Mexicali rests; CS semifinal field determined

The 3-and-0 Mexicali Aguilas enjoyed a day off Saturday as their spot in the 2017 Caribbean Series bye rotation came up.  It was a rest well-earned by manager Roberto Vizcarra's troops, whose Mexican Pacific League playoff pennant run was marked by a potent offense but it's been the pitching staff that's distinguished them at the CS in Culiacan with a microscopic three-game ERA of 1.33 as Hector Daniel Rodriguez, Hector Valenzuela and Barry Enright have all registered standout starts.

They've had plenty of breathing room, as the Aguilas offense has average .324 as a team for an average of 5.33 runs per game.  Four Mexicali batsmen are hitting .400 or better, led by Jason Bourgeois at .500.  Including last year's title run by Mazatlan, Mexican teams have now won nine games in a row at the Serie del Caribe.  The last loss by an MexPac in the CS occurred February 8, 2015 when Culiacan fell to Cuba's Pinar del Rio Vegueros, 3-2, in the championship game.

It'll be a Cuban team that'll attempt to derail Mexicali Sunday when the 2-and-1 Granma Alazanes take on the Aguilas at 5:00pm MST (0000 UTC) in Culiacan's Estadio Tomateros to wrap up CS Day Five.


ZULIA (VZ) Aguilas 8-15-0, Granma (CU) Alazanes 3-10-2

Freddy Galvis and Ronny Cedeno combined for six hits, three runs and three RBIs at the top of the Zulia order as the Venezuelan champion Aguilas beat Cuba's National Series champs Granma, 8-3, Saturday night as 14,973 onlookers watched in Culiacan.  The Zulia win knots both the Aguilas and Alazanes into a second-place tie with 2-1 records.  Both clubs were assured slots in Monday's semifinals after Caguas beat Licey in Saturday's opener.

Zulia grabbed the early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, two of them coming in on Jose Castillo's slow roller to short resulted in an infield single to score Galvis, followed by a throwing error by Granma shortstop Alexander Ayala to bring in Cedeno.  A subsequent Alex Romero single plated Rene Reyes with the Aguilas' third run.  Granma tied the contest in the top of the second when Carlos Benitez belted a three-run homer to left.  Cedeno singled in Galvis to put the Venezuelans back on top, 4-3, in the bottom of the fourth, but it was the fifth when Zulia effectively put the game out of reach by scoring three more runs as Galvis scorched a two-run double for the key blow to make it a 7-3 Aguilas advantage and one more Zulia run in the seventh closed the scoring for the day.

Besides the batwork of Galvis and Cedeno, Romero and Reyes each had two hits for Zulia.  Benitez, William Saavedra and Roel Santos each had two hits for Granma.  Wil Ledezma pitched 2.2 innings of shutout relief ball to earn the win while reliever Yoelvis Entenza (4.1 IP, 3 ER) took the loss for the Alazanes.


CAGUAS (PR) Criollos 10-11-0, Licey (DR) Tigres 2-5-2

Cuban exile Rusney Castillo set an early tone with a first-inning, two-run homer as Caguas avoided a winless appearance at the Caribbean Series by beating Licey, 10-2, in Saturday afternoon's Day Four opener at Culiacan.  The Criollos have completed the round robin stage with a 1-3 record while Licey drops to 0-3.  Even if the Tigres beat Venezuela's Zulia Sunday in their Day Five matchup, Licey would still miss the final four to to their loss to Caguas, which in effect got the one win they needed when they needed it.

The score remained at 2-0 after Castillo's longball into the bottom of the fourth, when the Puerto Rican  pennant-winners added another run when Jorge Padilla scored from third on a Jonathan Morales sacrifice fly.  Licey got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth with their lone two runs of the game as Zoilo Almonte lined a single to right to bring Engel Beltre and Anderson Hernandez to whittle the Criollos lead to one at 3-2.  That was as close as Licey would get, with Caguas scoring three times in the fifth as the Tigres self-destructed with two errors and added three more in the sixth behind Ivan De Jesus Jr.'s two-run double that gave Caguas a 9-2 lead.  Castillo's RBI single in the eighth was the cherry on the whipped cream for the Criollos, who outhit the Dominicans by an 11-to-5 margin for the game.

DeJesus finished the game with three hits, three runs and two RBIs while it was a three-hit night for the Criollos' David Vidal.  Beltre had two of Licey's five hits.  Andres Santiago pitched 2.1 innings in relief of Caguas starter John Brownell to earn the win, while nine-year minor leaguer Bryan Evans took the loss for Licey, going 2.1 innings and allowing two runs in the start.

The Tigres will close out their round robin portion of their schedule against Venezuela's Zulia Aguilas Sunday at 1:00pm MST (2000 UTC) in Culiacan.


Caribbean Series standings
3-0  Mexicali (MX) Aguilas
2-1  Granma (CU) Alazanes
2-1  Zulia (VZ) Aguilas
1-3  Caguas (PR) Criollos
0-3  Licey (DR) Tigres

Sunday's schedule
Licey at Zulia, 1:00pm MST (2000 UTC)
Mexcali at Granma, 5:00pm MST (0000 UTC)
Caguas bye

Valle walkoff grand slam gives Mexicali a win, berth in CS semis

Friday night's "Battle of the Eagles" between the Mexican Pacific League champion Mexicali Aguilas and Venezuela's flag-bearing Zulia Aguilas was a knucklebiting pitcher's duel throughout.  However, the contest ended with a clap of thunder when Mexicali's Sebastian Valle (a reinforcement catcher from LMP finalist Los Mochis) pole-axed a full-count pitch for a grand slam home run to hand Mexicali a 5-1 win in a Day Three-ending thriller at Culiacan's Estadio Tomateros.  With the win, the MexPac champs punched their ticket to the Caribbean Series Final Four as the club from Baja California Norte continues their quest to be the fifth CS champ from Mexico since 2011.

