Nicaragua vs. Puerto Rico postgame managerial quotes

[Kevin Barral]

See what both managers had to say following Puerto Rico's 5-2 win over Nicaragua in the first game of the 2024 Caribbean Series.

MIAMI, FL—Following game one of the 2024 Caribbean Series, the managers of both teams, Yadier Molina (Puerto Rico) and Marvin Bernard (Nicaragua), addressed the media postgame giving their thoughts on the first game as well as previewing Friday's games.

"We need to do two things," said Bernard. "We need to pitch very well and we need to play some clean defense. I think the pitching was sufficiently well with just a couple moments here and there that didn't go our way. It's just part of the game. We need to come out tomorrow and just play better defense."

Throughout the game, Nicaragua had a couple moments where they had some defensive breakdowns, most notably when center fielder Jarius Richards and left fielder Juan Montes collided which ended up taking both players out for the remainder of the game.

As for the pitching, Nicaragua was able to rely on start Luis Ramirez to give them 4 ⅓ strong innings, where he only allowed one run and struck out three. As for the bullpen, each reliever only allowed one run in the game.

On the other end, this marked the 200th win in Puerto Rico's history of international competition, but Molina is looking to go for win 201 on Friday when they take on Mexico. "Very happy," said Molina. "When you find out about that news and to be a part of that, it's a joy and very happy with that."

After trailing 1-0 through the first four innings of the game, Puerto Rico was able to tie things up thanks to a sac fly by Danny Ortiz who drove in Bryan Torres.

Molina, who spent four years playing in the Venezuelan winter leagues, spoke about the experience that he gained with those teams and how he was able to use that now as he is a manager with the Puerto Rican teams in the World Baseball Classic and now in the Caribbean Series.

"A lot of things that I learned." said Molina. "Winter ball is a lot more different from Major League Baseball. There's a lot of things that I need to learn and like I said at the beginning, we just need to continue to learn. There's going to be a lot of things that come up and you just need to continue to keep paying attention and I think that I am learning a lot about that."

On Friday, Puerto Rico will take on México at 8:30 p.m. and Molina previewed what the matchup could look like. What stands out is the fact that Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Criollos de Caguas have the most championships in their respective domestic leagues.

"I still remember them from the World Baseball Classic," said Molina, as México beat Puerto Rico in the WBC. "We always know that they have a well-built team and a great lineup, but I have confidence in this team's pitching and offense."

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