SARAPEROS SEEK SECOND STRAIGHT FLAG AFTER WINNING LMB NORTH FINAL

A clutch pitching performance by Cecilio Garibaldi in the ninth inning capped a 6-4 Saltillo win over Monterrey Saturday night, giving the Saraperos a 4-to-2 Zona Madero final series win and a berth in the Mexican League championship series. With 24,385 attendees in Estadio Monterrey looking on, Garibaldi struck out the Sultanes’ Agustin Murillo on three pitches with the bases loaded to end the game.

The series victory puts the Saraperos in the Mexican League championship series for the second consecutive season. Saltillo defeated Quintana Roo, 4 games to 2, for the city’s first undisputed pennant since joining the LMB in 1970. This time around, Saltillo will take on the Puebla Pericos in a best-of-seven Bicentennial Series (commemorating Mexican independence of 1810), beginning Tuesday night in the Pericos’ home park.