In the Dominican, the championship series was heating up as Escogido, who was facing elimination, tied the best-of-nine championship series with Gigantes up at 4-4. This game had a dramatic ending as infielder Argenis Reyes doubled and scored the winning run in the 11^th inning to give Escogido a 4-3 walk-off win. Gigantes had taken the lead in the top of the ninth, only to see Escogido tie it in the bottom of the inning. Infielder Wilson Betemit hit his second solo homerun of the game in the ninth inning off of Santiago Casilla to give Gigantes the short-lived lead. DH Brayan Pena (Royals) added two hits for Escogido. This tie in the series forced a decisive Finals game with a trip to the Caribbean Series in Venezuela on the line.

Francisco Liriano

With the series all tied up in the Dominican Winter League championship, Escogido sent Minnesota Twins lefty Francisco Liriano to the mound. Liriano dominated, going five shutout innings allowing just one hit while striking out ten. This is just the dominant performance the Twins are hoping for in the 2010 season. Liriano improved to 3-1 with a 0.49 ERA in seven playoff games (37 innings) while striking out 47. Outfielder Wladimir Balentien (Reds) hit a solo homerun in Escogido’s three-run second inning. Infielder Joaquin Arias (Rangers) went 2-for-4 with an RBI single. Alex Valdez (A’s) drove in two runs and scored a run in the ninth inning, providing the necessary insurance for reliever Casilla, who threw a scoreless ninth inning for the save. Escogido won their first Dominican championship since 1992 (and 14^th overall) and move onto the Caribbean Series to represent the Dominican Republic.

In Puerto Rico, Mayaguez took a commanding 3-0 series lead over Caguas. However this game wouldn’t end until fourteen innings were complete. Jesus Feliciano (Mets) went 4-for-6 with an RBI triple and a run scored while Randy Ruiz (Blue Jays) had an RBI single in the 3-2 win. Bobby Cramer went 6.1 innings allowing one run on three hits while striking out four. Caguas came back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning off of closer Fernando Cabrera. Benigno Cepeda went three no-hit innings for Mayaguez in extra innings. Saul Rivera threw four shutout innings allowing one hit while striking out four in extra innings for Caguas. Cesar Nicolas and Aaron Bates (Reds Sox) contributed two hits each in the loss.

Alex Cora with the Red Sox

Caguas held off elimination by handing Mayaguez a 9-2 loss. Carlos Rivera doubled twice and drove in three runs. Infielder Alex Cora (Mets) drove in two runs and Adrian Ortiz homered. Bates and Nicolas also contributed two hits a piece. Willie Collazo went seven innings allowing four hits and an earned run for the win.

Game 5 of the Mexican Pacific League finals went to Hermosillo by way of a rout, 9-0. Edgar Gonzalez tossed a complete game five-hit shutout over Mazatlan. He walked two and struck out five. Veteran Karim Garcia had a three-run homerun and Luis A. Garcia added a two-run homerun while scoring three times (and he had three hits). Leftfielder Nelson Teilon went 3-for-4 and catcher Geronimo Gil went 2-for-3. Shortstop Reid Brignac (Rays) had two of Mazatlan’s five hits in the loss.

Tags:

Alex Cora, Argenis Reyes, Bobby Cramer, Dominican Winter League, Edgar Gonzalez, Escogido, Francisco Liriano, Jesus Feliciano, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Winter League, Randy Ruiz, Willie Collazo

Juan Francisco

With the Dominican Winter League’s championship series all tied up at 2-2, Gigantes took Game 5 by a 3-2 score over Escogido. Jose Capellan went six innings allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four in his second championship start. Reds prospect Juan Francisco went 2-for-3 and drove in all three runs for Gigantes. Kevin Barker provided the only offense for Escogido, with a two-run homerun, which was his third of the postseason.

In Game 6, Escogido again tied the best-of-nine series, this time at 3-3. Heath Phillips (Royals) continued his dominance in winter league by striking out seven in six innings and allowing one run on six hits. In the 5-4 victory, catcher Wilkin Castillo drove in two runs. Infielder Alexi Casilla (Twins) accounted for three of Gigantes four runs as he delivered a bases-clearing triple.

