Friday marks the end of the 2023 Caribbean Series, and it will feature two teams who need no introduction.
In a rematch of the 2020 final, host country Venezuela will play the Dominican Republic. These two teams also had the most thrilling game of this year’s series thus far, with the Dominican Republic defeating Venezuela 3-2 in 12 innings.
Venezuela will look to reverse that result at Estadio de Rinconada in Caracas. It defeated defending champion Colombia in the semifinals Thursday. The Dominican Republic defeated Mexico in the other semi.
Longtime major leaguers Emilio Bonifacio and Robinson Cano provide punch at the top of the DR order. Venezuela is headlined by Braves infielder Oswaldo Arcia and former MLB infielder Jose Rondon. The latter had the game-winning hit against the Dominican Republic at the beginning of the week.
The Sporting News is tracking Venezuela vs. the Dominican Republic live. Follow along for updates and highlights from the final game of the 2023 Serie del Caribe.
MORE: Caribbean Series 2023: TV schedule, channel, scores
Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Venezuela vs Dominican Republic live updates, highlights from 2023 Caribbean Series
(All times ET)
10:28 p.m. — In poetic fashion, the Dominican Republic wins on a terrific running play! Tigres del Licey win for the Dominican over Venezuela’s Leones del Caracas in shutout fashion, with Urrutia, Barrera, and Nuñez scoring.
10:26 p.m. — Asencio gets Tovar, and Perez is the last hope for Venezuela.
10:24 p.m. — Tovar grounds out to Cano at second for the first out of the inning, leaving Venezuela with two left. Vasquez is up next. He’s 0 of 3 on the night thus far.
10:20 p.m. — Jairo Asencio is on the mound to close things out for the Dominican Republic.
10:16 p.m. — Vizcaya gets the third out via popout from Bonifacio. Venezula has three outs left with Tovar-Vasquez-Perez due up.
10:13 p.m. — GUTTING mistake at third, as Nuñez grounds to third and Perez, who has been strong at the plate, fires into the dugout to put Nuñez at second and plate Barrera. It was a tough play, but sometimes the best thing to do is tuck it and live to fight another day. Dominican Republic 3, Venezuela 0.
10:10 p.m. — De La Cruz strikes out swinging as he chased a pitch in the dirt for the second out. Nuñez is up next with Barrera still on second with two out.
10:07 p.m. — Barrera gets a terrific jump to swipe second as De La Cruz swings through a fastball. Francisco Arcia double-clutched behind the plate and didn’t have a chance.
10:06 p.m. — Vizcaya walks Barrera on after the count goes full, and that will bring up De La Cruz.
10:03 p.m. — Gutierrez flies out to right for the first out, as Luis Barrera comes up. He’s 1 of 3 on the night.
10:01 p.m. — Vizcaya takes the mound for Venezuela against Kelvin Gutierrez of the Dominican Republic, as he tries to keep the Leones within two.
9:59 p.m. — Castillo grounds out to Cano at second, and it’s another zero on the board for Venezuela. They have three outs left as the Dominican Republic gets ready for its top of the ninth.
9:57 p.m. — Reyes came in as a pinch-hitter for Ramos, but he goes down swinging on a high fastball for the second out. So it rests on Castillo against Abad.
9:53 p.m. — Arcia gets walked on and tentatively takes first after getting called out last time. Ramos is up next with Castillo on deck. Ramos represents the tying run with one down.
9:50 p.m. — Good swing there from Tejeda, but he flies out to Rojas in deep left for the first out of the inning. Orlando Arcia is up with five outs left.
9:50 p.m. — As an aside, this strike zone has stretched outside while being tight inside all night.
9:49 p.m. — The lefty Fernando Abar takes the mound for the Dominican Republic, as he seeks a hold against Tejeda-Arcia-Ramos.
9:45 p.m. — After yet another lengthy at-bat, Rojas flies out to the shortstop in shallow left. Venezuela has two chances left. One is coming up next.
9:37 p.m. — Urrutia goes down swinging and the ball gets away from Ramos, but he’s able to get him at first. Rojas steps up with two down here in the top of the eighth.
9:35 p.m. — After Hernandez got the count full Arcia makes a solid sliding catch in right to rob Navarro of a base hit. That’s one down with Urrutia up next.
9:32 p.m. — Hernandez retakes the mound against Navarro after ending the last inning with a pickoff. Navarro quickly goes to 3-0 as he jackknifes from a high fastball.
9:30 p.m. — Aro makes the pitch of the game on a high fastball that gets Rondon swinging! Rondon throws his bat down in frustration as De La Cruz celebrates. Massive moment in this game, and tremendous composure by Aro.
9:25 p.m. — Aro walks Arcia onto first after the count went full, bringing the tying run to the plate in Rondon. The entire stadium comes to its feet for what could be a game-defining AB.
