Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta: Day One Report

Hermosillo DH Jose Amador

The Mexican Baseball Fiesta kicked off its final weekend of play in 2017 Thursday night with a pair of games at Tucson's Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium featuring three Mexican Pacific League teams.  The Obregon Yaquis opened the four-day, eight-game event with a convincing 9-1 win over Mexicali in the seven-inning first contest while a team of Cincinnati Reds prospects pulled off a 5-3 comeback win over the Hermosillo Naranjeros in the nightcap.

Former Phillies outfielder Cedric Hunter lofted a solo homer with two out in the top of the first as his Obregon Yaquis went on to pull away from the defending MexPac champion Aguilas.  Felix Pie led off the game getting plunked by Mexicali starter Francisco Rodriguez, but was cut down at second when Obregon centerfielder Yordanys Linares made a diving catch of an Irving Falu Texas Leaguer and threw a strike to second baseman Paul Leon, who calmly tagged Pie to complete the double play.  Hunter then took Rodriguez deep into the right field bullpen.

Pie got a measure of revenge one inning later by lashing a two-run single off Rodriguez to give the Yaquis a 3-0 advantage, to which Falu added another run by rapping a sharp single to right that brought Armando Araiza in from third.  Mexicali scored their lone run in the bottom of the fourth when former Yankees farmhand Josh Romanski drilled a liner off Obregon reliever David Reyes' right leg, scoring C.J. Retherford from third as the ball rolled into foul territory. Romanski is a former pitcher who hit .324 for Winnipeg last summer in the independent American Association.  Reyes was taken out of the game after that play and his status is unknown.

The Yaquis essentially put the game in their hip pockets in the top of the sixth when Paul Leon stepped up with the sacks loaded and belted a bases-clearing double against Mexicali reliever Edgar Gomez that rattled high off the center field wall, bringing the Obregon lead to 7-1.  The Tribe concluded the night's scoring in the top of the seventh inning when Alex Liddi rapped a two-run double to left that brought in subs Jonathan Aranda and Andres Martin.  It was left to Edwin Fierro to hold the Aguilas scoreless in the bottom of the frame to seal the win.

Wily veteran Pablo Ortega looked anything but 40 years old in tossing three scoreless innings on two hits to earn the win for the Yaquis.  Rodriguez took the loss for Mexicali after getting touched for three runs on four hits in the first two entradas.  Aguilas reliever Edgar Osuna was razor-sharp by retiring all nine batters he faced over three innings.  Osuna struggled to an 0-5 record last summer for Yucatan in Mexican League play after being shipped to the Leones from Union Laguna (for whom he was 5-4) as part of the Ricky Alvarez trade, so the 29-year-old lefty from Mazatlan is seeking some redemption this winter.  Alvarez is a teammate of Osuna's in Obregon.

The nightcap between Hermosillo and a team of Cincinnati Reds minor leaguers was much closer, if not quite as interesting until the end.  The Reds manufactured a run in the top of the first when Stuart Fairchild drew a walk from Naranjeros starter Hector Galvan, stole second without a throw from catcher Alejandro Flores and then motored in on Taylor Trammell's single.  Trammell was cut down trying to advance to second when Flores took the wide throw from the outfield and burned another throw to Carlos Gastelum, who tagged Trammell for the second out of the inning.  Cincinnati's 2015 first-round draft pick, Tyler Stephenson, struck out swinging to end the threat.

Hermosillo tied the game back up in the bottom of the first when speedy rightfielder Norberto Obeso tripled off the wall in right center and scored on Gastelum's groundout to short to make it a 1-1 contest.  The Orangemen regained the lead in the top of the second the old-fashioned way, when 2016-17 LMP Most Valuable Player Jose Amador blasted a Jonathon Crawford offering off the top of the 18-foot wall in back of the Hermosillo bullpen in left.  Hermosillo went up 3-1 later in the inning when a Jorge Flores groundout to third brought in Jose Cardona with a run.

