SPAIN – Perhaps Leslie Nacar and Ivan Granados days in the Spanish League are numbered?

Nacar and Granados both pitched complete game shutouts this past Saturday to help Marlins Puerto Cruz remain unbeaten with a pair of victories over Baseball Navarra. This past winter, the Italian Baseball League signed a bevy of talented pitchers from Spain.

The four-time defending league champion improved to 10-0, while Navarra (1-9) lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

The Marlins capitalized on a pair of throwing errors by Navarra to score three first-inning runs, and went on to claim a lopsided 13-0 victory in the opening clash. Player/Coach Nestor Perez highlighted the early outburst with an RBI double off Juan J. Lopez – who needed 27 pitches to get back into the dugout.

The Tenerife club strung together five consecutive hits, including a two-run triple off the bat of Juan Carlos Macias, to start the fourth and built an 8-0 advantage. Meanwhile, Granados was having his way with the overmatched Navarra lineup.

The burly right-hander plunked Navarra leadoff hitter Iñaki Alfonso with an 0-2 pitch, and then retired the next 16 batters he faced before Luis Compres reached on a one-out double in the sixth.

Richard Montiel added a run-scoring hit in the sixth, and the Marlins used two RBI doubles in the ninth to complete the blowout win.

Nacar (4-0), who struck out eight in a masterful two-hit outing, surrendered a single to Luis Villanueva in the seventh before sitting down the next eight batters to end the game.

The second encounter was a scoreless affair until the seventh when the Marlins scored three runs off reliever Juan Marte to capture a 4-0 win.

Granados (3-0) and Navarra starter Diego Perez matched goose eggs the first six innings in a classic pitching duel. The Marlins hard-throwing southpaw fanned 13 while giving up five hits to notch his third win of the season. Perez departed after six solid innings and was saddled with a no-decision.

The Marlins broke the scoreless deadlock on a run-scoring infield hit by Macias that plated Nestor Perez, who had reached on an infield hit to start the inning. Montiel added a two-run single later in the inning to stretch the lead to 3-0, and the Marlins tagged reliever Victor Martinez with an insurance run in the ninth to clinch the victory.

FC BARCELONA TAKE TWO FROM PAMPLONA
Venezuelan Homer Baez threw a four-hitter in a complete-game shutout to help FC Barcelona blank Pamplona 3-0 Saturday in a pitching dominated matchup that featured a combined seven hits by both squads.

Barcelona scored the only run it would need in the fourth off Pamplona starter Alexis Fumero. Speedster Emmanuel Febles was hit by a full-count pitch to start the inning, swiped second base after two failed pickoff attempts, and raced to third when catcher Gary Martinez hurried throw sailed into centerfield. The second baseman dashed home on a passed ball to put the home team on top, 1-0.

An RBI single by Orlando Diaz and an error on Pamplona shortstop Jose San Martin in the sixth capped the scoring.

Pamplona threatened to get on the board an inning later after Fumero led off with a single up the middle. Eduardo Arrondo followed with a hit to left field before Baez regrouped with a strikeout and a pair of groundouts to preserve the shutout.

Baez (4-0) fanned 12 and walked two in a dominant outing to register the win over Fumero (0-3), who failed to get into the win column despite a valiant three-hit effort over eight innings.

In the series finale on Sunday, Barcelona raced out to a 5-0 advantage heading into the third and went on to claim the weekend sweep with a 10-4 victory.

Juan Manuel Salazar paced Barcelona’s 14-hit attack with a 4-for-5 effort at the plate, while both Felix Isasi and Yehan Machado added three hits apiece.

Pedro Belmonte (3-0) scattered seven hits and two runs over five innings to remain unbeaten on the season.

SANT BOI SPLITS WITH VILADECANS
David Porcar’s two-run single in the top of the seventh broke a scoreless tie, and Viladecans added three runs in the ninth to deal Sant Boi a 5-1 setback Sunday. Delio Miguel Martinez (2-0) scattered a run and seven hits in a complete-game effort to remain perfect on the mound this season. Oscar Alvarez (3-2) was tagged with the loss despite a solid eight-inning outing.

Sant Boi answered back in the second part of the doubleheader with a five-run fourth inning en route to a 7-1 victory to salvage a split of the weekend series. Jose Estebin Cruz (5-0) notched his league-best fifth win with a sparkling two-hitter over eight innings that included eight strikeouts.

Yaeko Vazquez and William Domero accounted for five RBIs, while Jose Luis Riera and Marc Carrillo combined to score four runs.

Pol Llopis (1-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering five unearned runs and nine hits in six innings.

HALCONES AND SAN INAZIO BATTLE TO A DRAW
Jose Antonio Acevedo’s RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th lifted Halcones de Vigo over San Inazio Bilbao 3-2 on Sunday in one of the longest games in Europe thus far this season.

The Halcones carried a 2-0 lead into the ninth before RBI singles by Dirimo Chavez and Kelvin Marianucci sent the game into exta innings. Marco Marques reached first on second baseman Jose Eduardo Acosta’s fielding miscue, and sprinted home with the winning score on Acevedo’s walk-off flyball.

Jose Gabriel Mendez (1-1) earned his first win of the year, while Andoni Ortiz (0-2) lost for the second time.

San Inazio bounced back to capture the second matchup 7-1 as Alberto Magallon (3-1) struck out six in a complete-game victory.

EL LLANO SWEEPS PAST WINLESS ASTROS
Roberto Noriega hit a clutch go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning to lead El Llano to a hard-fought 6-4 victory over the Valencia Astros. Juan De Leon (2-1) went the distance to nail down his second win of the season while Elvis Polanco (0-3) suffered the setback.

Both teams, which combined for 48 hits this past weekend, continued their offense barrage in the second game with El Llano prevailing 10-5. Noriega tallied three hits and Emilio Perez homered to help Ruben Fente (3-1) pick up the win. Luis Garcia (0-2) surrendered four runs in five innings on the hill and was charged with the loss.

Photo courtesy of  Diego Lazaro

Tags: Spain