9:20 p.m. — Jonathan Aro gets Perez swinging to end the inning and close the book on Valdez. Strong work to keep it short. Oswaldo Arcia steps up next with two down.
9:17 p.m. — Fascinating gamesmanship here, as the Dominican Republic takes Valdez out up 0-2 on Perez. Definitely a moment to circle on your scorecards if things start to go sideways.
9:15 p.m. — Defense continues to rule the day for the Dominican Republic, as this time it’s Mel Rojas Jr. making a terrific catch that somehow stays above the grass. Great catch, and 1-3 are now 1 of 9 at the plate. Perez, the one player who seems to have a clue against Valdez, steps up.
9:11 p.m. — After review, I stand corrected! The tag was applied on Bonifacio’s upper arm just before his fingers hit the bag. Great move by Hernandez, and he’s got an out without facing a batter. We hit the seventh inning stretch with Venezuela trailing 2-0.
9:09 p.m. — Hernandez nearly picked off Bonifacio at first, but Bonifacio barely made it back. Solid move, and it’s being reviewed, but Bonifacio looks to be clear.
9:07 p.m. — It will be on Hernandez for Venezuela, as Navarro looks to break this game open.
9:05 p.m. — That spells the end for Gomez, who turned in a solid two innings of work but comes out in favor of the righty-righty matchup.
9:04 p.m. — Tough play for Gomez as Bonifacio hits one up the middle, perhaps not as hard as Gomez thought. It careens off Gomez’s glove and stays in the infield, and Bonifacio reaches. Cano comes up first pitch swinging and flies out to center on good contact. So it’s Navarro coming up with two outs and a runner on first.
9:01 p.m. — Nuñez tries to push a bunt down the line but he got too much on it, and gets tagged out on his way to first. The order now turns over for Bonifacio.
9 p.m. — Gomez takes the mound again for Venezuela, as Nuñez digs in after scoring his last time up.
8:56 p.m. — Tovar flies out to right to end the inning, complete with a questionable slide from Barrera. Another clean inning from Valdez.
8:55 p.m. — Castillo goes down with Tovar up next. The top three batters for Venezuela are now 1-7 tonight with Tovar yet to hit.
8:51 p.m. — Cano shows he still has some range up the middle! Ramos grounds one into the hole and Cano throws it while turning around to get Ramos at first. Good play to start the inning for the 40-year-old. Castillo comes up now as the order turns over.
8:49 p.m. — Gomez gets De La Cruz swinging out of his cleats, but De La Cruz is a good sport and checks on Ramos catcher to catcher. That ends the inning for Venezuela, rather stress free.
8:44 p.m. — Good swing from Barrera to take one right back up the middle for a base hit, giving the Dominican Republic a runner. De La Cruz comes up with a man on and two out.
8:42 p.m. — Gutierrez also comes up aggressive, and he puts a good swing on but flies out to right. Gomez has thrown five pitches in three batters with Barrera due up.
8:41 p.m. — Rojas squared up to bunt in his first pitch against Gomez, but he looked like he wanted to take one. A lot of weird mechanics to get used to with Rojas on the mound. On the second pitch, Rojas grounds to Arcia at short for the first out of the inning. Kelvin Gutierrez is up next.
8:38 p.m. — Arcia goes down looking on a full count pitch that looked outside and he is nothing short of livid. He had teammates between himself and the umpire as he yelled, but the result is the same. Valdez strikes out the side.
8:35 p.m. — Tejeda goes down swinging as Valdez really finds his groove. Some nasty punchout punches these last two batters. It falls on Orlando Arcia to keep this inning from being 1-2-3.
8:32 p.m. — Rondon goes down on a hard slider from Valdez. Tejeda is up next.
8:31 p.m. — Venezuela seeks a spark as Rondon digs in against Valdez.
8:28 p.m. — Gomez comes on for the Dominican Republic and gets the final out of the inning quickly. Halfway through the Dominican Republic holds a 2-0 lead.
8:23 p.m. — Navarro immediately makes Leal pay. He smokes one into left field, but Venezuela makes a heads up play to get Navarro at second as Nuñez scores. That’s going to be the game for Leal, who exits to applause from the Venezuela fans. Cano is now on third with two outs. Dominican Republic 2, Venezuela 0
8:21 p.m. — Tough break there for Venezuela, as Cano again grounds to the pitcher but Leal this time throws the ball into centerfield. Nuñez advances to third while Cano reaches first, so one down with runners at the corners and Navarro up.
8:20 p.m. — Bonifacio flies out to center, bringing Cano up. Leal is now at 72 pitches in the fifth inning, but whatever injury he dealt with seems to have subsided.
8:16 p.m. — Now Nuñez is on to lead off the inning, with a single through the right side. Bonifacio comes up with a man on and nobody out.