And that's how the score remained until the top of the seventh and final inning, when the Reds erupted for four runs on as many hits and an error as Cincinnati batted through the order against reliever Rafael Cordova.  After Cassidy Brown led off with a groundout to short, the Reds got three consecutive hits:  A Miles Gordon single, a Joe Sansone double and a two-run single by Carlos Rivero to tie the score at 3-all.  The Naranjeros ran into more trouble when Jorge Flores mishandled a Shed Long grounder to short to put runners on the corners.  Fairchild then singled Rivero home to give Cincy a 4-3 lead and Long scooted in from third to make it 5-3 when Trammell's lazy fly ball to left was dropped.  Cordova got the final two outs of the inning but the Naranjeros went down in order in the bottom of the seventh with pinch-hitter Cesar Hernandez striking out swinging to end the game.

Amador finished the night 2-for-3 with his homer but no other Naranjero batter had more than one hit.  Gordon and Rivero led the Reds with two singles apiece as the visitors collected nine hits to Hermosillo's two.  Dauri Maureta earned the win out of the bullpen for Cincinnati with a perfect sixth and seventh while Cordova took the loss.

Day Two of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta on Friday will feature the Reds taking on Mexicali at 5:30PM while the nightcap has Hermosillo and Obregon tangling in a renewal of the MexPac's version of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry.

Alvarez shipped to Yucatan; Vaqueros fans talking boycott

LMB All-Star first baseman Ricky Alvarez

Syndicate baseball.  While ownership of multiple teams in the same league is something not allowed in Major League Baseball since the Robison brothers' transfer of top players from their Cleveland team to their St. Louis franchise led to the disastrous 20-134 Spiders of 1899, the Mexican League has no such problem.  In fact, incoming LMB president Javier Salinas has said he approves of such arrangements, stating that it's better to have one financially capable owner of two teams than an underfinanced owner of one.  Although there's some logic behind that viewpoint, fans in Puebla and now Laguna would be hard-pressed to agree that they're being well-served by owners who consider their local team as the lesser part of their respective equations.

We've already seen the core players of Puebla's 2016 Liga championship team shifted to Monclova prior to this season by owner Gerardo Benavides, whose grandfather founded the Acereros and desperately wants his hometown to fly its first LMB pennant this year.  Although the Pericos have brought in enough decent replacements to hold third place in the South Division standings at the All-Star Break, that is more the result of belonging to a division in which only Yucatan has a winning record.  With their current 32-33 record, the Parrots would be looking up at six teams in the LMB North rather than trail second-place Quintana Roo by just a half-game in the LMB South.  Not so coincidentally, attendance at Puebla's Estadio Hermanos Serdan has dropped from an average of 4,314 in 2016 to 3,241 per opening in 2017, a decline of 25 percent.  Then again, the Pericos were last in the LMB attendance derby in 2015 with a 2,316 per game average so one could say it's all relative, but it's been made clear to people in the colonial city who DO follow baseball that their team is not a priority to their team's owner.

Now let's shift attention to the Union Laguna Vaqueros.  The Mexican League has had a presence in the Torreon-Gomez Palacio area as far back as 1940, with Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo leading the Algodoneros to the region's first pennant in their third season.  Union Laguna won another title in 1950, but it would turn out to be their last.  The Vaqueros were purchased in the offseason by brothers Jose Juan and Erick Arellano, who also own the South-leading Yucatan Leones.  The Arellanos would love to place an LMB team in their own hometown of Mazatlan, but stalled development of a new ballpark there has put that desire on hold for now.  Unlike Benavides in Puebla, the brothers had largely left their Union Laguna team untouched and the Vaqueros have been in the midst of a battle for a playoff berth in the LMB North with a 35-31 record at the All-Star Break, one game out of the fourth and final postseason slot with one of the Liga's more potent offenses.  Until Monday.

