Cardinals of Lara stayed with the runner-up of the Caribbean

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San Juan, Puerto Rico.- Cardinals of Lara remained standing until the last challenge of the Caribbean Series, but was surpassed by Toros del Este 9-3 in the meeting that defined the champion of the region, after seven days of competition at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Luis Ugueto, manager of the twilight, met with his directed minutes after out 27, trapped in the center garden by Abraham Almonte, and highlighted the team's journey during the most recent three months, while thanking the efforts of the players who were They uniformed to travel to Puerto Rico. The strategist was the last to leave the clubhouse and get on the bus.

"I am happy for all that was achieved," he released. “Unfortunately, the last objective was not achieved to be champion, bring that joy to our country. But it was important for the league that the season could be taken out and that we got here, showing a good level. It was an amazing experience, my first as a manager. Grateful to management, to the staff of coaches, in which some were exercising those functions for the first time, to management. ”

Lara reached the Final with a 5-1 record, after beating Tomateros de Culiacán in semis, who came to the event as a favorite and was the group with the best collective performance of the elimination phase.

Cardinals acceded to the Final on the shoulders of their pitchers, who tacked 25 innings in a row without allowing annotations, until Rubén Sosa hit an unstoppable one that put the horned 1-0 up, in the third inning. The advantage would never be lost by the Dominican champion.

“It's part of the ball. (Opener Wilfredo) Ledezma was able to get the first two innings, but from the third leg, the injury of (Juan) Apodaca was key. He wanted to beat, but he couldn't. Credit for (Alixon) Suarez, who didn't have much action in the league with us and took responsibility. It was fastened and the game ended. ”

Apodaca hurt one of his legs running to second base, after a double-play hit by Wilington Dotel. Suarez took over the home plate.

Ledezma left the match in the fourth, after giving Jordany Valdespín a ticket and receiving a hit from Peter O'Brien, who was elected Most Valuable Player.

Francisey Bueno relieved him and could not stop Quisqueya's attack. Almonte received him with a double impeller and, after one out, Diego Goris connected a firecracker to the left that moved the score 3-0.

“I trusted those I had to trust, the bullpen boys did a good job, they gradually collapsed, but they did a good job,” said Ugueto.

Toros made two more lines in the fifth, one in the sixth and three more in the eighth, including another biannual from Almonte, who took two teammates to the plate to liquidate the game.

Cardinals had nine hits, two of them promoters of Gorkys Hernández and one of Welington Dotel, although they never managed to endanger the Dominican lauro.

The Creole team barely tied for .197 in the series, the second worst in the tournament, and in their most recent three games they scored just six times.

The last time Venezuela took the Caribbean Series was in 2009, courtesy of Tigres de Aragua, but managed to play its first Final, with the new format, since 2016.

Lara's roster was very different from the one raised by the sixth pennant in the history of the franchise in January. He had to embark on the trip to San Juan with 15 reinforcements and some of the original club players who were present in Borinquen, were not even part of the active payroll of the club in the Final Series of the LVBP.

“I had to answer awkward questions about what was experienced this year, the circumstances in which the league developed. Being here showed that you could play at a good level, ”said Ugueto, who hopes to take a well-deserved vacation.

“All the decisions I made, I hold. I do not regret anything I did. On my part I prepared for this, ”he stressed. "Now it is time to rest from a season that is a bit long, stressful, from day one."