Well, maybe Alfredo Despaigne takes notice of Abreu's contract and defects. Despaigne is the last of the best to come out of Cuba. I doubt it, but I hope we make a serious bid for Despaigne since we've failed on five other occasions to sign one of these Cuban ballplayers.

Cuba has a young centerfielder I'd also be interested in. His name is Guillermo Heredia. He's got a great arm, hits for average and has some power plus a lot of speed. In a skill contest, Heredia threw a perfect strike to home on a throw 400 feet from center field. Home to first in 3.5 seconds. Home to home in a little over 14 seconds.

Guillermo would be 22 years old this year.

Having seen both play a lot, don't be surprised if the Sox don't start comparing Abreu to Frank Thomas sooner than later (assuming Abreu stays healthy).

Winter League roundup: Pederson productive at plate

Dodgers top prospect reaches base four times in Venezuelan Winter League loss

By Quinn Roberts and Todd Zolecki / MLB.com | 10/18/2013 3:24 A.M. ET

Venezuelan Winter League

Caribes 7, Lara 5

Gorkys Hernandez went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in the victory for Caribes. Second baseman Jose Castillo picked up two RBIs. Dodgers top prospect Joc Pederson went 2-for-3 with a triple, RBI and two walks in the loss.

Aragua 3, Margarita 1

Aragua outfielder Alex Romero went 2-for-4 with one home run and three RBIs. His two-run homer in the seventh gave his team the lead. Nationals product Corey Brown picked up three hits in a losing effort. Edgar Ibarra, who is in the Twins system, threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Magallanes 2, Zuilia 1

Indians outfielder Ezequiel Carerra picked up a couple hits for Magallanes, while A's product Darwin Perez scored both of the team's runs. Matt Palmer, who pitched with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate this season, threw five scoreless innings to earn the win. Right-hander Josh Schmidt, who pitched in the Marlins system in 2012, allowed one unearned run in 6 1/3 innings and took the loss.

Caracas 5, La Guaira 4

Rico Noel, from the Padres system, had two hits, one home run and two RBIs for Caracas. Chad Huffman, who played for St. Louis' Triple-A affiliate, picked up two hits. Ronald Uviedo pitched three scoreless innings in relief and got the win. Losing pitcher Eduardo Figueroa faced three batters in the sixth and allowed three runs.

Mexican Pacific League

Guasave 7, Mazatlan 1

Belting his first home runs of the season, Kalian Sams hit a three-run bomb in the fourth inning and followed that up with a solo blast in the eighth. Guasave was also led by starter Josh Geer, who held the opponents to five hits in 6 1/3 innings for his first win of the season.

Navojoa 3, Culiacan 2

In the first game of a doubleheader, Abel Martinez hit a game-winning double with two out in the bottom of the seventh, scoring Kraig Binick from first base. Misael Valenzuela got the win after pitching a scoreless seventh frame.

Culiacan 4, Navojoa 3

In the second game of the doubleheader, Culiacan had a late-inning rally. Ronnier Mustelier hit a two-run RBI single in the seventh that gave Culiacan the lead. Mustelier had three RBIs, while teammate Maxwell Leon had two hits.

Hermosillo 6, Los Mochis 3

Efren Navarro had a night to remember. Hermosillo's left fielder hit a solo shot in the sixth inning and followed it up with a huge two-run RBI single in the eighth. In total, he had four RBIs. Jose Aguilar also had two hits.

[OPENING DAY IN THE DOMINICAN!]

A sweet ride: Yomiuri Giants skipper Tatsunori Hara gets a victory toss after Game 3 of the Central League Climax Series Final Stage on Friday at Tokyo Dome. By beating the Hiroshima Carp 3-1, Yomiuri advanced to the Japan Series with a sweep. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Defending champion Giants wrap up sweep against Carp, return to Japan Series

by Jason Coskrey

Staff Writer

Oct 18, 2013

There may not have been a better story in Japanese baseball this season than the rise of the Hiroshima Carp.

There may not be a better team than the Yomiuri Giants.

Captain Shinnosuke Abe drove in a pair of runs and starter Toshiya Sugiuchi sliced through the Carp lineup as the Giants swept the Central League Climax Series Final Stage with a 3-1 win over the Carp on Friday night at Tokyo Dome.

