Cleveland Sports Forum

Sharks found victory again

Gabriel Arias was the spark plug for the Sharks in his return to the LVBP

Ivan Kleberg

November 16, 2024

The Tiburones de La Guaira found victory again after five games. The team from the coast defeated the Cardenales de Lara at the UCV this Saturday with a score of 9-4.

The MVP of the game was big leaguer Gabriel Arias, who in his first game with the Salados went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.

In the bottom of the fifth inning with the score at 3-3, hits by Wilson García, Gabriel Arias and Daniel Montaño strung together a five-run rally that put the game on track.

And in the seventh, Arias again appeared with a home run to bring in La Guaira's ninth run.

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BOXSCORE

https://stats.lvbp.com/gameday.php?game=790677

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Good, adds to his trade value

Premier12 | Chinese Taipei power past Australia to punch ticket to Super Round

It was long. It was loud. It was laborious.

Powered by a deeply boisterous home crowd, Chinese Taipei completely overwhelmed Australia in an 11-3 Premier12 win that ended Australia’s chances of advancing to the Super Round.

Chinese Taipei fans were on their feet, singing fight songs to a marching band from the first pitch, in a tilt that lasted over four hours.

They left happy. Chinese Taipei are going to the Super Round.


Chinese Taipei outmuscled Australia, tallying 26 baserunners from 16 hits, eight walks and two errors.

They were conducted by the artful bat of Li Lin.

The Rakuten Monkeys All-Star, who hit .358 in the CPBL this season, was a problem for Australia. He 4-for-5 with five RBI and a killer three-run homer that put the game to bed.

“Chinese Taipei were outstanding tonight. The energy in the Dome was something we haven’t experienced before. They were relentless,” said Team Australia hitting coach Chris Adamson after the game. “Chinese Taipei were tremendous so hats off to them.”

The hosts were simply relentless. I’m not even talking about the players, although they were on too.

By the seventh inning, they had 20 base runners.

Australia used nine pitchers in the loss.

The bright spot? Solomon Maguire hit a homer off his first swing on the senior national team.

On to the game…

There was one glaring difference between the two teams: production with two outs on the board. Australia just couldn’t seem to deliver the knock-out punch to get out of an inning, nor find one when opportunities came knocking, especially early.

In the first inning, Chieh-Kai Pan capped off a complete two-out rally vs Mitch Neunborn with an RBI single.

In the second inning, Li Lin singled off Jon Kennedy to extend the advantage to 2-0.

In the fourth inning, Song-En Tseng doubled home a pair of runs off Lewis Thorpe to push a lead to 4-1.

In the fifth inning, Li Lin struck again, this time off Dan McGrath. His RBI-single capped off three consecutive Chinese Taipei hits with two outs.

All with two outs. You get the idea.

Australia wasn’t without their sprinkle of magic.

The headline had to be Solomon Maguire. The 21-year-old hit a home run with his first swing in a senior Team Australia uniform.

“It was amazing to be around. Someone that is so young and early in his baseball journey, to see him grab the opportunity and make most of it was great. Everyone was super happy for him,” said Adamson in the post-game presser.

Although, young Maguire is accustomed to the Green & Gold, becoming the first player in history to play in an U12, U15, U18, U23 and a senior World Cup.

His third-inning deep fly brought the lead to 2-1.

Australia had other chances, especially early.

Travis Bazzana opened the game with a single, but the inning ended with a strike-em-out-throw-em-out. Rixon Wingrove and Tim Kennelly started the second with a single each, but Darryl George, Alex Hall & Robbie Perkins all struck out.

Wingrove and Kennelly ended the game with two hits each.

On the pitching side, Australia used the “everybody” approach again. Australia used six pitchers in the first five innings: Mitch Neunborn (1.2), Jon Kennedy (1.0), Coen Wynne (0.1), Lewis Thorpe (0.2), Sam Holland (1.0).

Coen Wynne (below) & Jon Kennedy also provided a crazy moment. In the third, Chinese Taipei worked two runners on base (second and third) with no outs. Kennedy worked a pop-out and strikeout, before Wynne delivered the inning-ending push out.