That's when the Arellanos decided to ship the Vaqueros' best player, All-Star first baseman Ricky Alvarez, to Yucatan as part of a six-player swap clearly designed to load the Leones up for the playoffs.  Laguna also sent pitchers Edgar Osuna and Maikel Cleto to Merida in exchange for hurlers Tomas Solis, Alejandro Martinez and Leo Rosales, who have 50 innings pitched between them this year.  Alvarez is the main prize, with the 28-year-old Tijuana product having a season bringing him some support in MVP talks with a .330 average, 13 homers and an LMB-best 75 RBIs.  The former Angels minor league has hit 37 homers and driven in 166 runs over 177 games for the Vaqueros since coming to Torreon in a trade with Tabasco prior to last season.

Then there's Osuna, who set the Liga on fire in April by winning his first five starts but hasn't won a game since to see his record level off at 5-4 while his ERA (which had been 1.61 entering May) ballooned to 5.37 with no quality starts in his last eight outings.  Still, the 29-year-old from Mazatlan will give the Leones pitching staff a lefty with 12 years experience, much of it in the Braves and Royals organizations, and a former Texas League All-Star.  As well, Cleto (who previously pitched in MLB for both the Cardinals the White Sox) has had a good half-season in the Laguna bullpen, with a 3.20 ERA and 4 saves in 5 opportunities over 19 appearances, and will likely replace former Leones closer Jairo Asencio, who was released earlier this month despite being among the LMB leaders in saves.  The team also last Friday released Brad Snyder, another ex-MLBer who was batting .268, was second to Alvarez on the team with 12 homers and third with 41 RBIs while playing errorless ball in the outfield.

While this swap (which has not been officially announced by the Liga office) doesn't have the seismic effect that last winter's mass exodus from Puebla to Monclova, fans in Laguna have already let their opinions be known.   A group of six aficionados released a public letter posted on the Puro Beisbol site calling on others to boycott attending Vaqueros games, at least temporarily, at 86-year-old Estadio Revolucion, where the club is sixth in LMB attendance at 5,206 per opening.  The Vaqueros drew just 2,000 people in Tuesday night's 10-7 loss to Puebla (irony duly noted).

It's hard to believe this is the sort of syndicate ownership Salinas has envisioned for the troubled league he's taking over after current president Plinio Escalante retires following the season.  Then again, with franchise problems in places like Leon, Tabasco and now Quintana Roo (that's another story for another day), among others, perhaps Salinas has no choice as long as the Arellanos pay the bills and Benavides is heading the Assembly of Presidents who sign his paycheck.

Pitchers Osuna, De La Cruz, Crenshaw each record 5th wins

Although April only ended Sunday and the Mexican League is just over four weeks into its 2017 season, three Liga pitchers have already attained their fifth wins of the young campaign.  Union Laguna moundmates Edgar Osuna (pictured) and Dustin Crenshaw are joined by Saltillo starter Frankie de la Cruz as the LMB's co-wins leaders heading into the month of May.

Osuna and Crenshaw are two reasons the Vaqueros  are in a virtual three-way tie with Monterrey (17-8) and Tijuana (18-9) for first place in the LMB North with an 18-9 record.  Although Laguna's battering-ram offense led by 1B Ricky Alvarez (.390 with 8 homers and 40 RBIs) and 2B Anderson Hernandez (.390) has given their pitching staff a lot of cushion, the 5-0 Osuna has more than held up his end of the bargain by winning all five of his starts and leading the LMB with an ERA of 1.61 over 28 innings.  The 29-year-old lefty from Mazatlan won his most recent start last last Thursday by holding the potent Monclova offense scoreless on five hits in five innings in a 6-5 win at Estadio Monclova during which rookie manager Ramon Orantes left Vaqueros closer Esmailin Caridad in for the entire bottom of the ninth as the Acereros posted all five of their runs on six hits and had a man on first with one out before Antonio Lamas tapped into a game-ending 1-6-3 double play.

