Rafael Montero had his best outing in the Dominican Winter League last night for the Leones del Escogido in their 7-2 victory that puts them in the Championship series against the Tigres del Licey. Montero pitched a perfect 8th inning with two strikeouts and picked up his second hold of the postseason.
Both strikeouts came swinging, one was Washington Nationals OF/1B Tyler Moore and the other was the Detroit Tigers #2 prospect Steven Moya. Montero has now pitched 9.1 innings in the Dominican and has allowed three runs with seven strikeouts. He last pitched on Saturday when he threw 1.2 scoreless innings. During his last outing Montero was hitting 91-93 with his fastball according to a team official I talked to.
The Aguilas de Mexicali will be moving on to the Championship round after winning Game 7 last night vs. Mayos de Mavojoa. The game ended on a walk-off successful squeeze in the 16th inning that was upheld by a replay challenge. Xorge Carrillo was 0 for 1 before he left off for a pinch runner after being hit by a pitch in the 5th inning.
Carrillo was hit directly in the face with the pitch and had to leave in an ambulance but was seen back with the team after the game. Reports say that he has broken his nose and doesn’t have any serious injuries, here you can see the scary video of the pitch. Carrillo has been tearing the cover off the ball in the playoffs hitting .382 with five doubles.
The Indios de Mayaguez lost last night 4-1 after mustering only four hits, T.J. Rivera had a rare off night going 0 for 4. He started at third base and shifted over to second later in the game, he is now hitting .311 during the Puerto Rican Winter League playoffs.
Andrew Barbosa got the start for the Indios, lasting only 4.2 innings and seeing his playoff record fall to 2-1. He allowed four runs on ten hits and struck out three. The tall lefty has thrown 15.2 innings in the postseason, giving up three runs and striking out 11.
For more winter ball coverage head over to MetsMinors.net where you can also read about Dominic Smith’s recent defensive accolades.
