Wilfredo Tovar Sparks Five-Run 10th as Leones Sweep Magallanes
Wilfredo Tovar went 4-for-5 as Leones del Caracas scored five in the 10th to beat Magallanes 8-3 and sweep their October 2026 LVBP rivalry series.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 2 min read 
Wilfredo Tovar delivered four hits, including the go-ahead single in the 10th inning, as Leones del Caracas beat Navegantes del Magallanes 8-3 on Sunday, October 25, in Valencia to complete a two-game sweep of their fiercest LVBP rival.
The game was tied 3-3 after nine innings at Estadio José Bernardo Pérez. With the automatic runner on second in the top of the 10th, Tovar singled home Marvin Alcántara to put Caracas ahead. What had been a tight rivalry game quickly became a five-run inning.
Tovar breaks the deadlock in extra innings
José Rondón drew a bases-loaded walk to force in another run, and Lenyn Sosa brought home another run before Brainer Bonací singled in two more. Bonací’s single drove in two and completed the scoring. Tovar finished 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored; Bonací added three hits and two RBIs.
Magallanes had led 3-1 after Rusber Estrada hit a two-run homer in the third and Renato Núñez added a solo shot in the fourth. Caracas erased the deficit in the fifth, with Tovar and Víctor Bericoto delivering RBI singles. Neither team scored again until the 10th.
Caracas bullpen reverses its early-season struggles
Leones’ relief pitchers arrived at the weekend with an 8.45 ERA, the worst in the league. Against Magallanes, however, they combined for nine scoreless innings across the two games, including five on Sunday.
Wikelman González worked two innings, Norwith Gudiño added one, and Sandy Gastón covered the final two to earn the win. Magallanes loaded the bases in the bottom of the 10th, but Gastón struck out Luis Sardiñas, Rusber Estrada and Luis Torrens in succession to end the threat.
The turnaround followed Caracas’ 10-1 victory in Saturday’s opener, played before an LVBP-record crowd of 34,950 at Estadio Monumental Simón Bolívar. Tovar went 6-for-10 with four RBIs over the two games.
A rivalry sweep with contrasting consequences
The back-to-back victories lifted Leones to 4-6 after a difficult start to the 2026-27 season. Magallanes fell to 2-10, deepening the defending champions’ early-season problems.
For Caracas, the most encouraging development may have been the bullpen rather than the late offensive outburst. A relief group that had struggled to hold leads delivered nine consecutive scoreless innings against the club’s biggest rival—and gave Tovar the chance to settle the second game with his bat.