Game 7 was a pitcher’s duel, as Gigantes outlasted Escogido 2-0 to take a 4-3 series lead. Former big league pitcher Victor Zambrano went 5.1 shutout innings allowing three hits while striking out four. Left-hander Antonio Bastardo (Phillies) got the win, going 1.2 scoreless innings of relief allowing one hit while striking out three. Left fielder Lucas Montero went 3-for-4 for Gigantes. In the loss, veteran Nelson Figueroa went 7.1 innings allowing seven hits and two unearned runs while striking out four.

Eddy Martinez-Esteve with Single-A San Jose

The Puerto Rican Winter League’s semifinal series both came to an end with Game 7’s. Caguas took their Game 7 over Carolina 3-1 behind the arm of Andrew Baldwin (Mariners) who scattered two hits in his eight innings of work. Baldwin allowed just one run while striking out eight. Saul Rivera (Indians) worked the ninth for the save. Outfielder Eddy Martinez-Esteve (Giants) continued his hot-hitting in the playoffs, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Caguas scored all three of their runs in the third inning.

Mayaguez won their Game 7 over Arecibo 5-2 as Randy Ruiz (Blue Jays) hit a solo homerun and Andres Torres blasted a two-run homerun for Mayaguez. Shortstop Angel Sanchez went 2-for-4 in the win. Brodie Downs went four innings for Mayaguez without giving up a run. Mayaguez will face-off against Caguas in the championship series for a spot in the Caribbean Series in Venezuela.

Caracas took Game 3 of the Venezuelan Winter League championship series 5-3 over Magallanes to shrink the lead to 2-1. Raul Padron and Carlos Maldonado both contributed RBI doubles and two hits. Caracas got three innings of shutout baseball from their relievers. Magallanes scored all three of their runs in the second inning, with two scoring on Emilio Bonifacio’s (Marlins) single. Over 20,000 fans showed up to cheer on Caracas.

Jose Lopez

Game 4 of the series also went to Caracas to tie the championship series at 2-2. However this game ended in dramatic fashion in the tenth inning. Jackson Melian hit a walk-off three-run homerun off of Yoel Hernandez to send Caracas to a 10-7 victory. Infielder Jose Lopez (Mariners) had a double and drove in four runs for Caracas. Caracas scored seven runs from the seventh inning on, with outfielder Gregor Blanco (Braves) tying the game off of closer Francisco Rodriguez (Mets) with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with a solo homer. Each team tallied 11 hits. This was another game in which over 20,000 fans were in attendance.

Tags:

Alexi Casilla, Andrew Baldwin, Antonio Bastardo, Dominican Winter League, Heath Phillips, Jose Capellan, Jose Lopez, Juan Francisco, Nelson Figueroa, Puerto Rican Winter League, Randy Ruiz, Venezuelan Winter League, Victor Zambrano

Fernando Martinez

The Dominican Winter League Championship Series heated up a bit in Game 3, as Escogido busted out the hits with 22. Outfielder Fernando Martinez (Mets) blasted a three-run homerun and finished the game 6-for-6 with five RBIs as Escogido pounded Gigantes 13-4. DH Willis Otanez doubled and drove in three runs and infielder Joaquin Arias (Rangers) went 4-for-6 with two runs scored to help pace Escogido. Nelson Figueroa went 6.2 innings allowing 1 run on six hits while striking out six. The lone run he allowed came off the bat of Wilson Betemit (who drove in all four of Gigantes runs). Escogido scored nine runs in the eighth and ninth innings off of three Gigantes relievers. Escogido shrunk Gigantes lead to 2-1 in the series.

In Game 4, it was again about pitching. Edward Valdez went six innings allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four to lead Escogido to a 3-2 victory. The bullpen for Gigantes pitched 5.1 no-hit innings to keep them in the game, with Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Antonio Bastardo going two innings with three strikeouts. The victory tied the best-of-nine championship series at 2-2. Arias again provided offense as he hit a two-run homerun to pace the Escogido offense.

