After just two days rest, Gilbert and I were scheduled to pitch again. This game was to be played at Estadio Tuto Mendoza against The Piratas de Cabo Rojo. Cabo Rojo is a neighboring town of Rincon and is about a 30-minute drive from our home stadium. The Piratas stadium was nice, and we got our own little locker room clubhouse connected to the dugout.
I was again scheduled to start the game and excited for my next opportunity on the bump. Although my arm did not feel the best after just throwing on Friday, there was no way I was going to turn down my next opportunity to pitch. The game was scheduled to start 30 minutes prior to when our coaches thought, so we were forced to start warming up as soon as we arrived to the stadium. I was excited, because I was pitching to my roommate, Enrique Rodriguez, and we had discussed our game plan in the days leading up to the game.
To begin the game, I came out strong and again retired the first two hitters. The third batter hit a bloop-single, and I got derailed slightly after that. I got out of the first inning after surrendering two runs on some bad luck. The next inning, I settled in and put up a zero. The Piratas scored another run in the third before I threw up a goose egg in the fourth. I left the game after throwing four innings, allowing three earned runs with three strikeouts.
Our team managed to put up five runs in the fourth inning to put us ahead 5-3. After another pitcher on the team threw three scoreless innings in relief, Gilbert was in the bullpen warming up to come in for the save. When Gil arrived in the eighth inning, the PRIBL Turistas were leading 6-3. After a shaky eighth in which he allowed two runs with one earned, Gilbert threw a scoreless ninth to earn the save and preserve a 7-5 win for the team.
After the game, the home team served us a small dinner with chicken, rice and beans. It was refreshing to see the hospitality of the Piratas players and their fans.