Meza recovers after shaky first, Puebla alive with 6-3 win

Puebla starting pitcher Andres Meza found himself in an early hole after coughing up three Tijuana runs on three hits, a walk and a hit batsman in the top of the first inning, but settled down to allow just two more singles before being replaced in the sixth as the Pericos scored the final six runs of the game in a 6-3 win over the Toros Saturday in Puebla.  The Game Four victory prevented the visiting Toros from sweeping the Mexican League's Serie del Rey championship finals as a sellout crowd of 12,112 jammed Estadio Hermanos Serdan to see their defending champs live to fight another day (in particular, Sunday's Game Five in Puebla).

PUEBLA 6-10-0, Tijuana 3-7-0 (Tijuana leads Serie del Rey, 3 games to 1)
W-Meza (1-0).  L-Mitre (0-1).  SV-Heath (1).  A-12,112.  T-2:59.

Tijuana jumped on Meza right off the bat, as leadoff hitter Jose Guadalupe Chavez poked a single to right field and moved to second when Roberto Lopez followed with a safety into left.  Meza then issued his only walk of the night to Corey Brown to load the bases, then gave Chavez a free stroll to home plate from third by plunking Toros cleanup batter Cyle Hankerd, putting TJ up, 1-0.  With the sacks still juiced and nobody out, Jorge Cantu strode to the plate and lofted a double to left that scored both Lopez and Brown to make it 3-0.  Hankerd rounded third too far on the play and got caught in a pickle before being tagged out by Meza while Cantu continued to third.  Dustin Martin and Juan Apodaca both popped out to shortstop Alberto Carreon (the latter in foul territory) to end the inning with Cantu stranded on third.

The Pericos got one run back in the bottom of the second when Sergio Perez punched a one-out single through the right side of the infield off Toros starter Sergio Mitre to score Cesar Tapia from second, but it was the bottom of the fourth when Puebla took the lead with a four-run outburst.

After Ricky Rodriguez flew out to open the inning, Tapia singled up the middle and soon advanced to second when Mitre sent a wild pitch to Hector Garanzuay. Garanzuay, who has hit .385 over twelve playoff games, then sent a double to left, bringing in Tapia from second to bring the Pericos a run away from tying the game.  Perez then sent a slow roller to Chavez at short for an infield single as Garanzuay stayed put on second.  Carreon then cracked a ground-rule double bounding over the right field wall, scoring Garanzuay with the tying run and sending Perez to third.

By then, Carlos Hernandez had thrown enough warmup pitches in the bullpen to be brought in by TJ skipper Pedro Mere, replacing Mitre.  Things started well enough for Hernandez, who got Julio Borbon to hit into a 6-3 groundout to short for the second out, but ex-MLBer Endy Chavez lashed a double to left that scored Perez and Carreon to put the Parrots ahead, 5-3.

Meza had retired 11 of the last 13 batters he faced before Puebla's four-run fourth and he sat down the next four hitters after that before manager Tim Johnson pulled him for Mario Morales with one out in the sixth.  Morales held the fort through the top of the seventh before closer Deunte Heath came on for the final two frames.  The Pericos scored one more insurance run in the bottom of the eighth off Toros reliever Carlos Fisher.  Rodriguez hit a one-out single up the middle and stole second before scoring on a Garanzuay single to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage.  Heath then held Tijuana scoreless in the top of the ninth to preserve Puebla's first win of the series, earning the save.

Meza finished with 5.1 inning pitched, giving up those three first-inning tallies before locking the door.  The 31-year-old righty from Culiacan struck out four and walked one on 80 pitches.  Mitre took the loss after allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk in 3.1 innings of work.  The Pericos outhit the Toros by a 10-to-7 margin, as Rodriguez, Garanzuay and Perez each had two hits while Garanzuay and Perez each drove in two runs.  Chavez, Cantu and Alex Liddi each had two of the Toros' seven hits but the visitors were unable to advance a runner past second base following the opening inning.

 The two teams will play Game Five Sunday in Puebla at 1PM local time before the series shifts back to Tijuana for the final two games, if necessary.  The Pericos will send Josh Roenicke to the mound against the Toros' Miguel Pena.  Roenicke, who pitched for four major league teams between 2008 and 2013, was reached for four runs on six hits and four walks over 5.1 innings in Tijuana's 8-2 Serie del Rey opener win on September 5.  Pena started for the Toros that night, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings, but did not get the decision.

