It is playoff baseball time in the Caribbean Winter Leagues. With all the leagues in Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic in the middle of their playoffs, these first rounds of playoffs have provided many great games capped by dramatic moments.
In Mexico, the quarterfinals are over, and the teams that emerged victorious from the quarterfinals were the four teams with the best records in the regular season. The semi-finalists are Naranjeros de Hermosillo, the defending champions of Mexico, who will take on Charros de Jalisco, and Tomateros de Culiacán, who will be doing the same against Cañeros de Mochis. During the quarterfinals, Dwight Smith Jr hit for an average of .500 and scored six runs in 5 games as Tomateros de Culiacan made quick work of Venados de Mazatlán. Joey Meneses also contributed 2 HR and 7 RBI to the cause. On the pitching side, Ofreidy Gómez was instrumental in the comeback that Los Mochis had to mount after being down 3-2 in the series against Algodoneros de Guasave. Gómez pitched in every game of the 7-game series, recording 11 innings and 11 strikeouts while allowing only four hits and two walks. His masterful pitching out of the bullpen in the series was key in Los Mochis’ comeback. The semifinals in Mexico begin Saturday night.
This week, some changes were made in the Round Robin standings in Venezuela. After beginning the Round Robin on a 6-game winning streak, regular season leaders Cardenales de Lara lost three straight games, two of them to Bravos de Margarita, who was able to tie and eventually overtake Lara in the Round Robin lead. With a clutch win in their last game of the week, Lara reclaimed the top position in the Round Robin, as they now play for 7-3. A resurgent Bravos de Margarita plays for 7-4 and is currently second in the Round Robin. Bravos de Margarita greatly depended on pitching performances from Felix Dubront and Angel Rondon. Dubront has pitched three round-robin games, totaling 16.1 innings and 17 strikeouts, leading the league in both. Angel Rondon has won 2 games, has an ERA of 1.80, and has held hitters to a .196 batting average. Although Bravos and Cardenales are expected to be the teams fighting the top two positions, only two games separate the top four, with plenty of games left to play.
In the Dominican Republic, two of the most legendary teams in the country’s history are the current leaders in the Round Robin. Current back-to-back defending league champions Tigres del Licey and a resurging Leones del Escogido, who have once again found their stride that had abandoned them for the last 5 weeks of the season, currently lead the Round Robin table. Leones del Escogido has mounted a historic offensive display during the first eight games of the Round Robin. Leones is collectively hitting a slashline of .300/.376/.490 for an OPS of .865. For reference’s sake, their nearest competitor from other teams in those departments is slashing .268/.326/.413 for an OPS of .734. It has been a collective effort for Leones, as various players have been hitting proficiently. Yamaico Navarro (.421 avg, 2 HR, 6 RBI), Socrates Brito(.400 avg), Junior Caminero (.371 avg), and Jean Segura (.357, 7RBI) all feature in one way or another in the league’s offensive leaders for the Round Robin.
Both series have been competitive in Puerto Rico, standing 2-1 in favor of Indios de Mayaguez and Senadores de San Juan, respectively. Indios and Senadores were the top two teams in the standings. Still, they have faced fierce competition from defending champions Criollos de Caguas and Cangrejeros de Santurce, respectively. On offense, Nelson Velazquez, Kennys Vargas, and Vimael Machin have been absolute venom in the middle of Caguas’ order during this semifinal. Velazquez already has 3 HR and 6 RBI in only three games, while Machin and Vargas have contributed 3 RBI each. Machin has also scored four runs, while Vargas has an HR. P.J. Higgins has also been a major contributor for Criollos during the series, as he has hit an OPS of 1.533. On the pitching side, Nelvin Fuentes has delivered both wins for Indios de Mayaguez, and Eduardo Rivera has been dominant, pitching six innings and striking out 8.
The Caribbean Series will be played in Mexicali from January 31 through February 7. It will feature the champions from each league and a guest team from the Japanese Winter League. So far, it could be any of the remaining teams, as all teams look capable of appropriately representing their league.