The Kyojin began the series with an automatic one-game advantage as the league champions and won all three games played on the field to advance to the Japan Series for the second consecutive year.

“We have won the Climax Series, beating a strong Hiroshima Carp team and have won the right to represent the Central League in the Japan Series,” Giants manager Tatsunori Hara said. “We’ll do our best to win it again and fight until the end.”

Yomiuri will face the winner of the Pacific League Final Stage, either the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles or Chiba Lotte Marines, in the Japanese Fall Classic with a chance to win consecutive titles for the first time in 40 years.

Giants pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, who struck out 11 in a three-hit shutout in Game 2, was named CL Climax Series MVP.

“I can’t believe I am given this honor as a rookie,” Sugano said. “This will without a doubt be one of the most unforgettable moments in my pro baseball career.”

Game 3 was the end of the line for the Carp, who played postseason baseball for the first time in 22 years and swept past the Hanshin Tigers in the first stage.

“Our guys really did well,” Hiroshima manager Kenjiro Nomura said. “While we lost some veteran players entering the season, we still managed to come all the way here.”

Unlike last season, when the Chunichi Dragons nearly swept the Kyojin out of the Big Egg in the final stage, the Giants ended things quickly and bought themselves a few extra days of rest ahead of the Japan Series.

“We spent a lot of time getting ourselves prepared,” Hara said. “Last year’s experience certainly helps us. So we were able to enter the series in good condition and it ended up working out well.”

Yomiuri got out of the Climax Series with relative ease, but Abe warned there would be tougher days ahead.

“I think our pitching and offense came through, but there’s no way it’s going to be like this in the Japan Series,” Abe said. “We are ready for a tough battle and hopefully we leave as winners in the end.”

Yomiuri closer Kentaro Nishimura shut the door on the Carp in the ninth with his second save of the series, and the Giants celebrated by tossing Hara into the air 10 times during the traditional doage celebration.

“Next up is the Japan Series,” Sugiuchi said. “I want to go there and win and give the manager another doage.”

An injury kept Sugiuchi out of the Climax Series last season, his first with the Giants after spending 10 years in Fukuoka with the Hawks franchise.

“I wasn’t nervous, but I was trying to make up for last year,” Sugiuchi said.

He was present and accounted for this time, and kept the Carp off balance after a shaky first inning.

“Compared to the first inning, I was a lot better in the third and fourth innings,” Sugiuchi said. “My slider and change-up got better. Besides, I had so many flyouts today and that’s how I get outs.”

The Yomiuri lefty walked the first batter of the game and gave up an RBI single later in the inning. Sugichi gave up only a third-inning double to Yoshihiro Maru the rest of the way, retiring the final 14 batters he faced.

“We hit him tough the last two times he’s pitched against us, so I think the guys felt good facing him,” Carp outfielder Brad Eldred said. “When we got that run early on, I thought we might have a chance to do it again.

“He settled in and he really hit some good spots, got some good calls that went his way. You can’t really say much. He just went out there and did his job.”

Overall, Sugiuchi threw seven innings of one-run ball, striking out six and walking one.

Abe delivered RBI singles in the third and fifth innings to finish 2-for-4.

“I’m relieved I could come up with some important hits in clutch situations, but overall, I wasn’t that good in these three games,” Abe said.

Hayato Sakamoto drove in the Giants’ other run with an RBI double in the fourth.

Eishin Soyogi’s RBI single in the first was all the offense the Carp could muster in support of losing pitcher Yusuke Nomura, who was charged with two runs on five hits over four innings.

“They are a good team, and they can find a way to win when it matters most,” Nomura said.

<

Big blast: The Marines' Craig Brazell belts a solo home run in the 10th inning against the Eagles on Friday in Game 2 of the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage at Kleenex Stadium. Chiba Lotte won 4-2 in 10 innings. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Brazell delivers game-winning HR in 10th against Eagles

Kyodo

Oct 18, 2013

SENDAI –

Craig Brazell came off the bench to lift the Chiba Lotte Marines to their first win of the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage in Friday’s Game 2, a 4-2 victory over the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in 10 innings.

Brazell, who had driven in the game’s first run earlier in the game, went deep to lead off the 10th inning moments after the Eagles momentarily staved off defeat on a dramatic ninth-inning home run by Andruw Jones.

