Rangers Prevail In Wild Game 1
If Game 1 is any indication, the first World Series championship series is going to be something we remember forever. Kiev and Caracas condensed a season's worth of twists, turns, and surprises into nine crazy innings, with the Caribbean League team hanging on for the 9-7 victory.
The game started quietly enough, with three scoreless innings each from Michael Reid and Oscar Fabregas as the teams felt each other out, like boxers dancing around the ring. In the fourth inning, the haymakers started flying. The Comets started the inning with a single, a walk, and a double, tacking on a run-scoring groundout to go up 2-0. The Rangers answered immediately, getting two of their own aboard before
Jude van der Meijden cleared them with a home run to take the lead.
Kiev tied it up in the 5th on a Mel Martin double, but
Cyril Ruano doubled home a run in the bottom half to restore the lead. The Comets, of course, would not quietly, jumping back on top in the 6th with a walk and three singles, the go-ahead hit by Michaël Thierry.
They held the Rangers scoreless for an inning and then added on with a Zach Paris solo shot followed up another run-scoring single. That just seemed to make Caracas mad, because they stormed back in the bottom of the 7th, starting with a walk, a single, and, after a strikeout, an RBI single to cut it to 7-5 with two still on. Reid was relieved by Patrick Dunkel, who promptly hit the first batter to load the bases. Mateo de la Cruz followed with a line drive single to tie it up, but they still weren't done. After another strikeout, the Caribbean League leader in batting average, Nicholas Pascal, delivered what turned out to be the decisive blow, a soft liner that dropped into right field and scored two.
The Rangers turned to closer
Vinny Bello for the final two innings, and he restored order by retiring all six Comets he faced, four via the strikeout.