MEXICALI (MX) Aguilas 5-8-1, Zulia (VZ) Aguilas 1-7-2

This one had fans on the edge of their seats from the beginning.  Mexicali's Barry Enright and Zulia's Carlos Hernandez swapped zeros through the first two innings before the Venezuelans struck for a run in the top of the third.  Jonathan Herrera poked an 0-and-2 Enright delivery into left field for a leadoff single, followed by a first-pitch groundout by Ali Castillo that moved Herrera into scoring position.  After Freddy Galvis struck out when Mexicali catcher Valle snagged a Galvis foul tip for strike three, Jose Castillo poked a single up the middle to drive Herrera home from second to give Zulia a 1-0 lead.  Valle led off the bottom of the third with a line-drive double to center and reached third on Isaac Rodriguez' sacrifice bunt, but died 90 feet away from paydirt when Chris Roberson and Jason Bourgeois (two of Thursday night's heroes) both flew out to end the inning.

Neither team advanced a rare baserunner to second from that point until the top of the sixth when Zulia's Rene Reyes drew a two-out walk from Manny Barreda (a surprise pick by Mexicali manager Roberto Vizcarra to relieve Enright after the fifth) and scooted third on Alex Romero's single.  As Jesus Flores was batting, however, Reyes was picked off third by a snap throw from Valle for the receiver's second big play behind the plate of the night.

Mexicali finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth.  Bourgeois stroked a one-out single off Hernandez and, one out later, sped around the bases to score from first on C.J. Retherford's single, beating the throw to the plate from Zulia leftfielder Jose Pirela to tie the contest.  Retherford advanced to second on the throw. Hernandez issued an intentional walk to Luis Juarez to set up a force at any base for the final out.  Zulia manager Lipso Nava (whose return next winter was announced this week) came out and replaced Hernandez with Romulo Sanchez.  Ronnier Mustelier topped a roller to deep short that Galvis was unable to make a play on for an infield single to load the bags, but Sanchez struck out Agustin Murillo on four pitches to kill the rally.

The game continued with no further nudging of the scorer until the fateful bottom of the ninth.  Incoming Zulia reliever Pedro Rodriguez started out with two strikes on Juarez, who rapped pitch number three through the right side of the infield for a single.  Mustelier followed by laying down a bunt, which Rodriguez picked up and threw to second to force Juarez.  Instead, the throw sailed into center field, allowing Juarez to continue to third while Mustelier was safe at first.  Vizcarra sent in Jesse Castillo to pinch-hit for Murillo and was rewarded when Castillo finagled a walk on five pitches.  That brought up Valle, who was 1-for-3 on the night.  The Mariners minor leaguer fell behind 1-2 in the count before working Rodriguez into a full count before sending the payoff pitch sailing into left field bleachers to end the game, sending the 24,065 mostly-partisan fans in the overflowing stands into a state of ecstasy as the Mexican champions tightened their grip on first place in the CS standings.

Although Enright (5 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 5 K) turned in Mexicali's third outstanding start in as many nights, it was longtime MLBer Oliver Perez (a son of Culiacan) who got the win after tossing a scoreless ninth on another Vizcarra hunch as Sergio Romo and Jake Sanchez both received a second straight night off.  Zulia starter Hernandez (5.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3K) matched Enright's work and certainly pitched well enough to win, but it was the luckless Rodriguez (who never did retire a batter) who was tagged with the loss.  Valle, Bourgeois and Juarez each had two of Mexicali's eight hits while Romero went 3-for-4 for Zulia.

Mexicali has a perfect 3-0 record and a semifinals berth going into into Saturday's bye.  As for Sebastian Valle, he has a night he'll share memories of with his grandsons years from now.


GRANMA (CU) Alazanes 6-12-0, Caguas (PR) Criollos 1-8-1

First baseman William Saavedra had three hits, including a two-run homer, and starter Vladimir Garcia allowed one run over six innings as the Granma Alazanes took it to the Caguas Criollos, 6-1, in Friday's opening game in Culiacan.  The win clinched a semifinal berth for the Cubans while the winless Puerto Ricans will have to win their final round robin game Saturday against Licey to even have a chance at the Final Four.

Granma (named after a Cuban province and not the national newspaper, as earlier reported) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Denis Laza reached first after grounding into a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on Carlos Benitez' single off Caguas starter Jarret Leverett.  The Criollos knotted the game up in the top of the third, with Jonathan Morales plating a run on Eddie Rosario's sacrifice fly to center.

The Alazanes broke the game open by posting three runs in the bottom of the third.  Alfredo Despaigne singled in one run, another came in on Saavedra's double and Benitez' sac fly to right scored the third run of the inning, giving the Cuban National Series champs a 4-1 lead.  Saavedra's two-run bomb in the seventh gave Granma their final margin of victory,

Over his six innings of work for the win, Garcia allowed one run on five hits.  Leverett took the loss after being yanked with one out in the third.  The lefty from Georgia Southern let in four runs on six hits and a walk.


CARIBBEAN SERIES Standings
3-0  Mexicali (MEX) Aguilas
2-0  Granma (CU) Alazanes
1-1  Zulia (VZ) Aguilas
0-2  Licey (DR) Tigres
0-3  Caguas (PR) Criollos

Saturday's Schedule
Licey at Caguas, 1:00pm MST (2000 UTC)
Granma at Zulia, 5:00pm MST (0000 UTC)
Mexicali bye

Los Mochis, Mexicali win classic Game Sevens, will play for LMP pennant

Sebastian Valle's two-run double was the key blow in a three-run seventh inning as Los Mochis punched their ticket to the Mexican Pacific League championship series Thursday night with a 3-1 home win over Culiacan.  The Caneros will face Mexicali, who reached the title series thanks to a Herculean performance from closer Jake Sanchez (pictured), who pitched 7.2 innings of scoreless relief as the Aguilas outlasted Hermosillo, 4-3, in 16 innings.

