Venezuela punches their ticket to Caribbean Series semifinals

Panamá wasted no time to begin Tuesday's primetime game, with Allen Córdoba and Iván Herrera smacking two home runs into the Venezuelan bullpen on back-to-back pitches in the first inning. Venezuela responded in the bottom of the second, plating a run on a double off the wall by Hernán Pérez that drove home Wilson Ramos and moved Yasiel Puig to third. Puig was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a flyout to the right fielder Luis Tello, who made a 93.9 MPH throw to the plate to nab him.

In the top of the third Panamá, there was quite a rally, forcing Venezuela to go to the bullpen early, but they only came out of it with a single run, making the score 3-1. By the time we reached the fourth inning, two plays had already been reviewed, four walks, two mound visits, and four runs scored. We were in for a long night for a game that started at 8:34 p.m. without a pitch clock. Three combined walks and a pitching change in the fifth inning were paired with yet another lengthy review, adding more and more time to the game. 

Venezuela stormed back to take the lead with three runs in the sixth on yet another RBI double by Hernán Pérez, clearing the bases that had been loaded with three walks, giving Venezuela a 4-3 lead. A home run from Alcides Escobar in the bottom of the seventh further extended Venezuela's lead to 5-3 and sent the Venezuelan fans into an absolute frenzy. 

Panamá rallied in the ninth, but could only score a single run, coming up just short.

Venezuela and Panamá have now both secured spots in the semifinals on Thursday. Their final tune-ups for that will come on Wednesday, with Panamá hosting the Dominican Republic (3:30 p.m.) and Venezuela hosting Nicaragua (8:30 p.m.).

Attendance: 11,801

Time of game: 3 hours, 1 minute

Christian Bethancourt went 0-for-4 with an RBI on a fielder's choice. 

Notable performances:

• Allen Córdoba (PAN): 3-for-5, HR, RBI
• Iván Herrera (PAN): 1-for-2, HR, RBI
• Hernán Pérez (VEN): 2-for-2, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB
• Alcides Escobar (VEN): 2-for-3, HR, RBI
• Anthony Castro (VEN): 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Noah's Notes (I'm allowed this time cause it's my birthday!):

• I turned 24 while writing this article!