LEONES TOP SULTANES 6-1 IN GAME 7, WIN LMB CROWN

Yucatan Leones pitcher Henderson Alvarez

           The Yucatan Lions were crowned Mexican League champions for the fifth time in their history last Monday, thanks to pitcher Henderson Alvarez and outfielder Jose “Cafecito” Martinez. The Merida squad joins their predecessors from 1957, 1984, 2006 and Spring 2018 as pennant-winners, leaving behind two consecutive defeats in the Serie del Rey after skipper Roberto Vizcarra and his players defeated the Monterrey Sultanes, 6-1, in the seventh and deciding game as a sellout crowd of  21,909 at Estadio Monterrey looked on.

Nicknamed “Chapo,” the 55-year-old Vizcarra managed Yucatan’s Spring 2018 champions before parting ways with Leones owners Juan Jose and Erick Arellano after a first-round playoff exit in the second abbreviated Fall 2018 season. Vizcarra was brought back to manage Yucatan on May 30 when Luis Matos was relieved of his duties after piloting the Merida club to a 14-19 record, marking the third mid-year change at the helm in as many seasons for the Leones and sixth such move since 2013. Yucatan went 32-24 the rest of the way under Vizcarra to finish fourth in the LMB South during the regular season before defeating Puebla, Quintana Roo and Mexico City in the playoffs to reach the title series against manager Roberto Kelly’s Sultanes. He managed Jalisco to a Mexican Pacific League pennant last winter.

The Leones were paced in Game Seven by the mound work of Alvarez, a former big league starter in Toronto and Miami who was selected to the 2014 All-Star Game as the Marlins representative but did not appear. The 31-year-old Venezuelan tossed eight-plus innings of one-run ball and scattered seven hits to earn the win on the heels of 7.2 shutout innings in a Game Three triumph, and was named the Serie del Rey's Most Valuable Player for 2022 by media members.

After driving in just one run over the first six games of the finals, Martinez picked the right time to wake his bat up for the winners, doubling in Norberto Obeso in the top of the first to put the visitors on the scoreboard, scoring Obeso on a single in the fifth and then crashing a three-run homer off Wander Suero in the seventh to bring in Obeso and Art Charles before crossing the plate himself. Walter Ibarra stroked a solo homer off Monterrey closer Neftali Feliz in the top of the ninth to give Yucatan a 6-0 lead. 

Alvarez came out in the bottom of the frame to complete his complete game shutout bid but after Sultanes leadoff batter Zoilo Almonte deposited a 1-1 pitch (Alvarez’ 102nd of the game) over the left field wall, Vizcarra brought Jorge Rondon from the bullpen to complete the inning and season by holding Monterrey scoreless the rest of the way.

Martinez, who grew up 125 miles from Alvarez in Venezuela, finished the night 4-for-5 at the plate with five RBIs for Yucatan while Orlando Calixte had three singles and Almonte homered and singled for the Sultanes.  Yoanner Mendez had a decent start for Monterrey, allowing two runs on five hits over 4.2 innings, but was no match for Alvarez and took the loss.

With this title, the Leones win their fifth flag to equal the Dos Laredos Tecolotes as for fifth among LMB teams with the most pennants (Mexico City has 16, the Quintana Roo Tigres have 12 and Monterrey has won 10). Vizcarra climbs in the record books to third place among managers with the most titles in the LMB, reaching four (2013 and 2015 with the Tigres, Spring 2018 and 2022 with Yucatan) to trail only Lazaro Salazar (7) and Benjamin “Cananea” Reyes (6).

TIJUANA, MEXICALI SPLIT CLASICO CON CAUSA SERIES

Tijuana Toros OF/P Felix Perez

     While the Mexican League was wrapping up its 2022 season in Monterrey, the Mexican Pacific League’s ten teams were already in full training camp mode. Although their season had officially ended with their elimination by Monterrey in the LMB North Division championship series, the Tijuana Toros were able to assemble a squad to play a two-game “Clasico con Causa” (“Classic with a Cause”) series against the LMP Mexicali Aguilas as a fundraiser for two cancer-fighting organizations, the Fundacion Mujeres Que Viven of Mexicali and Fundacion Castro Limon of Tijuana.

The short set opened Friday night in Mexicali at a sold out El Nido ballpark with a resounding 9-1 win before 13,000 fanaticos for the host Aguilas, who broke the game open early with an 8-run third inning, aided by a pair of costly Toros errors. Tijuana had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Junior Lake scored from third on a Zach Kirtley single up the middle off Eagles starter Eduardo Vera. The lone run held until the fateful third, which was keyed by Kevin Zamudio’s two-run double and an RBI single by venerable Aguilas outfielder Chris Roberson. 

A 43-year-old Californian who hit .317 with 10 homers and nine steals in 78 Mexican League games between Leon and Monclova in his 22nd summer of pro ball, Roberson is a naturalized Mexican citizen who has settled his family in Monterrey and is arguably the most beloved American ballplayer south of the border today. He received a warm ovation from Mexicali fans, for whom he’d played nine winterball seasons before spending the last two Mex Pac campaigns in Mazatlan, when he was pulled for pinch-runner Israel Camacho after his one-bagger. 

Mexicali reliever Thomas Melgarejo was awarded the win after the left-hander had a strong outing out of the bullpen while Daniel de la Fuente’s disastrous third inning was enough to tag him with the loss. 

The second and closing game of the historic first series between the two neighboring border cities was held Saturday in Tijuana as the Toros held off Mexicali, 6-4, at Estadio Nacional with 12,974 onlookers in the stands.

Tijuana again drew first blood in the opening inning, taking a 3-0 lead on a Jose Guadalupe Chavez single that scored Isaac Rodriguez and a double from Agustin Murillo that plated Lake and Felix Perez. Mexicali woke the scorekeeper in the top of the third when Yahir Gamez socked a homer over the left field wall to close the gap to two runs, but Perez responded with a two-run roundtripper of his own to right in the bottom of the entrada to stretch the Bulls’ advantage to 5-1. 

Not to be put away that easily, the Aguilas made it a 5-3 game in the top of the fourth on Fernando Diaz’ two-run single but Perez put the game away in the bottom of the eighth with a run-scoring safety to bring the Toros’ lead to 6-3 and while Mexicali scored one more time in the top of the ninth, the visitors ran out of outs to fall by a pair of runs.

Perez did more than just homer and drive in three runs for the winners.  The 37-year-old Cuban expat, who’d spent five years in the Reds system before coming to Mexico in 2015, pitched a scoreless fifth inning and was awarded the victory.  The 6’2” lefty, who hit .323 with 38 homers to tie Saltillo’s Rainel Rosario for most in the Liga this summer, made four relief appearances for his hometown Isla de la Juventud team in the Cuban National Series and tossed two-thirds of an inning for AAA Louisville in 2014, allowing nine runs on six hits and five walks. Maybe he’s been working on his slider.