LOS MOCHIS 3-6-1, Culiacan 1-8-2

This one was a pitcher's duel all the way, as Caneros starter Roy Merritt locked horns with his Culiacan counterpart, Zack Dodson as the two Texans traded zeros on the scoreboard through five innings. Tomateros rightfielder Joey Meneses led off the third with the game's first hit on a single, but died there as Merritt retired the next three batters in order.  Culiacan finally broke through with the first score of the night in the top of the sixth.  Veteran Jose Manuel "Manny" Rodriguez started things off with a one-out single, then moved to third when Ramiro Pena lashed a double to third.  After intentionally walking Eugenio Velez to load the bases, Merritt was replaced by Isaac Rodriguez, who plunked Issmael Salas with his first pitch to give Rodriguez an easy stroll home to put the Tomateros ahead, 1-0.  That was all it took for Mochis manager Luis Sojo to yank Salas and bring in Santiago Gutierrez.  After Gutierrrez got Oscar Robles to pop out in foul territory, Sojo then waved Jon Sintes in from the bullpen to end the inning on a Meneses fly out.

Dodson carried the lead into the bottom of the seventh, when the game turned.  After giving up a leadoff single to Leandro Castro on his 87th pitch of the night, Dodson was pulled by Cuiliacan skipper Che Reyes in favor of middleman David Goforth.  The Brewers righty was able to get Saul Soto to foul out to leftfielder Ryan Lollis but then walked Yosmany Guerra on five pitches to put two men on with Valle coming up.  The newly-acquired Mariners farmhand drilled a 2-and-1 Goforth offering into right field for a two-bagger to bring in Castro and Guerra, giving the Caneros the lead, with Valle advancing to third on a Rodriguez throwing error.  That was enough for manager Reyes, who called in MLB vet Oliver Perez to face pinch-hitter Sergio Garcia.  The Nationals right-hander struck out Garcia for the second out but was then tagged for a triple to right by Velez, with Valle crossing the plate to make it a 3-1 Mochis lead and that was all she wrote for the visitors.  Sergio Romo tossed two scoreless innings for his fifth playoff save to end the game and close the series for the Caneros.

Sintes was credited with the win for his perfect one-and-a-third innings of pitching, but the table was more than set by Merritt's 5.1 opening innings of work.  The seven-year Mets minor leaguer let up six hits with one runner scoring in a solid performance.  As good as the 31-year-old lefty was, Dodson may have been a little better as the one-time Pirates fourth-rounder allowed just two hits and two walks in six frames, allowing one run and striking out four.  Goforth took the loss for the Tomateros as another sellout crowd of 11,132 at Estadio Emilio Ibarra celebrated the Caneros moving one step closer to their first pennant since 2002-03.

MEXICALI 4-18-1, Hermosillo 3-12-1

The "other" semifinal was likewise a pitching-dominated matchup as Hermosillo and Mexicali took their fight into double overtime before the Aguilas finally shook off the Narajeros, 44-3, in 16 innings.  The contest looked like it might turn into a slugfest as both teams scored twice in the first inning.  Hermosillo  got on the board when O'Koyea Dickson singled in Jason Bourgeois and Carlos Gastelum came in on a Jose Amador safety, both off Aguilas starter Kameron Loe.  The Aguilas punched back when Chris Roberson led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a Yuniesky Betancourt double one out later.  Betancourt subsequently moved to third on a C.J. Retherford single and scored when Luis Juarez hit a sacrifice fly to right.

The 2-2 score held until the top of the fifth, when Dickson lofted his third homer in two nights into the left field bleachers off a Barry Enright serving, but the hosts came back in the seventh on Yordanys Linares' two-out single to left that plated Ramon Rios.  Linares tried taking second on the hit but was thrown out by Dickson in left. After that, it was nothing but goose eggs on the board inning after inning as the game ended at 2:33AM local time.  The contest finally concluded in the bottom of the 16th, beginning with Roberson's leadoff single off Hector Galvan.  The ex-Phil then advanced to second on a Jon Del Campo sacrifice bunt, took third when Betacourt singled and eventually scored the semi-winning run when LMP bat champ Luis Suarez poked a bases-loaded single to right off Hermosillo reliever Wilmer Rios.

Loe was touched for five hits and two runs in the first, only getting one batter out.  One-time Braves prospect Edgar Osuna pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit shutout ball after relieving Loe, but it was closer Jake Sanchez who reached back for Mexicali with an outing that legends are made of.  The 2013 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year entered the contest in the top of the eighth and pitched into the 15th, blanking the Orangemen over 7.2 frames on two hits and two walks while racking up eleven K's in a 116-pitch performance.  Javier Solano took over for Sanchez and was credited with the win, but the mound belonged to the Cal Baptist product Thursday night as 13,110 fans were in the stands at Estadio B'Air when the game began.

Enright had a fair start for Hermosillo, giving up three runs in 6.2 innings with no walks.  Six relievers combined to held the Aguilas scoreless until the end.  Galvan suffered the loss despite 3.1 otherside good innings in which he let up only two hits and struck out two.  Betancourt and Juarez each had four of the Aguilas' 18 hits while Amador finished with four hits of his own.

