Photo by laradio247fm.com
On Friday night, Mets center fielder Juan Lagares made his winter ball debut with the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican League and what a game he had. He batted third in the lineup while playing the entire game in center field. He is returning to Aguilas for the fifth winter league season, he hit .342/.379/.412 for the them the last time he played in 2013.
Lagares started his night off by walking in the first inning after being down in the count 0-2. He would later come around to score on what is possibly the shortest wild pitch allowing a runner to score from third I have ever seen.
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In the third inning Lagares showed off some of his 2014 Gold Glove defense with one of his patented lunging catches which you can watch here. He came up in the bottom of the 8th inning with one out and the go-ahead run on third base capping his great debut with a game-winning RBI line drive single to right field. You can see the hit here.
With the help from Lagares the Aguilas beat the Leones del Escogido by a final score of 3-2, the first time they have beaten them this season. Juan also stole second base after his game-winning hit, he was 1 for 3 with a walk, RBI, run scored, and two strikeouts.
Update on Wilmer Flores: He left his debut game on Thursday for a pinch runner in the 8th inning after getting hit by a pitch in the left heel/ankle area. The Bravos de Margarita said it is minor and he is day-to-day. Flores said this to a local news outlet after the game “These are things that happen in any league these at the risk of a pitch, but it was nothing serious “.
For more winter ball coverage from last night including Jenrry Mejia’s start and T.J. Rivera’s night at the plate read here. Head over to MetsMinors.net for full winter league coverage.
