LIDOM Notes: Streaking Leones Reel Off Eight Straight; Toros and Leones Swap Pitchers; Estrellas and Aguilas Rained Out Again

The Leones del Escogido were 1-4 on Oct. 22, just four games into the 2026-27 LIDOM regular season.

In a long season, a 1-4 start isn't cause for alarm, but in LIDOM, that's 10% of the regular season, and a team that digs itself into a big hole early doesn't have much time to dig out.

Unlike the townspeople of Springfield, the Leones quickly dug themselves out of that hole, rattling off eight straight wins starting on Oct. 23 and moving themselves into a tie with their Santo Domingo stadium mates, the Tigres del Licey as they enter the third week of the season.

The Leones win streak isn't a story of a team that has done everything right, nor is it a team that is balanced. They're a team that can win with pitching when they aren't getting offense, and can win with offense when they aren't getting pitching.

Often, though, through the last eight games, the've gotten pitching. In five of the eight games of the streak, the Leones have held their opponents to three or fewer runs, posting a 2-0 shutout of the Toros del Este on Oct. 24, a 6-3 win against the Aguilas Cibaenas on Oct. 26, a 2-0 shutout of the Estrellas Orientales on Oct. 30, a 4-1 win against the Aguilas on Halloween, and a 2-1 win over the Aguilas on Nov. 1.

In only one of those games, the 6-3 win against the Aguilas on Oct. 26, did the Leones pitchers allow more than five hits - they allowed 10 that night, but the Aguilas went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, stranded 10, and came away from a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the seventh inning with nothing to show for it.

When they haven't gotten pitching, the offense has been there to carry the Leones through. Look at their 15-11 win against the Toros del Este on Oct. 25: Six different Leones drove in at least one run, and of those six, five drove in more than one. In the 15-8 win against Cibao on Oct. 29, eight of nine starters had at least one RBI and four had more than one.

It's a total team effort for the Leones, which is what manager Ramon Santiago said it would take for his club to win a third straight LIDOM title.

"A lot of work and effort from everyone. It is a collective effort," Santiago told WorldBaseball.com on Oct. 17 before the Leones' game against the Estrellas Orientales. "We know the responsibility we take on in every opportunity we have to make it possible. And I think it is very important that we maintain focus and determination to make it happen."

There's an old saying about baseball that goes, "You can't win the pennant in the first month of the season, but you sure can lose it."

Since LIDOM returned to a 50-game schedule for the 2022-23 season, it's taken an average of 23.75 wins to get the last spot the round robin playoffs, the four-team, 18-game playoff where the two best teams advance to the LIDOM championship series.

Sure, the Leones haven't clinched a playoff spot yet, but at 9-4, they're well on their way.

Domingo Acevedo Traded to Toros - The Toros del Este acquired Domingo Acevedo from the Leones del Escogido in exchange for Greg Minier, the league announced Monday. Acevedo played three seasons in Major League Baseball with the Oakland A's, and has appeared in 26 career LIDOM games, posting a 2.92 ERA over 37 innings, allowing 24 hits and striking out 31. He split last winter between the Leones and the Algodoneros de Guasave of the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico, throwing a total of 11 1/3 innings and allowing 16 earned runs on 17 hits, walking 14 and striking out nine.

Minier, 31, made 10 appearances last season for the Toros, throwing 14 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just seven hits and striking out 13 while walking five. He has yet to appear in a game in LIDOM this winter.

Slumping Star, Slumping Stars - The Estrellas' Raimel Tapia drove in 12 runs in the first seven games of the season, but then cooled off. He has not driven in any runs and is batting 2-for-19 in the last five games, with nine strikeouts. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the Estrellas have lost five straight and have scored a total of six runs and committed nine errors during the skid.

It's the Little Things - LIDOM teams that make three or more errors in a game have a record of 1-11 thus far this season. ... Licey's Gustavo Núñez extended his hitting streak to eight games. During that streak, Nunez is 15-for-37, with a double, a triple, five runs scored, three RBIs, and five stolen bases.

Estrellas Orientales (5-6) at Aguilas Cibaenas (3-8) - The third time wasn't the charm for completing the game between the Estrellas and Aguilas that was originally scheduled for Oct. 21. After the first attempt was suspended in the bottom of the second with Aderlin Rodriguez due to bat for the Aguilas, the two teams tried again on Oct. 26, but rain again came to Santiago, and so the game wasn't played that day, either. Again, both teams came to Estadio Cibao Monday night, but so did rain, and so they'll try again.

Tonight's LIDOM Schedule
All times Eastern Standard Time
6:15 p.m. - Toros del Este (5-8) at Leones del Escogido (9-4)
6:30 p.m. - Gigantes del Cibao (7-6) at Estrellas Orientales (5-7)
6:30 p.m. - Tigres del Licey (9-4) at Aguilas Cibaenas (3-9)