Dominican Winter League: Aguilas Cibaenas 3, Leones del Escogido 2

Omar Luna, starting at second base this time around for Cibaenas, had a good game, going 1 for 2 with a stolen base. He’s still hitting just .235 on the DWL season, but he’s starting to make progress. Manny Ramirez went 0 for 3 for the Aguilas while Julio Lugo went 0 for 2 after entering as a pinch-hitter for Escogido but did have an RBI.

Gigantes del Cibao 7, Toros del Este 4

Rhyne Hughes, batting cleanup for Cibao, turned in a nice game, going 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a run scored. Hughes is hitting just .261 on the season, but his OBP is .400 as he has a nice 27-20 strikeout to walk ratio. Jhonny Nunez worked around a hit and a walk in the 9th to record his 7th save for Cibao.

Estrellas de Oriente 5, Tigres del Licey

Braulio Lara is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft and considering his stuff is electric, a strong performance this winter could tempt a big league team to give him a shot next year. Job not accomplished in this game as he faced three batters, walking 2 of them, and the reliever behind him allowed a 3-run homer so he ended up with 2 earned runs allowed.

Mexican Pacific League: Naranjeros de Hermosillo 10, Yaquis de Obregon 9

This game was crazy as Obregon led 5-0 before Hermosillo tied the game with a 5-run 6th and then took the lead with a 2-run 7th. Obregon went back into the lead with a 3-run 8th, but Hermosillo responded in equal measure in the bottom of the inning before the Yaquis got just 1 run in the 9th to lose 10-9. Jorge Cantu was a major reason the Naranjeros came back, going 2 for 3 and making the two really count: a 3-run shot in the 6th that pulled Hermosillo within a run and then the 2-run single in the 7th that gave them their first lead. Cantu has 3 homers and 10 RBI in his last 4 games. Iker Franco also homered for Obregon, going 1 for 3 with the homer and a walk in the game.

Mayos de Navojoa 5, Algodoneros de Guasave 1

Wes Bankston has had some struggles for the Mayos but whenever you think he’s running out of gas, he responds with another great game. Bankston went 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and a walk in this one and has an outstanding .308/.383/.497 line in 163 plate appearances on the MPL season.

Venezuelan Winter League: Navegantes de Magallanes 14, Cardelanes de Lara

Leslie Anderson finally got a start for Magallanes, in the cleanup spot no less, but was probably the fourth-most valuable current and former Ray in this game alone. Chris Nowak went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored, Jean Machi went 2 shutout innings, and even Erold Andrus went 0 for 3 but with 2 walks. Anderson went 1 for 5 with a run scored. Andrus is on a very interesting run of late, going just 4 for 24 (.167) in his last 7 games but walking 6 times versus 3 strikeouts. You could say he’s on a “walking tear.”

Leones de Caracas 1, Aguilas del Zulia 0

Seeing 1-0 games has to remind you of Rays baseball, right? Henry Wrigley slammed a 4th inning to hand Caracas a win and Austin Bibens-Dirkx an extremely Rays-esque loss as he had a marvelous game, going 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 10 while walking 1. Caracas had 6 hits total in the game, three by former Rays prospects as Wrigley went 2 for 4 and Daniel Mayora went 1 for 3. Mayora also had an outfield assist at home plate at home plate in the 3rd inning that turned out to be game-saving. Ryan Reid also tossed a scoreless top of 9th for Zulia, working around a hit with a strikeout. Wrigley’s homer was his 10th, tied for the most in the VWL- but his 35-10 strikeout to walk ratio won’t cut it.

Dominican Winter League: Aguilas Cibaenas 12, Leones del Escogido 9

Omar Luna has finally started hitting. Luna delivered his second consecutive multi-hit game after not having another one since November 17th, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored for Cibaenas. Two other ex-Rays also appeared for the Aguilas. Tim Corcoran has been great for Cibaenas but had a rough start this time around, allowing 6 runs on 5 hits in 3.1 innings, striking out 1 while walking none. However, his groundout to flyout ratio was actually 7-1 and his groundball to flyball ratio was 9-3. Unfortunately for him, all three flyballs went for extra-bases: a 3-run double by the Pirates’ Starling Marte, a double by Marte, and a 2-run homer  by the Astros’ Fernando Martinez. The start raised his ERA from 2.61 to 3.73. Ouch. Better luck next time, Tim. Manny Ramirez helped the Aguilas rally to save Corcoran the loss in the game, going 2 for 6 with 3 RBI.

Gigantes del Cibao 7, Toros del Este 4

A couple of ex-Rays prospects appeared for Cibao, with Rhyne Hughes going 1 for 4 and Jhonny Nunez finding a way to finish the game but not before allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in the 9th, although he did strike out 2.

Mexican Pacific League: Mayos de Navojoa 7, Yaquis de Obregon 4

In the Wes Bankston-Jon Weber matchup that only I’m following, Weber got the better of Bankston but Bankston’s team came away with the win. Weber went 2 for 3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored while Bankston went 0 for 4. Teammates on the 2007 Durham Bulls, Bankston and Weber are seeing their batting averages get awfully close- Bankston dipped to a .307 average in this game while Weber got his average up to .303.