Tijuana, Puebla both win series; Serie del Rey rematch set

The Tijuana Toros eliminated Monterrey from further contention for the Mexican League pennant by topping the Sultanes, 4-2, Thursday night in the border city to win their North Division championship series, 4 games to 2.  Manager Pedro Mere's club will advance to the Serie del Rey for a second year in a row against defending champion Puebla after the Pericos knocked out Yucatan, 4-3, Tuesday at home in Game Five of the LMB South finals.  Skipper Tim Johnson's Parrots will seek to bring Puebla its fifth Mexican League crown while the Toros are gunning for Tijuana's first-ever flag.

Since the Toros and Pericos were able to conclude their respective divisional championship sets in less than seven games, they'll be able to rest for four days before colliding in Game One of the Serie del Rey on Tuesday night in Tijuana.  Puebla defeated Tijuana in six games last year to win the pennant.

Jorge Cantu hoists LMB North title trophy
Photo courtesy of Rich McDaniel

TIJUANA 4-7-0, Monterrey 2-10-1
W-H. Ramirez (2-0).  L-A. Castro (0-2).         SV-Urquidez (2).  A-17,987.  T-3:03.

Tijuana starter Horacio Ramirez left the game in the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead and the Toros bullpen combined to hold Monterrey scoreless the rest of the way as TJ held off the Sultanes to clinch the LMB North title for the second year in a row.  A sellout crowd of 17,987 packing Estadio Gasmart was home happy after the home side concluded the set, 4 games to 2. Attendance was strong in this series, with 110,240 fans coming to the six games in both cities for an average of 18,373 per opening.

The Toros jumped on Monterrey starter Angel Castro early by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning.  The first three Tijuana batters reached base as singles from Jose Guadalupe Chavez and Corey Brown bracketed a walk to Roberto Lopez.  Cleanup batter Cyle Hankerd dribbled a grounder to Sultanes third baseman Agustin Murillo, who tagged the base to force Lopez out as Chavez streaked 90 feet to plate the game's first run.  After a Castro wild pitch to Jorge Cantu sent Brown and Hankerd to third and second, respectively, Cantu lofted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Brown.

Monterrey closed their deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second when Daniel Mayora lined a one-out homer over the left field wall, but the Toros responded with two more runs in the bottom of the third.  With one out, Castro plunked Hankerd, and then delivered a pitch to Cantu that the former big leaguer drilled into center field for a double.  Sultanes veteran Chris Roberson fielded the drive and sent in a throw to second sacker Ramon Rios, whose relay to the plate in an attempt to nail Hankerd at home sailed away from catcher Luis Flores' grasp to score both both Hankerd AND Cantu, who never slowed down after coming into second.  Monterrey manager Felix Fermin challenged the play but replays upheld home plate umpire Orlando Lopez' decision.  Castro was replaced on the hill later in the inning by Nick Struck, but the damage was already done and was later proved irreparable.

A Zoilo Almonte solo homer off Ramirez in the fifth brought the visitors to within two runs at 4-2, but relievers Mark Serrano, Juan Sandoval and closer Jason Urquidez held the Sultanes scoreless after Serrano took over for Ramirez in the sixth.  Serrano, Sandoval and Urquidez were all unscored upon over a combined 10.1 innings in ten appearances in the series.

It's been quite a year for Sandoval, a 36-year-old Dominican who was a AA Southern League All-Star n 2013 with Montgomery who led LMB pitchers during the regular season with 62 trips from the bullpen while his 28 holds were eleven more than Monclova reliever Arturo Barradas' 18.  After being touched for two runs in the second game of the Toros first round series with Aguascalientes on August 14, Sandoval has been unscored upon in his seven subsequent playoff appearances.  He didn't even allow a hit in that span until giving up an eighth-inning single to Murillo last night that was quickly wiped out on a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Sandoval has a combined six playoff holds in eight appearances heading into the Puebla series.