The Eagles, who received a one-win advantage as league champions, have a 2-1 lead after ace Masahiro Tanaka won Thursday’s opener. They can advance to the Japan Series with two more wins.

Jones tied it 1-1 with a one-out homer in the bottom of the ninth off Tatsuya Uchi, Lotte’s fourth pitcher of the night.

A single followed, but the right-hander pushed the game into extra-innings. Brazell led off against lefty Norihito Kaneto and pulled a 3-2 cutter just fair down the right-field line. With one out, Shunichi Nemoto singled in men from second and third off lefty Kohei Hasebe, the Eagles’ third pitcher of the inning.

Uchi allowed a two-out solo homer to Ryo Hijirisawa in the bottom of the 10th, but held on to finish the game.

Eagles rookie Takahiro Norimoto started and allowed a run in nine innings, while striking out 11. The right-hander gave up four hits and hit a batter in an enthralling duel with Marines veteran Seth Greisinger before 24,097 at Kleenex Stadium. Greisinger shrugged off the shoulder trouble that has plagued him all season to throw six scoreless innings.

The Marines broke the ice with a run in the top of the seventh.

With one out and runners on the corners, Brazell drove in the run with a one-out smash back to the mound that Norimoto fumbled and was unable to turn into an inning-ending double play.

The Marines had opened the inning with back-to-back singles by Tadahito Iguchi and Toshiaki Imae on Norimoto’s fastballs that flattened out. Katsuya Kakunaka popped out after a poor at-bat. Norimoto fell behind Brazell, but dug deep before getting the notorious bad-ball hitter to hack at a forkball outside.

The pitcher got his glove on the bullet, but the ball rolled away and Norimoto had to hustle to get the out at first as Iguchi scored.

Greisinger allowed four hits but no walks while striking out five. He had been hammered in his two previous PL starts in September but had rehabbed in preparation for the postseason.

Carlos Rosa worked the seventh for Lotte and closer Naoya Masuda followed in the eighth. Each worked a scoreless inning despite walking the leadoff hitter.

Aguilar with two more hits tonight, both doubles in four trips to the plate, one rbi but no runs scored. What the hey??? Eight games, eight game hitting streak, seven on those games were of the multi-hit variety. Caracas overcame a 5-2 deficit to take a 6-5 lead with a 4 spot in the top of the 8th. Aguilar ended the inning grounding out third to first. Margarita is batting in their home half of the 8th.

Around the Farm: October 18, 2013
Tyler Naquin

By Tony Lastoria

October 19, 2013

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Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of the daily performances by Indians prospects. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in the game.

Arizona Fall League

Tyler Naquin (CF): 3-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K, SB. By far the best day of the fall for Naquin so far as he did a little bit of everything by being a table setter and running hard on the bases. He has now recorded at least one hit in all seven games played this fall.

Tony Wolters (SS): 0-for-4, R, BB, K. Wolters has had a rough go of it in the early going as he has gone 2-for-18 at the plate over 5 games this fall. His defense behind the plate has impressed, and ultimately, that is all that is important.

Joe Wendle (2B): 3-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI. Wendle has been in and out of the lineup so far, but even though his playing time is sporadic he has managed to stay focused and play well when he gets in there. He is 5-for-17 (.294) in 5 games and in the early going.

Venezuela Winter League

Paolo Espino (SP, Caribes de Anzoategui): 2.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. Espino has now made two starts for his winter team and totaled just 6.1 innings and has a 7.11 ERA. He has to get going as his team could pull the plug on him as a starter if he is not competing.

Jesus Aguilar (1B, Leones del Caracas): 2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB. Aguilar continues to just torch the ball as he racked up two doubles on the night and reached base in three out of five plate appearances. He has been focused all year and is a man on a mission, and is really making the Indians decision on him this offseason very easy.

Ezequiel Carrera (CF, Navegantes del Magallanes): 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B. Carrera had a solid night at the plate but only raised his winter season batting average to .250 in eight games.

Anthony Vizcaya (RP, Cardenales de Lara): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 2 R/ER, 3 BB, 0 K. Vizcaya followed up two shutout efforts to start the season with a rough one. He is young and inexperienced, so it is sort of a surprise to see him pitching winter ball.

Dominican Winter League

Erik Gonzalez (SS, Leones del Escogido): 2-for-3, R. It is nice to see Gonzalez playing and starting right out of the gates in winter ball, and if he plays well he might get some considerable playing time. The Indians were very happy with his development and emergence as a prospect this past season so he is a guy to keep tabs on this offseason.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.

