Ramón Vázquez throws flowers at Iván Maldonado’s work in Puerto Rico’s victory over Panama

Veteran right-hander Iván Maldonado entered the Criollos game against Chiriquí Federales de Panamá, with the Puerto Ricans down 5-0 and just two outs in the first half.

The 40-year-old Maldonado has bet on his long career and experience in Caribbean football to give his team a chance and come back.

After incumbent Jason Garcia was punished with five shots and five touchdowns, Maldonado contained the Panamanian offense for 3.1 innings, throwing a four-shot ball and a single run. During his departure, Puerto Rico rallied with six stripes in the first four innings to finally win Thursday’s game 9-8, a fourth straight victory that secured the Criollos’ home advantage in Friday’s semifinal match at Teodoro Stadium. Marshal of Mazatlán. , Mexico.

The ninth Puerto Rican is waiting tonight to meet his rival between Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

“I am very proud of many players for the game that was played today. I don’t want to mention the work that has been done since the beginning of the game. If we win all this, Iván Maldonado is the MVP of the whole Caribbean “, underlined the Creole leader Ramón Vázquez in a press conference.

“He helped us save almost half of the bullpen today. Definitely take my hat off to him. The movement with Ivan was obvious. It was the freshest, but I didn’t expect him to give me more than two tickets and yes “, he added.

Maldonado is in its tenth Caribbean series and has a scepter as part of the 2018 edition of Cagüeña in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

The Puerto Rican offense was not intimidated by the fact that he was on board so early and immediately began his recovery with a solo homer from Jarren Durán in the first half.. The Boston Red Sox prospect finished 3-2, with three goals scored. Henry Ramos and Vimael Machín drove in two races each. Reymond Fuentes, Jonathan Morales, Juan Centeno and Jeremy Rivera also brought the runners on stage.

Rescuers Giovanni Soto, Chris Muller and Cristian Torres allowed a hit in four innings of relief. Joshua Torres had the ball to close the game, but faced problems, allowing two touchdowns for the Panamanians to hit 9-8 with the bases loaded and one outside.

Although he wanted to give him the day off, Vazquez chose to replace Joshua with his close teammate Fernando Cruz, who looked great again as he got the last two outs on seven pitches. Cruz has three saves and wins in 3.2 innings without hits and seven fans.

“It means something special to me, my family to Puerto Rico and our team. Here is zero individuality. We all row in the same place and it is special for us. As our leader said, there is still a lot of work to be done. We celebrate the classification, but the emotion must be transmitted tomorrow (Friday), which is the important day to reach the final “, said Cruz.

Vázquez agreed with the comments of his close friend, emphasizing the teamwork done to defeat some fierce federalists.

“He was thinking of releasing these two (Soto and Cruz). They both did an extraordinary job. There were many things. They lost by one race. Centeno’s block (catcher) in the fifth half, with a runner in the third and two outs could have been another round and the game would have been tied for ninth. Not many people see that play. We did the work with a sacrificial flight from Morales, Fuentes, with an extraordinary return in front of a Southpaw, with a loaded base and a walk to bring another run. Morales with his double effort to score later. Durán’s home range in the first half set the tone “, Vázquez summed up.