Culiacan ties series, Hermosillo gets first semi win

Issmael Salas had two run-scoring singles and longtime MLBer Oliver Perez (pictured) retired all four batters he faced to earn the win in relief as Culiacan defeated Los Mochis, 4-1, Sunday in front of 16,675 aficionados at Estadio de los Tomateros, evening their Mexican Pacific League semifinal series with the Caneros at two games apiece.  In the other MexPac Final Four contest, Barry Enright gave up one run on six hits over eight innings to pitch Hermosillo to a 2-1 knucklebiter win over Mexicali at Estadio Sonora as 16,572 looked on.  The Naranjeros now trail Mexicali, 2 games to 1, after Saturday's game in Hermosillo was rained out.

Game Four between the Tomateros and Mochis is set for Monday night in Culiacan while Game Three of the Naranjeros-Aguilas matchup will be held in Hermosillo.


CULIACAN 4-11-0, Los Mochis 1-7-2

Tomateros starter Edgar Gonzalez gave manager Enrique "Che" Reyes a few anxious moments after retiring the first seven Caneros batters he faced. Gonzalez allowed a Sebastian Valle solo homer and a Juan Carlos Gamboa double in the third inning, then served up a leadoff two-bagger to former Twins outfielder Lew Ford in the fourth before issuing subsequent one-out walks to J.C. Linares and Saul Soto. That was enough for skipper Reyes to bring his hook to the mound, replacing the ex-Diamondbacks hurler with Dennys Reyes (no relation).  The latter, who pitched for eleven MLB teams from 1997 to 2011, has a ballpark named after him in his hometown of Higuera de Zaragoza, Sinaloa

After Reyes and Hector Navarro combined to stop the bleeding, Culiacan got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Salas singled in Jose Manuel Rodriguez from third to tie things up at 1-1.  The score remained unchanged until the Tomateros took the lead in the seventh when Ramiro Pena poked a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Maxwell Leon from second.  Culiacan posted a pair of insurance runs in the eighth as Salas singled in Rodriguez off reliever Jon Sintes and Ali Solis lofted a Santiago Guerrero pitch to Linares in right field for a sac fly to plate Sebastian Elizalde from third, bringing the score to 4-1.  It was left to Derrick Loop to finish things up in the ninth, which he did to earn his third playoff save and even the series at 2 games to 2.

Oliver Perez came in for the Tomateros to get the final out of the sixth inning, then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to pick up the win.  The 34-year-old Culiacan native appeared in 64 MLB games for the Nationals last summer, going 2-3 with a 4.95 ERA in a middleman role.  After Gonzalez was lifted, six pitchers combined to hold Mochis scoreless on four hits from the fourth inning on.  Julian Arballo took the loss for the Caneros in a hard-luck outing.  The former Yankees minor leaguer pitched well enough to win, allowing two runs in seven innings, but it's hard to get the W when your teammates score only one run and go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.


HERMOSILLO 2-6-1, Mexicali 1-6-1

After allowing 24 runs over two losses in Mexicali, the Naranjeros needed a good pitching performance to keep from falling behind 3-0 in their series with the Aguilas and Barry Enright provided the tonic.  The former D-backs and Dodgers hurler turned in a sparkling eight-inning start, letting in just one Mexicali run while scattering six hits and striking out five as Hermosillo pulled off a 2-1 come-from-behind win.

Enright and the Orangemen fell behind, 1-0, in the top of the fourth when Yuniesky Betancourt stroked a leadoff double, eventually moved to third when Hermosillo centerfielder Jason Bourgeois misplayed Efren Navarro's fly ball, and then scored the first run of the night when Agustin Murillo grounded out to Naranjeros shortstop Jorge Flores.  It looked like that one run might hold up, as Mexicali starter Kameron Loe pitched beautifully, retiring eleven batters in a row before giving up a Tim Torres double in the fifth.  The Naranjeros were able to load the bases with two out against Loe in the bottom of the sixth, but manager Lorenzo Bundy replaced Loe with Jose Meraz, who induced Dustin Martin to tap a comebacker to the mound for an inning-ending groundout.  The Naranjeros finally tied the game in the bottom of the eighth when Bourgeois hit a leadoff single up the middle off Fautino De Los Santos, stole second, took third on a Carlos Gastelum single and scored when Aguilas closer Jake Sanchez (who may be human after all) allowed an O'Koyea DIckson single.  Sanchez allowed another single to Jose Amador to score Gastelum, giving the Naranjeros a 2-1 advantage.  Rafael Martin, who spent some MLB time with Washington last year, was brought in and got the final three outs, as pinch-hitter Adan Munoz struck out swinging to end the game.

It was a pitcher's night on both sides, with Gastelum collecting two singles for the only multiple-hit game for either team.  Enright ran his playoff record to 3-0 with the win and Martin earned his third save in the postseason.  Loe ended up going 5.2 innings and giving up just two hits and three walks.  Neither run Sanchez allowed was charged to him, keeping his season-long total of earned runs allowed at one (1), while throwing 10 of his 11 pitches for strikes.  For one night, though, the native of Brawley, Calfornia (as are Los Mochis' Julian Arballo and Sergio Romo, who has yet to pitch in the other semi) couldn't seal the deal.

Mexicali advances, LMP semi field determined

The Mexicali Aguilas were stretched to ten innings before finally winning in Navojoa, 6-4, Sunday night to win their Mexican Pacific League playoff series, 4 games to 2, and join Los Mochis in the LMP semifinals. In Sunday's other first round game, Hermosillo snuck past Culiacan, 5-4, at Estadio de los Tomateros.  That series is tied at three games apiece, meaning both teams will advance to the Final Four regardless of Monday night's Game Seven outcome because the series loser will have three wins, more than Navojoa's two victories and Mazatlan's one to qualify for the fourth "Lucky Loser" berth coming out of the opening round's three series.