MEXICO FINISHES SIXTH AT U-18 BASEBALL WORLD CUP

Celebration of win over Panama

After a fairly promising start in which they won three of five first round games at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup at spring training sites in Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida, the Mexican U-18 National Team lost all three of their Super Round games to finish sixth overall in the 12-team event earlier this month under manager Enrique “Che” Reyes.

Mexico opened Group B play on Saturday, September 10 with a 9-5 win over Australia at Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium, spring home of the Baltimore Orioles. Rosman Verdugo doubled in Carlos Gutierrez with the first run of the game for the Mexicans in the top of the first inning, followed by an RBI single from Yael Romero, who later scored on an Alberto Barriga groundout. A two-run Romero double capped a four-run fourth inning in which Mexico opened a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Romero finished with four RBIs on the night while starter Manuel Rodriguez tossed four innings of one-run ball to earn the win.

One day later, a three-run first for Japan was the difference as the top-ranked team went on to top Mexico, 4-1, at the former McKechnie Field in Bradenton, spring headquarters of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1969. The key hit for Japan in the first was a two-run, two-out single to right by Kaito Ito of Mexico starter Angel Sanchez that gave the visiting team a 3-0 lead that turned out to be insurmountable. Mexican batters could only muster one run on four hits, including a Romero single that drove in Verdugo in the fifth, against winner Kazuki Kozai and reliever Haruya Miyahara. Kozai allowed one hit in four shutout innings. Sanchez took the loss for Mexico.

Mexico bounced back on September 12 with a 12-7 triumph over Italy in Bradenton as leadoff hitter Antonis Macias went 4-for-5 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored for the victors. Italy held a 2-1 lead until the top of the third, when Mexico erupted for five runs in the third. Barriga and Daniel Sierra each contributed two-run doubles  while Macias’ RBI three-bagger chased Italian starter Giacomo Taschin. Italy kept battling and were within 9-7 until Mexico scored thrice in the top of the seventh (two on Barriga’s second double of the afternoon) to salt the contest away. Reliever Victor Landeros took the win while Anhuar Garcia held Italy scoreless on three hits over the final 2.2 innings to earn the save for Mexico, but it was a hitter’s day as both teams combined for 25 safeties over seven innings.

The Mexicans could have used some of that offensive output during their September 13 loss to defending U-18 champs Taiwan, 4-0. Lin Shao-En pitched a complete game one-hitter for the Formosans, needing only 85 pitches over seven innings. Manue Estrada averted the no-hit bid with a leadoff single on an 0-2 pitch in the top of the fifth but Lin was in control throughout., striking out eight batters and walking one. Mexico, who entered the tournament ranked fourth in the world, did not help their own cause by committing four errors in the field 

It was back to Bradenton on September 14, when Mexico beat Panama, 8-7, in eight innings for their last win in Florida. After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, Mexico plated five runs on just two hits in the bottom of the frame. Macias stroked a leadoff double and scored on a Gutierrez single but the next four runs were scored without benefit of a hit, thanks in part to two walks and two hit batsmen. Panama fought back and tied the game with two seventh-inning runs, but with runners placed on first and second in the bottom of the eighth via WBSC tiebreaker rules, Macias’ single to right brought in Barriga from second for the walk-off win.  Macias had his second straight four-hit game, scoring twice and driving in the game-winner, while Gutierrez had three hits, one run and a ribbie. The win gave Mexico a 3-2 first round record, edging out Panama for a Super Round berth.

Mexico U-18 OF Antonis Macias 

After that, it was 3-and-out for Reyes’ charges, starting with a 7-4 loss to The Netherlands on September 15 in Bradenton. Mexico scored first in the top of the second when Barriga laid down a bunt to the mound, allowing Estrada to score from third. The Mexicans eventually built a 3-1 lead that disappeared in the fifth when Holland scored three runs, two coming in after a pair of errors on back-to-back bunts by Cano at third and  Barriga at catcher, respectively. The Netherlands pushed three more scores across in the sixth and that was all she wrote. Romero had two of Mexico’s six hits (including a fifth-inning double down the left field line) but while the Mexicans put runners on base in every inning, eight were left stranded in a disappointing loss to a Dutch team ranked eighth in the world prior to the World Cup.

Mexico played for a sixth straight time in Bradenton on September 16, this time in a 7-5 loss to the host United States.  Mexico scored twice in the top of the first, including a Romero RBI single to right that scored Macias from third, and held a narrow 3-2 lead until the floodgates opened in the bottom of the third. The Americans scored five times  n three hits, two walks and an Estrada error at second. To their credit, Mexico came back with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to make it a two-run game, thanks in part to an RBI single by Gutierrez, but that would be the last time either team scored. Mexico outhit the USA, 9-4, as Gutierrez and Cano each had two singles but five walks and three errors were hurtful, as were nine Mexican runners left on base.

The Mexicans finally returned to Sarasota on September 17 for their first game there since their World Cup opener, but their tourney appearance ended with a disappointing 6-4 loss to South Korea. Once again, Mexico had an early lead at 3-1 going into the bottom of the third after Cano doubled in Verdugo and Romero in the top of the frame, but the Koreans scored twice in the third to tie the game and then plated three more runs in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead they would never relinquish. Facing a 6-3 deficit in the top of the second, Gutierrez scored from third on a Macias groundout to short just before Romero flew out to left to end the game.  Verdugo had three of Mexico’s five hits, including a pair of doubles, but South Korea was able to convert enough times on eight hits of their own plus seven walks and one Mexico error to put the game away. 

Although the U-18 World Cup ended on a down note, there were bright spots in Mexico’s performance. Yael Romero was selected the All-World first baseman after hitting .476 with eight RBIs for the tournament, which was won by the USA, while Rosman Verdugo was the pick at shortstop by virtue of his .320 average with five RBIs and five runs scored over nine games. Antonis Macias (.448) and  Carlos Gutierrez (.414) joined Romero in the 400 Club while combining for 25 of Mexico’s 62 hits in Florida as the team hit a collective .281. Pitching was not a strong point as the team posted a 5.28 ERA but Manuel Rodriguez did go 1-1 in two starts with seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings for a 2.52 ERA while reliever Anhuar Garcia looked good in two outings, earning a save and a team-best ERA of 1.50 over 4.2 frames.