By the end of the fifth inning, Chinese Taipei had peppered Australian pitching for nine hits, six walks and an error. Australia did well to contain the hosts to just five runs off their 16 base runners.

Todd Van Steensel appeared to settle things down in the sixth. He needed just seven pitches to work Australia’s first and only 1-2-3 inning of the game.

He retired the first out of the seventh before allowing a single. That was the end of his day for Todd.

Blake Townsend entered. After an error helped put another baserunner aboard, Li Lin stepped up to the plate. He catapulted a three-run homer to centrefield that put a dagger in Australia’s tournament.

Robbie Perkins hit a homer in the seventh but Australia was too far behind.

Will Sherriff tossed a perfect eighth inning. But Chinese Taipei launched another three run bomb to put an exclamation mark on a historic evening. They’re going to the Super Round.

Australia added an RBI off the bat of Alex Hall to round out the scoring.

Australia falls to 1-3. They can not advance to the Super Round. They will play for bragging rights vs Korea tomorrow at 12:00PM local time, 3:00PM AEDT.

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BOXSCORE

https://www.wbsc.org/en/events/2024-pre ... ore/144803

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Premier12 | Australia's tournament ends with 5-2 loss to Korea as team awaits final standing

Australia wrapped up its 2024 Premier12 campaign with a 5-2 loss to Korea at Tianmu Stadium in Taipei on Monday afternoon.

Three errors in the field, missed opportunities and a massive performance from Korean All-Star slugger Kim Doyeong led to the Korean victory.

Kim was an imposing force in the batter’s box. He went 3-for-4 with four RBI and a critical two-run homer in the sixth to sail Korea ahead.

Not long before the dagger home run, Liam Spence (below) had just pulled the Aussies back within one with his second hit of the afternoon.

Australia had their chances. They had bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth, and runners on the corners with one out in the sixth. Australia scored just one run each of those innings.

Meanwhile, Korea capitalised off Australian miscues.

Only one of their first three runs were earned. Australia made three errors in the first four innings which helped extend Korean innings.

“Defense and limiting free bases has not been where it needs to be the last two nights,” said Australia’s hitting coach Chris Adamson at the post game presser. “It’s going to continue to be a focal point for us and something we need to clean up.”

Australia finishes the Premier12 with a 1-4 record. They will have to await the outcome of tonight’s Japan / Dominican Republic & Cuba / Chinese Taipei games to see where they finish.

If Chinese Taipei & Japan both win, Australia will finish fourth in the group, and seventh overall in the tournament.

“Overall, we’re disappointed. That’s not where we wanted to be or think we should be,” said Adamson. “But there’s a lot of good foundations and young players coming through.”

Liam Spence led Australia in batting, collecting two of Australia’s five hits. Tim Kennelly, Rixon Wingrove & Darryl George had the other base knocks.

Australia used seven pitchers in the loss: Tim Atherton, Steve Kent, Josh Guyer, Warwick Saupold, Sam Holland, Coen Wynne and Todd Van Steensel. They combined to allow 10 hits, three walks and three earned runs.

Some sloppy play hurt the Australians.

Three Aussie errors in the first four kept extending batting innings for Korea and helped put runs on the board.

Of Korea’s first three runs, only one was earned. 

Australian pitching had its moments.

Tim Atherton had a huge bases loaded strikeout in the second to keep the game scoreless, bailing out a defensive error.

Darryl George also kept a run off the board off a funny deflection.

Kim Doyeong picked up his first RBI in the third, a single up the middle against Steve Kent.

Korea had their breakthrough in the fourth inning, to no fault of pitcher Josh Guyer.

In wet conditions, Chang-Ki Hong dribbled a ball down the line off a half-hearted swing.

It hugged the foul line between home and first, keeping the inning alive.

Guyer induced a weak ground ball to Shin Minjae. The ball rolled between first base and the pitcher but a slightly arrant throw from Rixon Wingrove allowed Minjae to reach and a run to score.

The next batter Kim Doyeong singled to left. 3-0.

Australia loaded the bases in the fifth with no outs.

