Venezuela Rallies Back to Win 5-4, Hands Panama their First Loss

Miami, Florida – Panama put their winning streak and undefeated record (4-0) on the line again against Venezuela on day six of the Serie Del Caribe. After winning a nail-biter against Puerto Rico the night before (7-6), Panama’s schedule did not get much easier going up against Venezuela who entered tonight’s showdown in second place with a 3-1 record.

The tag team is back Jack! Covering tonight's game with @aguirrethecap33 repping @LemonCityLive. Undefeated Panama (4-0) looks to keep on rolling against Venezuela (3-1) on Day 6 of the #CaribbeanSeries. #SerieDelCaribe || #SportsLemonade pic.twitter.com/GnsbLF4RZq

— Gabriel Garcia (@Gabewritesports) February 7, 2024

Back-to-Back Jack!

Panama (Federales de Chiriquí) wasted no time in the top of the first with back-to-back home runs by Allen Cordoba and Ivan Herrera against Venezuela’s starter, Ariel Miranda. Venezuela responded in the bottom of the second, cutting Panama’s lead in half. Hernán Pérez put Venezuela (Tiburones de la Guaira) on the scoreboard with an RBI double to left field but Panama escaped further damage stranding two runners.

Cuadrangular en Solitario para Allen Córdoba en la parte alta del primer inning.

Marcador

Panamá 1 – 0 Venezuela #FederalesDeChiriqui #SerieDelCaribe #Miami2024🌴 #HomeOfBeisbol pic.twitter.com/GX5S4ePOtZ

— Federales de Chiriquí (@federalesdechi) February 7, 2024

Bethancourt Has Wheels?

New Miami Marlins catcher, Christian Bethancourt, continues to make an impact in the middle of Panama’s lineup during the tournament. Something to look forward to, Marlins fans? In the top of the third with runners on first and third, Bethancourt showed off his speed legging out a ground ball up the middle for an RBI groundout to give Panama a 3-1 lead. The night before against Puerto Rico, Bethancourt stole second base after getting hit by a pitch on his foot!

New @Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt stays in the game after taking a pitch off his foot. Seems to be ok after stealing second @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/qTqyBFsHOh

— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) February 6, 2024

Antonio “Double Play” Frias

Both offenses cooled off in the fourth and fifth innings. Panama’s starter, Antonio Frias, kept Venezuela’s offense in check early on. Through the first five innings of the game, he induced four double plays stifling multiple Venezuela rallies. In the fifth inning, Frias pitched around two walks and was having one of the better pitching performances in the tournament, until he came out for the sixth inning.

Antonio Frías vuelve a salir del problema 💥🔥

Cuarto doble play que sufre Tiburones a la ofensiva.

Presentado por @banesco

Video: IVC#PAN 🇵🇦 3-1 #VEN 🇻🇪 | 5to inning 🔽#SerieDelCaribe2024 #Beisbol #Panama #Venezuela #Banesco pic.twitter.com/IDxPZRV6vC

— BeisbolPlay (@beisbolplaycom) February 7, 2024

With only 70 pitches through five innings, there was no indication that he was fading or running out of gas. Still leading 3-1, Frias recorded the first two outs in the sixth but issued a walk to Wilson Ramos marking the final batter he faced. Abdiel Saldana came out of Panama’s bullpen to face former MLB All-Star, Yasiel Puig, inheriting runners on first and second with two outs. Saldana walked Puig on four consecutive pitches and loaded the bases for 10-year MLB veteran, Hernan Perez.

MVP for Venezuela: Hernan Perez

After knocking in the first run for the Tiburones in the second inning, Perez came up big again in the sixth. Perez flared a ball into no-man’s land in shallow right field and after some miscommunication between Luis Tello, Erick Barria, and Ivan Herrera, the ball landed between them leading to a bases-clearing double. Perez reached base all four at-bats and would finish the game 2-2 with two doubles and two walks. Two of the three runners that scored on the double count for Frias’ record and he finished with an “effectively wild” stat line of 5 2/3 innings pitched, three hits, three runs allowed, one strikeout, and a staggering six walks.

¡Este fue el doble barre bases de Hernán Pérez que volteó la pizarra a favor de Tiburones! #SDC | #ElExtrabase⚾️🇻🇪🦈 pic.twitter.com/qCvfGMiiiG

— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) February 7, 2024

After six innings of play, Venezuela led 4-3 for their first lead all game. They tacked on an insurance run when another former MLB All-Star and 2015 World Series Champion with the Kansas City Royals, Alcides Escobar, blasted a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the seventh. His home run would end up being the deciding factor in the victory over Panama.

Se fueeeee … Alcides Escobar 🚀 💣 🧨 para la calle y amplía la ventaja de Tiburones 🇻🇪 🆚 Federales 🇵🇦 5 Carreras por 3
pic.twitter.com/t0vG4ayVsL

— VenezolanosMLB (@VzlanosMLB) February 7, 2024

Venezuela’s Lockdown Bullpen

Panama tagged Venezuela’s starter, Ariel Miranda, for three runs and knocked him out of the game in the third inning. The first pitcher out of the bullpen for the Tiburones was Anthony Castro and he kept Venezuela in the game by pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

From the sixth inning through the eighth, Elvis Araujo, Jorgan Cavanerio, and Anthony Vizcaya followed up Castro’s scoreless outing by each pitching a scoreless inning of relief. The four relievers blanked Panama’s offense for 5 2/3 innings and handed the game over to their closer Arnaldo Hernandez.

Ninth Inning Drama

Panama led off the top of the ninth with a double and followed that up with an infield single. Hernandez would buckle down and get the Federales to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Panama would score on that play but Hernandez recorded the final out and secured his third save of the Serie Del Caribe.

After tonight’s game, the standings are the following teams in order: Venezuela (4-1) and Panama (4-1), Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (3-2), Curacao (2-3), Mexico (2-4), and Nicaragua (0-5). The tie-breaker for first place is the head-to-head record which made tonight’s win for Venezuela even more significant.

Tomorrow is the final day of the qualifying round in the tournament with Puerto Rico and Curacao squaring off at 10:30 am, followed by the Dominican Republic playing against Panama at 3:30 pm, and Venezuela facing Nicaragua at 8:30 pm.

Ball game. Venezuela rallies back to win 5-4 and hands Panama their first loss of the #SerieDelCaribe2024
Hernan Perez supplied the offense for Venezuela driving in 4 runs with 2 doubles. Both teams are now at the top to the tournament standings with a 4-1 record. @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/zYEFfnw8lK

— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) February 7, 2024