DR eyes back-to-back Caribbean Series titles with win in semis
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MIAMI -- With veteran right-hander C¨¦sar Valdez on four days¡¯ rest and ready to go for Tigres del Licey¡¯s (Dominican Republic) Caribbean Series semifinal matchup against Federales de Chiquir¨ª (Panama) on Thursday, Licey manager Gilbert G¨®mez made a bold decision: He opted to start Cameron Gann, who had thrown two scoreless innings in relief on 36 pitches Saturday against Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico).
Although Valdez is a much more seasoned winter league and Caribbean Series pitcher, G¨®mez opted to save him for an eventual start in the championship game on Friday. The strategy worked: Gann threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, followed by a deep bullpen consisting of Jonathan Aro, Fernando Abad, Neftal¨ª F¨¦liz, J.C. Mej¨ªa and Jairo Asencio, in Licey¡¯s 4-1 victory. On Friday, the Dominican squad will face the Tiburones de la Guaira (Venezuela) in the championship.
¡°We had a plan,¡± G¨®mez said. ¡°We thought that if we wanted to put them in the best position to pitch their best baseball, we had to go with Gann today and C¨¦sar tomorrow. We knew what today¡¯s game meant, and we got the desired results.¡±
Aro, Abad, F¨¦liz, Mej¨ªa and Asencio threw a combined 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball. In the process, Asencio picked up his fourth save of the tournament to give him a Caribbean Series record 10 in his career.
¡°All the credit goes to the guys,¡± said G¨®mez, a Minor League manager in the Mets' system. ¡°When you¡¯ve got a group that can execute the plan, it makes it a little easier.¡±
Licey¡¯s offense, which scored only 15 runs in the first six games of the tournament, took an early lead in the first inning with an RBI single by Dawel Lugo. That was followed by another run-scoring single by Emilio Bonifacio and a sacrifice fly by Yadiel Hern¨¢ndez in the third. Kelvin Guti¨¦rrez drove in the Dominican Republic¡¯s fourth run with an RBI single in the sixth.
¡°We know the offensive talent we have,¡± G¨®mez said. ¡°In the first six games, we probably didn¡¯t show who we really are on the hitting side."
Looking ahead to Friday¡¯s championship game, Licey will be vying for its 12th Caribbean Series championship and the Dominican Republic¡¯s 23rd, both tournament records. In addition, the Tigres will try to become the first club to win consecutive titles since the Criollos in 2017-18.