LEONES BOUNCE OAXACA, MOVE TO LMB SOUTH FINALS

The 2019 Mexican League playoffs opened with four games last Tuesday and less than a week later, the Yucatan Leones have eliminated Oaxaca in the division semifinals.  The Quintana Roo Tigres are one win away from knocking out Mexico City in the other LMB South semi while Tijuana is on the verge of ending Saltillo's season in the LMB North semis.  The Toros and Saraperos are scheduled to play Game Five in Saltillo Monday night while defending champion Monterrey and Monclova are also playing their deadlocked LMB North matchup in Estadio Monterrey. The Tigres-Diablos series will resume Tuesday night in Mexico City.

Let's take a look at each series through Sunday night's action:

Yucatan defeats Oaxaca, 4 games to 1

Yucatan 1B Xavier Scruggs

Yucatan opened their LMB South semifinal series last Tuesday with a 6-5 win in Oaxaca by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning as ex-Cardinals first baseman Xavier Scruggs belted a three-run homer off former St. Louis teammate Miguel Socolovich and Leones closer Josh Lueke had a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.  Luis Juarez went 3-for-4 with two runs for the Leones.

Yucatan won again one night later, 7-0, behind the two-hit pitching over seven frames of starter Yoanner Negrin as Leo Heras and Sebastian Valle hit back-to-back homers in the top of the third off Guerreros opener Ryan Kussmaul.  Alex Liddi went 2-for-5 for the Leones, scoring two runs and driving in two more for the winners.

The series shifted to Merida Friday night, where the visiting Leones won, 6-2, thanks to a four-run Yucatan fifth keyed by a Julian Ornelas homer and a two-run Alejandro Gonzalez double. Oaxaca right-hander Andres Meza, a six-time All-Star with Puebla between 2008 and 2015 who was released by Yucatan in May, got the win after allowing two runs in five innings. 

The home side finally broke through Saturday when the Leones took a dramatic 5-4 win when Scruggs victimized Socolovich again with a two-out, bases-loaded walkoff single to bring in Liddi from third in the bottom of the ninth.  MVP candidate Alonzo Harris socked solo homers off Yucatan's three-time All-Star pitcher Jose Samayoa in the first and third frames for Oaxaca.

Yucatan won Sunday at Estadio Kukulkan, 3-1, to eliminate the defending LMB South champion Guerreros and punch their ticket to the LMB South Finals.  Leones starter Cesar Valdez, the likely Pitcher of the Year, limited Oaxaca to one run on two hits over seven innings.  Juarez doubled in one run and scored another in the bottom of the first to give Valdez all the support he'd need.

Quintana Roo leads Mexico City, 3 games to 2

Quintana Roo 3B Brian Hernandez

In the other LMB South semi, Mexico City took an 11-6 home win over Quintana Roo last Tuesday as Japhet Amador's three-run homer put an exclamation point on a Diablos' six-run seventh to obliterate a 3-2 deficit. The Mulege Giant finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBIs as Mexico City gathered 18 hits and five walks while going 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

The Red Devils made it 26 runs in two nights on Wednesday by clobbering the Tigres, 15-8, to go up two games in the series.  Amador homered again (this time a two-run blast off Felipe Arredondo in the fourth.  David Vidal, Juan Carlos Gamboa and Kevin Medrano each had three hits as Mexico City collected 18 hits and eight walks for the game. 

The Tigres broke through Friday with a 6-1 win in Cancun.  Ex-Pirates reliever Wilfredo Boscan tossed 6.2 innings of one-run ball for Quintana Roo and was aided by solo homers by Yordanys Linares and Brian Hernandez.  Mexico City starter Patrick Johnson, who was 10-5 during the regular season, was knocked around for six runs in 4.1 innings to absorb the loss for the Diablos.

On Saturday, the Tigres knotted the series with a 1-0 knuckebiter over the Diablos in extra frames as Hernandez drove in Ruben Sosa with a walkoff single of Grant Sides in the bottom of the eleventh. The two teams combined for just ten hits as starters Arturo Lopez for Mexico City and Jorge Castillo carried their double-shutout duel into the seventh inning.

Quintana Roo took a 3-games-to-2 lead in the series Sunday with a 3-1 win as Henderson Alvarez held the Diablos one run on four hits over five innings.  Reynaldo Rodriguez banged a two-run homer for Q-Roo in the first off Matt Gage while leftfielder Ruben Sosa's throw nailed Mexico City speedster Carlos Figueroa trying to score from first with the potential tying run at the plate in the seventh.