Crenshaw has needed the Union Laguna offensive support more in compiling his 5-1 record in six starts, although he did toss a five-hit shutout against visiting Durango last Friday in a 9-0 whitewash in Torreon, of course (since the fading Generales still have yet to play a home date).  Crenshaw's season ERA of 4.74 isn't the most impressive but when you have a lineup averaging .315 and 7.85 runs per game, you've got some elbow room to work with.  Crenshaw has exhibited good control by issuing just five walks in 38 innings.  The 6'5" righty attended South Alabama and spent four years in indy ball and was 14-2 for St. Paul of the American Association before joining the Vaqueros last season (going 8-2 with a 2.20 ERA in 12 starts).

Meanwhile, de la Cruz has spun his magic for a Saltillo team that was 13-12 before Sunday's game in Aguascalientes.  The 33-year-old Dominican right-hander is in his 16th year of pro ball, spending MLB time along the way with Detroit, Florida, San Diego and Milwaukee between 2007 and 2011.  The well-travelled de la Cruz has also pitched in Japan and Italy (turning in a 3-4 record and 2.65 ERA in Nettuno last summer) before signing with the Saraperos one day before their season opener.  He put together five quality starts out the chute for Saltillo and his 2.08 ERA was eighth on the Liga table before he was pounded for eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in five innings in a 10-5 loss in Aguascalientes.  He's now at 3.40 per nine.

While three teams are locked into the LMB North lead, 16-10 Yucatan has opened a two-and-a-half game advantage over 14-13 Puebla in the LMB South while 13-13 Oaxaca is three games back.  Both Liga newcomers have struggled of late, as Durango has lost seven of their last ten games to fall to last in the North at 11-16 while Leon's 2-8 mark over their most recent 10-game stretch dropped the Broncos into seventh place in the South with a 10-17 record.

Monterrey centerfielder Chris Roberson has regained the Mexican League batting table lead with a .443 average, two points up on Saltillo second baseman Luis Borges.  Tijuana outfielder Corey Brown has homered in five straight games and six of his last seven to take the Liga lead in that category with 10 on the season, just ahead of Toros teammate Alex Liddi's nine longballs.  Brown is also second in the circuit with 38 RBIs, trailing only Laguna first baseman Ricky Alvarez' 41.  Saltillo outer gardener Justin Greene still leads the LMB with 10 stolen bases (Laguna outfielder Ethan Chapman and Tijuana's Dustin Martin both have seven), but Greene hasn't swiped a bag in his last five contests.

As mentioned, Osuna, Crenshaw and de la Cruz each have five wins going into the May calendar while Osuna tops the loop in ERA.  Oaxaca's Irwin Delgado, a 5'9" lefty from Mexicali, struck out eight Quintana Roo batters over 6.2 innings in a Friday night win at home against the Tigres to surpass Monclova's Josh Lowey for the strikeouts lead by a 39-35 margin (de la Cruz is third with 31).  Durango closer Tiago da Silva saw his string of eleven saves in as many appearances at the start of the season snapped, but his eleven saves still top the list by three over Jairo Asencio of Yucatan.

Among the eight month-opening series scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, the biggest will take place in Torreon when Union Laguna hosts Monterrey in a battle of LMB North co-leaders.  The Sultanes then return home to Estadio Monterrey for a weekend set with the other current co-leader, the Monclova Acereros.  The most-anticipated series of the week may be in Durango, where the vagabond Generales may finally play their home opener against Monclova Tuesday after spending the entire first month of the season living out of their suitcases while renovations on Estadio Francisco Villa have lurched on.  Manager Joe Alvarez' showed much pluck at the schedule's outset but have shown signs of road wear recently.  Here's hoping the Generales finally get to play in front of fans in Durango and start living normal lives (in a baseball sense).  As easy as it's been to poke fun of the people running the team, it's been hard to watch players and coaches endure the odyssey they've faced through no fault of their own.  How do you not root for these guys?

