Winter Leagues: Arcia powers Aragua in twin bill

Venezuelan Winter League

Aragua 2, Margarita 1 (eight innings), Game 1
Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a walk-off home run off Margarita reliever Manny Corpas to give Aragua the win in a shortened first game of a doubleheader. First baseman Hector Gimenez also homered for Aragua. Giants prospect Adam Duvall went 1-for-4 for Margarita. Box score

Aragua 17, Margarita 5 (seven innings), Game 2
Aragua took control of the game with an 11-run second inning that turned it into a laugher for the twin-bill sweep. Arcia kept his huge day going with a grand slam in that frame, and Ramon Castro had a 3-for-4 day with three RBIs. Box score

Lara 8, Magallanes 3
Lara started and ended the game well, scoring three runs in the first inning and four in the ninth in a rout. Joe Thurston and Luis Valbuena each homered for Lara, with top Dodgers prospect Joc Pederson drawing a walk in his only plate appearance. Former big leaguers Juan Rivera and Eliezer Alfonzo homered for Magallanes. Box score

Caracas 10, Caribes 4
Caracas built a nine-run lead and held on comfortably, even though Caribes scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Caracas got three homers, including a grand slam by shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Carlos Duran and Eduardo Escobar went deep for Caribes. Box score

Zulia 11, La Guaira 6
Zulia scored five times in the final three innings to pull away in what had been a close game. Zulia outfielder Jose Pirela had a huge game, with three hits, including a home run, and five RBIs. First baseman Ernesto Mejia added three hits, and Astros infielder Marwin Gonzalez had two hits. La Guaira designated hitter Alex Cabrera continued his torrid hitting with a homer and three RBIs.Box score

Mexican Pacific League

Guasave 4, Los Mochis 0 (seven innings), Game 1
The story for this game was all Guasave starter Marco Tovar, who went the distance in a shortened first game of a doubleheader, giving up only two hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking none. Japhet Amador led the offensive charge for Guasave, homering and driving in two. Box score

Guasave 6, Los Mochis 3, (seven innings), Game 2
Guasave broke a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and held on for the sweep of the twin bill. Sergio Mora went five innings and gave up two runs while striking out seven batters for the win, and Leonardo Heras and Jose Felix had two RBIs apiece, Heras' coming on a two-run homer. Box score

Mazatlan 5, Obregon 4

Mazatlan scored five early and withstood a four-run outburst by Obregon in the bottom of the fourth inning to nail down a road win. Mazatlan rapped out 16 hits in all, including four by Alberto Carreon. Obregon got a three-run homer from Carlos Valencia. Box score

Mexicali 3, Culiacan 2
Xorge Carrillo's two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and turned out to be enough for the victory. Mexicali starter Edgar Osuna was excellent in a no-decision, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up one run on three hits while striking out seven. Box score

Navojoa 5, Hermosillo 2

Carlos Orrantia hit a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning and it was enough to power Navojoa to the victory. Luis Garcia went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs for Hermosillo. Box score

Dominican Winter League

Escogido 5, Toros 2
Escogido starter Jarrett Grube cruised through 5 2/3 innings of four-hit, shutout ball, and the bottom of the Escogido order (Eury Perez, Jorge Polanco, Wilkin Castillo and Erik Gonzalez ) combined to go 8-for-13 with three RBIs. Mayo Acosta hit the only homer of the game, a two-run shot, for the Toros. Box score

Licey 2, Aguilas 1

All the scoring in the game was done in the sixth inning, and the Licey Tigers were the ones to score more than once. Anderson Hernandez's sacrifice fly and Yamaico Navarro's RBI double accounted for Licey's runs, and that was enough to overcome Mets outfielder Juan Lagares' sac fly for Aguilas. Mariners righty Hector Noesi got the win and Braves No. 3 prospect Christian Bethancourt had two hits for Licey. Rockies right-hander Juan Nicasio started for Aguilas and pitched four no-hit innings. Box score

Puerto Rican League

Santurce 4, Caguas 3
Caguas rallied for three runs in the sixth inning to take a one-run lead, but Santurce got the last laugh, scoring twice in the seventh for the win. The big blow was a two-run single by Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton, who went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his 11th of the winter. Box score

Ponce 4, Mayaguez 2
Ponce jumped out to a four-run lead and held on, with Jordan Lennerton having a huge day at the plate. Lennerton, who played first base for the Detroit Tigers' Triple-A Toledo club in 2013, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Christian Colon and Rubi Silva added two hits and an RBI apiece for Ponce, which got six innings of one-hit, shutout ball and five strikeouts from starter Yuki Egarashi. Box score