Winter League roundup: Texas prospect fuels rally

Sardinas helps La Guaira break tie in Venezuelan League action

By Quinn Roberts and Cash Kruth / MLB.com | 10/19/2013 3:27 A.M. ET

Venezuelan Winter League

La Guaira 9, Aragua 7

Andy Wilkins and Rangers prospect Luis Sardinas each knocked RBI singles in the bottom of the eighth to break a tie and give La Guaira the win. Aragua's Jim Murphy had hit a three-run homer as a part of the team's four-run eighth.

Zulia 5, Caribes 2

Jose Flores went 3-for-4, and right-hander Jose Sanchez pitched five strong innings to lead Zulia. Both Felix Perez and Jose Pirela added two hits, while Minnesota's Eduardo Escobar and Leslie Anderson paced Caribes with three knocks each.

Caracas 6, Margarita 5

Caracas scored four eighth-inning runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Daniel Mayora, to earn a thrilling win. Gregorio Petit led Caracas with three hits and scored three runs, while three other Caracas players had two hits -- including veteran Bobby Abreu.

Magallanes 8, Lara 1

Pirates Minor League right-hander David Bromberg tossed six scoreless innings of one-hit ball to lead Magallanes. Five-year Major League veteran catcher Jesus Flores was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a two-run homer.

Mexican Pacific League

Mazatlan 2, Mexicali 1

An 11th-inning rally by Mazatlan had a little bit of everything. Oswaldo Morejon doubled to left field, then Bryan Petersen was intentionally walked by Javier Solano. Ruben Mateo was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Issmael Salas, who hit the winning sac fly to center field.

Navojoa 4, Los Mochis 2

In a tight 10-inning contest, a triple by Abel Martinez and an RBI single by Luis Fonseca were the difference. Carlos Orrantia had two hits on the night -- a home run and a single -- with three RBIs. Spencer Patton took the loss.

Culiacan 3, Guasave 0

Francisco Campos got his second win of the season, tossing six innings of no-hit ball, and the Culiacan bullpen allowed just two hits to secure the victory. Maxwell Leon added three hits for the club. Meanwhile, Orlando Lara took his second loss of the season.

Hermosillo 3, Obregon 0

Yunesky Sanchez hit a two-run home run and Jonathan Aceves hit an RBI single in the sixth inning for the only offense of the game. Angels right-hander Barry Enright got his second win of the season, allowing just two hits in six innings. He also struck out five.

Dominican Winter League

Escogido 4, Licey 1

A three-run home run in the fifth inning by Gregory Polanco proved to be the difference in the game. Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar, playing for Licey, went 1-for-3 with a double. Orioles farmhand Yamaico Navarro also had a pinch-hit single for Licey in the eighth. Armando Rodriguez was the winning pitcher, while Jose Contreras took the loss.

Commanding advantage: Kazuo Matsui and his Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles teammates are one win away from a trip to the Japan Series. After beating the Chiba Lotte Marines 2-0 in Game 3 of the Pacific League Climax Series Final Stage on Saturday at Kleenex Stadium, the Eagles have a 3-1 lead in the series. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Mima tosses four-hit shutout against Marines

Eagles take 3-1 series lead

Kyodo

Oct 19, 2013

SENDAI –

Manabu Mima pitched his first career shutout and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles moved to within one win of bringing Sendai its first Japan Series after a 2-0 win over the Chiba Lotte Marines in Saturday’s Game 3 of the Pacific League Climax Series final stage.

Mima, who went 6-5 this season, allowed four hits and issued two walks, while striking out seven to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead in the series. As league champs, they received a one-win advantage and can clinch a Japan Series meeting with the Yomiuri Giants with a win or tie on Sunday.

Before a record Kleenex Stadium crowd of 24,396, Mima delivered Rakuten’s third straight impressive pitching performance. Ace Masahiro Tanaka pitched a shutout in Thursday’s 2-0 win, and rookie Takahiro Norimoto threw nine innings of one-run ball in Friday’s 4-2, extra-inning loss.

“Our pitchers were so good in Games 1 and 2 that I wanted to pitch into the late innings, too,” the 27-year-old Mima said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to go nine, however.”

