By Conor Liguori
World Baseball Network
The American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars 4-3 in nine innings at Sunday’s Dominican Summer League All-Star Game.
Each Dominican Summer League All-Star Game player has been drafted or signed as an international free agent by a Major League Baseball club. The league is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball played in the Dominican Republic. There are currently 50 teams split into six divisions: the Baseball City Division, the North Division, the Northeast Division, the Northwest Division, the San Pedro Division, and the South Division. Twenty MLB organizations have two DSL teams.
The American League took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double from shortstop Fernando Peguero. Peguero signed with the Baltimore Orioles in January of 2022 and has a .277 batting average in 88 career games with the DSL Orioles Orange. The lead was extended to 3-0 later in the inning on a two-run single from another Baltimore Orioles prospect, 20-year-old catcher Luis Vicioso.
New York Mets prospect Jeffry Rosa singled to left field to drive home the first run of the game for the National League in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The National League drew one run closer in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Yophery Rodriguez, a center fielder in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
Catcher Ramon Ramirez hit an RBI single to center field in the top of the seventh to extend the lead to 4-2 in favor of the American League. Ramirez has 20 RBI and a .384 batting average in his first season with the DSL Royals Blue.
Aneyelo Gonzalez hit an RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning to bring the National League within one run, but they were held scoreless the rest of the way. Gonzalez has a .827 OPS this season with the DSL Giants Black.
The American League used 10 pitchers throughout the game, including the winning pitcher in the contest, Melkis Hernandez. Hernandez allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out one in his single inning on the mound. Hernandez is 18 years old and has a 4.01 ERA in 33.2 innings with the DSL Guardians Blue this season.
The losing pitcher in the contest was Jesus Tillero, a right-handed pitcher for the DSL Los Angeles Dodgers Bautista. Tillero allowed three earned runs on three hits in the first inning of the game. The 17-year-old has 22 strikeouts in 19.1 innings this season.
The Dominican Summer League will finish its 72-game regular season schedule on August 19, with playoffs beginning shortly after. Each division winner advances to the playoffs and the two division winners with the highest winning percentages receive byes to the semifinals. The DSL Phillies White defeated the DSL Rockies 2-1 in a best-of-three championship series in 2022. The DSL Dodgers have won the most championships in league history, with eight.
