheduled for Monday night at 9:05 p.m. EST. Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico games can be streamed via Extrabase.tv for a fee.