Rodolfo Castro took the ball out of the park, Yamaico Navarro drove in two runs and the Toros del Este defeated the Gigantes del Cibao with a score of 8-3, in a match held this Saturday at the Julián Javier Stadium.
It was the first home run of Castro’s career in Dominican baseball, who had just hit the first hit of his career in the league the night before. Navarro drove in a couple of runs and negotiated a ticket to get to the start safely on 2 occasions. Jesús Sánchez shot two doubles and Peter O’Brien received three walks after returning to the Romans’ roster. Overall, the Orange offense traded 11 walks for a total of 53 for the season, more than double that of its closest pursuers, Eagles and Giants. Plus, the visitors’ bats had 11 hits, the most for the club this season. With the victory, the Toros (3-6), cut a streak of two consecutive losses and put their record on the road at 2-3. From their ldo, the Giants (4-5), see a string of 4 wins in a row stopped and fall to 2-3 as homeowners. Bulls starter Jake Thompson (0-0, 8.10) came out without a decision after throwing 4 1/3 innings in which he allowed 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. He was followed by relievers, Luis Ledó (1-0, 2.70), claiming the victory after throwing a blank inning and a third of a hit and two strikeouts, Anthony Gose, Miguel Sánchez, Alfredo Simón and Jenrry Mejía. Giants right-hander André Rienzo (1-1, 3.68) took the loss after conceding 4 hits and 3 earned runs, as he walked 5 and struck out 3 in 2 1/3 innings.
The races
The Toros took command of the game at the opening of the second inning, when Rodolfo Castro hit a solo home run. Then Jesús Sánchez hit an RBI double from the second orange run. In the third inning and with the bases loaded, Pedro Florimón got a sacrifice fly that produced the third bullfighting score. In the opening of the quarter and with two runners on board, Yamaico Navarro hit a single that drove in two more for the Toros. An inning later, Wendell Rijo scored from second base on a deflected pitch and throwing error by reliever Cody Mincey. At the conclusion of the fifth and with a runner in second, Richard Ureña shot a single that brought the first run for the locals. In the low of the eighth act and with a runner in second, Kelvin Gutiérrez brought the second of the locals with a double to the left field and Alfredo Marte drove in the third with a single to the center. In the opening of the ninth inning and with the bases loaded, Rubén Sosa got a sacrifice fly and Pedro Florimón scored from the anteroom on a deflected pitch from reliever Carlos Díaz. For the Bulls, Rubén Sosa 4-2 with one scored, one RBI and a negotiated walk, Jesús Sánchez 6-2 with one scored and one produced and Rodolfo Castro 5-3 with two runs scored and one RBI. For the Giants, Richard Ureña 5-1 with an RBI. Kelvin Gutiérrez 4-3 with a run scored and an RBI and Alfredo Marte 3-1 with an RBI. The Bulls return to the Corral for their next match, when they host the Leones del Escogido this Sunday in a match scheduled for 5:00 PM.
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