On the brink of the highest pitch count of his career, Mima walked No. 3 hitter Tadahito Iguchi to open the ninth, but got cleanup man Toshiaki Imae to hit into a 4-6-3 double play before retiring Katsuya Kakunaka on an easy fly to seal it.

“The place was going nuts, and I was getting worked up as well,” Mima said. “So often, I’ve ruined games with leadoff walks, so I had a bad feeling about that. But after the double play, I was really relaxed.”

Takuya Furuya, a side-arm lefty, who revived his career this season as a starting pitcher, allowed two runs on four hits and a hit batsman in five-plus innings.

The Eagles broke through for two runs in the second on a double by Motohiro Shima. Furuya retired the first five batters he faced before furnishing Rakuten’s first base runner when he plunked Shintaro Masuda with two outs in the second.

Kazuo Matsui fell behind 0-2, but the switch hitter stayed on a changeup low and away and took it to right for an opposite-field single.

With runners on the corners, Furuya threw Shima two straight inside fastballs. The Eagles catcher fouled off the first, but the second one found too much of the strike zone and got hammered down the third-base line, just fair. The ball rolled into the corner and died there, and Matsui scored all the way from first.

“Furuya has really killed me on fastballs inside, so that’s what I was expecting,” Shima said.

“Had the sixth, seventh and eighth spots in our order done anything prior to this, we would be finished here. I’d had so many chances in this series to drive in runs and failed.”

Rakuten dodged a bullet in the top of the second, when Ikuhiro Kiyota belted a high 2-1 fastball, but didn’t get all of it as the Marines chance died on a fly to deep right.

“Like Tanaka and Norimoto, Mima’s trademark is throwing his slider away (to right-hand hitters),” Shima said. “But today he was really gutsy, working inside with his two-seamer to keep that in the batters’ minds. You do that and sometimes you’ll leave a fat pitch up there, but it allowed him to make the most of his slider.”

It was Mima’s first game since he left his Oct. 4 start here against the Lions due to discomfort in his right elbow.

“Frankly, I didn’t think I’d be ready in time for this game,” he said.

The Eagles are scheduled to start Wataru Karashima in Sunday afternoon’s Game 4 against Lotte rookie Takahiro Matsunaga. Karashima went 3-4 in the regular season, while Matsunaga, the Marines’ top draft pick last autumn, was 4-1. However, rain is forecast for Sendai.

Around the Farm: October 19, 2013
Shawn Armstrong

By Tony Lastoria

October 20, 2013

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Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of the daily performances by Indians prospects. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in the game.

Arizona Fall League

Tyler Naquin (CF): 1-for-3, R, 2 BB. Another good night from Naquin who reached base in 3 of his 4 plate appearances. The 2 walks are nice to see as the Indians would like to see an uptick in his walk rate to go along with a downward tick in his strikeout rate.

Shawn Armstrong (RP): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. Armstrong threw a scoreless inning in his fourth outing in the AFL, though he was only 10-for-19 with his strikes in the game and now has 4 walks in his 4.0 innings of work.

Dominican Winter League

Erik Gonzalez (SS, Leones del Escogido): 0-for-4, K. Gonzalez started his second straight game to open the winter ball season and was in the leadoff spot. It is early, but this is an interesting development to follow to see just how much playing time he gets and how he performs.

Juan Diaz (SS, Estrellas de Oriente): 1-for-4, R, 2 K. Diaz is hitting in the ninth spot in the lineup in the early going, but he is getting a chance to play regularly which is important to him as he is a free agent looking to impress someone to sign him to a minor league deal this offseason.

Venezuela Winter League

Ezequiel Carrera (PH-CF, Navegantes del Magallanes): 0-for-2, K. Carrera was a late game substitution as a pinch hitter and then he stayed in the game in center field. So far he is hitting just .235 in 8 games this fall, but has 6 walks and a .350 on-base percentage as a result.

Jesus Aguilar (1B, Leones del Caracas): 0-for-4, K. All good things must come to an end, and that is what happened to Aguilar on Saturday night as his 8-game hitting streak to start the fall-winter season came to a crashing halt. He is still 16-for-35 (.457) so far in 9 games.

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIBI. Also, his new book the 2013 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider which profiles the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is available for sale.