Edwin Maysonet

In Puerto Rican Winter League action, Arecibo tied their semifinal series with Mayaguez 1-1 on the arm of Mike Smith, who went six innings allowing five hits and no runs while striking out four. In the 6-0 win, infielder Edwin Maysonet (Astros) went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to raise his playoff batting average to .625. League MVP Michel Abreu (who is a free agent) had three hits and third baseman D’Angelo Jimenez added two hits and an RBI. The next day required a double-header due to earlier postponements and Mayaguez swept the double-header winning 7-1 in Game 1 and 3-2 in Game 2. This increased Mayaguez’s semifinal series lead to 3-1 over Arecibo in the best-of-seven series. In Game 1, Brodie Downs (Mariners) went five innings allowing one run on just two hits. Reliever Pete Parise followed that up with two no-hit innings to close out the win. Being down 1-0 after the first inning, Mayaguez plated seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to take over the game. Offensively, Mayaguez was led by Mexican League veterans Donny Leon and Edwards Guzman, who both had two-run doubles. In Game 2, Mayaguez busted out 12 hits, with four players having multi-hit games. Ruddy Lugo went five innings allowing one run on three hits while striking out two for Mayaguez.

Game 3 for Caguas and Carolina lasted ten innings until Luis Figueroa singled and scored on an Aaron Bates (Red Sox) single in the top of the tenth to give Caguas a 2-1 win. Eddy Martinez-Esteve (Giants) drove in Caguas’ first run in the seventh to tie the game at 1-1 and Bates finished with two hits. Hector Mercado went five innings allowing a run on just two hits while striking out six. For Carolina, Carlos Castillo went six shutout innings allowing just two hits while striking out four. Game 4 went to Carolina 7-3, which evened the best-of-seven semifinal series at 2-2. After being down 3-2, Carolina stormed back in the later innings, scoring five runs from the fifth inning on. Carolina’s Andy Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a solo homerun. Outfielders Armando Rios and Bradley Coon contributed 2 hits a piece for Carolina, with Rios scoring two runs. For Caguas, Martinez-Esteve continued his hot-hitting, going 2-for-5.

Tags:

Dominican Winter League, Eddy Martinez-Esteve, Edwin Maysonet, Fernando Martinez, Joaquin Arias, Nelson Figueroa, Puerto Rican Winter League

So far, the Dominican Winter League championship series has been all about the pitching. In Game 1, Gigantes and Escogido were deadlocked at 1-1, as both teams’ starters were solid. Escogido’s Francisco Liriano (Twins) went five innings allowing an unearned run on five hits while striking out six. Gigantes’ Jose Capellan went six innings allowing a run on five hits while striking out one. Escogido outfielder Fernando Martinez (Mets) homered in the third after Gigantes jumped out to a 1-0 first inning lead on Juan Francisco’s (Reds) RBI groundout (scoring Alexi Casilla). The tie lasted until the bottom of the seventh inning when Gigantes infielder Alexi Casilla (Twins) homered with two outs off of MLB All-Star closer Francisco Cordero (Reds) to take a 2-1 lead in the game, and a 1-0 series lead. The two teams combined for 15 hits in the game.

Aquilino Lopez with the Tigers

Game 2 was more of the same. Gigantes’ Aquilino Lopez went six innings allowing three hits and no runs while striking out two. Escogido starter Nerio Rodriguez went seven innings allowing one run on five hits.  Gigantes won the game 1-0 on an RBI single in the sixth inning by Casilla, who has been a part of the three runs scored by Gigantes so far in the series. Dario Veras, a Mexican League veteran, notched his second save in as many games and seventh overall in the playoffs. Gigantes holds a 2-0 series lead.

Mario Santiago with Single-A Wilmington

The Puerto Rican Winter League playoffs have finally begun. The Carolina and Caguas series got started as Kansas City Royals prospect Mario Santiago did not allow a hit over 7.1 innings in possibly his best pitching performance of his career. Cesar Nicolas broke up the no-hit bid with a single and Santiago was replaced by reliever Andrew Lorraine, who induced two groundouts to keep the one-hitter in tack. Francis Beltran pitched a perfect ninth. Santiago also struck out five. His dominant pitching performance led Carolina to a 5-0 win and a 1-0 series lead. MLB free agent Carlos Delgado drove in a run and also scored a run.

In Game 2 of the Carolina-Caguas series, Edgardo Baez delivered a walk-off RBI single (one of his two hits) in the tenth inning as Caguas evened up the series at 1-1. In the 2-1 win, SF Giants farmhand Eddy Martinez-Esteve had three hits for Caguas (including a double), while Delgado hit a solo homerun to account for Carolina’s only run. Willie Collazo for Carolina went six shutout innings allowing five hits while striking out three. Andrew Baldwin of Caguas went six innings allowing four hits and one run while striking out five.