Ramirez earned the win after giving up two runs on seven hits (including two homers) and two walks over 5.1 innings, striking out eight Sultanes batsmen, while Urquidez earned his second save of the series.  Castro took the loss in the wake of allowing four runs on five hits, two walks and hitting a batter while throwing 58 pitches in just 2.2 innings.  Struck's own remarkable run as a setup man for Monterrey came to an end.  The Oregonian went 3.1 scoreless innings to bring his playoff string to seven scoreless appearances over 16 innings, adding 15 strikeouts and only walking four.  All, ultimately, for naught as Struck and his Sultanes teammates will head home while Pepe Maiz' favorite team moves on.

PUEBLA 4-9-1, Yucatan 3-11-1
W-Meza (1-0).  L-J. Russell (0-1).                   SV-Heath (3).  A-10,712.  T-2:40.

This one started out as a pitchers' duel, with Puebla starter Andres Meza and Yucatan opener James Russell swapped goose eggs on the scoreboard through four innings, but it was a four-run Pericos outburst in the bottom of the fifth that erased a temporary 1-0 Leones lead and propelled the defending Liga champs to a 4-3 victory and a second consecutive LMB South title over Yucatan, 4 games to 1.  A crowd of 10,712 clicked the turnstiles at Estadio Hermanos Serdan, bringing the three-game total attendance in Puebla to 33,613 and the overall series turnout to 57,613 over five games, an average of 11,523 per contest.

While ex-Cubs hurler Russell sailed through the initial four frames for Yucatan, retiring the first nine Pericos he faced, Meza struggled a bit to hold the fort.  He survived a scare in the top of the second, when Sebastian Valle stroked a one-out double to right and went to third on Ricardo Serrano's single up the middle, putting runners on the corners with one out.  However, Meza was able to get out of that jam by inducing a 5-4-3 double play grounder to third by Jose Aguilar to end the threat.  Leones manager Chico Rodriguez appealed the out at first, but the call by umpire Alan Izaguirre was upheld after a replay review.

Yucatan woke up the scorekeeper in the top of the fifth by manufacturing a run without benefit of a hit. Leadoff hitter Ricardo Serrano reached base when second baseman Hector Garanzuay bobbled his grounder, moved to second when a Meza pitch to Aguilar got past catcher Cesar Tapia, scooted over to third on Aguilar's sacrifice bunt and came in to score on a Julio Borbon sacrifice fly to give the Leones a 1-0 advantage.

The Pericos replied by batting through the order in the bottom of the fifth and scoring four times.  Ricky Rodriguez opened with a single and moved to second when Russell walked Tapia.  Both came in to score when Garanzuay dragged a bunt single down the third base line that Serrano threw past first baseman Ricky Alvarez into right field foul territory while Garanzuay scampered to third.  After Sergio Perez singled in Garanzuay to put Puebla up 3-1 with no outs, Russell was pulled in favor of Yoanner Negrin, who'd pitched in relief for the first time in two-plus years two nights before.  After Alberto Carreon's sacrifice bunt sent Perez to second, Negrin gave up back-to-back singles to Borbon (scoring Perez to make it a 4-1 contest) and Endy Chavez.  That was enough for manager Rodriguez to bring out his hook again to bring in closer Ronald Belisario, who threw out Borbon at home on an Issmael Salas comebacker and got Jesus Arredondo to fly out to center to finally end the inning.

A former Dodgers reliever, Belisario turned in a standout performance by tossing 3.2 shutout innings the rest of the way for the Leones, allowing only a pair of seventh-inning singles.  The 34-year-old Venezuelan had a standout postseason, with a 0.68 ERA in 13.2 innings over seven appearances, picking up three saves. Interestingly, after striking out seven Leon batters over four innings in his first two times out in the Leon series, Belisario failed to whiff a batter in any of his subsequent five trips from the pen against either the Bravos or Pericos for a total of 8.2 innings.

Yuniesky Betancourt brought Yucatan to within a run by belting a two-run homer off Meza's 58th and final pitch in the top of the sixth, but the LMB South's regular season champions were unable to score the rest of the way off four Puebla relievers.  Pericos closer Deunte Heath, who gave up runs in his previous two appearances, went the final two entradas for his third save of the series, allowing no hits and striking out three.

