After losing twice against SANT BOI and dropping to third in the standings, EL LLANO hopes to regain form against last year’s champion MARLINS PUERTO CRUZ. Both are tied with a 7-3 record. GIJON’s Miguel Rizo (4-1, ERA 2.08) will probably miss the reminder of the season, as he got ejected last week and attacked the umpire. Player-manager Robert Norriega and outfielder Pedro Mendez also got ejected against SANT BOI and could possibly also face suspensions. Fidel Mane (1-2, ERA 3.27) and Elvis Polanco (2-0, ERA 2.14) have to step up in game one. And then they have to replace Rizo somehow. The bats of the MARLINS got hot against the ASTROS a week ago. Dewis Navarro hit his first homerun of the season. Richard Montiel brought his RBI total to twelve with eight in two games.
The FC BARCELONA tries to defend first in the standings against SAN INAZIO. It is not clear if new BARCA hurler Manu Olivera is already aboard. But it should not be that important, as Remigio Leal (3-1, ERA 1.54) and Homer Baez (2-0, ERA 0.83) are already in mid-season form. It is a tough task for BILBAO, as their offense struggles so far this season. They scored just 13 runs in six games so far. The lowest total in the league. Pitchers Erik Arteaga (2-1, ERA 1.88) and Pedro Belmonte (0-2, ERA 2.74) are good enough to compete against the best clubs.
In other duels, VALENCIA hopes for their first victory against VILADECANS. CD PAMPLONA squares off against local rivals BASEBALL NAVARRA. Second-ranked CB SANT BOI has a bye in week six.
{mrb-schedule:2008-05-03|2008-05-04|ES}
Complete Results
{mrb-standing:spain-2008}