HE’S BAAAACK: KARIM COLLECTS 3 HRs, 9 RBIs IN SINGLE GAME

Any question as to whether Karim Garcia would take any time getting into a groove for Hermosillo after spending spring and summer playing in Korea was answered with an emphatic “NO!” Sunday in a 12-8 Naranjeros win at Navojoa’s Estadio Manuel “Ciclon” Echevarria.

Garcia became the 30th player in Mexican Pacific League history to belt three homers in a single game (and the first since Obregon’s Said Gutierrez in 2008) while joining Armando Murillo, Andy Dyes, Eduardo Jimenez and Tony Zuniga as the only players to ever drive in nine runs in a nine-inning contest. Garcia is now batting .485 with six homers and 19 RBIs in ten games.

Hermosillo has now won ten games in a row and have a 13-4 second-half record, three games ahead of 10-7 Los Mochis and four up on Culiacan and Mazatlan, who are tied for third at 9-7. Guasave and Obregon are both 8-9 and share fifth, Navojoa holds seventh at 6-11 and Mexicali is last at 5-12.

Also, the Mex Pac passed the one million mark in attendance for the season last week. Hermosillo leads the turnstile derby with an average of 6,611 fans per game. Seven LMP teams are averaging over 5,000, but Navojoa is struggling badly at the gate with just 1,185 per game.