TIJUANA, SULTANES ADVANCE TO LMB NORTH FINALS

Felix Perez, Monterrey Sultanes

It took them six games to do it, but the Tijuana Toros took one step closer to repeating as Mexican League pennant-winners by defeating 2020 champion Monclova in their Northern Division semifinal series. Tijuana clinched their 6-games-to-2 set victory last Friday with a 12-5 pounding of the Acereros at home before 17,193 fans in a jam-packed Estadio Nacional.

The Toros led 5-0 after two innings after Leander Castro’s two-run homer capped a three-run first against Monclova starter Eduardo Vera. Castro then rapped a bases-clearing double off Wilmer Rios, who came on in relief, in the second. Efren Navarro’s three-run roundtripper in the fourth off Ernesto Zaragosa, who took over for Rios, made it an 8-0 contest and TJ’s win was all but assured. 

The Acereros did score three runs in the sixth as 13-year LMB veteran Chris Roberson contributed an RBI single while former Cubs All-Star Addison Russell’s two-out homer in the eighth off Tijuana reliever Sam Dyson accounted for Monclova’s final two runs. Humberto Mejia got the win by pitching five innings of three-run ball while the loss went to Vera.

The Acereros had actually taken a 2-games-to-1 lead last Monday with an 11-7 win thanks to a six-run seventh featuring homers by Chris Carter and Keon Broxton after trailing 5-0 earlier in the tilt. Tijuana then won the next three games, starting with Tuesday’s 15-2 drubbing in Monclova as Junior Lake, Felix Perez and Castro each had three hits and three RBIs. Perez then clubbed two more homers one night later, driving in four runs in a 9-2 Toros win as a third straight sellout crowd of 8,500 looked on at Estadio Monclova, setting up Friday’s series-closing game in TJ.

Monterrey won the first two games of their LMB North semi set with Dos Laredos before dropping a 4-2 contest last Monday as Balbino Fuenmayor’s two run homer in the top of the 13th off Sultanes reliever Miguel Aguilar held up to give the Tecolotes their lone win before 15,062 onlookers at Estadio Monterrey. Tuesday’s starter Cristian Castillo gave Monterrey skipper Roberto Kelly five innings of one-run pitching while Orlando Calixte singled, doubled and scored twice in a 5-1 Sultanes win with 15,395 in the stands at home and Monterrey ended the division semi set on Wednesday with a solid 7-2 triumph with Zoilo Almonte’s RBI double in the second giving the Sultanes a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. The midweek date and a rain delay dropped attendance to 12,160 but co-owner Jose “Pepe” Maiz had to be happy with the three-game turnout exceeding 42,000 in Mexico’s largest ballpark.

The Sultanes and Toros were scheduled to open the LMB North championship series Monday night at Tijuana in what has become perhaps the most bitter rivalry in the Mexican League over the past few years. Monterrey owner Maiz (a firm believer in relying on homegrown talent) has taken deep exception to Toros owner Alberto Uribe and family paying large amounts of money to import foreign players to the border city, a sentiment the 1957 Little League World Series champion likely harbors towards Monclova’s similarly free-spending owner Gerardo Benavides.

Whatever the front office methodology, Tijuana and Monterrey finished 1-2 in the LMB attendance derby this year and it would surprise nobody if more than 50,000 fans attend the first four games of this series, which marks the sixth time in the Toros’ nine years of existence that they have met the Gray Ghosts in the postseason. Monterrey holds a 3-2 lead in that context but Tijuana’s LMB North title wins in 2016 and 2017 were what touched off the rivalry that transcends the playing field.

DIABLOS BASH PUEBLA, FACE YUCATAN FOR SOUTH TITLE

Julian Leon, Mexico City Diablos Rojos

The Mexico City Diablos Rojos won the Mexican League South Division regular season title in no small part to an offense that produced 7.3 runs per game (highest in the LMB) with a .320 team batting average, which ranked fourth in the circuit as the Red Devils were the only LMB South club among seven who topped the .300 mark. That the capital city congregation’s playoff hopes would sink or swim on the strength of their bats was a foregone conclusion, but Mexico City has put on a postseason fireworks that has been nothing short of awesome.

In sweeping both their first round and division semifinal series, the Diablos outscored Veracruz and Puebla by an aggregate 94-45 score, an average of 11.75 per game. The Aguilas were able to hold Mexico City to 8 and 4 runs over the final two games of their opening round set, but the Pericos allowed 57 runs (14.25 per game) during the Diablos’ broom job in their series. To their credit, Puebla averaged 7.5 runs in their division semi but when your pitchers allow 63 hits (including 13 homers) over four games, you’re not likely going to win many games.

The Diablos closed out their dominant series win last Wednesday by throttling the Pericos, 15-5, in Puebla. After a scoreless first inning, Mexico City torched Pericos starter Kurt Heyer and reliever Braulio Torres-Perez for nine runs on nine hits, including Julian Leon’s fourth homer of the series (a two-run bomb off Heyer) and a three-run shot by Juan Carlos Gamboa off Torres-Perez in the fourth. Danny Ortiz, who has hit 94 longballs in 265 games over three seasons in Puebla, captured the spirit of the thing with solo homers off starter William Cuevas in the fourth and reliever Edgar Torres in the sixth but the visitors were up 12-1 when the latter shot came and the outcome of both game and series were no longer in doubt.

After going 1-for-8 over the first two games against the Pericos, veteran slugger Japhet Amador went 7-for-9 (including a homer and a double) with five runs and five RBIs to finish the semis with a .477 average. The hottest bat, however, belonged to Diablos catcher Julian Leon. A 28-year-old former Dodgers and Angels minor leaguer, Leon followed up a decent but unremarkable regular season (.301 with 8 homers in 48 games) and an 0-for-7 performance over two games against Veracruz in the first round with a dominant series against Puebla, batting 10-for-18 (.556) with four homers, 13 RBIs and 6 runs.

It’s unlikely that Leon and the Diablos will match their output against Yucatan in the LMB South divisional finals. Since joining the Liga in 1954, the Leones have built their reputation on pitching and defense. Both were on prominent display in their series-ending 6-0 Game Five win over Quintana Roo last Thursday in Cancun. Starter Henderson Alvarez, a 2014 All-Star with Miami who led the National League with three shutouts that year, tossed a complete game shutout for the Leones, scattering five singles over nine innings, striking out five and walking none while his defense played errorless ball and turned a pair of double plays as he won his second game against the Tigres. Thirteen-year veteran catcher Luis Juarez socked a three-run homer in the top of the first and that was all Alvarez would need.

