Caribbean Series Preview

The winter leagues move toward their conclusion.

There's a change in the Caribbean Series this year.  Instead of four teams, there are now five.  There are, of course, the champions of the four winter leagues we've been following all season--Magallanes from the Venezuelan League, Licey from the Dominican League, Mayaguez from the Puerto Rican League, and Hermosillo from the Mexican League.  The fifth team is Villa Clara, the champion of the Cuban Winter League.

Clearly, the addition team required a change in format.  So, we start out with a four-game, five-day round robin, in which each team plays each of the others once.  That will be played from Feb. 1-5.  At the end of the round robin, one team is eliminated and the other four go into a single-elimination tournament.  The semi-final round will be played Feb. 6 and the championship game Feb. 7.

Mexican League: Game of January 29

A seven-run inning carries Hermosillo into the Caribbean Series.

HERMOSILLO 8, NAVOJOA 3 IN HERMOSILLO

Navojoa:  Luis Fonseca was 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer, his seventh.  John Lindsey was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chris Roberson was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

Hermosillo:  Jerry Owens was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Zelous Wheeler (Yankees) was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.  Nathan Reed (Boston) struck out five in 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and five walks.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  There was no scoring until the third, when with one out Jon Weber walked and Fonseca hit a two-run homer to give Navojoa a 2-0 lead.  Hermosillo got on the board in the fifth on a single, a walk, and an RBI single by Jonathan Aceves.  It was still 2-1 until the bottom of the seventh, when Hermosillo exploded for seven runs to put the game out of reach.  Aceves again delivered an RBI single with one out to tie the score.  Owens singled in the go-ahead run.  A two-run single by Carlos Alberto Gastelum and a three-run homer by Wheeler made it 8-2.  Navojoa got a run in the ninth but did not threaten to get back into the game.

PLAYOFF SERIES

Hermosillo defeats Navojoa four games to three in the best-of seven.  This concludes our Mexican League reports for this season.  Hermosillo will go on to play in the Caribbean Series.

Australian League: Games of January 28

There were no games scheduled in the Australian League on this date.

Mexican League: Game of January 28

Navojoa forces a deciding game seven.

NAVOJOA 5, HERMOSILLO 3 IN HERMOSILLO

Navojoa:  Luis Fonseca was 2-for-3 with two walks, a double, and a two-run homer (his sixth), scoring twice.  Chris Roberson was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.  Juan Delgadillo pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Hermosillo:  Carlos Alberto Gastelum was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Heber Gomez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Yunesky Sanchez was 0-for-3 with two walks and an RBI.

The game:  Each team scored once in the second to make the score 1-1.  It remained tied until the fifth.  In the top of the inning, Fernando Flores singled and Roberson doubled.  A wild pitch scored Flores to put Navojoa ahead 2-1 and Fonseca hit a two-run homer to make it 4-1.  Carlos Orrantia singled in a run in the eighth to make it 5-1 Navojoa.  Hermosillo tried to come back in the ninth.  A walk, two singles, and another walk cut the lead to 5-2 and loaded the bases with one out.  Following a popup, another walk made it 5-3 and moved the tying run into scoring position.  That was all there was, though, as a ground out ended the game.

PLAYOFF SERIES

Hermosillo and Navojoa are tied at three games each in the best-of-seven series.  The deciding game is scheduled for tonight.

Dominican League: Game of January 28

Licey takes the series in a tight game.

LICEY 3, ESCOGIDO 2 IN LICEY

Escogido:  Eury Perez (Washington) was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run.  Ramon Santiago was 2-for-3 with an RBI.  Evan MacLane struck out six in six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk.

Licey:  Rene Rivera (San Diego) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run.  Lew Ford was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Francisley Bueno (Kansas City) struck out six in 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks.

The game:  Perez doubled, took third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to give Escogido a 1-0 lead in the first.  Licey tied it in the second when Ford walked, took second on a ground out, and scored on an error.  Escogido went ahead 2-1 in the fourth on a pair of walks and a Santiago RBI single.  Rivera homered in the fifth to tie it back up at two.  Escogido loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with one out but could not score.  In the bottom of the seventh, a pair of walks and a two-out single by Emilio Bonifacio gave Licey its first lead at 3-2.  Escogido got a leadoff walk in the eighth and advanced him to third with two productive outs, but the runner could not go the last ninety feet.

PLAYOFF SERIES

Licey defeats Escogido in the best-of-nine series five games to three.  This concludes our Dominican League reports for this season.  Licey will advance to the Caribbean Series.

Venezuelan League: Game of January 28

Ramon Hernandez drives in six as Magallanes takes the series.

MAGALLANES 11, ANZOATEGUI 6 IN ANZOATEGUI

Twins:  Eduardo Escobar (Anzoategui) was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixth.  Deolis Guerra (Magallanes) pitched a scoreless inning, giving up no hits and one walk with one strikeout.

Magallanes:  Ramon Hernandez (Kansas City) was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth) and six RBIs.  Juan Rivera was 2-for-3 with a double, scoring three times and driving in one.  Endy Chavez (Seattle) was 4-for-6 with a double and a run.

Anzoategui:  Hector Gimenez was 2-for-4 (White Sox) with a double and a home run, scoring twice.  Niuman Romero was 0-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Alberto Callaspo homered and Hernandez had an RBI single to give Magallanes a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.  Anzoategui came back with three in the bottom of the first, scoring one on an error, one on a ground out, and one on a Cory Aldridge single.  Escobar homered in the second to make it 4-2, but Magallanes evened the score in the fourth on back-to-back homers by Hernandez and Robinson Chirinos.  Anzoategui went ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the fourth on a double, a hit batsman, a walk, and a ground out.  Gimenez homered in the sixth to make it 6-4 Anzoategui.  Magallanes cut the lead to 6-5 in the seventh when Rivera doubled and scored on a pair of ground outs.  In the Magallanes eighth, a walk, a single, and a walk loaded the bases.  With two out, a hit batsman tied the score, an error brought home two to give Magallanes an 8-6 lead, and Hernandez hit a three-run homer to put Magallanes in control.  Anzoategui did not threaten to get back into the game.

PLAYOFF SERIES

Magallanes defeats Anzoategui in the playoff series four games to one.  This concludes our Venezuelan League reports for this season.  Magallanes will advance to the Caribbean Series.

Australian League Playoff Preview

For once, I get a playoff preview done before the playoffs start.

As always, we start with the regular-season standings:

Perth, 32-14
Sydney, 23-23
Canberra, 22-24
Melbourne, 22-24
Adelaide, 21-25
Brisbane, 18-28

The top three teams go to the playoffs.  As you can see, there was a tie for third place.  Unfortunately, Australian League rules to not allow for a play-in game, although they'd have plenty of time for one.  Instead, Canberra was awarded third place based on head-to-head victories during the regular season.

It's a two-round playoff system.  In the first round (called the "preliminary final"), the second and third place teams play each other in a best-of-three series.  This year, that means Sydney plays Canberra.  The winner then takes on the first place team, Perth, in another best-of-three series to determine the league champion.  The preliminary final will be held this weekend, and the final final will be held the following weekend.