loading

  About 3 minutes reading time.

Winter Ball Wrapup: Playoffs Set In Venezuela, Mexico; Tigres, Estrellas Lead LIDOM Round Robin

 Leif Skodnick - World Baseball Network  |    Dec 31st, 2023 9:12am EST

Staff Reports
World Baseball Network

Tigres de Aragua 9, Aguilas del Zulia 3 – The Tigres de Aragua have advanced to the Liga Venezolana Beisbol Profesional playoffs, defeating the Aguilas del Zulia 9-3 in the second and final game of the Wild Card Series Saturday night.

A pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the first by Jose Martinez and Yermin Mercedes gave Aragua a 2-0 lead.

With the game tied at three-apiece in the bottom of the sixth, Alexi Amarista ripped a three-run double to center field to give the Tigres a 6-3 lead.

Amarista went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI for the Tigres. Starter Guillermo Moscoso threw five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four for the Tigres, who only needed to win one game in the Wild Card Series to advance.

The playoffs in the LVBP will start this week, with the four remaining teams playing a 16-game round robin. The top two teams will advance to the best-of-seven LVBP Championship Series, with the winner earning a berth in the 2024 Caribbean Series at loanDepot Park in Miami. All LVBP games are streamed live on Beisbolplay.com with a paid subscription.

Playoff Picture In Focus In Mexico – The Charros de Jalisco topped the Yaquis de Obregon 7-5 on the final night of the season to win the second half title in the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico, giving them 14 total points for the 2023-24 season and the fifth seed in the LAMP playoffs. On Monday, they’ll begin the first round of the LAMP playoffs against the fifth-seeded Venados de Mazatlan.

The Algodoneros de Guasave claimed the top seed, winning the first half and finishing seventh in the second half to earn 15 points and a first round matchup with the Aguilas de Mexicali.

Finishing second in the second half earned the Naranjeros de Hermosillo nine points, giving them a season total of 14.5 points and the second overall seed. They’ll face the Mayos de Navajoa in the first round, which starts Jan. 1.

A pair of fourth-place finishes in each half gave the Caneros de Los Mochis 14 points and the third seed. They’ll face the Tomateros de Culiacan in the first round of the playoffs.

All four first round games on Jan. 1 start at 8 p.m. EST. Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacifico games can be streamed via Extrabase.tv for a fee.

LIDOM: Estrellas, Tigres Atop Round Robin After Both Win Saturday – The Tigres del Licey (3-1) scored seven runs in the second inning and never looked back, cruising to an 8-4 win over the Gigantes del Cibao, who fell to 1-3 in the LIDOM Round Robin.

Six Tigres had multi-hit games, including former Major League Emilio Bonifacio, who drove in a pair of runs in the seven-run second with a triple. Bonificio was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI.

The Estrellas Orientales (3-1) beat the Leones del Escogido 7-3 behind a four-run bottom of the seventh that featured a two-run single to left field by Miguel Sano. The Leones fell to 1-3 in the round robin.

There are no games in LIDOM on Dec. 31 or Jan. 1. The league resumes play on Jan. 2, when the Estrellas Orientales face the Gigantes del Cibao and the Leones del Escogido face the Tigres del Licey. All LIDOM games are streamed on MLB.tv with a paid subscription.

author avatar
Leif Skodnick - World Baseball Network