Tijuana leads Saltillo, 3 games to 1

Tijuana OF Junior Lake

James Russell allowed two runs on four hits over six innings last Tuesday to help Tijuana to a 4-2 LMB North semifinal Game One win over Saltillo at home.  Josuan Hernandez homered in the second to give the Saraperos a 2-0 lead, but the Toros came back with a bang in the bottom of the fourth as Junior Lake, Ricky Alvarez and Jesus Valdez all hit solo homers off Saltillo starter Felix Doubront. 

Tijuana won again last Wednesday, 3-1, as 2007 LMB Rookie of the Year Orlando Lara went 5.2 scoreless innings, striking out six Saltillo batsmen while Leandro Castro homered and scored twice for the Toros.  Juan Perez, who hit .322 with 23 homers and 30 steals for the Saraperos during the regular season, homered off Brennan Bernardino in the top of the eighth for Saltillo's lone run of the night. 

After Friday's game in Saltillo was rained out, the Saraperos squeaked out a 1-0 win Saturday to narrow their series deficit to one game.  Raul Carrillo (six innings) and three relievers combined for the shutout as Henry Urrutia broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the ninth with a one-out walkoff homer off a Bernardino delivery.

The Toros took a commanding series lead Sunday with a 17-9 battering of Saltillo that saw the visitors rap out 20 hits, including two Lake homers and Alvarez' 4-for-6 night with four RBIs, while the Saraperos hurt themselves in the field with five errors (including three by shortstop Hernandez).  Tijuana's Carlos Hernandez allowed three runs on five hits in 1.2 relief innings for the win. Somehow. 

Monterrey and Monclova tied, 2 games to 2

Monterrey OF Yamaico Navarro

Defending champion Monterrey copped a 12-3 Game One win in Monclova last Tuesday as the Sultanes' Yamaico Navarro went 3-for-5 with a double and homer, driving in four.  Felix Perez and Amadeo Zazueta also contributed longballs for the winners off Acereros starter Danny Rodriguez, who also fed Navarro's gopher. 

The LMB North semi was then held up by rain the next two night before Game Two could be played Friday, when Monclova evened the set with a 4-1 win behind the six-inning shutout hurling of Conor Harber (a native of Coos Bay, Oregon and a nominee for this season's Aptonym of the Year award).  Ricky Rodriguez' solo homer in the fifth off Logan Darnell was one of three Monclova hits. 

The Sultanes regained the series lead Saturday at Estadio Monterrey with a 7-2 triumph.  Monterrey starter Marco Tovar allowed a two-run Chris Carter homer in the top of the first inning before settling down to shut out the Acereros through the fifth and earning the win.  Four Sultanes socked roundtrippers: Navarro, Zazueta, Ramiro Pena and Ali Solis (three of them solo shots).

Monclova kept the see-saw series going Sunday with a 10-5 win to knot the set up once again.  Carter belted two more homers for the Acereros while ex-Oakland catcher Bruce Maxwell and Noah Perio each contributed two-run roundtrippers.  Maxwell also doubled twice as Monterrey starter Edgar Gonzalez didn't make it past the second inning.  Perez and Chris Roberson homered for the Sultanes.


ORANTES LET GO AS TABASCO MANAGER

Former Tabasco manager Ramon Orantes

The Tabasco Olmecas have fired manager Ramon Orantes after the team went 45-72 during the Mexican League season and missed the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.  Orantes was hired last winter to replace Alfonso "Houston" Jimenez, who had led Tabasco to a collective 44-68 record over the 2018 Spring and Fall seasons.

Orantes was brought to Villahermosa by new Olmecas owner Juan Carlos Manzur in what was considered a curious hiring after the former corner infielder had managed Union Laguna to a combined 41-73 record over last year's two seasons to finish with the only record worse than Tabasco's.  Perhaps Manzur was looking more at Laguna's surprising 60-49 record under Orantes in 2017, his first year on the job in Torreon.  That year, the Vaqueros somehow finished eleven games over .500 despite having no batter with more than 13 homers or 75 RBI and no starting pitcher exceeding seven wins or a 4.38 ERA, but Orantes' luck has gone sour since then and his record over the past two years is an aggregate 86-148 for a winning percentage of .368 before becoming the tenth LMB manager to feel the axe in 2019, no doubt with the prerequisite thanks from the team after the blade has been swung.

