The Aguilas Cibaenas took a step closer to the finals last night as they came from behind to defeat the Estrellas Orientales 8-5 in the Cibao Baseball Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros. The game, interrupted by a blackout for 30 minutes during the 7th inning, was a see-saw battle from the start. The Estrellas, from San Pedro de Macoris, took a 2-0 lead in the second, that the Aguilas quickly cut to 2-1, thanks to a base on balls and a triple by Alexis Gomez. In the fifth, the Aguilas took a commanding lead when they scored four runs on doubles by Gomez and Encarnacion, followed by a double by Luis Polonia and then a thundering homerun by Miguel Tejada over the right centerfield wall. The Eagles scored two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and sealed the victory. Miguel Tejada, Luis Polonia and Julian Tavarez all set records during the course of the game. Tejada, a Major League star, hit his 22nd home run, a post-season record. Polonia became the first player to bat in 100 runs, and Tavarez, another Major Leaguer, earned his 15th win in the post season, an all-time record.
Today’s games
Gigantes at Aguilas in Santiago
Licey at Estrellas in San Pedro de Macoris
There are plenty of tickets available for all the games in San Pedro and San Francisco de Macoris.
Standings
Team
GP
GW
GL
Diff
Aguilas1495–
Licey13761.5
Estrellas14683.0
Gigantes13583.5
For more information on the upcoming games, see http://www.dr1.com/news/2005/010405_playoffs2005.shtm