<img alt="2024 All-Star Futures Game" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c-CE6UmwzbuJnH06RT8KNc4JQSg=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73714755/2161354139.0.jpg">
Photo by Sam Hodde/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Baldwin didn’t have a great game, but the Americans run ruled the Netherlands Day two of the WBSC Premier12 saw the debut of Atlanta Braves top prospect Drake Baldwin, who started at catcher against the Netherlands right-handed starter. Baldwin did not have his best game, striking out in his first at bat and rolling a grounder over to first base his second time up, but in the seventh inning he kicked off a huge rally. Baldwin drew a seven-pitch leadoff walk and would go on to score the first of four runs for Team USA in the inning. Baldwin grounded out in his final plate appearance. In other news Sabin Ceballos backed up his first game with another good one, getting two hits and a walk for Puerto Rico, though his contributions weren’t enough for the win.
Player of the DayMatt Shaw, United States4-5, 2B. HR, 7 RBI
Matt Shaw has been carrying the United States offense through the first two games, as he is now 7-8 at the plate in the tournament. He was the key contributor to a run-rule win for Team USA, hitting a three-run double and walk-off three-run home run to compile seven RBI in the American win. Shaw also had the go-ahead single early in the game, and in total accounted for nine of Team USA’s 12 runs.
Pitcher of the Day: Enrique Burgos, Panama2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Panama needed a win to shake off the sting of their opening day loss, and Burgos was a critical part of them locking down an upset over Venezuela. Burgos put out a rally in the seventh inning to keep Panama ahead in the game, and in total retired all seven batters he faced with four coming on strikeouts. A day after the bullpen was the Achilles heel for Panama they excelled, with Burgos being the biggest contributor to that success.
SCOREBOARD
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VENEZUELA 2 — 4 PANAMA
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEJhonny Santos, PAN: 2-3, 3B, HREnrique Burgos, PAN: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 KEdgard Munoz, PAN: 2-4, 2B, RBI
It was an exciting second day of Premier12 action as all of the teams split results, bringing Group A to a deadlock in the win-loss column. Panama’s disappointing result from first day didn’t carry over, as they held together to close out a win over the tight Venezuelan team thanks to a much-improved pitching performance. Starter Dario Agrazal had a shaky outing which started with a poor first inning, during which he allowed two hits and a walk including a double to Ramon Flores that opened the scoring in the game. Agrazal would work around hits in the next two innings, but after a single and a walk the Panamanian defense had the first of many mistakes, an error that loaded the bases with still no one out in the inning. Teetering on the brink of collapse Agrazal balked in a run, but a strikeout of Carlos Perez and a foul pop out to the catcher garnered his first two outs in the inning. This also ended his day, but reliever Kenny Hernandez got a critical ground out from Alexi Amarista to limit the damage in what could have been the turning point for this game.
Venezuela’s Jesus Vargas had a solid outing for his team, keeping pace with Panama’s pitching staff to keep the game tied through his five innings of work. He started out by rolling through the top of Panama’s lineup, retiring the first five batters he faced, but in the bottom of the second Carlos Xavier Quiroz tagged him for a solo home run, tying the game at one run apiece. A leadoff double allowed to Robert Mullen in the third inning put him in quick trouble, and Edgard Munoz gave Panama their first lead of the game with a one out single. Vargas settled in to dominate the rest of the game after Venezuela tied the game, setting down seven of the past eight batters he faced, and finished with a flourish when he struck out the side in his fifth and final inning.
Now a battle of the bullpens Panama held a distinct advantage thanks to two tremendous performances, the first from the aforementioned Kenny Hernandez. Hernandez covered three scoreless innings in relief of Agrazal, taking the game into the seventh with a lead until a base hit and another Panama error finally chased him from the game with two outs. This brought out Enrique Burgos who promptly shut down the Venezuelan rally, before going on to close out the game with a dominant final two innings. Burgos retired all seven batters he faced in relief, four via strikeout, earning the multi-inning save for Panama.