Happier times for Orantes in Los Mochis

It may be premature to call Orantes a poor manager, however.  Laguna and Tabasco have been among the LMB's Have Nots for several years, with both teams lacking resources to develop either players or a fan base while perpetually sitting it out when the playoffs come around.  In Torreon, Orantes managed in the oldest ballpark in Class AAA (Estadio Revolucion was completed in 1932) under an undercapitalized ownership.  Things were a little better in Tabasco, where the ballpark is "only" 44 years old and Manzur represented an improvement at the top from the Olmecas' prior owners, the Dagdug brothers.  Some improvements were made at Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero, average attendance nearly doubled from 1,151 last Fall to 2,107 this summer and the team did improve from 21-39 in the first half to 24-33 in the second half (progress, however measured, still being "progress") but in the end, 45-72 was still the second-worst record in the LMB and Manzur was ready to go in a different direction for the second time in ten months.  Although he'll now have to look for a new city to spend next summer and. given the churn among managers and coaches in Mexican baseball, the well-respected Orantes will likely find a gig elsewhere sooner rather than later.

Orantes will have time to find a new summer job.  He was hired in late August as batting coach for the expansion Guasave Algodoneros of the Mexican Pacific League, where he'll tutor Cottoneer hitters under manager Bobby Magallenes.  Orantes was a popular corner infielder for many seasons with the Los Mochis Caneros, who retired his jersey number last year, and collected more than 1,000 hits in his winterball playing career to go along with his 2,184 total hits in the Mexican League, batting a lifetime .318 from his 1993 debut until his 2016 retirement.


VILLANUEVA WANTS TO PLAY FOR MEXICO IN PREMIER12

Yomiuri Giants 3B Christian Villanueva

After what has been a trying first year in Japanese baseball, Christian Villanueva could be forgiven if he plans to play for his native Mexico in the upcoming Premier12 tournament as a means of seeking some redemption.  Villanueva confirmed his participation last week on social media, according to Puro Beisbol columnist Bambino Sedano.

Villanueva spent seven seasons playing third base in both the Rangers and Cubs minor league systems between 2009 and 2015 before breaking his right fibula during spring training in 2016, missing the entire season as a result.  After the Cubs let him go following the season, the Guadalajara product signed with San Diego as a free agent that winter.  Villanueva began the 2017 campaign with El Paso of the AAA Pacific Coast League and turned in a solid season for the Chihuahuas, batting .296 with 20 homers and 86 runs batted in over 109 games before a callup to the big club at the conclusion of the PCL schedule.  He made his MLB debut on September 18 against Arizona, going hitless in three at-bats.  Villanueva quickly adjusted to big league pitching, however, and ended his short 2017 stint in San Diego with a .344 average over 12 games, belting four homers in a seven-game stretch.

The following spring training, Villanueva beat out 2017 starter Cory Spangenberg and returning veteran Chase Headley (who led the National League with 115 RBIs in 2012 for the Padres) for the third base job under manager Andy Green.  He paid immediate dividends by cracking three homers against Milwaukee in his second game of 2018 on April 3, fashioned an eleven-game hitting streak later that month, brought his average up to .355 at one point and was named the NL Rookie of the Month for his efforts.  Things went sour just as quickly after that, as Villanueva went just 42-for-228 for a .184 average between May and July before turning things around in August (.356 in 15 games) prior to suffering a season-ending fractured finger on August 21.  He finished the 2018 season with a .236 average and a team-leading 20 homers for the Padres, who surprisingly designated him for assignment on November 20 and then sold his rights to the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants, who signed Villanueva one day later to a one-year, $2 million contract.

Villanueva as a Padres rookie in 2017

Hopes were high for the Giants and Villanueva coming into the current season, but things have not gone well for the 27-year-old, right-handed hitter.  Over 73 Central League games thus far, he has hit .223 with eight homers and 24 RBIs.  Worse, Villanueva was sent down to Yomiuri's farm team and his batting plummeted to .181 with three longballs in 29 games in Japan's Eastern League.  He was hit by a pitch in his most plate appearance Saturday in the first inning of a minor league game against the Yokohama DeNa BayStars and was replaced as DH afterwards. 

It's been that kind of year for Villanueva, and he is no doubt hoping that a good showing in his hometown Estadio Charros during Premier12 Group A play from November 2 through 5 will raise his stock while ending a frustrating year on a high note.  Although he was in training camp with Yomiuri at the time, Villanueva did not play for the Mexican National Team in their two-game series against their Japanese counterparts last March in Osaka under manager Dan Firova. 

Firova has since been replaced at the helm by former Dodgers infielder Juan Castro, who will lead the Verdes Grande in Group A games against the USA, Netherlands and the Dominican Republic.  The top two teams from the three groups will advance to the Premier12 Super Round, set for Tokyo and Chiba City in Japan.  Mexico was sixth in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation's most recent rankings.