Meza wasn't at his sharpest for the Pericos, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits over 5.2 innings, but it was good enough for the win.  Russell took the loss for Yucatan after letting in four runs (all in the fifth) on five hits and a walk after such a strong start.  Borbon finished with three hits and an RBI for Puebla while Chavez added a pair of singles.  The Leones, who outhit the host team by an 11-9 margin, got two hits apiece from Valle, Juan Francisco and Ivan Araujo.  However, Yucatan went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position while Puebla was 3-for-6 in similar situations.

Ordinarily, without a break between games, Puebla manager Johnson (who took over the team after Von Hayes' midseason firing) might go with Josh Outman as his starter in the championship series against Tijuana while Johnson's counterpart with the Toros, Pedro Mere, would give the ball to Edgar Gonzalez.  However, with four days to rest all their pitchers, either manager might reshuffle their respective rotations prior to Tuesday's Serie del Rey opener in Tijuana.  We'll all see soon enough.

Спасибо за прочтение

Sultanes, Pericos advance; Rieleros tie series with Toros

Monterrey IF Agustin Murillo, during his 2015 stay in Japan

The Monterrey Sultanes and Puebla Pericos completed four-game sweeps of their respective Mexican League division semifinal playoff series Thursday night, the Yucatan Leones took the lead after Game Three of their tilt following Wednesday's rainout in Leon and the fourth-seed Aguascalientes Rieleros tied their series with LMB North champion Tijuana with a big win at home in Estadio Alberto Romo Chavez.

Agustin Murillo's two run single in the sixth inning paced Monterrey's 6-3 series-clinching win in Monclova as the Sultanes advanced to the LMB North championship series, Andres Meza and three relievers combined to blank Quintana Roo, 2-0, as the Pericos scored twice in the ninth to break up a scoreless contest in Cancun, Jose Aguilar's two-run homer highlighted a three-run second in Yucatan's 5-1 win at Leon to take a 3-to-0 lead in that set and a two-run Jose Vargas double was the centerpiece of Aguascalientes' go-ahead, three-run sixth in a series-knotting 3-2 win over the Toros.

With two opening-round series concluded, two games are on the schedule Friday night as Yucatan plays at Leon while Tijuana concludes their three-game visit to Aguascalientes.

Monterrey 6-12-0, MONCLOVA 3-7-0
W-J. Reyes (1-0).  L-M. Lara (0-1).  Sv-Obispo (2).  A-8,500.  T-3:25.
The Sultanes and Acereros were in a 1-1 deadlock until the top of the sixth inning, when Monterrey scored three times to take the lead for good en route to a 6-3 win.  Walter Ibarra singled in Jesus Montero in the second to give the visitors the first run of the game, but Monclova tied it up in the fourth when Carlos Quentin came in from third on Tim Torres' two-out safety.  Veteran infielder Agustin Murillo broke the game open with a two-run single up the middle in the top of the sixth for Monterrey, with Ibarra adding another run-scoring single to post the Sultanes a 4-1 advantage.  The Acereros made it a one-run game in the bottom of the frame when Jose Amador's tripled plated one score and a Torres single brought in another, but that's as close as Monclova got.  Daniel Mayora had two singles and a double to drive in two runs and score another for Monterrey, who completed a four-game sweep.  Jorge Reyes gave up three runs in 5.2 innings for the win.  Mauricio Lara (5.2 IP, 4 ER) took the loss for the Acereros.

AGUASCALIENTES 3-7-2, Tijuana 2-6-1
W-Romero (1-0).  L-M. Serrano (0-1).  Sv-E. Salas (1).  A-5,899.  T-3:02.
The surprising Rieleros, who lost 7 of 9 games to Tijuana during the regular season (including two series sweeps), evened up their division semi set with the Toros with a 3-2 Game Four win at home.  Starters Horacio Ramirez of Tijuana and Aguascalientes' Francisco Moreno traded zeros through four innings before the Toros' Jose Guadalupe Chavez singled in Juan Apodaca with the game's first run in the top of the fifth.  The Railroaders took the lead in the sixth when Jose Vargas' double brought in two runs and a Cristhian Presichi single scored Vargas from second, giving the hosts a 3-1 lead.  Cyle Hankerd's two-out solo homer in the eighth brought Tijuana within a run.  The Toros had two runners on base in the ninth with one down when Roberto Lopez belted what looked to be a sure homer until Dave Sappelt made a leaping catch at the right field wall for the second out.  Edwin Salas then got Oscar Robles to hit a game-ending groundout to second.  Presichi singled twice to lead the Rieleros' seven-hit attack while Apodaca and Corey Brown both hit two singles for Tijuana.  Moreno gave up one run in five innings to earn the win.

