Winter League roundup: Walters lifts Margarita
Nationals' No. 12 prospect homers to help lead victory in Venezuela

Venezuelan Winter League
Margarita 8, Lara 2
A pair of Nationals prospects took center stage in Margarita's victory over Lara on Wednesday night. Infielder Zach Walters, rated the club's 12th best prospect by MLB.com, homered and walked twice to provide the offense, while left-hander Danny Rosenbaum tossed six shutout innings and allowed just four hits. Gerson Montilla also added two hits for Bravos de Margarita, and Seattle's Jesus Montero had two knocks -- one a double -- for Lara. Box score
Caribes 14, Magallanes 6
With their thrashing of previously first-place Magallanes, Caribes moved into a tie atop the Venezuelan Winter League. Kansas City's Gorkys Hernandez and Atlanta's Luis Nunez each pounded out three hits. Every player in the Caribes starting lineup had at least one, and they rocked the typically solid Magallanes staff for 14 runs and 17 hits. Yankees product Adonis Garcia homered in defeat, and former Orioles outfielder Lew Ford added two hits. Box score
Zulia 8, La Guaira 2
Braves prospect Ernesto Mejia led off the fourth inning with a home run, sparking a five-run frame that sent Zulia on its way to a rout of La Guaira. Mejia and Henry Rodriguez -- the Reds' No. 11 prospect -- each had two hits for Zulia, and Wilfredo Boscan tossed four shutout frames. Rangers No. 2 prospect Luis Sardinas went 2-for-3 with a walk for La Guaira, raising his average to .378. Box score
Dominican Winter League
Licey 7, Gigantes 6
Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth inning, propelling Licey to a victory over Gigantes. Jairo Asencio worked a scoreless ninth to earn his fourth save. Baltimore's Yamaico Navarro went 4-for-5, and he knocked in three runs, raising his average to .487 on the season. Gigantes second baseman Leury Garcia -- Profar's teammate with Texas -- went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. Box score
Aguilas 8, Toros 2
Dan Black hit a home run and a double in four at-bats, leading Aguilas in a rout over Toros. Mets center fielder Juan Lagares also had two hits, one of them a double, and Sho Iwasaki, a right-hander for the SoftBank Hawks in the Japanese League, allowed only an unearned run and two hits. Box score
Escogido 6, Estrellas 5
Julio Lugo's RBI single in the top of the 13th inning capped a thriller as Escogido topped Estrellas. Pirates No. 2 prospect Gregory Polanco hit a fifth-inning grand slam and finished 2-for-4 with three walks and five RBIs. Lugo and Jorge Polanco also had two hits apiece for Escogido. On the same night his parent club won the World Series, Red Sox right-hander Allen Webster, who posted an 8.60 ERA in eight outings, struggled. He allowed four runs on four hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings, putting Escogido in a hole it would eventually slam its way out of. Box score
Mexican Pacific League
Los Mochis 12, Mazatlan 4
First baseman Jake Fox led the way for Los Mochis, reaching base four times and pounding out three hits in a victory over Mazatlan. Los Mochis used a six-run fourth to pull away, and Yancarlo Angulo's homer in the top of the sixth inning put the game on ice. Shortstop Jesus Avila had two doubles, two runs and two RBIs. Meanwhile, Mazatlan second baseman Oswaldo Morejon went 3-for-4 in defeat. Box score
Mexicali 4, Navojoa 3
Mexicali, quite literally, walked off in its victory over Navojoa, using four free passes -- one intentional -- in the bottom of the ninth inning to get back to the .500 mark. Kevin Kouzmanoff led off the frame with a walk and came around to score when Christhian Presichi walked with the bases loaded and one out. Mexicali right fielder Ricky Alvarez had two hits, including a fifth-inning homer -- his third of the year. Right-hander Terry Doyle tossed six innings of one-run ball, striking out nine. But he got a no-decision, as free-agent right-hander Jeremy Accardo blew the save in the top of the eighth. Box score
Culiacan 2, Obregon 1
Culiacan mustered just three hits -- and none for extra bases -- but that was all it needed in a victory over Yaquis de Obregon. Right-hander Andres Meza allowed only an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.59. Rolando Valdez matched zeros with Meza, tossing six two-hit innings, but the Obregon bullpen cracked in the seventh when Humberto Cota hit into an RBI groundout. In fact, neither of Culiacan's runs came on RBI hits, as Luis Cruz plated the first run with a sacrifice fly. Box score
Hermosillo at Guasave: PPD, rain