Mexicali 6-13-2, NAVOJOA 4-9-2

Jon Del Campo (pictured) broke a 4-4 tie in the top of the tenth inning by scoring on Emmanuel Avila's bases-loaded groundout as the Mexicali Aguilas went on to beat Navojoa, 6-4, Sunday to win their opening round series in six games.  A crowd of 10,976 nearly filled Navojoa's Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria.

The Mayos scored in the bottom of the first inning when Alan Sanchez singled in Yosmany Guerra from second base with the game's first run.  The hosts then made it a 3-0 lead in the third on back-to-back RBI singles from Sanchez and Jesus Castillo off Mayos starter Kameron Loe.  Mexicali came back to knot the game up with three fourth-inning runs, starting with C.J. Retherford's leadoff homer off Mayos starter Troy Marks, who went on to give up one more run on a Del Campo single and load the bases before issuing a two-out walk to Yordanys Linares that pushed Del Campo across with the tying run.  The Aguilas took the lead in the fifth on Xorge Carrillo's run-scoring single, but Navojoa fought back with a tally in the bottom of the frame when Quincy Latimore singled in Guerra with the latter's third run of the game.

Both teams swapped zeros from the sixth through the ninth frames to send to contest into overtime, when Mayos reliever Esteban Haro loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the tenth.  Pinch-hitter Avila then sent a grounder to Navojoa first sacker Castillo, who tagged first for the out and then threw home to force Del Campo at the plate, but catcher Omar Renteria failed to make the catch and Mexicali took the lead.  Mayos manager Matias Carrillo finaly gave Haro the hook, but the damage proved irreversable.  Jesus Garcia intentionally walked Yuniesky Betancourt to fill the bases for Retherford, whose sacrifice fly to left plated Ramon Rios to give the Aguilas a 6-4 advantage.  It was then left to Mexicali closer Jake Sanchez to finish the job for the series-clinching win (and his third playoff save) by pitching a scoreless tenth.

Jose Manuel Lopez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Aguilas to earn the win while Haro, who'd also tossed a scoreless ninth, took the loss.  Del Campo finished with a perfect 4-for-4 night for Mexicali batting from the eighth slot in the order while Retherford went 2-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and two runs scored.  Latimore had three singles for the Mayos, who'd been the top seed when the playoffs opened.


Hermosillo 5-9-3, CULIACAN 4-4-1

Carlos Gastelum scored the go-ahead run on O'Koyea Dickson's seventh-inning sacrifice fly and Hermosillo went on to record a 5-4 win before 15,643 onlookers in Culiacan Sunday night.  The first-round series is tied after six games, meaning both teams will advance to the MexPac semifinals no matter what happens in Monday's Game Seven at Estadio de los Tomateros.  Whoever falls short in tonight's game will still have won three games in the series, qualifying for the fourth semi seed as the first round's "lucky loser" team.

The game was a scoreless tie going into the bottom of the fourth inning, when Culiacan pushed four runs across against Hermosillo starter Barry Enright.  With two out, Issmael Salas stroked a two-run single off Enright followed by a two-run homer by Jose Manuel Orozco.  The Naranjeros fought back with three runs in the top of the fifth, keyed by Gastelum's two-run, bases-loaded single and a Dickson sac fly that brought in Jason Bourgeois from third.  The Tomateros were clinging to their 4-3 lead going into the top of the seventh, when reliever David Goforth gave up a leadoff single to Jorge Flores and induced a Bourgeois pop out to second before walking Gastelum.  Efren Navarro's grounder to short was misplayed by Ramiro Pena, allowing Flores to score the tying run from second while Gastelum went from first to third.  Dickson then lofted his second run-scoring sac fly of the night to center, as Gastelum beat Maxwell Leon's thrown to the plate to give the Naranjeros their first lead of the game.  It was then left to Enright and two relievers to hold the Tomateros scoreless over their final three frames to seal the win.

Enright finished with seven innings to earn his second victory of the series, allowing just four hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  None of the four runs he allowed were earned, due to a fourth-inning fielding error by Flores at shortstop on Jose Manuel Rodriguez leadoff grounder, which should've been the first out (instead, four runs scored with two outs registered).  Nationals farmhand Rafael Martin, who was a midseason All-Star last summer with AAA Syracuse, earned his second postseason save.  Goforth was saddled with both the blown save and the loss for Culiacan.

Mochis goes up 2-0 on Venados, other series tied 1-1

The Los Mochis Caneros pulled off a 6-4 comeback win over visiting Mazatlan Tuesday to take a 2 games to 0 lead in their Mexican Pacific League first round playoff series.  Elsewhere in MexPac postseason play Tuesday night, Mexicali won 7-6 in Navojoa to even that set at a game apiece while Hermosillo knotted their series with Culiacan after two games by taking a 6-4 road win.  Wednesday will be a travel day before Mazatlan, Mexicali and Hermosillo host Game Threes of their respective series on Thursday night.


LOS MOCHIS 6-11-0, Mazatlan 4-4-0

J.C. Linares and Leandro Castro hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the sixth inning while Eugenio Velez and Saul Soto added key longballs later to lead the Caneros' 11-hit attack against Mazatlan.  Linares, Velez and Soto each finished with two hits as 10,353 watched at Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada in Los Mochis.

Venados first baseman Carlos Munoz crushed a three-run homer off Caneros starter Manny Barreda in the fourth inning to put Mazatlan ahead 3-1.  After Linares and Castro tied the game at 3-3 with their next-door-neighbor homers in the sixth, the Venados regained the lead in the top of the seventh on a homer from venerable shortstop Heber Gomez. In the bottom of the frame, Velez (pictured) went deep for two runs to put Mochis ahead for good and Soto added an insurance solo shot to cap the Caneros' three-run seventh and end the night's scoring.