Panama defeat Venezuela and even their record 1-1!#Premier12 pic.twitter.com/uzHS7eqaOv— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
It all came down to who could get the big hit in the late innings, and for that we have to turn our attention to the bottom of the sixth inning. With Vargas done for the day Venezuelan turned to Nivaldo Rodriguez to cover the remainder of the game. Edgard Munoz immediately lit a fire under Puerto Rico with a leadoff double, putting Rodriguez and Venezuela on the ropes. Rodriguez got the next two batters out, but Munoz still came in to score — a Ruben Tejada sacrifice fly making the difference in the game. Just for good measure Jhonny Santos added the cherry on top of the game for Panama, hitting a solo home run with two outs to extend the lead and give Burgos more room to work down the stretch. Rodriguez was fantastic down the stretch for Venezuela, retiring the final seven batters he faced, five via strikeout, but the Venezuelan bats couldn’t come through with anything to save the game.
NETHERLANDS 2 — 12 UNITED STATES
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEMatt Shaw, USA: 4-5, 2B, HR, 7 RBIChandler Simpson, USA: 2-3, 2 BBLuke Ritter, USA: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI
No drama was needed in the second game for Team USA, who exploded after a disappointing performance on Saturday where they got shut out and wasted multiple scoring chances. Still, the American squad found themselves in as early a deficit as you can get. Casey Lawrence served up a first pitch sinker to start out the game easy, and Didi Gregorius was waiting on that pitch. Gregorius turned and drove one out into the bullpen for a leadoff home run, and the Dutch team was not done making Lawrence pay. Jonathan Schoop singled on the next pitch, and Lawrence advanced him with a wild pitch and a balk, leading to another run when Juremi Profar’s ground out chased him home. Lawrence learned his lesson in the first inning, and after that shaky opening frame shut down the Netherlands, going 3 1⁄3 innings.
First pitch dinger for Didi Gregorius!#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/7M8bsPtw43— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
On the US side there certainly had to be frustration stemming from game one, and they wasted little time taking out that frustration on Netherlands starter Kaj Timmerman. Timmerman left a breaking ball out over the plate for Ritter to hit, and he did not miss, crushing a solo home run over the left field fence to make it a one-run game. Ryan Ward would then make it back-to-back home runs for Team USA, turning on and annihilating a middle-middle fastball for a game-tying home run. The slate was wiped clear for the United States, and while the pitching staff dominated the offense kept putting up runs. The duo of Chandler Simpson and Matt Shaw had their fingerprints all over this game, and come the third inning they were ready to make an impact. After a leadoff walk flipped over the lineup Simpson ran a bunt single out to put two runners on, and Shaw came up with his first RBI of the game by splitting the right side of the infield with a ground ball to put the Unites States on top. The runs would keep on coming in the inning with a Ritter sacrifice fly and Justin Crawford RBI double scoring two more runs, putting the United States in a commanding spot early.
This is Luke Ritter showing us the meaning of "NO-DOUBTER"#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/wBWIuMZ21a— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
A statement win for USA! #Premier12 || @Premier12 | @USABaseball pic.twitter.com/ndxYEx0Skm— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
The game stayed locked at 5-2 for the middle part of the game, a fantastic performance from the US bullpen keeping the game locked down. The United States relievers combined for 3 2⁄3 innings of scoreless pitching, issuing no walks and, save a couple of two-out hits in the sixth inning, shutting down an offense that tormented Panama’s bullpen just the day before. In the sevent inning the wheels fell off for the Netherlands, as relliever Dylan Farley loaded the bases, giving the middle of the US lineup a chance to do damage. Shaw, who has been the United States’s best player this tournament, came up with the bases loaded and delivered the crushing blow. A 1-2 fastball from Scott Prins stayed up in the zone and drifted over the plate, Shaw jumping all over it and smacking it into the right field corner. With the speed of Chandler Simpson on first base it was a wrap, as the bases cleared and put the United States on top 8-2. Ritter added another RBI with a base hit to score Shaw, and the rout was on. It took just one more inning for the United States to mercy rule the Dutch. Who else was it but Simpson, Shaw, and Termarr Johnson who catalyzed another big inning. Johnson reached base three times in the game, doing a great job at flipping the lineup over to the top, this time drawing his second walk of the game with one out in the inning. Simpson drew a walk himself, and Shaw once again came through with a clutch hit. Shaw hit a laser over the right field wall for a three-run home run, invoking the run rule for a walk-off home run. After three hits in his first game Shaw has remained the hottest USA hitter, this time putting up an incredible seven runs batted in to lead the American attack.