[Erik Gonzalez (SS, Leones del Escogido): 0-for-4, K. Gonzalez started his second straight game to open the winter ball season and was in the leadoff spot. It is early, but this is an interesting development to follow to see just how much playing time he gets and how he performs.

Leones are the defending champions in the Dominican and lost the Series del Caribe in a tie breaker in 18 innings. Erik has a tough row to hoe]

Winter League roundup: Inciarte paces Zulia in win

O's reliever McFarland impressive in relief; Mariners' Montero homers

By Adam Berry and Quinn Roberts / MLB.com | 10/20/2013 3:34 A.M. ET

Venezuelan Winter League

Zulia 6, Caribes 1

Center fielder Ender Inciarte, a former Rule 5 Draft pick now in the D-backs organization, went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and three runs while Mark Minicozzi drove in three runs, including two on a double in Zulia's four-run fourth inning. Six Zulia pitchers combined to strike out seven and scattered only four hits. Caribes, meanwhile, got three shutout innings in relief from Orioles lefty T.J. McFarland, who allowed two hits. Caribes starter Richard Salazar allowed all six runs on six hits and two walks over 2 1/3 innings.

Lara 8, La Guaira 2

Lara took advantage of four errors and seven walks by La Guaira, scoring three runs in both the second and third innings and coasting to a big win. Jairo Perez and Seattle's Jesus Montero led the way with solo homers, while No. 1 Dodgers prospect Joc Pederson went 1-for-3 with a double and two walks. Second baseman Joe Thurston went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Rangers prospect Luis Sardinas, Carlos Sanchez and Alex Cabrera each chipped in two hits for La Guaira.

Aragua 5, Magallanes 4

Catcher Guillermo Rodriguez, a 35-year-old veteran who saw brief Major League stints with the Giants and Orioles, knocked a two-out fly-ball single to center to score pinch-runner Carlos Colmenares and give Aragua the walk-off win in the 10th inning. Rodriguez finished with two RBIs, while right fielder Alex Romero went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Aragua. Carlos Maldonado, a catcher in the Nationals organization, went 2-for-4 with a game-tying RBI single in the eighth for Magallanes.

Margarita 1, Caracas 0

Perhaps fittingly in a game mostly devoid of offense, Nationals prospect Corey Brown drove in Margarita's lone run on a double-play grounder in the bottom of the fourth. Brown's groundout scored Antoan Richardson, who had walked, stolen second base and reached third on a bunt single by Cesar Hernandez. Each team recorded four hits and struck out eight times.

Mexican Pacific League

Mazatlan 10, Mexicali 3

All but one starter had a hit for Mazatlan in the blowout. Henry Mateo and Jose Orozco had three hits, while four other players had two. Sergio Valenzuela had a rough outing, allowing five runs on eight hits in just 2 1/3 innings.

Guasave 5, Culiacan 4

In a back-and-forth game, it was the ninth inning that proved to be the difference. Guasave scored two runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run single by Zelous Wheeler. A double by Alex Liddi in the bottom of the frame could get only one run home.

Los Mochis 9, Navojoa 1

Los Mochis had an offensive explosion with Brian Burgamy having a two-hit, three-RBI night and Juan Carlos Gamboa hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning. Jonathan Castellanos got the win, allowing four hits in six innings of work. Jose Oyervidez took the loss.

Hermosillo 7, Obregon 1

Obregon couldn't come back after a four-run third inning by Hermosillo that included a three-run home run by Carlos Gastelum. He had four of the team's 12 hits on the night. Hector Galvan got the win, while David Reyes took the loss.

Dominican Winter League

Licey 2, Gigantes 1

D'Angelo Jimenez drew a walk-off walk against Jhonny Nunez to break a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the ninth. Yunesky Maya, a 32-year-old right-hander in the Nationals organization, allowed one unearned run on one hit in 5 2/3 innings for Licey. The club's first run came in the fourth, when Texas' Jurickson Profar (1-for-3 with a walk) reached on an error and scored on Yamaico Navarro's double to left field. Gigantes managed only three hits, one of them by Phillies No. 2 prospect Maikel Franco.

All wet: Eagles manager Senichi Hoshino speaks with Casey McGehee during practice on Sunday. | KYODO

Baseball / Japanese Baseball

Rain washes out fourth game of Climax Series

Kyodo

Oct 20, 2013

SENDAI –

Sendai will have to wait at least another day to celebrate its first Japan Series berth after Game 4 of the Pacific League Climax Series final stage was rained out on Sunday afternoon at Kleenex Stadium.