Puebla 2-10-0, QUINTANA ROO 0-8-2
W-J. Felix (1-0).  L-Barron (0-1).  Sv-Heath (2).  A-5,306.  T-3:07.
The Pericos closed out their sweep of the Tigres with a 2-0 Game Four shutout during which Puebla starter Andres Meza blanked Quintana Roo on six hits over 5.1 innings and relievers Mario Morales, Julio Felix and Deunte Heath carried the whitewash to its conclusion.  For his part, Tigres hurler Misael Siverio threw six scoreless innings, allowing six hits.  The scorer was unbothered until the top of the ninth, when Puebla's Hector Garanzuay singled in the game's first run and Cesar Tapia came in from third on Sergio Perez' fielder's choice groundout to Tigres reliever Raul Barron.  Heath retired the hosts in order with two strikeouts on 19 pitches to seal the win for the Pericos.  The series sweep serves as delicious irony for Puebla fans who saw 20+ members of their 2016 pennant winners transferred to Monclova in the offseason after owner Gerardo Benavides bought the Acereros, who were founded in 1974 by Benavides' grandfather.  The loaded Steelers ended up getting swept by Monterrey while manager Tim Johnson's scrappy Pericos move on to the LMB South title series.

Yucatan 5-8-0, LEON 1-3-0
W-Samayoa (1-0).  L-Lively (0-1).  A-6,238.  T-2:25.
One night after Wednesday's rainout in Leon, Yucatan built a 4-0 third inning lead and went on the top the Bravos, 5-1, to take a 3-games-to-0 lead in their LMB South semifinal series.  The Leones went up 3-0 in the top of the second inning when Yuniesky Betancourt's run-scoring sacrifice fly was followed by a two-out, two-run homer by Jose Aguilar off Leon starter Mitch Lively.  Yucatan's Leo Heras led off the third with a double, then came in on Diego Madera's single to put the Lions up four runs.  The Bravos' lone tally came in the bottom of the fifth when Niko Vasquez doubled off Yucatan starter Jose Samayoa and scored one out later on a Miguel Torrero single.  Ricky Alvarez' solo homer in the ninth provided the Leones their final margin of victory.  Samayoa carried a no-hitter into the sixth to earn the win as the righty combined with three relievers to limit Leon to three hits on the night.  Lively gave up four runs on seven hits in 6.2 frames to absorb the loss.  The Liga's regular season RBI champ Alvarez homered and doubled, scoring twice for the Leones.

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE
Yucatan (Castellanos, 7-5, 4.73) at Leon (Silva, 8-9, 3.07)
Tijuana (C. Hernandez, 10-2, 2.67) at Aguascalientes (del Rosario, 4-6, 3.71)
Stats are from regular season. Matchups provided by Puro Beisbol.

Run holds through nine as Venados win Game Three

The Mazatlan Venados pushed one run across the plate in the bottom of the first inning and made it stand through the rest of their 1-0 shutout of the Mexicali Aguilas in Game Three of the Mexican Pacific League championship series.  The Venados took a 2-games-to-1 lead in the set with the win, which took just two hours, 21 minutes to complete.

After Mazatlan starter Andres Meza (pictured) blanked Mexicali in the top of the first inning, Jeremias Pineda led off the bottom of the frame for the Venados with a liner up the middle into center field.  After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Justin Greene, Pineda sped in to score on Agustin Murillo's seeing-eye single over second base.  On the play, Aguilas centerfielder Chris Roberson threw a strike to first baseman C.J. Retherford after Murillo rounded first toward second, and Retherford threw the ball to shortstop Ramon Urias, who applied the tag for the out, but the damage was done.

Meza then trotted out to the mound for the second, third, fourth and fifth innings, retiring nine batsmen in a row at one point before allowing consecutive singles to Yuniesky Betancourt and Alex Liddi in the fourth (the only two hits he gave up) before retiring Roberson to end the inning followed by a 1-2-3 fifth before calling it a night.  Meza struck out five Aguilas batters and walked none, throwing 38 of his 50 pitches for strikes en route to his third playoff win.