Mexican League standings as of May 1, 2017
NORTHERN DIVISION: Monterrey 17-8, Tijuana 18-9, Laguna 18-9, Mexico City 15-12, Monclova 14-13, Saltillo 13-13, Aguascalientes 13-14, Durango 11-16
SOUTHERN DIVISION: Yucatan 16-10, Puebla 14-13, Oaxaca 13-13, Campeche 11-16, Veracruz 11-16, Quintana Roo 10-15, Leon 10-17, Tabasco 8-18

LMB Schedule for May 2-4, 2017
Monclova at Durango, Monterrey at Laguna, Mexico City at Saltillo, Tijuana at Aguascalientes, Puebla at Tabasco, Veracruz at Quintana Roo,  Campeche at Leon, Oaxaca at Yucatan

LMB schedule for May 5-7, 2017
Aguascalientes at Mexico City, Laguna at Durango, Monclova at Monterrey, Saltillo at Tijuana, Campeche at Puebla, Oaxaca at Quintana Roo, Veracruz at Yucatan, Tabasco at Leon

Caneros win 6-5 thriller in 11, take MexPac title series lead

Veteran Saul Soto punched a two-run single in top of the eleventh inning and MLB free agent reliever Sergio Romo survived a shaky bottom of the frame as the Los Mochis Caneros held off the Mexicali Aguilas, 6-5, in the border city to take a 2-games-to-1 lead in the Mexican Pacific League championship series Tuesday night.

Los Mochis 6-15-1, MEXICALI 5-9-0

Chris Roberson opened the scoring in the bottom of the first for Mexicali by reaching second after tapping a leadoff bunt and drawing a hurried throw by Mochis pitcher Roy Merritt that sailed past Soto at first for an error, then scoring when Yuniesky Betancourt lined a single to center.  That's where the score stood halfwway through the seventh inning as Merritt and Aguilas starter Kameron Loe both contributed strong starts.  After throwing 104 pitches, Loe gave way to reliever Jose Meraz in the top of the seventh.

Meraz was the first of four Mexicali pitchers to see duty in that inning alone, as the Caneros scored four runs to take the lead.  Meraz got the first out before allowing a double to Eugenio Velez, after which Aguilas manager Roberto Vizcarra replaced him with Jose Manuel Lopez.  Isaac Rodriguez greeted Lopez with a single that moved Velez to third, followed by an RBI single that drove in Velez with the go-ahead run.  Lopez was yanked for Fautino de los Santos, who drilled J.C. Linares in the left arm on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. Linares had to be replaced by pinch-runner Sergio Garcia.  Leandro Castro then topped a dribbler back to the mound for an infield single that plated Rodriguez.  Unnerved, de los Santos then threw a wild pitch to Soto, which resulted in Ford crossing the plate with another Caneros run.  Soto went on to draw a walk, enough for Vizcarra to emerge from the dugout to wave in Manuel Chavez with the bases still loaded and only one out. Chavez got the final two outs, the first coming on a Yosmany Guerra sacrifice fly to right that brought in Garcia to make it a 4-1 Los Mochis lead.

That's where the score stood as Merritt put in one more inning on the hill for the Caneros before skipper Luis Sojo replaced him with Oliver Perez in the bottom of the eighth.  Perez immediately found trouble by giving up a leadoff single to Jon Del Campo and walking Ramon Rios.  After striking out Roberson for the first out, Perez allowed a Bourgeois triple to center, bringing in both Del Campo and Rios to close the Aguilas deficit to a one run.  Sojo then called in reliever Isaac Rodriguez, who got the second out before C.J. Retherford lined a double to left that scored Bourgeois with the tying run. Luis Juarez then hit an inning-ending flyout to Velez in left.