Alvarez won Game One as well, a 9-1 laugher on August 20 that featured a three-run homer by Art Charles. Game Two on August 21 was more of the same, with another Charles three-run blast keying a 5-4 win. The series shifted to Cancun for the next three games, starting with a homer-filled (8 HRs between the two teams) 11-8 Yucatan win last Tuesday in which the Leones were their own worst enemies, with the visitors batting 5-for-19 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base. The Tigres showed some fight with a 6-4 Game Four win last Wednesday as Ramon Bramasco lined a dramatic two-run walkoff homer to right center off reliever Tim Peterson on a 1-2 count with two out for the triumph. A  former University of Washington shortstop, Bramasco hit one regular season homer for the Tigres after hitting no roundtrippers in three collegiate seasons. All three games at Cancun’s refurbished Estadio Beto Avila drew in excess of 9,000 fans, nearing the facility’s listed 9,500-seat capacity.

Like their counterparts to the north, the Diablos and Leones have a long history of facing each other over the past seven decades, albeit without the intensity that marks the Tijuana-Monterrey rivalry. Despite both clubs being in the Mexican League for so long, Mexico City and Yucatan have met only 12 times in the playoffs. Although the Diablos have a 7-5 overall advantage, the Leones have topped Mexico City twice (2019 and 2021) for the LMB South championship. This year’s South Division title set will open Tuesday night in Mexico City.

All division championship series games will be available via streaming. The Tijuana-Monterrey LMB North title set is being carried on various ESPN and Star+ channels while the Mexico City-Yucatan LMB South series can be watched on Fox Sports 2, Claro Sports, TUDN, AYM, ViX+, Azteca Deportes, and Sipse. Both series will be streamed live and on-demand on Jonron.TV, as will next month’s Serie del Rey between the two division champions.

ROBERTO OSUNA NOW PITCHING IN JAPANESE LEAGUES

Roberto Osuna, Chiba Lotte Marines

One pitcher who started the 2022 season strong for Mexico City but is not likely to pitch for the Diablos Rojos during the playoffs is former MLB All-Star closer Roberto Osuna.

A nephew of one-time reliever Antonio Osuna, who pitched in 411 games over 11 major league seasons between 1995 and 2005, the younger Osuna had established himself as one of the game’s top closers by averaging 31 saves over a five-year period, gaining an All-Star Game selection in 2014 with Toronto and leading the American League with 38 saves in 2019 for Houston, although a domestic violence charge that was settled out of court hastened his exit from Canada. 

However, the Sinaloa native came down with an elbow injury that erased his 2020 season after just four appearances and the Astros placed him on waivers following the campaign after he turned down Tommy John surgery in favor of a rest-and-rehab approach. After holding a showcase in the Dominican Republic the following March but receiving no offers from an MLB team as a free agent, Osuna then signed with the Diablos Rojos two months later. He spent the rest of the abbreviated 2021 Mexican League season in Mexico City, going 3-0 with 12 saves in 24 appearances and turning in a 1.09 ERA (striking out 27 batters with just three walks in 24.2 innings).

After spending the winter pitching for his hometown Jalisco Charros in the Mexican Pacific League (5-2/11 saves/1.26 ERA in 28 appearances) and making four scoreless outings in the Caribbean Series, Osuna was back in Diablos Rojos togs this season. He got off to a hot start for the Red Devils and was 2-0 with six saves and a 1.35 ERA after his first 12 appearances when he got a call from Japan’s Chiba Lotte Mariners of NPB’s Pacific League and signed a contract with the team on June 11. Terms were not available.

Osuna, who turned 27 in February, has since pitched for both the Marines’ Eastern League affiliate, giving up a pair of runs over three innings in as many relief appearances, but has spent most of the past ten weeks with the big club, where’s he’s been teammates with Mexican National Team member Brandon Laird, former Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin and one-time Marlins infielder Adeiny Hechavarria. 

After 20 games out of the bullpen for the Marines (who are fifth in the Pacific League with a 56-59 record), Osuna is 3-0 with five saves, nine holds and a 0.90 ERA. Continuing to exhibit the pinpoint control he showed in Mexico City, the righty has struck out 23 NPB batters and issued just two walks over 20 innings pitched. The NPB regular season lasts into the first week of October, meaning Osuna’s return to the Diablos Rojos for the playoffs is highly unlikely.

LMP SHUTS DOWN FOR 11 DAYS TO BATTLE VIRUS SURGE

Los Mochis outfielder Leandro Castro

  Following an uptick of Wuhan virus cases that led to series delays and postponements or cancellations of games (including two entire series), the Mexican Pacific League held an emergency Assembly of Presidents meeting late last week, where it was decided to close the season down for eleven days, beginning Friday, November 6. Games are slated to resume on Tuesday, November 17.

    Things began to unravel Tuesday, October 27, when a scheduled series opener in Hermosillo between the Naranjeros and visiting Culiacan was delayed one day "in order to maintain the logistical protocols," according to a press release from the LMP office. The series instead started Wednesday, October 28 with two seven-inning games, the adjusted format for doubleheaders this winter.

    It was determined Monday of last week that two Los Mochis players, pitcher Santiago Gutierrez and outfielder Leandro Castro, were shown to have the virus in a second round of testing after general tests had indicated six "suspicious" results among Caneros players and coaches. Sports manager Carlos Soto said both Gutierrez and Castro had been sequestered in Mexicali hotel rooms and were to be transferred back to Los Mochis while the team awaited further results. 

    A third Caneros player, infielder Isaac Rodriguez, also initially tested positive and was being quarantined in his hotel room until secondary test results on the defending Mex Pac batting champion were received. Rodriguez was eventually cleared and back in the lineup Wednesday night as the Caneros continued playing.

LMP games to return on November 17

    The pandemic trickle then became a river, with the league office cancelling a midweek series between Hermosillo and Monterrey. The floodgates opened with the cancellation last Thursday of a weekend series between the Sultanes and Venados in Mazatlan while the LMP also postponed the third game of a midweek set that night between Mazatlan and Guasave until mid-November with the entire weekend triad of games between Hermosillo and Guasave called off.

    At that point, Mex Pac president Omar Canizales convened the emergency Assembly meeting on Friday, which led to the cessation of all games for eleven days, starting that evening. A press release from the LMP office in Guadalajara states the stoppage, the first in the loop's 76-year history, will be used to intensify testing of all players, coaching staffs and "collaborators" who have contact with them. All team members will need to present negative virus tests before they'll be allowed on the field when play resumes November 17. 

    Lost games will not be made up while the first half will be extended until Thursday, November 26, four days after its original conclusion on Sunday, November 22. The adjusted schedule will mean a reduction of nine games, with a first half of 29 games followed by a second half with a 30-game calendar.