The Mayaguez and Arecibo series finally got underway with Mayaguez taking the first game 8-4. Andres Torres had three hits, including a triple, and scored two runs. Mayaguez belted out 15 hits, with six players having multi-hit games. Arecibo had three players with multi-hit games, accumulating six of the team’s eight hits (Mets centerfielder Jesus Feliciano, Blue Jays rightfielder Jorge Padilla, and Astros shortstop Edwin Maysonet). Former Mets big-thing Bill Pulsipher took the loss for Arecibo, as he went just 2.2 innings allowing seven hits and five runs (three earned) while walking two and striking out two. The two teams combined for 5 errors.

Tags:

Alexi Casilla, Andres Torres, Andrew Baldwin, Aquilino Lopez, Bill Pulsipher, Carlos Delgado, Dominican Winter League, Eddy Martinez-Esteve, Edgardo Baez, Francisco Liriano, Jose Capellan, Mario Santiago, Nerio Rodriguez, Puerto Rican Winter League, Willie Collazo

With this weekend’s playoff games, the Dominican Winter League championship series is set. On Saturday, Escogido clinched the final spot to face off against Gigantes. Kevin Barker has been the force offensively for Escogido as he is hitting .387 in the playoffs. In the 10-1 win over Gigantes on Friday, Barker had four hits and 2 RBIs. In Saturday’s 4-3 clinching win over Toros, he delivered an RBI double. In that win, Heath Phillips earned his second playoff win after going six innings while striking out four. It should be an interesting championship matchup as the first place Gigantes added the hot hitting Nelson Cruz, who crushed a grand slam and drove in five runs in their finale (they won 10-6). Barker is joined on Escogido with Wladimir Balentien, a Seattle Mariners farmhand, who is hitting over .400 in the playoffs while batting in front of Barker. The championship series should be high-scoring.

Unfortunately the round-robin playoffs ended in violence in the Dominican Winter League. Former MLB All-Star infielder Jose Offerman, who was managing Licey, threw a punch at the first base umpire. It appeared that he hit him in the face or neck as the umpire fell to the ground. Offerman came out to argue with the home plate umpire after the umpire’s third inning ejection of catcher Ronny Paulino for arguing balls and strikes. Offerman then turned to the first base umpire to argue with him. Stadium security detained him and took him to the police station awaiting possible charges.

The umpiring crew for the game, which was made up of four Americans, tendered their resignations to the league after filing reports of the incident. They feared their safety after being threatened by fans following the game. The President of the Dominican League expressed regret: “It’s unheard of that passion in sports reaches levels on intolerance and violence in professional sports as exhibited by a successful athlete, who many Dominicans admire and love,” said Leonardo Matos-Berrido.

Jose Offerman Swings

This is not the only incident in which Offerman has attacked someone on the baseball field. In 2007 while batting for the Long Island Ducks in independent league baseball, he was hit by a pitch thrown by Matt Beech. Offerman charged the mound, bat in hand, swinging and hitting both Beech and catcher John Nathans. Nathans has sued Offerman because the attack left him with permanent, career-ending injuries. Maybe someone should suggest anger-management classes. Or how about banning him from baseball altogether. Offerman is a disgrace and should not get the luxury of playing or coaching a game that so many bust their butts to be a part of and never make it. Managing a team in your home country should be considered an honor, not a right to attack someone. He and the fans disgraced the game and their country. While writing this article, I received word that Offerman was banned for life from the Dominican Winter League.

On to the Venezuelan Winter League. Magallanes clinched a spot in the championship series Saturday as they beat Margarita 9-6. NY Mets right-hander Fernando Nieve picked up his second playoff win. Robinson Chirinos drove in four runs as he went 3-for-5 with a 2-run homerun. Caracas beat La Guaira on Saturday 6-4 to stay ahead in second-place. Minnesota Twins prospect Wilson Ramos went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Colorado Rockies left-hander Franklin Morales picked up the win.

Tags:

Dominican Winter League, Heath Phillips, Jose Offerman, Kevin Barker, Nelson Cruz, Robinson Chirinos, Venezueland Winter League, Wilson Ramos, Wladimir Balentien