SPAIN – Marlins Puerto Cruz claimed a pair of tough wins over upset-minded El Llano last weekend to remain unbeaten in the Spanish League. The four-time defending champion improved to 22-0 on the season with a four-game lead over second place F.C. Barcelona.

El Llano (8-14) opened the scoring in the second with a run but the Marlins answered back with two scores in the same inning for a 2-1 lead.  The scoreboard stayed unchanged until the seventh when Luis Perez launched a two-run drive to seal the win.

Big right-hander Leslie Nacar (see photo), who improved to 10-0 on the season,  went the distance with nine strikeouts to earn his 20th win in his last 21 decisions.

The second part of a twinbill was a see-saw affair with the Marlins prevailing 10-8 in a slugfest that featured 25 hits and four long balls. Perez smacked his second two-run shot of the day while both Daniel Martinez and Richard Montiel also went deep for coach Nestor Perez’ streaking squad. El Llano’s playing coach Roberto Noriega – last year’s league batting champion with a .458 mark – was 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs.

Audie Nunez (2-0) came out of the bullpen to get the win, while El Llano reliever Gabriel Camino (0-3) was saddled with his third setback.

F.C. BARCELONA SWEEPS SAN INAZIO

Homer Baez tossed a five-hit shutout to get back on the winning track and F.C. Barcelona edged San Inazio 2-0 in a low-scoring duel on Saturday. The Spanish heavyweight finished off the sweep the following day with a 5-2 victory.

Baez (8-2), who has struggled in recent weeks, handcuffed a reeling San Inazio team that has dropped four straight games. Jorge Miqueleiz put Barcelona ahead in the second with an RBI single, and Juan Manuel Salazar added an insurance run an inning later with a run-scoring double.

San Inazio starter Fidel Mane (4-3) was pinned with the loss despite limiting the league’s third-best offensive group to a pair of runs and four hits in seven solid innings.

The second encounter on Sunday was another tight affair with Barcelona hammering out a 5-2 win. Speedster Felix Isasi had three hits and Pedro Belmonte (9-0) remained perfect on the season in a shaky but effective outing that saw San Inazio collect 12 hits.

SANT BOI SPANKS ASTROS

Oscar Alvarez picked up his eighth win of the season and Sant Boi blanked the Valencia Astros 10-0 Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second meeting, Sant Boi broke open a 1-1 deadlock with nine late unanswered runs to complete the sweep with a 10-1 victory.

Alvarez (8-3) pitched eight innings of three-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and William Domero and Marc Carrillo both drilled homers for the visitors. Edward Adames (0-2) was charged with the loss after allowing six hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

In the second game, Jose Estebin Cruz (9-1) scattered a run and six hits in a complete game effort and Milko Jaramillo homered to lead Sant Boi to a lopsided win. Alberto Orti (0-2) suffered the loss after giving up four hits and three runs in six innings.

In other Spanish League action this past weekend, Viladecans beat Baseball Navarra 7-5 in the first encounter before dropping the second game, 9-3. Also, Pamplona and Vigo split a pair of one-run battles. Pamplona took the opening matchup 2-1, while the Halcones captured a 4-3 win in the second meeting.

Photo courtesy of Diego Lazaro

Tags: Spain