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SANTO DOMINGO.– Héctor Rodríguez had a stellar night by hitting a home run and a double, driving in four runs and scoring three, leading the Leones del Escogido to a resounding 11-3 victory over the Estrellas Orientales on Monday night, a result that secured their qualification to the
Round Robin of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM).
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With the triumph, the “melenudos” eliminated the Estrellas Orientales (22-28) and completed the group of four teams advancing to the postseason along with Águilas Cibaeñas, Toros del Este and Gigantes del Cibao, the latter qualifying after defeating the Tigres del Licey on the same day.
The national and Caribbean champions, with a record of 23-27, will have to wait for the results of the last date of the regular season to define their final position in the table. In case the Gigantes fall this Tuesday against the Licey, the Escogido would finish in third place of the Everyone against Everyone; otherwise, they would do it in the fourth position.
The Stars took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, which led to the premature exit of starting pitcher Travis Lakins. From the bullpen,
Phillips Valdez (3-0) was credited with the victory after pitching 2.1 innings of one run and two strikeouts. Grant Gavin also stood out with a solid performance of three scoreless innings, not allowing hits, with four strikeouts and one walk.
The loss went to
Zac Kristofak (0-1), who allowed three runs in just one-third of an inning.
How the races arrived
The Leones scored in the first inning with a double by Junior Lake, a single by Erik González and a run-scoring groundout by Sócrates Brito. One of the decisive rallies of four runs came in the third inning, led by a hit by González and finished off by a run-scoring double by Jonathan Araúz, which put the score at 5-3.
In the fifth inning, the Reds extended their lead with a string of hits against Oscar De La Cruz and Raffi Vizcaíno, adding four more runs. Rodríguez’s home run came in the sixth inning against Jhan Maríñez, a 432-foot hit to right field, with an exit velocity of 106.3 miles per hour, which sealed the Escogido offense.
Individual Performance
For the Leones, Héctor Rodríguez went 3-3, with a home run, a double, four RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk; Erik González went 5-3, with two RBIs and a run scored; Pedro Severino, 4-2, with two RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base, and Jonathan Araúz, 4-2, with a double and two RBIs.
By the Stars, Ismael Munguía went 1-for-2, with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, while Raimel Tapia finished 1-for-4, with a run scored and a stolen base.