But an Ulrich Bojarski strike-out, Jarryd Dale ground out, and Aaron Whitefield left them juiced. 

Travis Bazzana picked up the RBI with a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 3-1.

Australia pressured again in the sixth. They had two on and one out. Liam Spence was able to grab his second hit of the night in his first Premier12 start.

“In a word, ‘no’, I am not surprised with Liam today,” said Adamson. “He is the ultimate professional and he took the opportunity presented with two hands and I think he’s going to be a large part of this team going forward.”

It didn’t take long for Korea to return serve after the Spence RBI.

Kim Dayeong continued his impressive day, launching a two-run homer off Sam Holland to extend the advantage back out to three. It was his fourth RBI and third hit of the day.

Coen Wynne kept Australia in the fight from there. Wynne, in his third appearance of the tournament, tossed 1.1 innings allowing just one hit with one strikeout.

Todd Van Steensel also pitched a perfect eighth inning.

Australia was sat down without a baserunner in the final two innings.

“Overall I think it’s a bit of a changing of the guard,” said Adamson in summary of the tournament. “We have some young talent, and we have some older players, and young pitchers like Coen Wynne continues to go strength to strength, so there’s a lot to build on. There’s exciting talent coming through.”

A huge thank you to our family and friends for coming to support.

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BOXSCORE

https://www.wbsc.org/es/events/2024-pre ... ore/144804

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IN FIGURES

Gabriel Arias had a 3-run double for the second straight day to record his best two-game offensive outing in his still-nascent career in the LVBP. The Tiburones infielder had a 3-run double and a single. In the two weekend games he had five extra-base hits (four doubles and a home run) in his eight at-bats...

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GUARDIANS PROSPECTS (AND GABRIEL ARIAS!)

Steven Perez (RP, Caracas - Fri.): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R (earned), 1 K, 1 HR allowed - A Carlos Narvaez solo shot to center in the ninth was the only blemish on Perez’s otherwise impressive official LVBP season debut.

Gabriel Arias (SS, La Guaira - Sat.): 3-4, 3 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K - Arias hit the ground running in his LVBP season debut, coming within a triple of the cycle and scoring exactly one-third of the Tiburon runs. Oh, and he did all of this batting eighth, joining starting LF and ninth batter Daniel Montano (a former Rockies prospect who played indy ball for the American Association’s Sioux City Explorers this past summer) - who also had a three-hit Saturday - in carrying the La Guaira offense from the bottom of the lineup.

Gabriel Arias (SS, La Guaira - Sun.): 4-5, 2 R, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 1 SB, 2 E - Arias managed to clear the high bar he set for himself in his debut in his second game of the season with an effort highlighted by a three-run double in the second that opened the day’s scoring. As for his pair of fielding miscues, no runs resulted, either directly or indirectly. from either of them.

Chase DeLauter (DH, Surprise - Sat.): 1-5, 1 R - DeLauter reached base and cored one more time in the title tilt to cap off a fall of DHing that saw Chase slash .340/.475/.511 with eleven RBI and a 6:12 K:BB ratio in twelve regular season games. Even given the laundry list of caveats that accompany autumnal statlines, DeLauter putting these figures up and - most importantly - staying healthy throughout the short season are both promising signs for his 2025.

Milan Tolentino (2B, Surprise - Sat.): 0-4, 1 K - Tolentino also finished his fall with an outing representative of his season. However, in this case, that is not a good thing, The long season seems to gotten the best of Milan, who slashed .202/.352/.274 in 25 games, with even the twenty walks that propelled him to his .150 isolated plate discipline being accompanied by thirty strikeouts.

Dayan Frias (SS, Monteria): Frias hit a two-run single on Saturday in his only plate appearance across a pair of games that were both suspended by rain well short of being official.

Travis Bazzana (2B, Australia - Sun.): 1-4, 1 K, 1 Cs - Bazzana rebounded slightly from his rough outing against the Dominican squad with a hit against one of the host nations of Group B.

