Not much joy for Twins players. Errors give Escogido a win. Victories in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood for Oriente and Este.
ESCOGIDO 3, AGUILAS 2 IN ESCOGIDO (11 INNINGS)
Twins: Danny Santana (Aguilas) was 0-for-5. Jorge Polanco (Escogido) was 0-for-5. Aderlin Mejia (Escogido) was 0-for-4 with an RBI.
Aguilas: Rafael Ynoa (Colorado) was 2-for-5 with a run. Zoilo Almonte (Yankees) was 2-for-5. Lorenzo Barcelo pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
Escogido: Carlos Santana (Cleveland) was 2-for-5 with a double. Melky Mesa was 2-for-5 with a double. Brett Tomko (remember him?) pitched six innings, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The game: Almonte singled in one and a double play scored another to give Aguilas a 2-0 lead in the first. Gregory Polanco (Pittsburgh) put Escogido on the board with a home run in the third and an error allowed the tying run to score in the seventh. In the eleventh, two singles and a stolen base put runners on second and third with two out and an error allowed the winning run to score.
ORIENTE 3, LICEY 2 IN ORIENTE
Twins: Dan Rohlfing (Licey) was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Licey: Engel Beltre (Texas) was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Emilio Bonifacio (Kansas City) was 2-for-5 with two runs. Francisley Bueno (Kansas City) pitched five innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk with one strikeout.
Oriente: Juan Diaz (Miami) was 2-for-4 with a home run. Leandro Castro (Philadelphia) was 2-for-3 with a walk. Marlon Arias pitched 4.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts.
The game: It was scoreless until the fourth, when Licey got one on an error. Oriente tied it in the fifth on an RBI double by Alberto Rosario. Beltre singled in a run in the seventh to put Licey back in front 2-1. Diaz led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run. With two out, Ed Rogers delivered an RBI single to give Oriente the victory.
ESTE 5, CIBAO 4 IN CIBAO (11 INNINGS)
Este: Mayo Acosta (Tampa Bay) was 3-for-4 with a double and a home run (his third), driving in two. Hector Gomez (Milwaukee) was 2-for-6 with a triple. Angelys Nina (Colorado) was 1-for-4 with a walk and a double, scoring once.
Cibao: Oscar Tejeda (Washington) was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs. Francisco Peguero (Baltimore) was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs. Zach Kroenke pitched five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts.
The game: Tejeda's two-run single gave Cibao a 2-0 lead in the second. They still led 3-2 going into the ninth, when Este tied it on an RBI double by Willis Otanez and took a 4-3 lead on an Esteban German run-scoring single. Maikel Franco (Philadelphia) homered in the bottom of the ninth to tie it at four. In the eleventh, Jason Rogers (Milwaukee) delivered a two-out RBI single to give Este the win.