Mexicali made one last-ditch effort in the eighth when Ramon Urias led off with a ground-rule double down the left-field line off Sergio Valenzuela, then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Jon Del Campo.  Walter Ibarra then sent a hard-hit grounder in the gap between first and second that would've scored Urias from third, but Mazatlan first sacker Cyle Hankerd made a diving stop to his right, looked Urias back to his base and tagged first to put Ibarra out.  Steven Hensley then came in for Valenzuela and struck out Retherford swinging to end the threat.  Hensley pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth playoff save.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Aguilas, especially starter Hector Daniel Roriguez, who was brilliant in the first complete-game outing in three rounds of postseason play.  Rodriguez went all eight innings on the hill for Mexicali, scattering five hits (none for extra bases), walking none and striking out six while throwing seven scoreless frames after the fateful first.  Pinedas had two of those hits for the Venados.  Liddi had two hits for the Aguilas, who had seven on the night but none when it mattered as Mexicali was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Game Four will be Sunday in Mazatlan.

MAZATLAN 1-5-1, Mexicali 0-7-1
W-A. Meza (3-1).  L-H. Rodriguez (2-1).  T-2:21.  A-15,400.

Mexican League Results of Saturday, Apr. 23

PUEBLA 6-9-0, Quintana Roo 0-3-0
W-Meza (5-1). L-Etherton (1-2).
Pericos starter Andres Meza (pictured) becomes LMB’s first 5-game winner with 3-hit gem, striking out 9 and walking 1.

OAXACA 5-9-0, Yucatan 3-13-0
W-Reyes (1-0). L-Rivera (1-4).
Erick Rodriguez cranks a 3-run homer in 1st frame and Guerreros never look back, negating 3-run bomb by Yucatan’s Raul Sanchez.

MEXICO CITY 7-7-0, Minatitlan 2-7-0
W-Dessens (1-0). L-Solis (2-3).
Former MLBer Elmer Dessens gets first win of year in relief with 4 innings of 1-run ball for Diablos.

Reynosa 9-15-3, MONTERREY 8-13-2
W-Castillo (2-0). L-Ramirez (0-3).
Adan Munoz goes 3-for-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs, including a 2-run homer in 8th that puts Broncos up for good.

CAMPECHE 8-13-1, Monclova 6-9-0
W-Sandoval (1-1). L-Acosta (1-3).
Piratas score 5 runs in 5th to take 8-1 lead, holds off late Monclova comeback as Ruben Rivera socks 15th homer to tie for Liga lead.

Saltillo 7-13-2, VERACRUZ 3-8-0 (10)
W-Rivera (1-0). L-Gonzalez (0-1).
Jesus Cota crashes grand slam as Saraperos plate 5 runs in top of 10th to build insurmountable lead.

TABASCO 6-10-2, Laguna 2-7-0
W-Vizcarra (3-0). L-Delgadillo (1-2).
Ramon Orantes doubles, walks and scores twice for Olmecas as starter William Vizcarra scatters 2 runs in 6 innings.

MEXICAN LEAGUE HANDS OUT MORE AWARDS

On the heels of Dionys Cesar receiving the Most Valuable Player award, the Mexican League has announced more top honors for the 2009 season.

Puebla pitcher Andres Meza was named Pitcher of the Year. The 23-year-old Meza led the Liga with 15 wins, finishing 15-2 with a 2.72 ERA and two shutouts over 125.2 innings pitched. The Culiacan native debuted with the Pericos in 2007.

Quintana Roo closer Scott Chiasson was named Reliever of the Year. The Norwich, Connecticut product helped lift the Tigres to the LMB Championship Series with a league-high 34 saves, ending the year with a 4-2 record and 2.61 ERA.

Japhet Amador was named Rookie Player of the Year after splitting his first season between Minatitlan and Veracruz. The 22-year-old infielder batted .306 with 21 homers and 74 RBIs in 106 games for the Petroleros and Aguilas.

Mexico City pitcher Juan Pablo Oramos was selected Rookie Pitcher of the Year after going 9-1 for the Diablos and tying Campeche ace Francisco Campos for the ERA title at 2.31. A 19-year-old lefty, Oramos is a Tabasco native.