For the second year in a row, a Venezuelan club has made history in the Caribbean Series with a no-hitter, this one on Tuesday night in their mercy-rule shutout win over Japan Breeze. Now, the Cardenales de Lara will look to ride that momentum to another win in Wednesday¡¯s semifinal contest against the Leones del Escogido (Dominican Republic) in the first knockout stage game at Mexicali¡¯s Estadio Nido de las ?guilas.

On Tuesday night, with a semifinal spot on the line in the elimination stage¡¯s last game, Cardenales starter Jes¨²s Vargas threw an eight-inning no-hitter vs. the Japanese representative in a 10-0 win for Venezuela that ended when manager Henry Blanco¡¯s club went up by double-digits in the bottom of the eighth.

This is the second year in a row for a no-hitter ¨C albeit an unofficial one by virtue of the game's length ¨C by a Venezuelan club in the Caribbean Series, after ?ngel Padr¨®n¡¯s no-no against Nicaragua at loanDepot park in Miami in 2024. The only other no-hitter in the history of the event was in 1952, by Cuba's Tommy Fine vs. Panama in the tournament¡¯s ¡°First Stage¡± (1949-1960).

With Japan eliminated after going winless in its four contests in the round-robin phase, the stage is set for Wednesday¡¯s two sudden-death semifinal games.

At 5 p.m. ET, the Leones (2-2 in the round-robin stage) will face the Cardenales (2-2), while the second game will pit Puerto Rico¡¯s Indios de Mayag¨¹ez (2-2) against host country Mexico¡¯s Charros de Jalisco (4-0).

The winners of Wednesday¡¯s semifinal contests will play in the tournament¡¯s championship game on Friday at 10 p.m. ET. The losers will play the third-place game on Thursday, also at 10 p.m.

In the first game, Albert Pujols¡¯ Dominican club will try to halt a two-game losing streak. After winning its first two games of the tournament by a combined score of 14-1, the Leones lost their last two contests of the first round vs. Charros and Mayag¨¹ez.

Wednesday¡¯s game will be a rematch of the opening contest in this year¡¯s Caribbean Series, a 2-0 win for the Dominican club over Venezuela last Friday. In that game, starter Brooks Hall and four relievers limited the Cardenales¡¯ bats to five hits. Hall will start once again for the Dominican Republic, in a rematch with Venezuelan starter M¨¢ximo Castillo. In that first game, Castillo pitched six scoreless innings of three-hit ball for a no-decision.

Blanco will try to lead a Venezuelan club to the country¡¯s second straight championship game in the Caribbean Series. In last year¡¯s tournament, the nation¡¯s Tiburones de la Guaira, managed by Ozzie Guill¨¦n, won the championship in Miami over the Dominican Republic¡¯s Tigres del Licey.

On the Leones¡¯ side, Pujols ¨C in his first year as a manager ¨C will look to help the Dominican Republic get one step away from the championship, which would be the nation¡¯s 23rd, the most in tournament history.

In the second semifinal, the Mexican squad skippered by Benji Gil will try to stay undefeated in the series after sweeping its four games in the round-robin stage. The club¡¯s strength in those contests was its pitching, which gave up a total of just four runs ¨C including a shutout on Sunday of the powerful Dominican Republic lineup, which tied for the lead in runs scored in the first round with 21.

Right-hander David Reyes will be the Charros¡¯ starter on Wednesday vs. Mayag¨¹ez. In Mexico¡¯s first game, Friday vs. the Puerto Rican representative managed by Wil Cordero, Reyes gave up four hits and just one run in seven innings, picking up the win in an 8-1 victory for the Mexican club. Mayag¨¹ez will once again go with Ronnie Williams, who took the loss in that game with three runs allowed in a four-inning start.