MEXICO 7 — 5 PUERTO RICO
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEAlonso Gaitan, MEX: 3-4, 2B, 3 RBICarlos Cortes, PUR: 4-5, 2B, 2 RBIAndres Alvarez, MEX: 3-5, RBI
The host team jumped out to an early lead, and despite a big response from Puerto Rico were able to pull away to a win down the stretch. Mexico got a fantastic game from leadoff hitter Alonso Gaitan, who reached base four times in the game to set the table to the middle of the lineup. He started out early by working a walk from Dereck Rodriguez in the first inning, and when Andres Alvarez followed by slicing a ball into right field for a base hit Mexico found themselves with a major early opportunity. Gaitan and Alvarez combined for six of Mexico’s nine hits, and quickly combined for two of their runs. Rodriguez came back to get ahead of third hitter Jose Alvarez 0-2, but after failing to finish him off with a high fastball then hanging a cutter in the zone, Rodriguez made a mistake with his changeup and left it in Rojas’s wheelhouse, which Rojas hooked over the right field wall for a three-run home run. Mexico had their first lead of the tournament, and when Rodriguez continued to struggle in the second inning had a chance to make another impact. Rodriguez loaded the bases with two outs for Rojas, but didn’t get a chance to face the slugging first baseman again. Jorge Benitez came in and struck Rojas out looking, temporarily saving Puerto Rico from a dangerous hole.
Jose Rojas with a dinger and Mexico score 3! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/Ijn3EtbCsJ— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
Rodriguez’s opponent Wilmer Rios got off to an opposing start, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out two batters, but when the lineup flipped a second look at Rios played into the hands of the Puerto Rico hitters. Leadoff hitter Edgardo Villegas smacked a single up the middle with one out, and Puerto Rico found life, piling on hit after hit to eventually chase Rios from the game. Javier Vaz burned one over Juan Perez’s head in center field, sending the ball bouncing over the wall for a ground-rule double. This brought up Sabin Ceballos, hero of Puerto Rico’s opener, and Ceballos delivered once again. Ceballos sat on a hanging slider and smoked it into the gap in left center, scoring both runners and bringing the Puerto Rican squad back within a run. Carlos Cortes followed with the third straight double, splitting the same left center field gap and scoring Ceballos easily to tie the game. Ezequiel Pagan made it five straight hits when he raked a high slider into center field, and Cortes streaked around to score. In the blink of an eye Mexico found itself in danger of dropping a second straight game, but they came back resilient in the next inning.
What a win for Mexico! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/VdL1uWZmIj— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
Hanging on to a slim lead Puerto Rico ran reliever Jason Garcia, fresh off of a clean third inning, back out there for another inning. Garcia’s control failed him this time, as he hit leadoff man Alexis Wilson, then walked Juan Perez to flip the lineup over to the top. Garcia’s day was over, and Andres Santiago took over. Alonso Gaitan stood waiting, and after getting ahead 3-0 he ripped a ball just fair down the third base line, and it rolled into the corner for a two-run double. Mexico now led, and they extended the lead thanks to Alvarez following with a single to score Gaitan. Mexico added anothing run in the sixth inning thanks to a Gaitan base hit, and the bullpen supported Rios with 6 1⁄3 innings of one run ball. Gerardo Reyes and Luis Rodriguez combined to cover 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings, turning the ball over to Victor Gonzalez for the seventh inning. Edgardo Villegas once again started out a rally, this time with a walk, but Puerto Rico didn’t have the same success stringing together hits. Cortes and Pagan singled with two outs, allowing Villegas to score and putting the tying run on first base, but Jesus Cruz struck out Shawn Ross and ended the threat. Cruz then struck out the side in the eighth inning, and closer RJ Alaniz took the ball in the ninth. Alaniz struck out Villegas and Vaz, but once again the middle of the order gave Puerto Rico life. Ceballos ripped an inside fastball up the middle for a single and Cortes cracked one into right field, and Puerto Rico had Pagan up with the tying run on first base. Alaniz pounded Pagan with heat, getting a 1-2 advantage in the count, then finished him off on a back foot slider that tied Pagan up for strike three.
