Rogers, 37, added his second victory in this edition of the Caribbean Series, by limiting the Mexican offense to five hits and two runs. The former pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians (current Guardians), Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees in Major League Baseball struck out three and walked three.
“We’re not done yet,” Rogers told a news conference. “We are here and what we want is to win the championship.”
Third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez hit a two-run home run at a key moment.
“I had not had as good an offense as I had hoped (in the tournament), but I have been adjusting so that the day the important turn came I could help the team,” Gutiérrez celebrated.
Luis Barrera went 3-4, with a double, a ticket and a pair of runs scored. Robinson Canó and Mel Rojas Jr. doubled and also moved the cash register twice each for the Quisqueyan cause.
Rogers had won last Saturday in Licey’s first-round victory against the Indios de Mayagüez, from Puerto Rico, and allowed six hits and two runs in five innings.
Aggressiveness
The Dominicans were aggressive from the start in this Thursday’s game at the Forum in La Guaira, a neighboring city of Caracas, a stadium overlooking the sea.
El Licey loaded the bases in the first inning, but only one run went in, scored by Canó with Rojas’s sacrifice fly.
He returned to the charge in the second inning, in which one more fell: Barreda, who had received a walk and flew around the bases to reach third base with a groundout by Webster Rivas, crossed home plate with a single by Gustavo Núñez.
“We came out with intensity with the intention of scoring early and putting pressure on the opposing team,” manager José Offerman analyzed.
Rogers, meanwhile, dominated.
He struck out the first two opposing batters on six pitches.
The Dominican bats gave him an important cushion in the fourth inning, with three little lines.
Emilio Bonifacio, with two outs on the board, hit Barrera with a double and an error by shortstop Roberto Valenzuela against a connection by Canó kept the inning alive. The cushions were filled and, then, Cuban Henry Urrutia shot a hit that sent Bonifacio and Canó propelling.
The Mexicans cut back in that same chapter with an RBI hit by Julián Ornelas and a sacrifice fly by Jasson Atondo.
Gutierrez came up with his home run in the seventh with Rojas circulating.
Mexico discounted again with a run in the eighth and Dominican, again, put away with another in the ninth.
Annotation for tickets:
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CHE
Dominican R. 1 1 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 8 13 1
Mexico 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 7 2