Leones del Escogido approach the final after defeating Gigantes in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORÍS. – The Leones del Escogido took a decisive step towards the Final Series of the 2025-26 LIDOM tournament by defeating the Gigantes del Cibao 5-1 this Wednesday, achieving their 11th victory in the Round Robin.

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With the triumph, the Reds improved their record to 11-4 and would qualify for the final with a new victory this Thursday against the Toros del Este in La Romana, or if the team that is defeated in the duel between Águilas and Toros in Santiago loses again. The Lions set the pace of the game from the first inning, when they scored four runs against starting pitcher Daniel Mengden. Alcides Escobar opened the scoring with a solo home run to left field. Then, with two outs and the bases loaded, José Marmolejos hit a single to left field that, combined with an error in the throw by outfielder Leury García, allowed the three runners to score. The capitalinos' fifth run came in the fifth inning. Erik González opened with a double to left field, advanced with a ground ball from Sócrates Brito and later scored after a hit by Troy Lake through the infield that turned into an error by third baseman Marco Hernández. The Giants' only annotation occurred in the sixth inning, when José Sirí hit a solo home run against reliever Héctor Neris between left and center field.

Starting pitcher José Urquidy was the Escogido's mound figure by pitching five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, without giving walks and with four strikeouts, to earn the victory (1-2). The red bullpen maintained control of the game with relief appearances without allowing liberties from Jefry Yan, Hansel Marcelino —who struck out two— and Stephen Nogosek. The loss went to Mengden (0-2), punished with four runs in the first inning.

On the offensive for the Lions, Marmolejos hit 1-4 with two RBIs; Escobar went 1-5 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored; Erik González went 1-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk, and Lake went 1-4 with a run scored.
For the Giants, José Sirí finished 1-3 with a home run, one RBI and one run scored, while Marco Hernández hit 1-3.