DR eyes back-to-back Caribbean Series titles with win in semis

MIAMI -- With veteran right-hander César Valdez on four days’ rest and ready to go for Tigres del Licey’s (Dominican Republic) Caribbean Series semifinal matchup against Federales de Chiquirí (Panama) on Thursday, Licey manager Gilbert Gómez made a bold decision: He opted to start Cameron Gann, who had thrown two scoreless innings in relief on 36 pitches Saturday against Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico).

Although Valdez is a much more seasoned winter league and Caribbean Series pitcher, Gómez opted to save him for an eventual start in the championship game on Friday. The strategy worked: Gann threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, followed by a deep bullpen consisting of Jonathan Aro, Fernando Abad, Neftalí Féliz, J.C. Mejía and Jairo Asencio, in Licey’s 4-1 victory. On Friday, the Dominican squad will face the Tiburones de la Guaira (Venezuela) in the championship.

“We had a plan,” Gómez said. “We thought that if we wanted to put them in the best position to pitch their best baseball, we had to go with Gann today and César tomorrow. We knew what today’s game meant, and we got the desired results.”

Aro, Abad, Féliz, Mejía and Asencio threw a combined 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball. In the process, Asencio picked up his fourth save of the tournament to give him a Caribbean Series record 10 in his career.

“All the credit goes to the guys,” said Gómez, a Minor League manager in the Mets' system. “When you’ve got a group that can execute the plan, it makes it a little easier.”

Licey’s offense, which scored only 15 runs in the first six games of the tournament, took an early lead in the first inning with an RBI single by Dawel Lugo. That was followed by another run-scoring single by Emilio Bonifacio and a sacrifice fly by Yadiel Hernández in the third. Kelvin Gutiérrez drove in the Dominican Republic’s fourth run with an RBI single in the sixth.

“We know the offensive talent we have,” Gómez said. “In the first six games, we probably didn’t show who we really are on the hitting side."

Looking ahead to Friday’s championship game, Licey will be vying for its 12th Caribbean Series championship and the Dominican Republic’s 23rd, both tournament records. In addition, the Tigres will try to become the first club to win consecutive titles since the Criollos in 2017-18.