Yet again this week, weather was a factor in LIDOM action as the contest between the Tigres del Licey and Toros del Este was postponed.
ESTRELLAS ORIENTALES (3) VS AGUILAS CIBAENAS (6)
A game that featured spades of former Major League talent, lacked offensive firepower. The Estrellas Orientales and Aguilas Cibaeñas managed just 11 hits combined and scratched out only 1 earned run over their 9 innings of play on Wednesday night.
ESTRELLAS ORIENTALES
The only notable offensive performance came from former Chicago Cubs prospect, Junior Lake. The now 30-year old outfielder accounted for one of the only two extra base hits when he blasted a solo home run in the 6th inning to extend the Estrellas’ lead to 2.
The Estrellas jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning on a Socrates Brito RBI groundout to drive in Eric Filia after he reached on an error to lead off the game.
The other extra base hit in the ball game came from Lewin Diaz who was dealt to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Sergio Romo at the midway point of the 2019 season. We have seen the Marlins deal away a glut of MLB All-Stars in recent years for questionable returns. However, Lewin Diaz could end up being a steal for the ball club. At 6-foot-4, Diaz has an extremely projectable frame with already proven power. The 23-year-old’s elite bat speed, strength, and big body allow him to elevate the ball, while his bat to ball skills allow him to spray the ball to all fields.
The only flaw in his game thus far is his lack of patience at the plate, but it is reasonable to assume that will improve with age.
Another notable piece of the Estrellas’ roster is San Diego Padres catcher, Francisco Mejia. The young backstop struggled at the dish last night taking an 0-3 with a strikeout. The Dominican native is off to a slow start after only managing one hit in his first 7 at bats.
The Estrella pitchers were effective Wednesday night allowing only 7 hits and 1 walk through the evening. Nabil Crismatt got the start and kept the Cibaeñas off the scoreboard while striking out 4 through 5 innings of work. Crismatt then handed the ball off to Norway Ruiz, Raffi Vizcaino, Matt Pobereyko, and Warfin Bishop for an inning a piece as they held off the Cibaeñas for a 2-1 victory.
AGUILAS CIBAENAS
In the other dugout, there was not much to get excited about for Victor Robles and the Cibaeñas. He led off the bottom of the first inning with a single to center, but was quiet the remainder of the day. While Robles may have been somewhat disappointing offensively in his brief career thus far, he is an elite defender and will find himself in the Gold Glove conversation for a long time to come.
Cibaeñas pitching was impressive Wednesday night as Yuneski Maya went 5 ⅔ innings allowing only 3 hits and 2 unearned runs. Dario Alvarez, Luis Castillo, and Michael Ynoa closed out the game, allowing only 1 baserunner, but the 2 unearned runs were enough to beat the Cibaeñas.
TIGRES del LIECY (2) VS GIGANTES del CIBAO (4)
TIGRES DEL LICEY
The star-studded Tigres del Licey are led by Tampa Bay Rays’s slugger Nate Lowe and baseball’s top prospect, Wander Franco, alongside the Seattle Mariners’ top prospect Julio Rodriguez.
The Tigers got off to a roaring start in the ball game plating 3 runs in the blink of an eye in the bottom of the first inning.
The Tigers’s offense was well spread out throughout the course of the evening with 8 different players recording a base hit, including the aforementioned Julio Rodriguez and Wander Franco.
While Franco has not been barreling as many balls as expected this winter, he appears to have turned a corner over the last 48 hours. The 19 year old blasted his first home run of the LIDOM season on Tuesday night and followed it up with 1-for-3 night on Wednesday.
The Mariners’ 19 year old of their own, Julio Rodriguez, was responsible for the Lions’ second run of the inning when he legged out an infield single to bring in former Mets draft pick, Ceaser Puello.
For the Lions, 26 year old third baseman Joe Dunand plated a run on a sac fly off his bat in the first inning and recorded a base hit in the 3rd inning.
Lions pitchers held the Giants to only 5 hits over the course of their 9 innings of work. Denyi Reyes came out of the gate with 4 strong innings before handing the ball off to Franklyn Kilome who earned the W in the ball game. The Lions then pieced together the final 4 innings with 4 more arms before securing the 3-1 win.
GIGANTES del CIBAO
Across the way, the only notable offensive performance was Ronald Guzman of the Texas Rangers. The second place hitter strung together a two-hit performance and recorded one of the only two extra base hits for the ball cub. The first baseman also drew a walk and scored the only Giant run of the night.
After Dustin Crenshaw’s rough first inning, he settled in for 4 strong frames, racking up 6 strikeouts.
Outside of the tough first inning, the Giants’ pitching out paced their bats successfully shutting down the Tigers over the course of the game with a combination of Raynel Espinal, Randy Rosario, Yunior Marte, and Marcos Molina on the back end.