Panamá vs. Nicaragua: It was close until it very much wasn't

MIAMI, FL—Coming into Sunday morning's game, Nicaragua had yet to record a win in the Caribbean Series after blowing late-inning leads in both of their first two games. That did nothing to deter their rabid supporters from showing up and getting loud as they lived and died with every pitch. No matter the outcome of this tournament, you must tip your cap to the loyal Nicaraguan fans—they show up and scream their hearts out no matter what and make 10k sound like 40k.

On the other side, Panamá has yet to record a loss in the tournament, beating Curacao 7-3 on Friday and coming back from down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth to beat Mexico 4-3 on Saturday. 

The teams traded blows but not runs early on, combining to strand nine runners on base through the first four innings. Nicaragua came up empty in the third inning after loading the bases on a double, an error, a sac bunt, and an intentional walk. Then, in the top of the fifth, Ronald Medrano became the first Nicaraguan starter to pitch into the fifth inning in this tournament. He was pulled after recording a strikeout, giving up and a double, and allowing a walk. RHP Fidencio Flores came on and gave up a fielder's choice, an RBI single, and an intentional walk before getting Rubén Tejada to fly out and end the inning. Panama added three more runners left on base but got a run out of it. 

Nicaragua's hitters went down quietly in the bottom of the fifth, and in the top of the sixth, Panamá delivered the knockout blow. A single sandwiched between two hit batsmen loaded the bases and forced Nicaragua to again go to the bullpen and bring in RHP Joaquin Acuña. Allen Córdoba wasted no time, sending the first pitch into the right-centerfield gap for a bases-clearing triple. Córdoba came home and scored on an errant throw and lackadaisical tag attempt by the catcher for what I am calling an inside-the-park grand slam (even though it was ruled a triple and an E4).

 

 

 

 

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Panamá's lead was now 5-0, and the Nicaraguan crowd was forced into shocked silence. 

Heitor Tokar was outstanding on the mound for Panamá, getting himself out of multiple jams early on then settling in as the game went on. He was pulled in the seventh inning after an error by the shortstop that should've been an inning-ending double play on his 92nd pitch. His final line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 92/57 P/S. LHP Ronald Ramirez took over and made quick work of the Nicaraguan hitters to preserve the 5-0 lead.

Nicaragua was able to scratch across a single run in the eighth to make it 5-1, and they weren't done. RHP Carlos Rodriguez came on to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning, got a strikeout, allowed a double, got a groundout, allowed a walk and an RBI single to make it 6-3. Panamá had to go to the bullpen again to bring in RHP Severino González, who got a groundout to bring this game to a close.

Panamá vs. Nicaragua box score and play-by-play

Time of game: three hours, 45 minutes (longest of the tournament so far)

Panamá is now 3-0 in round-robin play, while Nicaragua drops to 0-3.

Marlins C Christian Bethancourt went 0-for-4 with an intentional walk.