The Dominican Summer League Reds were the #5 seed in the playoffs. There were 16 teams that made the playoffs – eight division winners and then the eight teams with the best winning percentages among those that didn’t win the division. The Reds didn’t win their division but seeding was based on the winning percentage of the teams and that left the Reds at #5. The DSL playoffs begin with four pools of four teams and each pool plays a round-robin against their pool and the winner advances to the semifinal round.
On Saturday the DSL Reds and DSL Colorado clubs met for the first time all year. It’s a 51-team league, so you are not going to get a chance to play every team in the regular season. Both teams were 2-0 in the pool, so whoever won this game would move on and the other team was going to see their season come to an end.
Both teams scored a run in the 1st inning. The Reds then scored a run in both the 2nd and the 5th to jump ahead 3-1. Then they put the game away in the 6th. Eider Gutierrez led off the inning with a home run. Later in the inning Angel Salio capped things off with an opposite field grand slam that made it 8-1. Below is the video of both home runs. Check out the teammates behind the plate going wild.
The DSL Colorado club would score a run in the bottom of the 7th inning, but that was the final run of the game. The Reds held on for an 8-2 win and they are moving on to the semifinals on Monday. The semifinals are a best of three series. After the off day on Sunday the Reds will take on the DSL Royals Fortuna.
The DSL Reds and DSL Royals Fortuna were two of the hottest teams down the stretch in the league. The Royals Fortuna went 11-2 in their final 13 games and went 2-1 in their pool to advance. On the other side of the matchup the DSL Reds were 14-2 in their final 16 regular season games and then were the only team in pool play to go 3-0. During the regular season the two teams met twice. Each club won the game that they played at their complex. The Royals Fortuna will play hosts in game one and if necessary, game three of the series.