Naranjeros de Hermosillo 3, Algonoderos de Guasave 1

This game was a pitcher’s duel all the way, but Jorge Cantu found a way to take advantage of one of the very few mistakes the pitchers made. 23 year old career Mexican Leaguer Marco Tovar was ridiculous for Hermosillo, going 7 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 7 while walking none, and posting a 7-0 groundout to flyout ratio. His only mistake was a solo homer by the Twins’ Chris Colabello (who happens to be a great story, spending 7 years in Independent Ball before the Twins signed him this year and watched him have a great year at Double-A). Ex-big leaguer Andrew Sisco wasn’t nearly as overpowering but certainly got the job done, going 7 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 3 and walking 3 but posting a 12-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Ex-big leaguer Karim Garcia singled in a run against him in the 3rd inning for the only run he allowed. But after Sisco departed, Cantu came up huge against reliever Adrian Ramirez, slamming a go-ahead 2-run homer in the 8th that would provide the winning margin in the Naranjeros’ 3-1 win. Cantu went just 1 for 4 in the game, seeing him batting average on the year slip to .219, but he certainly made the 1 count, and Humberto Cota went 1 for 3 with a walk. Cota is hitting just .214 and .176 in his last 10 games, but he’s walking like there’s no tomorrow, walking 21 times in 152 plate appearances (13.8%) including 7 of his last 41 (17.1%).

Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Puerto Rico): Congrejeros de Santurce 6, Gigantes de Carolina 4

Three ex-Rays made appearances in this one, with Felipe Lopez, who we haven’t heard about in a while because he’s been really struggling, finally having a good game, going 2 for 3 with 2 walks, and RBI, and a walk for Santurce. Lopez has walked 10 times against 8 strikeouts in 12 games, managing a .404 OBP, but he’s hitting just .229. Jesus Feliciano went 1 for 4 with an RBI for Scott Kazmir‘s Carolina squad while Eddie Morlan, who the Rays acquired along with Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett in the Delmon Young trade, allowed a run in an inning of work for the Gigantes.

Venezuelan Winter League: Tigres de Aragua 9, Navegantes de Magallanes 1

Four ex-Rays appearing for Magallanes in this one, but as you can see from the score, not much good results. Chris Nowak went 1 for 3 with the Navegantes’ only run scored, Erold Andrus went 0 for 3, Leslie Anderson went 0 for 1 as a pinch-hitter, and Jean Machi blew up for the second straight appearance, allowing 3 runs in just an inning of work.

Caribes de Anzoategui 7, Leones del Caracas 4

Not good news in this one as Henry Wrigley started in left field batting 5th for Caracas playing in just his third game since November 21st but went 0 for 2 before leaving the game. Hope he’s OK- he has been dealing with a stomach ailment and maybe that flared up again. Ex-Rays prospect Jon Meloan nailed down the save for Anzoategui, working around a hit with a pair of groundballs in a scoreless 9th.

Dominican Winter League: Aguilas de Cibaenas 8, Estrellas de Oriente 7

Omar Luna had his first good game in what seems like forever, going 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Even with this game, he has just a .214/.233/.238 line in his last 10 games and a .230/.295/.294 line on the season. He’s had a tough go in Winter Ball this time around and it couldn’t be worse timing because he’s a minor league free agent.

Mexican Pacific League: Aguilas de Mexicali 10, Mayos de Navojoa 6

You couldn’t tell it from the final score, but this game was crazy. Mexicali led 3-0 before Wes Bankston slammed a 3-run homer as part of a 5-run 4th inning for the Mayos to take a 5-3 lead. The Aguilas tied it with a 2-run 5th, including a solo homer by ex-Indians prospect Roman Pena. Then Bankston gave Navojoa a 6-5 lead with a go-ahead RBI single in the 7th. But an RBI single by Yuniesky Betancourt tied up the game. Then came the events of the bottom of the 9th.  The bases were loaded with 1 out, but Mayos pitcher Florencio Bustillos got a huge out, forcing ex-big leaguer Oscar Robles to ground to Bankston at first base, and Bankston threw home for the force. Then with 2 outs and the bases loaded, the Aguilas set up a pinch-hitter: 22 year old Luis Juarez, who slammed a total of 2 homers in 39 games as a backup catcher in the Mexican League this season. What did he do? He drilled a pinch-hit walk-off grand slam to send the Aguilas to a 10-6 victory. Bankston went 2 for 4 with a homer and 4 RBI while ex-Rays prospect Jon Weber went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Bankston is up to .316/.387/.504 in 151 plate appearances on the MPL season while Weber has been great himself at .295/.400/.434.

Venezuelan Winter League: Leones de Caracas 9, Navegantes de Magallanes 2

Henry Wrigley entered Tuesday having never played second base in his entire professional career stretching back to 2006. Well, now he has. Wrigley started at the keystone for Caracas and not only played errorless ball but actually completed a double play. Nice for Wrigley to show off his versatility. He also had a nice game with the bat, going 1 for 3 with a walk (yay!) and a run scored. But he also struck out twice and although he has a .324/.378/.561 line on the year with 9 home runs, he has struck out 30 times against just 10 walks. Nice to see Wrigley showing he can fake second base in a pinch, but he’s going to have to show some patience before anyone considers him a potential starting first baseman in the big leagues. Ex-Rays prospect Daniel Mayora came in to play second base for Caracas to restore Wrigley to first base for the last 3 innings of the game, going 0 for 1 in the game. Three current and former Rays also appeared for Magallanes, with Leslie Anderson going 0 for 1 after pinch-running for Juan Rivera, Erold Andrus going 0 for 4, and Chris Nowak going 2 for 3. Anderson managed to get himself benched despite a .339 average in 61 plate appearances for Magallanes because of arguments with the team.