In Winter League playoff action from the Dominican last night, Kris Johnson allowed three runs(two earned) over 6.1 innings, taking his first loss of the season. Johnson was coming off a brilliant performance eight days ago, but he seemed off with the extended layoff between starts. He allowed nine hits, after giving up just 11 hits over 27 innings during the DWL regular season.
In other playoff action from the Dominican, Felix Pie and Alex Valdez were both dropped in the batting order, but it didn’t help as their team dropped to 0-4 in the playoffs. Pie and Valdez have been batting 1-2 in the lineup all season, but each of them has struggled during the playoffs. Pie, batting second, went 1-for-4 last night, drawing a walk and stealing a base. Valdez was dropped down to sixth in the lineup, where he went 0-for-4, giving him a .125 playoff average.
The leagues in Mexico, Venezuela and Puerto Rico all finished their schedules yesterday. Venezuela and Puerto Rico each begin their playoff schedule on Wednesday.
In action from yesterday in Venezuela, Darren Ford went 1-for-5, with a run scored and his 11th stolen base. He was also moved down in the lineup, from his usual lead-off spot, down one spot to the two hole. His team will continue on in the playoffs.
In Puerto Rico, Benji Gonzalez went 0-for-2, before being replaced on defense in the top of the sixth inning. His team did not make the playoffs.
Ivan DeJesus didn’t play yesterday, as his team canceled a meaningless doubleheader on the last day of the season. They also failed to make the playoffs. DeJesus did however win the league batting title, and by a wide margin. His .364 average was 26 points ahead of the second place finisher. He also led the league with 52 hits, finished second with 11 doubles and a .921 OPS, third with 27 runs scored and fourth with 24 RBI’s.
