Historical performance by Emmanuel Rivera against the Athenians of Manatí

Emmanuel Rivera had this Sunday one of the most spectacular performances ever remembered in the history of Puerto Rican winter baseball, and the Indians of Mayaguez returned to high after a two-week inactivity due to contagion by the COVID-19 virus with a resounding triumph 30-8 about the Athenians of Manatí to put the B 2-0 semifinal series in their favor.

It was a historic day held at the Pedro Román Meléndez Stadium in Manatí, where in addition to Rivera’s record performances, legendary Major League receiver Yadier Molina made his comeback in the national tournament after an eight-year absence.

Rivera hit two homers and towed ten runs, making it an all-time mark in both regular-season games and playoffs in Puerto Rico’s winter league.

According to the portal Baseball101, By historian Jordi Colom Prim, the brand was eight-wheel drive shared by Fernando Diaz Pedroso (1947), George Crowe (1951), Felix Torres (1962), Benny Ayala (1973) and Nelson Simmons (playoffs-1989).

Likewise, Colom Delgado recalled that this afternoon’s match tied a record of more runs scored between the two teams. The record was held by a match held on November 7, 1981 in which Santurce beat Caguas by a score of 20-18.

Rivera beat 5-4 with two homers, a pair of doubles and three runs scored. In the breakdown, he hit two home runs of three runs each for a total of six. In his pair of doubles he propelled the other four.

The athlete, a player of excellent defensive qualities, admitted that he learned the record he had set as soon as the match ended.

“I didn’t know anything. Héctor Otero (manager) just told me. I found out after the game was over”, Rivera said to The New Day. “I was really excited. I didn’t know it was a record. It’s one more milestone in my career.”

Rivera, chosen as a forerunner in the All-Star Winter League, has noted that once he was replaced from the match by leader Luis Matos he was notified of his feat of having pushed those ten laps.

“I hadn’t thought about it, but in the seventh inning when Luis Matos (manager) took me out and put another guy in, they said, ‘You pushed ten races.’ That’s when I came to find out because I didn’t even know how many I was wearing. I had never been through this situation. I still don’t believe it. “

Did you save races to push tomorrow (Monday) ?, he wondered.

“Sure, we’re working on that,” he pointed out laughing.

The total runs achieved by the Indians also represent a mark in national baseball. The 30 scored leave behind the record of 23 achieved by the missing Guayama Wizards in 1939 when they beat the Crabs of Santurce 23-0

The action of the Mayagüezano antecedent was added to other remarkable activities in the party. Kennys Vargas towed five laps and Ivan de Jesus Jr. led to rubber four to add 19 of the 30 scored by the visitors. In addition to Jesus Jr. he received five bases per ball. He was left to tie the all-time mark of Luke Easter (1955). He also scored five times.

The Indians will be in Manatí again tomorrow for the third game of the B semifinal. The series is at a maximum of seven. The winner advances to the final to face the Caguas Creoles who have been waiting for two weeks to meet their rival.

After the semifinal B was stopped on January 2 due to four positive cases of coronavirus detected in the team, which later rose to 11, the ninth Mayagüezana opened the game with a return in the second inning product of a kennys Vargas homer and three more in the third product of a quadrangular by Jeremy Rivera and a double by Emmanuel Rivera.

In the fifth they added 5 additional ones where the first one of the two vuelacercas of Emmanuel Rivera took part.

The Indians, who counted on a good mound piece from left-hander Héctor Hernández, continued their offensive party by scoring nine more lines in the sixth although they were not satisfied with that advantage and stepped on the plate in nine times in the discharge of the eighth act.

Other highlights on Sunday were Danny Ortiz, and Jeremy Rivera, who batted 7-4. The Indians closed the afternoon with 25 unstoppable.

For the Athenians, Molina, who joined Manatí as a reinforcement given that he belongs to the Carolina Giants, beat third in the lineup as designated and went 5-1 with a scoring.