YAQUIS STILL ON TOP, SWING 4-FOR-1 TRADE WITH MAYOS

Victor Mendoza sent to Yaquis for 4 players

    Amid an ongoing flurry of player movement, the Obregon Yaquis continued their red-hot play into the unscheduled work stoppage, maintaining first place in the Mexican Pacific League standings when the league office halted games for eleven days. Culiacan thwarted the Yaquis' attempt to complete a road sweep by topping Obregon, 14-4, Thursday night as Sebastian Elizalde's seventh inning grand slam capped a six-RBI night for the Tomateros rightfielder, but the loss only dropped the Yaquis' record to 17-3 for the season, good enough for a three-and-a-half-game lead over second-place Hermosillo (12-5). The win lifted fourth-place Culiacan to 11-9, a game-and-a-half behind idle Monterrey (11-6).

    Earlier in the week, Obregon completed a blockbuster trade with last-place Navojoa (6-14) by trading four players to the Mayos for first baseman Victor Mendoza, who was in his fifth winterball seasons in Navojoa but was also a two-time playoff reinforcement for the Yaquis. A hometown boy who turns 30 later this month, the Yaquis had sought to get Mendoza from Navojoa for some time, but the price they paid for the 6'2" 205-pounder raised eyebrows among observers throughout the Mex Pac.

    To acquire Mendoza, who was batting .209 with no homers and eight RBIs in 13 games, Obregon gave the Mayos starting pitcher Octavio Acosta (3-0 with a league-leading 2.12 ERA), outfielder Tirso Ornelas (a highly-regarded 20-year-old San Diego Padres prospect batting .267 in part-time duty), infielder Moises Gutierrez (a .250 hitter in his fourth LMP season) and veteran pitcher Francisco Moreno, who had yet to pitch for Obregon after being acquired from Mazatlan in yet another trade. The lefty-batting Mendoza had not suited up for the Yaquis before play was halted but manager Sergio Gastelum will count on him to augment his 19 career homers in 226 games over seven winters when he returns while sports manager Manuel Velez may have even more riding on Mendoza's success.

Navojoa brings in 3B D.J. Peterson

    Navojoa also helped themselves last week by adding a former Major league Baseball first-round draft pick to their roster. D.J. Peterson was selected out of the Unversity of New Mexico by Seattle with the 12th pick of the 2013 draft and went on to play in the Mariners system until the White Sox picked him up on waivers in 2017. He also spent time in the Cincinnati organization before playing the last two summers with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in the Houston area. Able to play third and first base, Peterson hit .264 with 108 homers in 673 games over seven minor league campaigns before batting .293 with 12 homers over 63 games the past two years. He hit .236 with two roundtrippers for Mexicali last winter and was due to play for Quintana Roo this year before the Mexican League canceled its season, returning to Sugar Land instead.

    Speaking of Mexicali, the Aguilas removed the "interim" part of Bronswell Patrick's title as manager of the team. Patrick replaced Pedro Mere on October 23 after the Eagles started the season by losing their first eight games. Since then Patrick led Mexicali to six wins in his first ten games at the helm, including a 4-0 triumph over Los Mochis last Wednesday in which starter David Reyes, a Los Mochis native, tossed both his first complete game and shutout in nine Mex Pac seasons. The Aguilas told Patrick the dugout boss job was his after that game and Mexicali topped the Caneros, 5-4, the next night before the season was halted. It's worth remembering that while the interim status was taken away from Patrick, this is Mexican baseball, where all managers work on an interim basis, one way or another.

CHRIS ROBERSON STEPS DOWN AFTER 16 YEARS OF WINTERBALL

Chris Roberson batting for Mazatlan

    One of the most popular ballplayers south of the border and a fixture in the Mexican Pacific League for years may be calling it good after 16 years of winterball. Outfielder Chris Roberson, who broke into the Mex Pac with Hermosillo in 2005-06 and also performed with Mexicali for nine years before being loaned by the Aguilas to Mazatlan last season, parted company with the Venados last Friday. After 15 games, the California product was batting .170 with one double and eight RBIs and had expressed his desire to leave the club for personal reasons. The LMP's pandemic-driven work stoppage created an opening and Roberson was granted a release last Friday and went home.

    Born in Oakland in 1979, Roberson was picked from Feather River College north of Sacramento on the ninth round of the 2001 draft by Philadelphia. He spent seven years in the Phillies system, earning AA Eastern League MVP and Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 on the heels of a .311 season at the plate with 15 homers and 34 steals for Reading. After making his LMP debut with Hermosillo later that year, Roberson played his first MLB game on May 12, 2006 during an 8-4 Philadelphia win in Cincinnati. He went on to appear in 85 big league games, mostly as a defensive replacement, and hit .232 in 72 plate appearances. The Phils sold Roberson to the Orioles in 2008 and he spend that season with Norfolk of the AAA International League before signing as a free agent with the Diamondbacks and playing for Reno in the AAA Pacific Coast League in 2009.

    Roberson spent his fifth winter in Hermosillo in 2009-10 and appeared in his first Caribbean Series, then made his move to Mexico permanent by signing with Monterrey of the Mexican League for the 2010 campaign. He's patrolled the Sultanes outfield ever since, batting .333 (topping .300 nine of ten seasons) with 112 homers and 160 steals while scoring 657 runs from his customary leadoff spot in the batting order while performing in six All-Star Games and playing for the Fall 2018 champions.

    While his .285 average with 68 homers, 168 steals and 548 runs in 16 seasons of winterball mostly don't match his Mexican League marks, Roberson has been a distinctive Mex Pac performer over the years. He played in seven Caribbean Series between 2011 and 2018 and was named MVP of the 2014 Crown Jewel of Latin Baseball after leading Hermosillo to the title while leading all batters with ten hits (including the event's lone triple), six runs, two steals and 19 stolen bases over six games.

Roberson signs cap during 2017 WBC

    Whether Roberson, who turned 41 in August, has retired is partly his choice. While he's now a free agent in the LMP, he's still on Monterrey's Mexican League roster and the Sultanes fan favorite did hit .338 with eight homers and five steals in 72 games for manager Roberto Kelly in 2019. If he decides he's done with Mexican baseball, he's certainly not done with Mexico. Married to Monterrey native Yaneth and father to two daughters, Roberson became a Mexican citizen in 2016 and played for Mexico in the 2017 World Baseball Classic under skipper Edgar Gonzalez.

    Although Chris Roberson may have been born and raised in California, his heart and soul now appear to be firmly planted in Mexico.