With rain expected through the night, the game between the PL champion Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and the third-place Chiba Lotte Marines was postponed a half hour before the scheduled 1:05 p.m. start. The Eagles won Games 1 and 3 and hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series thanks to the one-game advantage handed to league champs.

Game 4 will be played on Monday, when a Rakuten victory or a tie will clinch the franchise’s first Japan Series berth, against the Yomiuri Giants starting on Oct. 26.

<

3-run homer by Aguilar top of the third. That's his third. That boosts Jose runs scored total to 12 and his rbi totals to 10. This is Aguilar's 10th game. He's currently batting .459.

Red Sox agree to deal with Cuban pitcher Hinojosa

Minor League arrangement worth $4.25 million for 27-year-old right-hander

By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com | 10/20/2013 6:48 P.M. ET

The Red Sox and Cuban right-handed pitcher Dalier Hinojosa have agreed to terms on a Minor League deal worth $4.25 million, according to industry sources.

Hinojosa, 27, is expected to receive an invite to big league camp during Spring Training. Multiple outlets reported Hinojosa's deal at $4 million in the past week.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Hinojosa starred for the Guantanamo Indios in the Serie Nacional, the island's top baseball league, but is largely known for throwing a seven-inning perfect game against Sri Lanka in the World University Championships in August 2010 and a five-inning perfect game against Hong Kong at the International Cup less than three months later.

In 2011, he pitched for the island's national team at the Rotterdam World Port Tournament in Holland, and he suited up for the Baseball World Cup and the Pan-American Games teams. Hinojosa was also part of the country's team that toured Taiwan, China and Japan last year, and he was named to Cuba's preliminary roster for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Hinojosa, who is represented by Barry Praver, Scott Shapiro and Bart Hernandez, defected from Cuba in February.

Around the Farm: October 20, 2013
Ezequiel Carrera

By Arthur Kinney

October 21, 2013

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Around the Farm (ATF) takes a quick look at some of the daily performances by Indians prospects. This is a special fall and winter ball version of ATF that recaps all the offseason action by Indians players in the Arizona Fall League and the Caribbean Leagues. The positions listed below are where the player was playing in the game.

Note, the Arizona Fall League was off on Sunday.

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE

Erik Gonzalez (Leones del Escogido, SS) - 1-4, 2 K, 1 SB - A ground ball single to center in the fifth and a subsequent stolen base in the same inning were the lone offensive highlights on the day for Erik. He continues to get a lot of playing time in the early oing.

Jose Ramirez (Toros del Este) - 1-4, 1 R, 1 K, 1 HBP - Ramirez got his offensive production out of the way early on Sunday as he was hit by a pitch from Estrellas Orientales starter Charlie Haeger to lead oif the bottom of the first and then he later scored. He got his only hit on a single to center in the second. J-Ram is still looking for his first multi-hit game this season after two outings during the league's opening weekend.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE

Ezequiel Carrera (Navegantes de Magallanes, CF) - 1-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K - Ezequiel gets on base twice and scores once. Not a noteworthy showing but consistency is his biggest area of weakness, so he needs to find a way to not only be more productive but more consistent with his showings night in and night out.

Jose Flores (Navegantes de Magallanes, RP) - H (1), 1,1 IP, perfect, 1 K - Flores makes it two good outings out of three as he picks up a four-out hold. He's a free agent and it will be interesting if he returns to the Indians - although there is mutual respect as he was a free agent last year and resigned with the Indians.

Jesus Aguilar (Leones del Caracas, 1B) - 1-5, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI - Aguilar may have had only one hit on the day, but it was a home run to left that blew the game wide open for Caracas. Even with the 1-for-5 effort on the day, he is still batting .425 in ten games this winter season.

Alex Monsalve (Bravos de Magraita, DH) - 0-3, 1 K - Monsalve drops to 2-for-8 in an outing that was representative of Margarita's struggles as a whole on the day. Monsalve looks like he is going to play about two games a week.

Bryan Price (Bravos de Maragrita, RP) - 1 IP, perfect, 1 K - Price actually only faced two batters as he got a strikeout (of Aguilar) and a double play to keep things from getting worse in the ninth inning of a game that was already a lost cause for los Bravos.