Despite being touched for four runs over seven innings, Barreda gor the win for the Caneros, striking out six along the way.  Reliever Matias Carrillo Jr. took the loss for Mazatlan after giving up Munoz' homer.  Carrillo has had an interesting winter.  After showing an 8.64 ERA with 8 walks in 11 appearances with Obregon, he landed in Mazatlan, where he had a 1.50 ERA and no walks in 10 trips from the bullpen.


Mexicali 7-11-3, NAVOJOA 6-12-3

C.J. Retherford belted a tiebreaking solo homer to left in the top of the seventh inning and joined his Mexicali teammates in holding Navojoa scoreless over their last three frames as the Aguilas held on for a 7-6 win before 10,497 onlookers at the Mayos' Estadio Manuel "Ciclon" Echeverria Tuesday.

Mexicali was trailing 1-0 before breaking out for four runs in the top of the fourth as batting champ Luis Juarez doubled in Retherford and Agustin Murrillo.  The host Mayos roared back for five runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. The usually sure-handed Chris Roberson had a play that he won't soon forget, misjudging an Alejandro Gonzalez fly ball for one error aand then making an errant throw from center field.  When the dust settled, two Navojoa runs had scored.  Quincy Latimore later lined a single up the middle that brought in two more Mayo runs to make it five for the frame and a 6-4 Navojoa lead.  The Aguilas chipped away with single runs in the fifth and sixth to knot the score, setting the stage for Retherford's winning blast in the seventh.

After Mexicali starter Kameron Loe was reached for six runs (three unearned) in 4.2 innings, former Braves prospect Edgar Osuna came in with the Mayos leading 6-5.  Osuna pitched 1.1 shutout frames to earn the win, couresty of Retherford's homer.  Navojoa reliever Jesus Garcia, who served the fateful pitch to Retherford, was also tagged for the loss.


Hermosillo 6-10-2, CULIACAN 4-9-2

Tim Torres smacked a two-run homer to key a three-run sixth inning that stretched visiting Hermosillo's lead to 6-1, and the Naranjeros shrugged off a three-run eighth by Culiacan to outlast the Tomateros, 6-4, on Tuesday night.  A crowd of 16,561 aficionados at Estadio de los Tomateros went home disappointed.

Hermosillo took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third, Efren Navarro providing the heavy artillery with a two-run double to key the entrada.  Ryan Lollis singled in Jose Manuel Orozco to put Culiacan on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth, but Torres' fence-clearing shot to right one inning later ultimately put the game out of reach for the home team. The Naranjeros bullpen had a nightmarish eighth as three relievers endured a three-run frame that saw Jose Manuel Rodriguez score on an infield error and Joey Meneses trot in from third on Ali Solis' bases-loaded walk to bring the score to 6-4.  Meneses opened the inning's scoring with an RBI single and his crossing the plate ended it.

Starter Barry Enright gave Hermosillo 5.1 strong innings, letting in one run on four hits with three strikeouts.  Edgar Gonzalez took the loss for Culiacan after giving up a leadoff double by Dustin Martin and an RBI single by O'Koyea Dickson to stake the visitors a 5-4 lead.  Nationals farmhand Rafael Martin earned the save after issuing Solis' bases-loaded walk in the eight by working through a scoreless ninth.

Caneros' Barreda spins no-no vs. Hermosillo

He needed nearly 140 pitches to do it, but Los Mochis pitcher Manny Barreda tossed the first no-hitter of the current Mexican Pacific League season when the Caneros shut out Hermosillo, 2-0, last Saturday.  A crowd of 4,205 was on hand at Mochis' Estadio Emilio Ibarra Almada for the contest, which lasted 2 hours, 25 minutes as Barreda evened his record at 2-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.63.

Despite the high number of pitches, Barreda allowed just one third-inning walk to Jorge Flores and struck out nine Naranjeros batsmen as 92 of his 138 deliveries went for strikes.  In all, just two Hermosillo batsmen reached base as Caneros first sacker Saul Soto committed an error in the ninth inning to end Barreda's string of 18 consecutive retired batters after Flores' free pass.  The 28-year-old Arizona native's gem overshadowed a fine start by the Naranjeros' Barry Enright, as the former Diamondbacks and Angels hurler pitched five innings of one-run ball in his second start of the winter but was tagged with the loss.

Mochis took a 1-0 lead off Enright in the fifth frame when Leandro Castro lined his 12th double of the season to left field with two out and came around to score when Rudy Amador followed him with a single to right.  The Caneros manufactured an insurance run one inning later as Isaac Rodriguez led off with a single up the middle against reliever Raul Barron, moved to second on Ramon Urias' sacrifice bunt, took third on Jesus Arredondo's ground-out to second and came in on a J.C. Linares double to left.

Barreda is a native of Sahuarita, Arizona who was a 12th round pick of the New York Yankees out of high school in 2007.  He made his debut that summer with the Yanks' Gulf Coast League rookie team, going 5-0 with a save in 11 appearances, turning in a 3.00 ERA.  The 5'11" righty remained in the Yankee system until he was dealt to the Brewers in 2014, pitching for Milwaukee minor league clubs through 2015.  Overall, Barreda had a 23-13 record with 8 saves in nine minor league seasons, turning in a 3.63 ERA while striking out 454 batters in 422.1 innings over 246 appearances.  He topped out at the AA level for both organizations.

Barreda hooked on with Tijuana late in the 2015 Mexican League season and was 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA in 25 trips from the bullpen for the Toros last summer.

