Tigres back in win column

Photo courtesy of los Tigres de Aragua

Aragua 4 at Magallanes 2

W: J. Mijares (1-0, 4.26); L: R. Cova (1-1, 4.26); SV: F. Butto (4)
HR: None.

I like doing game reports better when the Tigres win. If I wanted to write about victory challenged felines, I'd cover Florida Panthers games.

That being said, los Tigres de Aragua got back into the win column against los Navegantes del Magallenes on Sunday.

Agagua got onto the board first, when Raul Chavez (NY Yankees) singled in the second inning, then scored on Luis Maza's (LA Dodgers) follow up single to right. Richard Hidalgo (F/A) could not get a hold of Maza's ball, giving Chavez plenty of time to get to the plate for the first run of the game.

Magellanes came back in the bottom of stanza though, with Edgardo Alfonzo (F/A) taking a walk. Tomas Perez (Chicago White Sox) and Hidalgo followed that up with back-to-back singles to load the bases. A wild pitch by Kyle Middleton (Houston) brought in Alfonzo, and Perez would come home on Luis Ordaz's (Pittsburgh) ground out. Gustavo Molina (Baltimore) would walk before former Miracle outfielder Erold Andrus (Tampa Bay) hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Cats tied the game up in the fourth. Hector Gimenez (Houston) would double and Willie Romero's (F/A) single moved him to 3rd. Chavez walked to load the bags. Maza would ground into a force out that took Gimenez down at the plate, but Martin Prado (Atlanta) followed it up with a single that pushed Romero over the plate. With the bags still full, Jose Martinez (St Louis) would ground into a double play to end inning.

Middleton would work 5 innings, allowing the 2 runs (earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks while stirking out 3. Jose Guanchez (F/A), Bobby Korecky (Minnesota) and Jose Mijares (Minnesota) would combine to work the 6th and 7th.

Aragua's offense got to work in the 8th with Gimenez singling and Willie Romero walking. Alex Romero (Arizona) would come into the game as a pinch runner for Gimenez, and Alex Nunez (F/A) would be inserted as a pintch hitter for Chavez. Nunez would single to load the bases. A sac-fly by Maza brought in Alex Romero, and Prada's follow up single brought in Willie. Rafale Cova (F/A) would be charged with the loss, while Mijares, who again worked just .1 inning, picked up his first win of the Venezuelan Winter League season.

Victor Morina (Baltimore) worked 1 inning, while Kevin Tolar (F/A) and Francisco Butto (F/A) mopped up.

Luis Rodriguez (San Diego) was 1-for-2 at the plate, Alex Romero was 0-for-1 but had the one run for Gimenez, and Maza was 1-for-3 with 1 RBI.

Los Tigres nap on Monday, then face Margarita on Tuesday and Wednesday for 7:30 PM EST games. Brian Bass (Minnesota) is scheduled to pitch Wednesday's game. Former Twins prospect Henry Bonilla (LA Angels) is likely to take a start on Saturday as part of a double-header against the Caribes.

Free agent Willie Romero was named the Tigres Player of the Week. Jesus Feliciano (NY Mets) received honorable mention, as did Moreno as Pitcher of the Week.

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Tigres

Over in the Dominican League, Alexi Casilla his hitting .320 (16 hits, 50 at bats, 12 games) with 9 runs and 1 RBI. Julio Depaula has a 3.38 ERA, a 0-1 record, and has pitched 5.1 innings in 5 games, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6.