SULTANES WIN LIGA FALL PENNANT; LMP SEASON OPENS

Sultanes 3B Agustin Murillo hoists the LMB title trophy

Ramiro Pena's walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth inning drove in Chris Roberson with the final run of the Fall 2018 season as Monterrey defeated Oaxaca, 3-2, last Tuesday in Game Six of the Mexican League's Serie del Rey.  The win clinched the Sultanes' eighth LMB pennant and Monterrey's tenth Liga flag overall since the northern city entered the circuit in 1939 (the former Industriales team won titles in 1943 and 1947).

Oaxaca took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Alejandro Gonzalez' two-out single to right off Monterrey starter Anthony Vasquez brought in Game Five hero Samar Leyva from second to give the underdog Guerreros the early advantage.  Sultanes rightfielder Sebastian Elizalde's throw to the plate allowed Gonzalez to scamper to second base while Alan Sanchez moved 90 feet to third, but Vasquez got Erick Rodriguez to ground out to Pena at shortstop, ending the threat.

Monterrey came back two innings later with a run to even the score at 1-1.  Agustin Murillo, who had a splendid series, opened the bottom of the fourth by lining a double to left off Oaxaca starter Ruddy Acosta.  Murillo was able to go from first to third during a Felix Perez groundout to Guerreros first sacker Henry Urrutia, then plated the Sultanes' first score on a Roberson single.  The Oakland native was able to advance to third on a Ramon Rios single, but died 90 feet from paydirt when Elizalde lofted a fly ball to Gonzalez in right to end the entrada.

The two teams remained deadlocked until the top of the eighth.  Gonzalez led off by singling to left against Monterrey reliever Ozzie Mendez, moved to second on a Rodriguez sacrifice and took third on Jay Austin's groundout to Rios at second before Vasquez uncorked a wild pitch to Julian Ornelas, allowing Gonzalez to streak in with the Guerreros' go-ahead run.  The Sultanes came back in the bottom of the eighth to knot the game back up at 2-2 when Murillo's sacrifice fly to Ornelas in left brought in pinch-runner Marco Guzman (son of longtime LMB catcher and manager Marco Antonio Guzman) from third.  Monterrey closer Wirfin Obispo then came in to retire the Oaxacans without a score in top of the ninth, setting up the Sultanes' pennant-winning heroics.

Roberson started things off by doubling an 0-1 Samuel Zazueta pitch to right, then skipped over to third when Rios laid down a bunt in front of home plate that Zazueta could only throw to Urrutia at first for the out.  Monterrey manager Roberto Kelly brought in Yadir Drake as a pinch-hitter for Elizalde, but Zazueta intentionally walked the 2017 LMB batting champion to put Sultanes runners at the corners.  That was a temporary situation, as pinch-runner Leo German (in for Drake) stole second whil Zazueta was working on the next batter, Arturo Rodriguez.  At that point, Rodriguez was intentionally walked to load the bases with Julio Borbon coming up.  Zazueta struck out Borbon swinging on four pitches for the second out, but Pena grounded the first pitch he saw up the middle to score Roberson from third, ending the game and season to the delight of an Estadio Monterrey sellout crowd of 21,909.

Obispo was awarded his second win of the Serie del Rey for his one inning of work, but Vasquez (who allowed five Oaxaca runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings in Game Two) gave the winners eight solid frames of pitching, letting in two runs and scattering five hits while walking one.  Zazueta absorbed the loss after allowing the winning run on three hits and two walks, also in one frame.  The 21-year-old Obregon product pitched in every game of the finals for manager Sergio Gastelum's Guerreros and generally did well before wilting in Game Six.  Guerreros starter Acosta acquitted himself well, giving up one run and scattering four hits in 5.1 innings before being replaced by Mendez.

Murillo was named the Serie del Rey MVP after helping the Sultanes win their first pennant since 2007.  While the Tijuana-born third baseman's finals numbers of a .308 batting average with two homers and five RBIs are hardly off-the-charts, Guty's two-run game-tying homer in the bottom of the ninth in Game Two was a shocking blow the Guerreros never really recovered from while his Game Three performance (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBIs) was key in giving the Sultanes a series lead they never relinquished.


MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE OPENS 2018-19 CAMPAIGN

Mexicali P Javier Solano was dominant Friday

When Culiacan pitcher James Russell threw a pitch to Navojoa centerfielder Alonzo Harris at 8:10 last Friday night it marked the opening of the Mexican Pacific League's 2018-19 regular season.  Let the record show it was a ball, as Russell fell behind in the count 3-0 before eventually getting Harris to pop out to Tomateros third baseman Ronnier Mustelier in foul territory for the first OUT of the season.

Navojoa went on to beat defending champion Culiacan, 8-2, as a crowd of 19,210 jammed Estadio Tomateros.  The Mayos knocked Russell, who spent seven years in the majors for the Cubs and Phillies between 2010 and 2016, for six runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings.  The 32-year-old served up a two-run homer to Fernando Flores in the second and a solo blast to Harris (an ex-Mets farmhand) in the third as the Mayos outhit the Tomateros by a 13-7 margin, with four Navojoa players collecting two hits each

In Friday's other opener, Mexicali shut out Hermosillo, 3-0, as former MexPac pitching champion Javier Solano blanked the Naranjeros over six innings, giving up two hits, striking out 12 and walking none.  It was a vintage performance for Solano, who turned in a 10-6 record in the LMB last summer for Monterrey and Quintana Roo but had an ERA of 5.31 ERA over the two seasons.

Two more openers were played Saturday.  Visiting Mazatlan overcame a two-run sixth inning deficit to pull past Jalisco, 5-4.  The game lasted until a minute before midnight as a combined 15 pitchers took the mound for both teams.  Former Cubs prospect Anthony Giansanti went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs for manager Joe Alvarez' Venados and newcomer Quincy Latimore, who was dealt to the Deer by Navojoa in the offseason, also had three hits and scored twice.

Obregon got strong outings from starter Nate Reed (5 IP, 1 R, 2 H) and four relievers to earn a 4-1 road win at Los Mochis Saturday.  The Yaquis got a three-hit night from John Nogowski but it was a two-run single by number 9 batter Juan Carlos Gamboa that keyed a four-run Obregon fourth inning to in essence put the game away for the visitors.

Four more openers in the MexPac's traditional two-game, home-and-away series were played Sunday.  Mexicali went to 2-0 on the season with an 8-3 win at Hermosillo as Ricardo Serrano highlighted a four-run Aguilas second by slamming a three-run homer off Scott Copeland.  Mazatlan is likewise 2-0 after blanking Jalisco, 1-0, on a one-hitter spun by Venados starter Jose Hernandez and five relievers.  Visiting Culiacan topped the Navojoa Mayos, 2-1, as International League MVP and Triple Crown winner Joey Meneses singled in Dylan Moore with the tiebreaking run in the top of the ninth.  A Ramon Urias RBI single in the top of the eleventh brought in the go-ahead score as Los Mochis went on to an 8-6 triumph in Obregon.

