Adrian Gonzalez, brother Edgar lead Mexico's Mazatlan

Those who wonder why an All-Star such as Adrian Gonzalez would bother playing in the Caribbean Series need only look to his right for an answer.

Playing at second base for Mexico's Venados de Mazatlan, just a few feet from the San Diego Padres first baseman, is his older brother Edgar.

The proximity is only to be expected, given how tight they are.

"They're kind of like bookends," Mazatlan manager Lorenzo Bundy says. "Usually you don't see one without seeing the other."

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The Gonzalez brothers are two pillars of the Venados, who improved to 2-1 in the tournament with Wednesday's late-night 12-9 victory against the Dominican Republic's Tigres del Licey.

Adrian set a Caribbean Series record with three home runs and drove in four runs, and Edgar went 2-for-5 and is hitting .474.

Adrian says he decided to return to Mazatlan after a one-year absence for the chance to win a league title and represent Mexico in the Caribbean Series but did so only after Edgar opted to join the Venados.

They are also teammates with the Padres and figure to be selected for the final roster of Mexico's entry in March's World Baseball Classic.

"I'm happy for any chance to spend time with Edgar and to get together with our wives," says Adrian, 26.

It's not a unique occurrence for brothers to play together in this tournament — Willy and Erick Aybar, for instance, are infield staples for Licey — but having the same two on three different pro teams (including the WBC) within months might be unprecedented.

For the Gonzalez siblings, the reunion with the Padres was by far the most meaningful. Both were born in San Diego and returned there after growing up in Tijuana — where father David owns an air-conditioning business — through their elementary school years.

"As kids we would play Wiffle ball and say, 'It would be great to one day play together for San Diego,' " says Edgar, 30. "For it to happen was a dream come true."

Especially after Edgar's long wait.

A 30th-round pick out of San Diego State in 2000, Gonzalez toiled for nine seasons in the minors, compiling a .297 average but never getting called up.

He considered quitting after the 2006 season, when he still remained stuck in the minors. He joined the Padres organization last year and was batting .293 in May, but his chances appeared dim.

"Edgar was desperate," says his mother, Alba. "He had told us he might have to give up the game. So he said, 'I'm going to ask God to either open the door or close it.' And that same week he got called up."

The brothers have been inseparable since.

Briefly:

Outfielder Fernando Martinez, the New York Mets' highly regarded prospect, left the Licey team and headed to New York for a medical exam after feeling pain in his right (throwing) elbow, according to Tigres general manager Fernando Ravelo, who said the move was precautionary.