Neither team scored in the ninth to send the game into extra innings, followed by a scoreless tenth.  The eventful eleventh opened with Edgar Osuna on the hill for Mexicali after usual closer Jake Sanchez gave the Aguilas two scoreless frames.  Rodriguez (the second baseman, not the reliever) laid down a bunt in front of the plate and beat Osuna's throw to first for a single.  After a Ford bunt moved Rodriguez to second, Sergio Garcia toppled a first-pitch comebacker to the mound for the second out as Rodriguez stayed put on second. Osuna intentionally walked Castro to set up a force play at all three bases, but that strategy was scuttled when Soto rapped a full-count offering into left field to score both Rodriguez and Castro to give the visitors a 6-4 lead.  Guerra grounded out to Retherford at first to end the frame for Mochis.

Romo then emerged from the bullpen to replace Santago Gutierrez, who'd tossed two perfect innings for Mochis.  Things didn't start off well for the three-time World Series champ, as he allowed a leadoff single to Betancourt, threw a wild pitch to Retherford to advance Bentacourt to second and then coughed up a Retherford line-drive single to left that brought Betancourt in with the Aguilas' fifth run.  Sergio settled down after that, retiring Agustin Murillo on a line drive to Velez and inducing pinch-hitter Emmanuel Avila into a groundout to second to end the game with Mochis the victors by a 6-5 count.

Gutierrez got the win for the Caneros to go to 2-0 in the postseason and Romo recorded his seventh playoff save while Osuna was tagged with the loss to even his playoff record at 1-1.  Merritt allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts for Mochis in another strong outing for the Southern University product, while the 6'8" Loe (a former Texas Rangers starter) scattered seven hits and struck out eight Caneros batters in his six innings of shoutout pitching for Mexicali.  Six Caneros batsmen recorded two hits each in the Caneros' 15-hit attack as Soto's pair of singles raised his playoff batting average to .340. Retherford, Murillo and Betancourt each had two hits for the Aguilas, with the latter's postseason average going up to .347 via his two safeties.

A crowd of 17,000 packed the stands at Mexicali's Estadio B'Air, which will be the site of Game Five Wednesday night at 7:30PM PST (0330 UTC).  Luids Niebla will get the start for the Caneros while Javier Solano takes the mound for the Aguilas.

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.

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.

Mazatlan bops Mexicali, 7-1, in MexPac opener

The Mazatlan Venados took an early 2-0 lead and went on to defeat the visiting Mexicali Aguilas, 7-1, Tuesday night in the Mexican Pacific League's season opener.  A packed house of 15,320 was on hand at Mazatlan's Estadio Teodoro Mariscal.

The Venados scored the first two runs of the MexPac season in the bottom of the second, when former Angels farmhand Brian Hernandez (pictured, with AA Arkansas), who hit .280 with 8 homers for Laguna in the LMB over the summer, followed a walk to Corey Brown by lining a two-run homer to center field off Aguilas srarter Edgar Osuna.

Mexicali got one run back in the top of the fourth, when Xavier Paul's bases-loaded, fielder's-choice grounder to Mazatlan first sacker Cyle Hankerd plated Ramon Rios from third as Hankerd threw to second to force Yuniesky Betancourt. However, the Venados broke things open in the bottom of the sixth with five runs, keyed by back-to-back two-run doubles by Heber Gomez and Samar Leyva.  From that point on, the Mazatlan bullpen blanked the Aguilas the rest of the way.

Venerable Mazatlan starter Walter Silva went five innings for the host team, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three Mexicali batters.  A Mazatlan native who pitched for San Diego in 2009, Silva turns 40 in January.  This is his eleventh winter with the Venados.  Osuna, another Mazalteco, lasted five innings, allowing two runs on three hits with six whiffs to take the loss in a hard-luck start.

Mazatlan has been receiving a little more attention than usual from the baseball world this year.  Besides the Venados' status as defending LMP and Caribbean Series champions, a new 17,000-seat ballpark is planned for north of the city's Zona Dorado tourist enclave while Yucatan Leones owners Juan Jose and Eric Arellano have been interested in bringing a Mexican League team to their hometown, and recently purchased full ownership of the Laguna Vaqueros.  If the Vaqueros were brought west, Mazatlan would become the first city in Mexico (and possibly the continent) to host professional baseball year-round, although such a development is no sure thing.