Blackley, Pericos shut out Tijuana for LMB flag

Travis Blackley tossed eight shutout innings and Chad Gaudin closed out both the game and season as the Puebla Pericos defeated Tijuana, 2-0, Wednesday night in TJ to win the Mexican League Championship Series and claim Puebla's fifth LMB pennant.  A packed house of 17,893 was on hand at Estadio Gasmart to witness Game Six of the Serie del Rey.

Blackley, a former major league hurler from Australia, only allowed singles by Dustin Martin and Roberto Lopez while striking out six and walking two to post his third playoff win of 2016.  He was named Playoff MVP by the Liga following the contest.  This might not even be the highlight of the 33-year-old lefty's past year...Blackley married American model Jenna Cecil in the offseason, with no apparent deleterious effect on his stamina (football coaches, take note).

The game was a pitcher's duel from the onset, as Tijuana starter Barry Enright matched Blackley, zero for zero, until serving up a two-out homer to Puebla first baseman Daric Barton to center field in the top of the sixth inning.  Enright lasted 6.2 innings, scattering seven hits and walking one while striking out five Pericos batsmen in absorbing a loss he really didn't deserve.  After Jose Meraz replaced Enright (who'd thrown 103 pitches) to record the final out of the seventh, Juan Sandoval took the hill for the Toros and pitched a scoreless eighth.

Sandoval, a 35-year-old Dominican righty who pitched well for Tijuana after being released by Mexico City in late June, opened the top of the ninth by letting up a leadoff double to Sergio Perez, who lined a 1-1 pitch into left field.  It looked like the Toros might escape their predicament when Alberto Carreon grounded out and Rudy Amador struck pout swinging, but Nyjer Morgan's sharp grounder up the middle into center scored pinch-runner Oscar Sanay from second to make it a 2-0 Puebla lead.  The threat ended one pitch later when Morgan lit out to steal second but was nailed by a perfect throw from Toros catcher Juan Apodaca to second sacker Carlos Valencia for the third out.

It was then left to Gaudin, who pitched for nine MLB teams between 2003 and 2013, to close out the game and season for Puebla in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn't go as smoothly as Pericos manager Cory Snyder hoped.  After Oscar Robles led off for Tijuana by lining out to Carreon at shortstop, Olmo Rosario legged out a bunt single down the third base line to keep the Toros' hopes alive.  Gaudin then faced the dangerous Dustin Martin, who'd already had a pocketful of postseason plate heroics for Tijuana.  After working the count to 3-2, Gaudin got Martin swinging for the second out. During the at-bat, Rosario broke for second to steal the bag, drawing a throw from Tapia.  Umpire Jesus Lopez ruled Rosario safe, causing Pericos skipper Snyder to come out of the dugout to protest the decision, but the call was upheld.  Gaudin then took matters into his own hands by whiffing Apodaca on five pitches to pick up his seventh playoff save and clinch the title for Puebla.

Ex-MLB outfielder Willy Taveras had an outstanding Serie del Rey for the Pericos, batting .458 over the six-game set, while Barton and Tapia each hit two homers for Puebla.  This series was decided by pitching, however, as the Pericos staff held Tijuana to a .199 average.

Puebla 2-10-0, TIJUANA 0-3-1 (Puebla wins series, 4 games to 2)
W-Blackley. L-Enright. SV-Gaudin. HR-Barton (P). T-3:02. A-17,893.

Pericos outlast TJ, 6-3, title series tied at 1 game each

Dustin Martin hit his second homer in as many nights, a two-run shot that brought his Tijuana Toros to within a run of Puebla, but the Pericos added a pair of late runs and went on to beat the host team, 6-3, Thursday night to tie the Mexican League Championship Series at one game apiece.  An overflow crowd of 17,399 attended Game Two of the Serie el Rey at Tijuana's Estadio Gasmart.

Puebla got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning when LMB batting champ Cesar Tapia, who's had a fairly quiet postseason, jolted a full-count delivery from Toros starter Barry Enright over the left field wall for a solo homer. The 1-0 score held until the top of the fourth, when the Pericos plated three runs. Daric Barton led the frame off with a triple, with Tapia singling him in. Subsequently, Alberto Carreon singled and Nyjer Morgan walked to load the bases with two out, bringing up Willy Taveras.  After Enright got him to whiff on the first pitch, Taveras lined the Pepperdine product's next offering to center field to bring in both Tapia and Carreon to make it a 4-0 lead for the Pericos.

Up to that point, Puebla starter Travis Blackley (pictured) was sailing along and the Aussie carried a one-hitter into the bottom of the fifth, when he walked Oscar Robles, wild-pitched Robles to second and then let up a run-scoring, ground-rule double to Carlos Valencia, who bounced a liner past Morgan and over the left field fence to ruin Blackley's shutout bid.  Things got a little warmer for Blackley and the Pericos in the sixth, when Martin followed up an Alex Romero single with his fourth homer of the playoffs to close the gap to 4-3.

That was as close as TJ would get, however, as Morgan singled in Tapia with a Puebla run in the top of the eighth off reliever Juan Sandoval and Barton touched Jason Urquidez with an RBI single in the ninth, driving in Jose Rodriguez with the final score of the game to clinch the win for the Parrots.  It was the first postseason run allowed by Urquidez in eight appearances after the Arizonan had saved 26 regular season games in 27 opportunities for the Toros.  The former Diamondbacks minor leaguer also pitched a scoreless inning for the victorious North in June's LMB All-Star Game at Estadio Monterrey.

Blackley got the win, allowing three runs over 5.2 innings on four hits and three walks, while Chad Gaudin picked up his fifth postseason save.  Enright took the loss, his second defeat in three playoff decisions, after giving up four runs on eight hits in 3.2 frames.  Tapia had three of Puebla's 13 hits, scoring three times and driving in two runs.  Tijuana collected just four hits on the night and now have just seven safeties over the first two games of the title tilt.