Schedule for November 11th
United (1-1) vs Venezuela (1-1) — 7:00 PM Local/9:00 PM EST
Venue: Colosa del Pacifico - Tepic, Mexico
How to Watch: DAZN
Panama (1-1) vs Mexico (1-1) — 8:00 PM Local/9:00 PM EST
Venue: Estadio Panamericano, Guadalajara, Mexico
How to Watch: DAZN
<img alt="2024 All-Star Futures Game" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/c-CE6UmwzbuJnH06RT8KNc4JQSg=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73714755/2161354139.0.jpg">
Photo by Sam Hodde/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Baldwin didn’t have a great game, but the Americans run ruled the Netherlands Day two of the WBSC Premier12 saw the debut of Atlanta Braves top prospect Drake Baldwin, who started at catcher against the Netherlands right-handed starter. Baldwin did not have his best game, striking out in his first at bat and rolling a grounder over to first base his second time up, but in the seventh inning he kicked off a huge rally. Baldwin drew a seven-pitch leadoff walk and would go on to score the first of four runs for Team USA in the inning. Baldwin grounded out in his final plate appearance. In other news Sabin Ceballos backed up his first game with another good one, getting two hits and a walk for Puerto Rico, though his contributions weren’t enough for the win.
Player of the DayMatt Shaw, United States4-5, 2B. HR, 7 RBI
Matt Shaw has been carrying the United States offense through the first two games, as he is now 7-8 at the plate in the tournament. He was the key contributor to a run-rule win for Team USA, hitting a three-run double and walk-off three-run home run to compile seven RBI in the American win. Shaw also had the go-ahead single early in the game, and in total accounted for nine of Team USA’s 12 runs.
Pitcher of the Day: Enrique Burgos, Panama2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Panama needed a win to shake off the sting of their opening day loss, and Burgos was a critical part of them locking down an upset over Venezuela. Burgos put out a rally in the seventh inning to keep Panama ahead in the game, and in total retired all seven batters he faced with four coming on strikeouts. A day after the bullpen was the Achilles heel for Panama they excelled, with Burgos being the biggest contributor to that success.
SCOREBOARD
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VENEZUELA 2 — 4 PANAMA
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEJhonny Santos, PAN: 2-3, 3B, HREnrique Burgos, PAN: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 2 KEdgard Munoz, PAN: 2-4, 2B, RBI
It was an exciting second day of Premier12 action as all of the teams split results, bringing Group A to a deadlock in the win-loss column. Panama’s disappointing result from first day didn’t carry over, as they held together to close out a win over the tight Venezuelan team thanks to a much-improved pitching performance. Starter Dario Agrazal had a shaky outing which started with a poor first inning, during which he allowed two hits and a walk including a double to Ramon Flores that opened the scoring in the game. Agrazal would work around hits in the next two innings, but after a single and a walk the Panamanian defense had the first of many mistakes, an error that loaded the bases with still no one out in the inning. Teetering on the brink of collapse Agrazal balked in a run, but a strikeout of Carlos Perez and a foul pop out to the catcher garnered his first two outs in the inning. This also ended his day, but reliever Kenny Hernandez got a critical ground out from Alexi Amarista to limit the damage in what could have been the turning point for this game.
Venezuela’s Jesus Vargas had a solid outing for his team, keeping pace with Panama’s pitching staff to keep the game tied through his five innings of work. He started out by rolling through the top of Panama’s lineup, retiring the first five batters he faced, but in the bottom of the second Carlos Xavier Quiroz tagged him for a solo home run, tying the game at one run apiece. A leadoff double allowed to Robert Mullen in the third inning put him in quick trouble, and Edgard Munoz gave Panama their first lead of the game with a one out single. Vargas settled in to dominate the rest of the game after Venezuela tied the game, setting down seven of the past eight batters he faced, and finished with a flourish when he struck out the side in his fifth and final inning.
Now a battle of the bullpens Panama held a distinct advantage thanks to two tremendous performances, the first from the aforementioned Kenny Hernandez. Hernandez covered three scoreless innings in relief of Agrazal, taking the game into the seventh with a lead until a base hit and another Panama error finally chased him from the game with two outs. This brought out Enrique Burgos who promptly shut down the Venezuelan rally, before going on to close out the game with a dominant final two innings. Burgos retired all seven batters he faced in relief, four via strikeout, earning the multi-inning save for Panama.
Panama defeat Venezuela and even their record 1-1!#Premier12 pic.twitter.com/uzHS7eqaOv— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
It all came down to who could get the big hit in the late innings, and for that we have to turn our attention to the bottom of the sixth inning. With Vargas done for the day Venezuelan turned to Nivaldo Rodriguez to cover the remainder of the game. Edgard Munoz immediately lit a fire under Puerto Rico with a leadoff double, putting Rodriguez and Venezuela on the ropes. Rodriguez got the next two batters out, but Munoz still came in to score — a Ruben Tejada sacrifice fly making the difference in the game. Just for good measure Jhonny Santos added the cherry on top of the game for Panama, hitting a solo home run with two outs to extend the lead and give Burgos more room to work down the stretch. Rodriguez was fantastic down the stretch for Venezuela, retiring the final seven batters he faced, five via strikeout, but the Venezuelan bats couldn’t come through with anything to save the game.