Travis Bazzana (DH, Australia - Mon.): 0-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K - Bazzana picked up his first RBI of the tournament on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth. While Travis is struggling in the Premier12, playing in this tournament is an excellent opportunity for him to face a high level of opposition - especially in Group B, which includes many Asian nations that are both good at baseball and take the Premier12 VERY seriously - think Olympic basketball in America or the soccer World Cup in Europe and South America.

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Here's some information about Steven Perez, a pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians:

Age: 23 years old
Bats and throws: Left-handed
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 155 lbs

Here are some insights from scouting reports:

Perez has a strong feel for his slider, which is in the 82–85 mph range.
He also has an upper-80s curveball and a low-80s changeup.
Perez has shown more velocity this season, spending more time in the 93–94 mph range.
As Perez moves up levels, more advanced hitters will try to attack him.
The Blue Jays believe Perez has room for physical growth, particularly in his fastball velocity and slider movement.

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scary number on Perez is 6 homers in 40 innings at Lynchburg. Lots of strikeouts, 70 in 56 innings. 23 year old split his season between low and high A He's not moving up fast.

Scoreboard:

Venezuelan League (11/18) - Águilas del Zulia 8, Tiburones de La Guaira 4
Columbian League (11/18) - Vaqueros de Monteria 5, Leones de Barranquilla 1
Columbian League (11/19) - Vaqueros de Monteria 5, Leones de Barranquilla 4
Venezuelan League (11/20) - Cardenales de Lara 5, Tiberones de La Guiara 2
Guardians Prospects:
11/18

Gabriel Arias (SS, Tiburones): 2-for-3, R, HR, 2 RBIs, HBP, SB, E6T, E6F - It was an eventful day filled with lots of ups in the batter’s box and downs on the field. Arias reached base three times in total and his afternoon was highlighted by a solo homerun in the top of the fifth inning. Before that, Arias singled to score a run in the third, stole a base and was plunked in the second. So far in winter action, he is 9-for-12 with seven RBIs. Unfortunately, he would make a pair of errors in the field.

Dayan Frias (SS, Vaqueros): 1-for-5, R, RBI, SB, DP - Frias had a single, drove in a run and scored himself in the team’s 5-1 victory. On defense, Frias was a part of a double play and on the basepaths, swiped one.

11/19

Dayan Frias (SS, Vaqueros): - 0-3, 1 BB, 1 Sac Bunt, 1 K - A one-time interesting prospect as recently as 2023, Frias had some contributions here and its notable his Colombian team sees him as a shortstop but Cleveland continues to use him at all other positions.

11/20

Gabriel Arias (SS, Tiburones): 0-for-3, BB, 2 E6Fs - Back-to-back days with a pair of errors in the field for Arias unfortunately. At the dish, he reached base just once via the walk, but overall a pretty unsuccessful day.

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IN FIGURES

For Tiburones, Daniel Montaño tied his personal record for hits in a game, but it is the first time he hit two or more extra-base hits... Gabriel Arias went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and the same number of runs scored. The big leaguer now exhibits an astronomical offensive line of .500/.577/1.136 with three home runs, five doubles, nine RBIs and the same number of trips to the plate in his first six games of the season..

https://youtu.be/glUOjC-ot1A

GABE HOMERS IN THE 6TH

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Gabe is in the twilight zone right now. 2 more homers and a walk in 3 official trips to the plate.. Both homers were solo shots and the walk was an intentional one. Looks like his team will end up on the losing side though. Score is 9-5 in the 8th.

Cardinals' sixth-inning ambush halted Sharks

SHARKS DOMINATED IN THE FIRST HALF

In the first third of the game, the Sharks were in control of the duel because they figured out Cardinals starter Adrian Almeida early. The sharks scored four times between the second and fourth batter's in the lineup, supported by the production of extra-base hits.

In the second inning, Gabriel Arias hit a home run (his fourth of the season) to produce the first run, and then they scored the second on a triple by Leonys Martín that brought Tomás Telis home.

In the fourth inning, Telis had a triple off Almeida that allowed Hedbert Pérez to score. The next hitter was Martin, who hit a sacrifice fly that brought Pérez to the plate.

Arias was responsible for the sharks' fifth run by hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning, and a double by Telis scored the sixth run by Daniel Montaño.

