A good day for Chris Colabello. Close games all around.
ESTE 2, ESCOGIDO 1 IN ESTE
Twins: Jorge Polanco (Escogido) was 1-for-4. Aderlin Mejia (Escogido) was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Chris Colabello (Este) was 2-for-4.
Escogido: Wilkin Castillo was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run. Gregory Polanco (Pittsburgh) was 3-for-4. Edward Valdez pitched six innings, giving up an unearned run on eight hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
Este: Jason Rogers (Milwaukee) was 1-for-4 with a home run. Angelys Nina (Colorado) was 2-for-4. Raul Valdes (Houston) pitched seven innings, allowing one run on nine hits and no walks with three strikeouts.
The game: Mejia had an RBI single in the third to put Escogido ahead 1-0. Este scored on an error in the fifth to tie it at one. In the eighth, Rogers hit a one-out homer to give Este a 2-1 lead. The last seven men for Escogido were retired and they did not get a man past first after the fourth inning.
LICEY 6, AGUILAS 4 IN LICEY
Aguilas: Zoilo Almonte (Yankees) was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Rafael Ynoa (Colorado) was 1-for-4 with a double and a run. Juan Perez (San Francisco) was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Licey: Juan Francisco (Milwaukee) was 2-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his third. Anderson Hernandez was 2-for-3 with a walk and a triple, scoring once and driving in one. Ramon Ortiz (Toronto) pitched five innings, allowing one run on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts.
The game: Andy Marte had an RBI single in the fourth to give Aguilas a 1-0 lead. in the bottom of the fourth, Leonys Martin (Texas) doubled in a run and Bryan Holaday (Detroit) hit a three-run homer to give Licey a 4-1 advantage. It stayed 4-1 until the eighth, when a two-run double by Almonte and a sacrifice fly tied the score. In the bottom of the eighth, Francisco homered and Hernandez hit an RBI triple to put Licey ahead to stay. Aguilas went down in order in the ninth.
ORIENTE 3, CIBAO 0 IN CIBAO
Oriente: Alfredo Marte (Arizona) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run. Josh Whitesell was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double, scoring once. Esmerling Vasquez pitched four innings, giving up seven hits but no walks with three strikeouts.
Cibao: Wilson Betemit (Baltimore) was 2-for-4 with a double. Leury Garcia (White Sox) was 2-for-4. Juan Silverio (Cincinnati) was 2-for-3.
The game: Whitesell doubled in a run in the first and RBI singles by Alex Valdez and Michael Martinez (Philadelphia) made it 3-0 after four. Cibao's best scoring chance came in the first inning, when Moises Sierra (Toronto) was thrown out trying to score from first on a double.