8:14 p.m. — Dominican Republic lines up perfectly against Arcia, who grounds into a double play up the middle to end the inning.
8:10 p.m. — Vasquez is retired in short order by Valdez, but Perez has his number tonight. He goes the other way for his second hit of the night, two of the three Valdez has given up. One down, one on for Oswaldo Arcia.
8:06 p.m. — The call is confirmed. Perfect throw from Vasquez to get Rojas, and great all-around play for Venezuela to keep it a one-run game.
8:04 p.m. — HUGE play in this game. De La Cruz pokes one out to left for a base hit and Rojas gets waved through. Vasquez guns Rojas down at home to save the run and get out of the inning for the third out. It’s being reviewed, but it looks like an incredible play with a nice tag from Ramos at home.
8:02 p.m. — Nasty work from Leal, as he gets Barerra swinging with the high heat for the second out. The inning now rests on De La Cruz.
8 p.m. — Gutierrez gets on via walk, which puts Rojas on second with one out. Leal gets another mound visit, as his rope continues to shorten tonight. Barrera comes up in a big at-bat for the Dominican Republic.
7:57 p.m. — Rojas grounds one up the middle and reaches on a fielder’s choice, as Urrutia gets tossed out as second. Gutierrez is up now with a runner on first and one out.
7:56 p.m. — Quick start here for the Dominican Republic, as Urrutia sneaks one past Castillo for a single. He continues his good start to the night, as Rojas steps up next.
7:52 p.m. — A swinging bunt from Castillo lands him on first, but the inning ends with Tovar grounding out to third. Another quick inning for Valdez.
7:50 p.m. — Ramos goes down swinging in short order, turning the lineup over with Castillo. Leal, meanwhile, is being treated on the Venezuela bench.
7:48 p.m. — Orlando Arcia leads off the inning with a flyout to center, bringing up Wilson Ramos in the nine spot.
7:45 p.m. — Leal again works his way out of it as Navarro flies out to left for the third out.
7:41 p.m. — They’re still tending to Leal, who was drinking water on the mound while surrounded. It’s difficult to tell exactly where he was hurt, whether it was hand or he got the wind knocked out of him. He’s now throwing some warmup pitches.
7:37 p.m. — Leal helps himself out but looks like he’s in a lot of pain in the process. Cano smoked one back up the middle but Leal snagged it to turn a 1-6-3 double play, and he was writhing on the ground in pain right after. Navarro will be up next, but we’ll see what happens with Leal. It’s unclear where he was hurt.
7:35 p.m. — Bonifacio scorches one through the right side of the infield for a hit to bring up Cano.
7:34 p.m. — Leal is back out for the third inning at 38 pitches, and he’ll face the top of the order in Bonifacio, Cano, and Navarro.
7:31 p.m. — Brutal at-bat there for Tejeda, as he took a pitch that looked outside for a strike, swung through strike two, and was rung up on a checked swing for strike three. Venezuela strands one, and DR holds the lead.
7:29 p.m. — The review goes the Dominican Republic’s way, as Navarro did in fact stay on the bag. Rondon is out, and there is now a runner on second with two down. Isaias Tejeda is up.
7:27 p.m. — Some controversy brewing here as Rondon reaches first on an error where Navarro was pulled off the bag. It certainly looks like he stayed on, but it’s being reviewed now.
7:26 p.m. — On a weird delivery from Valdez Perez gets a great jump and swipes second. Now Venezuela has a runner in scoring position down one with one out.
7:24 p.m. — Arcia makes good contact but Bonifacio tracks it down in centerfield for the first out of the inning. Jose Rondon, a key player in Thursday’s game, will come up with a runner on first and one out.
7:20 p.m. — Perez starts things off with right as he reaches out and pokes a pitch out to center. Oswaldo Arcia is up next for Venezuela.
7:19 p.m. — Perez will lead off for Venezuela against Valdez, who threw just eight pitches in the first inning.
7:16 p.m. — Leal gets out with minimal damage as Núñez grounds out to first, but he’s thrown a lot of pitches to this point. Venezuela will try to get him some support in the bottom frame.
7:13 p.m. — De La Cruz wins a long battle, works the count full from 0-2, and singles into center field. Barrera moved to third on the hit, and Venezuela takes a mound visit with two outs and Gustavo Núñez digs in with a golden oportunity.
7:07 p.m. — Barrera came up swinging, but he pops to second and reaches on a fielder’s choice as Rojas was forced out. De La Cruz comes up with two outs and a runner on first.
7:05 p.m. — Gutierrez capitalizes on a pitch in on the hands. He fists it out to right to drive Urrutia in from third, while Rojas holds at first. Dominican Republic 1, Venezuela 0.
