Venezuelan Winter League Championship Series: Navegantes de Magallanes 7, Cardenales de Lara 3

With elimination on the line, the Navegantes de Magallanes came out strong and carried their early momentum to a 7-3 victory. The Cubs’ Luis Valbuena got Lara on the board first with a solo homer in the second inning, but Magallanes responded with 4 in the bottom of the inning on a 3-run homer by the Royals’ Mario Lisson and an RBI single by the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus. Lara got a run back in the 3rd to make it a 4-2 game, but Giants star Pablo Sandoval ended all hope of a Lara comeback in the bottom of the inning, drilling a 3-run homer, his 6th of the VWL Postseason to lead all players, to make it a 7-2 game. Even after a strong 2012 MLB Postseason highlighted by his 3 home runs in Game 1 of the World Series versus the Detroit Tigers, Sandoval continues to do everything he can to help his team win in the VWL playoffs. Gustavo Chacin, the ex-13-game winner for the Toronto Blue Jays, gave Magallanes 5 solid innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 2, and the bullpen behind him let up just 1 additional run as Magallanes coasted to a big Game 6 win to force a Game 7 in the VWL Championship Series. Sandoval has been huge for Magallanes, hitting .295 with 6 homers and 23 RBI in 20 games for them this Postseason, and they’re going to need him to come up huge once again as the Navegantes and Lara risk it all with the winner going to the Caribbean Series.

Venezuelan Winter League Championship Series: Cardenales de Lara 3, Navegantes de Magallanes 0

This game was a pitcher’s duel all the way, but Lara pushed 3 runs across in the 5th inning against Gustavo Chacin and the Navegantes to come away with the win. Chacin had gotten off to a great start, striking out 5 while allowing just 1 hit in 4 innings to begin the game, but Luis Valbuena quickly ended that, slamming a solo homer to put Lara ahead 1-0. A Gabriel Noriega RBI double and a Yangervis Solarte RBI single made the score 3-0 Cardenales. Valbuena is hitting .333 out of the 5-hole for Lara in the VWL Postseason with 3 home runs, seeming to come up huge time and again. Chacin, meanwhile, struck out 6 while walking none but could not get out of the 5th inning. Victor Marte of the St. Louis Cardinals followed him with 2.2 hitless innings, striking out 4 while walking 1, and Magallanes pitching actually struck out 14 in the game, but it would be in a losing effort. Longtime Chunichi Dragons (Japanese Central League) pitcher Maximo Nelson went 5 shutout innings for Lara for the win, followed by 1.2 scoreless frames with 2 strikeouts by Romulo Sanchez, the former Rays minor leaguer (and big leaguer for the Yankees and Pirates), and perfect work by Jose Jimenez, Yoervis Medina, and Victor Moreno over the last 2.1 innings to end it. Other notables in the game included Elvis Andrus, who went 1 for 2 with 2 walks for Magallanes, but Pablo Sandoval behind him didn’t give him any help, going 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Ex-big leaguer Eliezer Alonzo (who was once traded for future Rays minor leaguer Matt Parker) also went 2 for 4 for the Navegantes, who actually out-hit Lara 7 to 5 but could not make their hits as timely. This is a best-of-nine series and is going to last quite a while, especially after Lara and Magallanes have split the first two games.