Winter League roundup: Beltre sparks Licey in win

Dominican Winter League

Licey 7, Escogido 3
The Rangers' Engel Beltre sparked Licey's offense by going 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored. The Blue Jays' Esmil Rogers held Escogido to an unearned run over five innings, racking up six strikeouts. The victory improved Licey to 5-4 in the round-robin playoffs, pulling them within a game of first-place Escogido. Box score

Aguilas 5, Gigantes 2
Trailing 2-1, Aguilas scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by a two-run homer from the Giants' Juan Perez. Marcos Mateo threw the last of the bullpen's four scoreless innings to earn the save and push Aguilas past Gigantes for third in the round-robin playoff standings. The Braves' Joey Terdoslavich notched four hits and Joaquin Arias three for Aguilas, while Francisco Peguero homered for Gigantes. Box score

Venezuelan Winter League

Caribes 6, Zulia 4
Caribes scored two runs in the eighth inning to take the lead and added an insurance run in the ninth, improving to 4-0 in the round-robin playoffs, one game ahead of Magallanes. The Twins' Eduardo Escobar went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Caribes, while Gorkys Hernandez also collected three hits. Ender Inciarte notched three hits for Zulia. Box score

Magallanes 12, Caracas 6
Adonis Garcia and Juan Rivera both homered and drove in three runs for Magallanes, with Garcia picking up three hits. Magallanes also got three hits from Ezequiel Carrera, including a double and a triple, while Ronny Cedeno doubled twice and drove in four runs. Bobby Abreu smacked a three-run homer for Caracas. Box score

Mexican Pacific League

Navojoa 7, Los Mochis 6
Rolando Acosta and Genaro Andrade both homered, with Andrade driving in three, as Navojoa pulled out the win to take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Juan Carlos Gamboa went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for Los Mochis. Box score

Guasave 5, Hermosillo 4
Gabriel Gutierrez drove home Zelous Wheeler with a walk-off single in the ninth inning, as Guasave staved off elimination in Game 5 of its first-round series. Hermosillo had tied the score in the eighth on Edgar Quintero's pinch-hit three-run double. Gutierrez finished with three hits, while Luis Alfonzo Garcia homered for Hermosillo. Box score