NETHERLANDS 2 — 12 UNITED STATES
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEMatt Shaw, USA: 4-5, 2B, HR, 7 RBIChandler Simpson, USA: 2-3, 2 BBLuke Ritter, USA: 2-3, HR, 2 RBI
No drama was needed in the second game for Team USA, who exploded after a disappointing performance on Saturday where they got shut out and wasted multiple scoring chances. Still, the American squad found themselves in as early a deficit as you can get. Casey Lawrence served up a first pitch sinker to start out the game easy, and Didi Gregorius was waiting on that pitch. Gregorius turned and drove one out into the bullpen for a leadoff home run, and the Dutch team was not done making Lawrence pay. Jonathan Schoop singled on the next pitch, and Lawrence advanced him with a wild pitch and a balk, leading to another run when Juremi Profar’s ground out chased him home. Lawrence learned his lesson in the first inning, and after that shaky opening frame shut down the Netherlands, going 3 1⁄3 innings.
First pitch dinger for Didi Gregorius!#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/7M8bsPtw43— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
On the US side there certainly had to be frustration stemming from game one, and they wasted little time taking out that frustration on Netherlands starter Kaj Timmerman. Timmerman left a breaking ball out over the plate for Ritter to hit, and he did not miss, crushing a solo home run over the left field fence to make it a one-run game. Ryan Ward would then make it back-to-back home runs for Team USA, turning on and annihilating a middle-middle fastball for a game-tying home run. The slate was wiped clear for the United States, and while the pitching staff dominated the offense kept putting up runs. The duo of Chandler Simpson and Matt Shaw had their fingerprints all over this game, and come the third inning they were ready to make an impact. After a leadoff walk flipped over the lineup Simpson ran a bunt single out to put two runners on, and Shaw came up with his first RBI of the game by splitting the right side of the infield with a ground ball to put the Unites States on top. The runs would keep on coming in the inning with a Ritter sacrifice fly and Justin Crawford RBI double scoring two more runs, putting the United States in a commanding spot early.
This is Luke Ritter showing us the meaning of "NO-DOUBTER"#Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/wBWIuMZ21a— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 10, 2024
A statement win for USA! #Premier12 || @Premier12 | @USABaseball pic.twitter.com/ndxYEx0Skm— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
The game stayed locked at 5-2 for the middle part of the game, a fantastic performance from the US bullpen keeping the game locked down. The United States relievers combined for 3 2⁄3 innings of scoreless pitching, issuing no walks and, save a couple of two-out hits in the sixth inning, shutting down an offense that tormented Panama’s bullpen just the day before. In the sevent inning the wheels fell off for the Netherlands, as relliever Dylan Farley loaded the bases, giving the middle of the US lineup a chance to do damage. Shaw, who has been the United States’s best player this tournament, came up with the bases loaded and delivered the crushing blow. A 1-2 fastball from Scott Prins stayed up in the zone and drifted over the plate, Shaw jumping all over it and smacking it into the right field corner. With the speed of Chandler Simpson on first base it was a wrap, as the bases cleared and put the United States on top 8-2. Ritter added another RBI with a base hit to score Shaw, and the rout was on. It took just one more inning for the United States to mercy rule the Dutch. Who else was it but Simpson, Shaw, and Termarr Johnson who catalyzed another big inning. Johnson reached base three times in the game, doing a great job at flipping the lineup over to the top, this time drawing his second walk of the game with one out in the inning. Simpson drew a walk himself, and Shaw once again came through with a clutch hit. Shaw hit a laser over the right field wall for a three-run home run, invoking the run rule for a walk-off home run. After three hits in his first game Shaw has remained the hottest USA hitter, this time putting up an incredible seven runs batted in to lead the American attack.