7:03 p.m. — Following a cross-up that allowed Urrutia to move to second, Rojas pushes him to third with a single up the middle. Kelvin Gutierrez comes up with a golden opportunity for the Dominican Republic: Runners at the corners with nobody out.
7:01 p.m. — Urrutia draws a walk after working the count full against Leal, who is at 18 pitches through four batters. Heartening at-bat for him, to be sure. Mel Rojas Jr. steps up next.
6:59 p.m. — Henry Urrutia, the DH, steps up in the cleanup spot for the Dominican Republic. He’s struggled in this series, but he’s looking to bring himself up with one swing.
6:54 p.m. — Castillo Tovar go down in quick succession against Cesar Valdez, who will represent the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. Vasquez also goes down to complete a quick 1-2-3 inning.
6:50 p.m. — Navarro grounds to third and a slick pick by Hernán Pérez leads to the end of the inning. Venezuela’s bats will be up next.
6:48 p.m. — Cano has worked the count full from Leal, as he laid off a curveball in the dirt. He grounds the payoff pitch to first for the second out of the inning, with Yamaico Navarro up next.
6:45 p.m. — We’re underway with a strike on the outside corner from Leal, and Bonifacio follows up with a flyout to left field after just two pitches. Robinson Cano will dig in next.
6:43 p.m. — Venezuela is taking the field as the home team, with the Dominican Republic ready to lead things off. Emilio Bonifacio will lead off against Erick Leal, Venezuela’s starting pitcher.
6:30 p.m. — Mexico defeated Colombia 1-0 earlier Friday to win third place in the series, with Joey Terdoslavich driving in Irving Lopez for the lone run of the game.
6:25 p.m. — This final will be played in Estadio de Rinconada in Caracas, about 45 minutes from where the Leones play normally.
6 p.m. ET — This is a huge matchup for these two teams, with Leones del Caracas and Tigres del Licey being — as Evan Woodberry points out — the Yankees and Dodgers of the Winter Leagues.
Dominican Republic (Licey) vs. Venezuela (Leones del Caracas) tonight in the title game of the Serie del Caribe.
This is basically like the Yankees vs. Dodgers of the winter leagues. Should be a great game and a great atmosphere. https://t.co/kQJ9wWbmSs
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) February 10, 2023
What channel is Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic on tonight?
- Date: Friday, Feb. 10
- Channel: ESPN Deportes
- Live stream: ESPN+
Venezuela’s Leones del Caracas and the Dominican Republic’s Tigres del Licey will face off on ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes, with both broadcasts in Spanish.
Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic start time
- Date: Friday, Feb. 10
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
First pitch for Venezuela vs. the Dominican Republic is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. local time in Venezuela.
Caribbean Series 2023 schedule, results
Thursday, Feb. 2
| Results |
|---|
| Cuba 3, Curaçao 1 (10 inn.) |
| Mexico 5, Dominican Republic 4 |
| Colombia 7, Puerto Rico 1 |
| Venezuela 5, Panama 2 |
Friday, Feb. 3
| Results |
|---|
| Panama 6, Colombia 5 |
| Dominican Republic 3, Cuba 1 |
| Curaçao 2, Mexico 1 |
| Puerto Rico 6, Venezuela 1 |
Saturday, Feb. 4
| Results |
|---|
| Curaçao 1, Panama 0 |
| Dominican Republic 6, Puerto Rico 4 |
| Mexico 7, Colombia 6 |
| Venezuela 20, Cuba 3 |
Sunday, Feb. 5
| Results |
|---|
| Colombia 6, Curaçao 5 (13 inn.) |
| Mexico 6, Cuba 5 |
| Panama 3, Puerto Rico 2 |
| Dominican Republic 3, Venezuela 2 (12 inn.) |
Monday, Feb. 6
| Results |
|---|
| Colombia 5, Cuba 4 |
| Dominican Republic 10, Panama 1 |
| Puerto Rico 3, Curaçao 1 |
| Mexico 7, Venezuela 0 |
Tuesday, Feb. 7
| Results |
|---|
| Puerto Rico 4, Cuba 3 |
| Mexico 2, Panama 1 |
| Colombia 11, Dominican Republic 1 |
| Venezuela 8, Curaçao 6 |
Wednesday, Feb. 8
| Results |
|---|
| Panama 10, Cuba 4 |
| Dominican Republic 6, Curaçao 2 |
| Puerto Rico 9, Mexico 3 |
| Venezuela 7, Colombia 4 |
Thursday, Feb. 9
| Results |
|---|
| Dominican Republic 8, Mexico 3 |
| Venezuela 7, Colombia 5 |
Friday, Feb. 10
| Matchup/Score | Time (ET) | TV channel/Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd place: Mexico vs. Colombia | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN Deportes, ESPN+ |
| Championship: DR vs. Venezuela | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN Deportes, ESPN+ |