Featured Players

Gorkys Hernández: 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Jecksson Flores: 1-for-5 with a triple, one RBI and one run scored.
Danry Vásquez: 2-for-4 with one RBI and one walk.
Gabriel Arias: 2-for-4 with two home runs, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Tomás Telis: 3-for-4 with a double, triple, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Leonys Martin: 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

ARIAS HOMER #1 IN THE 2ND AND #2 IN THE 8TH

https://youtu.be/Ezt57Z-0Skk

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Giants blank Senators

(Looks like Jonathan Rodriguez made his debut in Puerto Rico on Friday)

The left-hander got Carolina's leadoff hitter, Bryan Torres, on a grounder. Then Johnathan Rodriguez and Anthony Vilar hit consecutive singles to left field to load the first two bases. Then, Xavier Fernandez's double came, putting the score at 1-0 in favor of the Giants.

Rodriguez was 1-4 with a walk.

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Carolina picked up the win on Saturday. Rodriguez was 0-4 with a walk and a run scored.

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I don't think Arias's winter league homeruns will increase his trade value. Unfortunately,

Back-to-back days with a pair of errors in the field for Arias unfortunately

are more relevant

For Gabriel Arias, few things have changed in six years

Jose Angel Rodriguez | LVBP Press

November 24, 2024

Valencia.- The most recent time that Gabriel Arias participated in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, before the current season, was in 2018-2019, when he was growing as one of the main prospects of the San Diego Padres.

At that time, he was considered the eleventh most promising player in California, according to MLBPipeline. And with that status, at just 18 years of age, he came to Venezuela to debut with the Sharks of La Guaira.

Time passed. Arias changed organizations to the Cleveland Indians (current Guardians) and there he made his debut in the Major Leagues, where he has played for the last three seasons. However, for the utility player, nothing is different from what it was at his beginning.

“I feel like I am the same player, with the only difference that I am much more mature now. But that is something natural in the life of every player,” said Gabriel Arias before Sunday’s game against Navegantes del Magallanes. “The Major Leagues have helped me in that sense, as you have seen on the field.”

The 24-year-old from Aragon has played 191 games in the Majors since graduating. Although, he admits again, nothing has changed for him.

“Baseball is the same. The LVBP, and the winter circuits in general, have the particularity that you can face an ex-major league pitcher specialized in breaking pitches, or a rookie capable of making quality fast ball pitches, but I try not to focus on that in order to continue doing my job,” said the native of La Victoria. “All the teams play aggressively and have signed very good players, because they want to win.”






EXPLOSIVE START

The right-hander posted an astronomical .500/.581/.1269 slash line in his first seven games of the season, with five homers, five doubles, 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Exactly what he was looking for.

“I came here to work on my batting, and things are going my way,” said Gabriel Arias. “It’s all because of the work I was doing in the United States before coming here. I’ve been consistent with my routine so that the results come.”

https://twitter.com/i/status/1860504421110554717

The versatile player has focused on increasing his contact ability, after leaving a strikeout rate of 32.9% in the MLB and 22.5% in the 43 games he played in Triple A. Something that, at first glance, he has managed to reduce upon his return to the LVBP, to 11.5%.

However, on the field, he is aware that he still needs to shore up his defense at shortstop, after having committed six errors in his first five games with the Sharks.

“I have played that position because it is where (manager) Ozzie (Guillén) needs me,” said Gabriel Arias. “But if he ever needs me to be in the outfield, at first or second base, as I have already done with Cleveland, I will be there.”

For now, Arias is focused on enjoying his return to the country's parks. He hopes he can stay through the Caribbean Series, free from the ties in the North, as he has been until now.






THE DATA

Gabriel Arias was sent from Tiburones, along with Rafael Marchán (C) and Christian Mejías (LD), to Tigres de Aragua for Anthony Santander (OF), Jean Pinto (LD) and Abrahán Gutiérrez (C) in February 2023.

Seven months later, he was acquired by Bravos de Margarita for Yonny Chirinos (LD), before returning to La Guaira in September of this year for José Quijada (LZ).

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