Caribbean Series: Dominican Republic hands Puerto Rico first loss

Miami, FL – The marquee matchup of the Caribbean Series did not disappoint as the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 5-2. Taking advantage of a short-handed Puerto Rican pitching staff due to the recent loss of former Marlin Alex Sanabia, Tigres del Licey hit consistently recording a dozen, and putting up early runs backed by solid pitching. César Valdez was the starter tossing five effective frames limiting the opposition to a pair of runs. Cameron Gann, J.C. Mejía, and Jairo Asencio allowed one hit in four combined innings of relief.

Closing out day three of the tournament, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are now tied for second at 2-1. Criollos de Caguas face Venezuela on Sunday afternoon and Tigres del Licey gets the night game versus Mexico.

Barrage

The Tigres del Licey stepped up the pressure loading the bases at the top of the second. Kelvin Gutierrez grounded into a double play but plated Ramon Hernandez gifting the Dominic Republic the 1-0 lead. The scoring continued into the third. Robinson Cano led off what became a three-run effort, crushing it to right field with Emilio Bonifacio aboard making it 3-0. After Hernandez’s double, Dawel Lugo joined in on the hit parade smacking an RBI single.  J.C. Escarra can’t apply the tag on Hernandez at home plate as the ball slipped out granting the Tigres another run.

Robinson Canó with a two run homer and the Dominican Republic leads 3-0! pic.twitter.com/kHgy9AyxKb

— Jeff Duda (@INTLBaseball24) February 4, 2024

Despite the early hole, Puerto Rico showed why this contest is one of the most anticipated of the tournament. Matching the hype, Criollos de Caguas took two runs back. Danny Ortiz smacked an RBI double plating Heliot Ramos while Johneshwy Fargas sac flied driving in Ortiz to make it 4-2 through four.

Puerto Rico kicked off the entire Caribbean Series with a hard-fought 5-2 win over Nicaragua followed by a 2-0 shutout victory against Mexico. The Dominican Republic stumbled in their opener losing 3-1 to Venezuela before recovering in a late-game rally beating Nicaragua 5-4 Friday afternoon.

The official attendance for last night’s game between Dominican Republic vs Puerto Rico in Miami was 35,972 people, the highest attendance EVER for a Caribbean Series game 👀

Baseball absolutely needs to keep as much of the WBC in Miami as possible
pic.twitter.com/JKl6CTiBcY

— Calico Joe (@CalicoJoeMLB) February 4, 2024

Paws Up

Florida International has one of their own competing in the Caribbean Series. J.C. Escarra started tonight’s game representing Puerto Rico. The 28-year-old Hialeah native was initially drafted by the New York Mets in the 32nd round of the 2013 MLB Draft straight out of Mater Academy. He chose instead to attend FIU. Four years later, the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 15th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Escarra made it as far as Triple-A appearing in 58 games for the Norfolk Tides in 2021. Since then he has moved out to various independent leagues including those in Mexico and Puerto Rico.

What a game. Dominican Republic (Licey) hand Puerto Rico (Caguas) their first loss of the Caribbean Series.

🇩🇴 vs 🇵🇷 never disappoints. pic.twitter.com/UzkhNfrJpb

— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) February 4, 2024

📸: Danis Sosa