The Tigres de Aragua defeated the Bravos de Margarita on Saturday night by a score of 10-4. Eduardo Escobar, playing in his sixth Venezuelan Winter League game, was a major part of the dominant offensive performance: he went 3-for-4, came just a triple shy of the cycle, drove in three runs, and crushed his first home run of the Winter League season. Box Score

Escobar first came to bat in the bottom of the first inning with runners on second and third the Tigres in an early 1-0 hole. He quickly flipped the one-run deficit into a one-run advantage by smacking a line drive into left field for a double on the third pitch of the at bat. He would later score on a single by the following batter.

Escobar came up again with one out and a runner on first in the third inning but ended up striking out on four pitches. The strikeout was the only out he would make for the entire game. In the fifth inning, Escobar singled on a ground ball up the middle and immediately scored on a home run by the following batter.

In the seventh inning, it was Escobar’s turn to go deep. Leading off the inning, he took two balls to get ahead in the count. On the third pitch of the at bat, he unloaded a big swing and drove the ball over the center field wall for his first home run of the season.

Eduardo Escobar hit his first home run for the Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan Winter League this afternoon.

He's 7-21 with 4 extra-base hits through his first 6 games. #Mets pic.twitter.com/oy7j0Ni5y5

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) December 18, 2022

Through six games this season, Escobar is hitting an impressive .333/.440/.619 with four extra base hits.

In the Dominican Winter League, Ronny Mauricio was hitless over five at bats. He struck out once and handled eight chances in the field without making an error playing second base for the first time.

Mauricio has cooled off a bit in recent weeks but is still hitting a robust .287/.335/.468 for the season.