The rest of the LMP swings into action Wednesday night.

BAN OVER, SIX MiLB VETS PICKED IN LMB DRAFT

Trying to be as good as their word, Mexican League teams last week held a draft of returning minor league veterans who'd signed directly with Major League Baseball organizations as prospects without first agreeing to terms with domestic teams.  Ordinarily, Mexican League teams own the rights to talented youngsters who would then routinely give 70 percent of signing bonuses to the LMB team that held their rights.  Prior to this winter, an informal gentleman's agreement effectively blacklisted players who didn't submit to the system from playing in the Liga in the future.

Here are the six returning minor league veterans picked by Mexican League teams, with their former big league organizations in parentheses:

TABASCO - P Edgar Osuna (Atlanta, Kansas City)
MONCLOVA - IF Amadeo Zazueta (Houston, Atlanta, San Diego, Toronto)
CAMPECHE - 1B/OF Francisco Rivera (St. Louis)
SALTILLO - P Marco Camarena (NY Mets, St. Louis)
QUINTANA ROO - C Santiago Chavez (Oakland)
MONTERREY - P Melchor Urquidez (Seattle)

Three other players were allowed to sign with Liga teams they'd already been negotiating with in anticipation of the ban being lifted:

LAGUNA - OF Rogelio Noris (Pittsburgh)
TABASCO - C Sebastian Valle (Philadelphia) pictured above
MONTERREY - Oscar Alejandro Astorga (no info available)

Nine teams chose to sit out the chance to sign returnees, most notably the Mexico City Diablos Rojos.  Team president Robert Mansur has said the Red Devils would continue to build their roster with prospects from within their own system rather than employ returning minor leaguers.

ORANTES STROKES 1,000th CAREER MEXPAC HIT

Persistence really does pay off.  

It took him 22 seasons to do it, but longtime Los Mochis star Ramon Orantes became the 13th player in Mexican Pacific League history to accrue 1,000 career hits on November 15 in Mexicali when he doubled against Aguilas hurler Edgar Osuna for one of his three two-baggers in the game.  Mexican baseball legend Hector Espino is the LMP’s all-time hits leader.

Orantes, who turns 42 on December 5, began his MexPac career with Obregon in 1993-94 and spent three seasons with the Yaquis and spent one winter in Mexicali before coming to Los Mochis in 1997.  He’s been with the Caneros ever since, playing on the team’s 2002-03 pennant winners and collecting two batting titles in his 18 seasons there.  Orantes has been no less successful in the summer.  The La Paz product has spent 23 years in the Mexican League compiling a .298 average with 2,098 hits with several teams (batting .285 with Saltillo last summer) for a total of 3,012 combined hits between the Liga and MexPac regular season schedules.

  
If age is catching up to Orantes, nobody’s told him about it.  In 19 games for Los Mochis this winter throughSunday, he’s batting .356, including a .522 average over his last ten games.

OSUNA SIGNS ONE-YEAR DEAL WITH KANASAS CITY

Left-handed pitcher Edgar Osuna has agreed to a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals for 2010. Osuna was picked by the Royals in this winter’s Rule 5 draft after spending several seasons in the Atlanta Braves organization.

A native of Mazatlan, Osuna was signed by Atlanta as an undrafted 16-year-old free agent in 2004. He ultimately began his minor league career in 2006 with the Braves’ rookie team in the Gulf Coast League. Osuna worked his way up the Atlanta system, splitting the 2009 season between Myrtle Beach of the Class A Carolina League and Mississippi of the Class AA Southern League. Overall, his minor league career record is 22-19 with a 3.38 ERA in four years. Baseball America ranked Osuna as Atlanta’s 17th best prospect last year.

Osuna spent time this winter pitching for Mazatlan, posting a 2-0 record and 1.80 ERA in 16 appearances for the Venados before the Royals shut him down.