In all, 120,705 fans attended the eight openers, an average of 15,088 per game as all contests sold out.  Ballpark renovations have not been completed in either Mazatlan or Los Mochis, but both projects are expected to be completed in time for the January playoffs.  In the offseason, the LMP expanded the limit of foreign players from eight to 14 per team in response to the Mexican League's expanded schedule.  While roster churn is an accepted fact of life in the circuit, the first half is expected to be more active than usual as domestic players who've been performing in the LMB playoffs will become available over the next few weeks.


 PITCHER ORTEGA RETIRES, WILL COACH IN OBREGON

Tigres P Pablo Ortega after his 2011 no-hitter

Pablo Ortega earned a living as a pitcher for nearly two decades by baffling opposing batsmen in both the Mexican and Mexican Pacific Leagues until he finally found someone he couldn't beat forever: Padre Tiempo (or Father Time).

Ortega, who turns 42 on November 7, has announced his retirement as a player after a forgettable Fall 2018 season with the Quintana Roo Tigres in which he went 1-5 with a 9.55 ERA in ten starts.  He'd had a respectable Spring campaign with the Tigres, going 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in eight outings, including a May 10 complete game 5-0 shutout over Leon in Cancun, scattering five singles and throwing 63 strikes in the 93-pitch performance.  However, the wheels gradually fell off Ortega's wagon in the second season, one that saw the Tigres miss the postseason for the first time in years.  His final outing was an August 29 start against defending champion Yucatan in Merida, where he lasted 3.1 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits before QR manager Raul Sanchez replaced him with Luis Ivan Rodriguez, who'd just turned 22 and hadn't even been born when El Maestro began his career.

The Nuevo Laredo native made his Mexican League debut in 1995 with his hometown Dos Laredos Tecolotes as an 18-year-old.  Ortega didn't set the Liga on fire over his five appearances (two starts) that year, going 0-1 with a 5.93 ERA, but he showed enough to earn a contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who had not yet fielded a team at the Major League level.  The 6'2" righthander spent four years in the Rays system and turned in a 30-38 record, pitching once for AAA Durham in 1999 before returning south of the border the following year.

That was when his legacy as a Mexican baseball pitcher began as he was 11-3 for the Mexico City Tigres and was the championship series MVP for the 2000 LMB pennant winners, the first of six Liga titles Ortega would win (all for the Tigres).  Although he would spend all or part of 2002 and 2003 with the Puebla Pericos, Ortega would become a mainstay in the Tigres rotation during his career.  He reached double figures in wins nine times and was selected to at least six All-Star Games.  He was named the LMB Pitcher of the Year in 2003 and Comeback Player of the Year in 2011, a year in which he was 10-3 (including a no-hitter against Veracruz) for the Tigres after going 2-6 with an 8.24 ERA the previous summer.  For his Mexican League career, Ortega was 164-107 and he turned in a 4.34 ERA, a respectable figure for a hitter's league like the LMB.  He had 1,174 strikeouts in 2,191 innings pitched.

El Maestro didn't limit his skills to the Liga.  He spent 17 winters pitching in the Mexican Pacific League, pitching for three title teams, and also appeared in the Caribbean Series (winning the 2005 CS with Mazatlan) and was on the Mexican National Team for several international tournaments, including the World Baseball Classic, Olympic Games qualifiers, Pan American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and Americas Cup competitions.

While Ortega was in training camp with the MexPac's Obregon Yaquis when he announced his retirement, he won't be stepping away from the game.  He'll stay on with the Yaquis this winter as a bullpen coach under new manager Oscar Robles, who faced Ortega as a batter several times over the years as a player in Mexico City Oaxaca and Tijuana.

IT'S MONTERREY, OAXACA IN FALL SERIE DEL REY

The Oaxaca Guerreros continued their unlikely postseason surge by defeating the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, 8-4, Sunday in the nation's capital to clinch the Mexican League's South Division Championship Series, 4 games to 2.  The Guerreros move on to the Serie del Rey title set against the Monterrey Sultanes, starting Tuesday night at Estadio Monterrey.

Oaxaca barely qualified for the Fall 2018 postseason after finishing fifth in the LMB South with a 26-30 record, one game behind 26-28 Leon.  That margin was close enough to force a single play-in against the Bravos in Leon.  The Guerreros won that contest and went on to eliminate defending Liga champion Yucatan in seven games in the opening round to set up the division title series with sister club Mexico City (both teams are owned by billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu).  After knocking the Diablos out, the Guerreros will now seek their second LMB pennant, the first coming 20 years ago under manager Nelson Barrera in the team's third season in the Liga since Harp led a group of investors in purchasing the Jalisco Charros following the 1995 season and moving the franchise to Oaxaca.  The Warriors have not won a division title since until now.  Manager Sergio Gastelum took the reins from former skipper Joe Alvarez in the middle of the fall campaign and while the team continued to struggle the rest of the regular season, Gastelum has them playing well at the right time.

The Guerreros will face a Monterrey team that reached the Serie del Rey in the Spring season, losing to Yucatan to fall short of winning the Sultanes' tenth pennant.  Monterrey finished the regular season with a 34-23 record, good enough for third place in the LMB North under first-year manager Roberto Kelly, who turned 50 on October 1.  Like Oaxaca, the Sultanes were stretched to a seventh game in the first round before defeating rival Tijuana to move on to the division championships against Monclova.  Monterrey had an easier time of it against the first-place Acereros, who had the Liga's best regular-season record with a 42-14 mark to win the top seed by seven games over second-place Tijuana (35-21).  The Sultanes knocked off Monclova in five games to reach the Serie del Rey for the second time in the calendar year, a record that will stand for some time to come now that the LMB is abandoning its two-season format in 2019 after one year.

Monterrey swept Oaxaca in three games at home in July (the only time the two teams have met in either 2018 season) and is likely favored to win their first pennant since 2007, but anything can happen in a seven-game series and Oaxaca has defeated two good teams to reach this point.