MEXICO 7 — 5 PUERTO RICO
box score | replay
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PLAYERS OF THE GAMEAlonso Gaitan, MEX: 3-4, 2B, 3 RBICarlos Cortes, PUR: 4-5, 2B, 2 RBIAndres Alvarez, MEX: 3-5, RBI
The host team jumped out to an early lead, and despite a big response from Puerto Rico were able to pull away to a win down the stretch. Mexico got a fantastic game from leadoff hitter Alonso Gaitan, who reached base four times in the game to set the table to the middle of the lineup. He started out early by working a walk from Dereck Rodriguez in the first inning, and when Andres Alvarez followed by slicing a ball into right field for a base hit Mexico found themselves with a major early opportunity. Gaitan and Alvarez combined for six of Mexico’s nine hits, and quickly combined for two of their runs. Rodriguez came back to get ahead of third hitter Jose Alvarez 0-2, but after failing to finish him off with a high fastball then hanging a cutter in the zone, Rodriguez made a mistake with his changeup and left it in Rojas’s wheelhouse, which Rojas hooked over the right field wall for a three-run home run. Mexico had their first lead of the tournament, and when Rodriguez continued to struggle in the second inning had a chance to make another impact. Rodriguez loaded the bases with two outs for Rojas, but didn’t get a chance to face the slugging first baseman again. Jorge Benitez came in and struck Rojas out looking, temporarily saving Puerto Rico from a dangerous hole.
Jose Rojas with a dinger and Mexico score 3! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/Ijn3EtbCsJ— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
Rodriguez’s opponent Wilmer Rios got off to an opposing start, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out two batters, but when the lineup flipped a second look at Rios played into the hands of the Puerto Rico hitters. Leadoff hitter Edgardo Villegas smacked a single up the middle with one out, and Puerto Rico found life, piling on hit after hit to eventually chase Rios from the game. Javier Vaz burned one over Juan Perez’s head in center field, sending the ball bouncing over the wall for a ground-rule double. This brought up Sabin Ceballos, hero of Puerto Rico’s opener, and Ceballos delivered once again. Ceballos sat on a hanging slider and smoked it into the gap in left center, scoring both runners and bringing the Puerto Rican squad back within a run. Carlos Cortes followed with the third straight double, splitting the same left center field gap and scoring Ceballos easily to tie the game. Ezequiel Pagan made it five straight hits when he raked a high slider into center field, and Cortes streaked around to score. In the blink of an eye Mexico found itself in danger of dropping a second straight game, but they came back resilient in the next inning.
What a win for Mexico! #Premier12 || @Premier12 pic.twitter.com/VdL1uWZmIj— WBSC ⚾ (@WBSC) November 11, 2024
Hanging on to a slim lead Puerto Rico ran reliever Jason Garcia, fresh off of a clean third inning, back out there for another inning. Garcia’s control failed him this time, as he hit leadoff man Alexis Wilson, then walked Juan Perez to flip the lineup over to the top. Garcia’s day was over, and Andres Santiago took over. Alonso Gaitan stood waiting, and after getting ahead 3-0 he ripped a ball just fair down the third base line, and it rolled into the corner for a two-run double. Mexico now led, and they extended the lead thanks to Alvarez following with a single to score Gaitan. Mexico added anothing run in the sixth inning thanks to a Gaitan base hit, and the bullpen supported Rios with 6 1⁄3 innings of one run ball. Gerardo Reyes and Luis Rodriguez combined to cover 3 1⁄3 scoreless innings, turning the ball over to Victor Gonzalez for the seventh inning. Edgardo Villegas once again started out a rally, this time with a walk, but Puerto Rico didn’t have the same success stringing together hits. Cortes and Pagan singled with two outs, allowing Villegas to score and putting the tying run on first base, but Jesus Cruz struck out Shawn Ross and ended the threat. Cruz then struck out the side in the eighth inning, and closer RJ Alaniz took the ball in the ninth. Alaniz struck out Villegas and Vaz, but once again the middle of the order gave Puerto Rico life. Ceballos ripped an inside fastball up the middle for a single and Cortes cracked one into right field, and Puerto Rico had Pagan up with the tying run on first base. Alaniz pounded Pagan with heat, getting a 1-2 advantage in the count, then finished him off on a back foot slider that tied Pagan up for strike three.
Schedule for November 11th
United (1-1) vs Venezuela (1-1) — 7:00 PM Local/9:00 PM EST
Venue: Colosa del Pacifico - Tepic, Mexico
How to Watch: DAZN
Panama (1-1) vs Mexico (1-1) — 8:00 PM Local/9:00 PM EST
Venue: Estadio Panamericano, Guadalajara, Mexico
How to Watch: DAZN
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