The two combatants will have the day off Friday before resuming the Serie el Rey with three games at Puebla's Estadio Hermanos Serdan Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  Puebla is seeking its fifth Liga pennant since first fielding an LMB team in 1942 and their first since 1986.  Former big leaguer Cory Snyder has managed the Pericos since the All-Star Break, when the team shockingly fired Matias Carrillo even though the team had the best record in the league at the time.  Carrillo is now a member of the Toros coaching staff under skipper Pedro Mere, who himself assumed the reins July 4 after Luis Sojo was canned.  This is the first time Tijuana has played for a Mexican League title.

Puebla 6-13-0, TIJUANA 3-4-0 (Series tied at 1 game each)
W-Blackley. L-Enright. SV-Gaudin. HR-Martin (T). T-2:46. A-17,399.

LMB Division Championships results, highlights from Friday, September 2

Pitching was the name of both games Friday night in Mexican League Division Championship Series Game Five action in Puebla and Tijuana.

Yoanner Negrin rebounded from a pair of substandard playoff starts to carry a shutout into the seventh inning as his Yucatan Leones completed their three-game road sweep in Puebla's Estadio Hermanos Serdan, beating the Pericos, 9-1, to overtake the series lead, 3 games to 2.  The visiting team has won all but one game in the South DCS.

Meanwhile, in the LMB North DCS, Tijuana's Barry Enright (pictured) was just a little better than Monterrey's Edgar Gonzalez as the Toros blanked the Sultanes, 2-0, Friday to take a 3-to-2 lead in that series.  Dustin Martin scored twice for Tijuana, contributing a fourth inning solo homer.  Unlike the other set, the home side has won every game in this series.

Saturday will be a travel day with action resuming Sunday night in Merida and Monterrey.

Yucatan 9-14-0, PUEBLA 1-8-3 (Puebla leads series, 3 games to 2)
W-Negrin. L-O.Lara. HR-Serrano (Y). T-3:01. A-12,112.
Yoanner Negrin pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits and striking out four to post his third playoff win Friday to raise his overall season record to 21-2 as Yucatan copped their second straight game in Puebla, 9-1.  Jose Aguilar went 3-for-4 for the Leones, scoring once and driving in another run, while Ricardo Serrano socked a two-run homer in the second off Puebla starter Orlando Lara for his third longball of the postseason. Ruben Rivera had a pair of hits for the Pericos, including an RBI single in the eighth to drive in Jose Rodriguez with Puebla's lone run.

TIJUANA 2-6-0, Monterrey 0-7-0 (Tijuana leads series, 3 games to 2)
W-Enright. L-Ed. Gonzalez. SV-Urquidez. HR-D. Martin (T). T-2:56. A-17,362.
Tijuana starter Barry Enright carried a shutout into the sixth inning and three relievers took it from there as the Toros held off Monterrey, 2-0, with 17,362 looking on at Estadio Gasmart.  Enright scattered five hits and struck out three batsmen for his first playoff win of 2016.  Dustin Martin had a hand in both TJ runs, scoring on an Oscar Robles sacrifice fly in the second frame and clouting a solo homer off Sultanes starter Edgar Gonzalez in the fourth.  Gonzales went seven innings and pitched well enough to win, but his teammates took the night off at the plate.

Saturday's Schedule
No games

Sunday's Schedule
Tijuana (M. Pena) at Monterrey (M. Tovar), 6:05pm EDT
Puebla (M. Lara) at Yucatan (T. Solis), 7:05pm EDT

Monterrey, Puebla win Liga DCS opening games

The Monterrey Sultanes and Puebla Pericos have drawn first blood in their respective Mexican League Division Championship Series, winning opening games of their best-of-7 sets on Saturday.

Edgar Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings in Monterrey's 3-0 blanking of Tijuana in the Northern Division DCS while a 13th inning homer by Willy Taveras (pictured) was the difference in Puebla's 2-1 win at Yucatan.

All four teams will be back at it Sunday for Game Two.

MONTERREY 3-5-0, Tijuana 0-5-0 (Monterrey leads series, 1 game to 0)
W-E. Gonzalez. L-Enright. HR-Murillo (M). T-2:22. A-21,214.
The Sultanes rode the strong pitching of Edgar Gonzalez to a 3-0 victory over Tijuana before 21,214 onlookers at Estadio Monterrey.  The former Diamondbacks hurler tossed seven innings of four-hit ball, striking out eight Toros batsmen.  He had to be sharp to counter Tijuana starter Barry Enright, who went seven innings and allowed just five hits himself.  However, two of those hits were a Chris Roberson RBI single in the bottom of the second frame to put Monterrey on the board and a two-run Agustin Murillo homer with two out in the fourth that gave the Sultanes their final margin of victory.

Puebla 2-9-0, YUCATAN 1-6-0 (13) (Puebla leads series, 1 game to 0)
W-Barradas. L-Barraza. HR-Taveras (P). T-4:02. A-12,000.
In another pitcher's duel, it took a homer by former Astros and Rockies outfielder Willy Taveras in the top of the 13th inning to put Puebla ahead and a 1-2-3 performance by Pericos closer Chad Gaudin to give the visitors a 2-1 win over Yucatan in Merida Saturday night.  Hector Gimenez put Yucatan ahead with an RBI single off Puebla starter Orlando Lara in the second, but a Taveras double served up by Jonathan Castellanos scored Nyjer Morgan all the way from first to tie things up.  The two teams then traded zeros for six innings before Taveras' late heroics.

SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE
Tijuana at Monterrey (Estadio Monterrey) 6:05pm EDT
Puebla at Yucatan (Parque Kukulkan, Merida) 7:05pm EDT