FALL 2018 SERIE DEL REY SCHEDULE
Game 1:  Tuesday, October 2 (8:30pm ET) - Oaxaca at Monterrey
Game 2:  Wednesday, October 3 (8:30pm ET) - Oaxaca at Monterrey
Game 3:  Friday, October 5 (8:30pm ET) - Monterrey at Oaxaca
Game 4:  Saturday, October 6 (8:30pm ET) - Monterrey at Oaxaca
Game 5:  Sunday, October 7 (5:00pm ET) - Monterrey at Oaxaca*
Game 6:  Tuesday, October 9 (8:30pm ET) - Oaxaca at Monterrey*
Game 7:  Wednesday, October 10 (8:30pm ET) - Oaxaca at Monterrey*
*-if necessary


GUERREROS, ORNELAS KNOCK OUT DIABLOS WITH 8-4 WIN

Oaxaca Guerreros celebrating LMB South title

The Oaxaca Guerreros overcame a midgame 3-1 deficit by scoring a combined seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings to defeat the Mexico City Diablos Rojos, 8-4, Saturday night in front of an overflow crowd of 6,400 at Estadio Fray Nano in Mexico City.  The win gave the Warriors a 4-games-to-2 win in the LMB South championship to punch their ticket to the Serie del Rey against Monterrey.

The Diablos drew first blood with three runs in the bottom of the first inning.  Juan Carlos Gamboa lined a single up the middle off the glove of Oaxaca starting pitcher Irwin Delgado to plate speedster Carlos Figueroa from second with the game's first run.  David Vidal singled Gamboa to second and both runners crossed the plate on a Luis Jimenez triple to put Delgado and the Guerreros in an early hole.  Henry Urrutia got one run back for the visitors by belting a leadoff homer in the top of the second but Mexico City's 3-1 advantage held until the sixth, when the Guerreros pasted Diablos starter Patrick Johnson and three relievers for four runs on as many hits.  The key blows were back-to-back doubles by Dustin Geiger and Julian Ornelas, the latter a liner to center that drove in Yuniesky Betancourt and Geiger with the go-ahead tallies.

Mexico City came back with a run in the bottom of the sixth Gamboa singled to right off reliever Samuel Zazueta to bring Jesus Fabela motoring in from second to cut Oaxaca's advantage to one run, but that was as close as the Diablos would get the rest of the game.  The Guerreros scored three more times in the top of the seventh as Ornelas contributed a two-run single off David Reyes to bring the score to 8-4.  From that point, relievers Erick Casillas, Rodolfo Aguilar and Carlos Felix blanked to hosts over the final three entradas to seal the win for the Guerreros, with Felix inducing pinch-hitter Ivan Terrazas to ground out to Betancourt at second to end the series in the bottom of the ninth.  Ornelas went 3-for-3 for Oaxaca with four RBIs as reliever Ozzie Mendez got the win.  Johnson absorbed the defeat for the Diablos.

The series was tied at a game apiece before Oaxaca topped Mexico City, 10-3, last Tuesday behind Jay Austin's double and triple with two runs scored and two more driven in.  The Diablos came back Wednesday with a 9-4 win at Oaxaca to tie the series back up as Vidal broke the game up with a bases-loaded triple in the top of the sixth to give the visitors an 8-3 lead.  Vidal was thrown out at the plate trying to complete a rare inside-the-park grand slam by Guerreros rightfielder Alan Sanchez but the damage was already done.  One night later, Oaxaca took the series lead with a 2-1 victory behind the four-hit pitching of starter Jose Medina (6 IP, 3 H, 1 R) and three relievers.  Attendance has been traditionally moribund at Guerreros home games but a combined 18,000+ fans clicked the turnstiles at Parque Eduardo Vasconcelos at the three games in Oaxaca before the series shifted to Mexico City for Saturday's fateful Game Six.

And now the Guerreros, led by manager Sergio Gastelum, who had never managed an LMB team prior to August 7, are four wins away from hoisting their second pennant in 23 years (and first since 1998).  Gastelum had been managing Ensenada in the Northern Mexico League when he was brought in to replaced the fired Joe Alvarez on August 7 and went 12-14 with Oaxaca the rest of the regular season. The postseason has thus far gone a trifle better for Gastelum and the Guerreros.


SULTANES BREEZE PAST MONCLOVA, SEEK TENTH LIGA FLAG

Monterrey Sultanes RF Yadir Drake

Monterrey had a surprisingly easy time of it against Monclova after surviving a seven-game first-round battle with Tijuana to reach the LMN North Championship Series.  The Acereros had dominated the Fall season with a Liga-best 42-12 record (including a 4-2 mark against the Sultanes) and were a favorite to win their city's first-ever pennant heading into the playoffs and did nothing to dispel that by eliminating Dos Laredos, 4 games to 1, in the opening round.

However, the Sultanes were able to exploit Monclova's lack of pitching depth to rack up 32 runs over the final four contests of the LMB North championship series to pull away with a 4-games-to-1 win over the Acereros and vault into the Serie del Rey against Oaxaca.  The set opened with a relatively normal 4-3 Monterrey win on September 20 in Monclova before the Sultanes bats heated up with a 7-3 triumph at Estadio Monclova on September 21.  After the series moved to Monterrey, the Sultanes made it a 3-games-to-0 advantage September 23 and while the Acereros bounced back last Monday with a 9-8 win in Game Four (thanks in no small part to a seven-run fifth inning highlighted by a Juan Perez grand slam and a solo blast Jesus Arredondo), it seemed only a matter of time until Monterrey eliminated the top seed to move on to the Serie del Ray while endangering Monclova manager Pedro Mere's job with volatile owner Gerardo Benvides' Acereros in the bargain.

That shoe finally fell last Tuesday, with the Sultanes delivering the coup de grace to Monclova's season with a 9-5 win at Estadio Monterrey with 18,202 onlookers in the stands.  This time the big inning belonged to the Sultanes, who were trailing 5-3 before plating five runs in the bottom of the seventh.  Yadir Drake's two-run homer keyed the outburst as Mere sent four pitchers to the mound that inning as Monterrey put six hits on the board.  Besides Drake's bomb, Felix Perez had a run-scoring double, Chris Roberson drove in a run with a single before coming in on Drake's longball and Ramon Rios doubled before scoring on an Ali Solis single as all nine batters in the Sultanes' order came to the plate.  Perez launched a solo homer off yet another Monclova reliever, veteran Mauricio Lara, in the eighth to put the game and series out of reach for the visitors.  Lara was the eighth hurler used by Mere in the contest, with the loss going to Arturo Barradas, who served up Drake's homer.  The win went to Sultanes reliever Nick Struck, who gave up two runs in two frames but had the good fortune of being on the hill for Monterrey before the Sultanes went on their five-run tear in the seventh.  Roberson and Agustin Murillo each had three of Monterrey's 15 hits on the night as the Sultanes batted .320 for the series.

And now the Sultanes move on in search of the franchise's sixth title since 1962 and Monterrey's tenth Mexican League pennant since 1943 (the first four won by the old Industriales under manager Lazaro Salazar, including three in a row between 1947 and 1949).