Yucatan holds off Leon to reach South finals; TJ up 3 to 2

Diego Madero's two-run homer highlighted Yucatan's three-run eighth inning as the Leones outlasted the Leon Bravos, 5-4, Friday night in Leon to complete a four-game sweep in their Mexican League South Division semifinal playoff series.  Yucatan advances to play defending champion Puebla in the LMB South championship series.  The Pericos needed just four games to eliminte Quintana Roo in the first round.

In the LMB North semifinals, the Tijuana Toros pulled away from the Aguascalientes Rieleros, 11-4, Friday in Aguascalientes to take a 3-games-to-2 lead in that set.  The visitors kept the basepaths busy with eleven hits while drawing eight walks from Rieleros pitchers as leadoff batter Jose Guadalupe Chavez reached base four times, scored twice and drove in three runs.  The winner of this series will meet Monterrey in the LMB North finals.  The Sultanes swept Monclova earlier this week.

There'll be no action Saturday as the Toros and Rieleros travel to Tijuana for Sunday's Game Six.

Yucatan 5-7-0, LEON 4-14-3
W-Barraza (1-0).  L-W. Silva (0-1).  Sv-Belisario (2).  A-6,894.  T-3:15.
A pitcher's duel between veteran hurlers Jonathan Castellanos of Yucatan and Leon's Walter Silva through seven innings ended with both teams combining for seven runs over the final two entradas as Yucatan held off Leon, 5-4, in front of a season-high crowd of 6,894 in Leon.  Leon took a 1-0 lead in the third when Junior Lake doubled in Eduardo Arredondo from second, but Yucatan tied it up in the fifth after leadoff hitter Jose Aguilar reached base on a fielding error by Bravos third baseman Miguel Terrero and eventually scored on a bloop single by Leo Heras.  The score remained knotted at 1-1 until the top of the eighth, when Ivan Araujo singled one out before Madero took Silva deep with a line-drive homer to left for Yucatan.  Ricky Alvarez later doubled in Juan Francisco off reliever Fredy Quintero to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.  Leon scored twice in the eighth on RBI singles by Torrero and Brandon Macias, but Yucatan went up 5-3 in the ninth when Sebastian Valle scored on a Gerardo Sanchez wild pitch to Heras.  Niko Vasquez doubled in Dan Johnson in the bottom of the ninth to bring Leon to within a run, but Yucatan closer Ronald Belisario got the final two outs for the save and win.  The Bravos actually outhit the Leones, 14-to-7, but only hit 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men stranded on base.

Tijuana 11-11-0, AGUASCALIENTES 4-9-1
W-Mitre (1-0).  L-L. Castro (0-2).  A-6,645.  T-3:43.
The top four batters in the Tijuana order combined for eight hits, four runs and nine RBIs as the visiting Toros broke a 4-4 tie with a single run in the top of the fourth and pulled away from Aguascalientes, 11-4, Friday in Aguascalientes.  Leadoff hitter Jose Guadalupe Chavez was the primary pest for TJ, going 2-for-4 with a pair of walks, scoring twice and driving in three more runs.  Roberto Lopez scored the eventual game-winning run for Tijuana in the top of the fourth when he reached base on a fielder's choice grounder to Rieleros pitcher Linder Castro, advanced to second on a passed ball by catcher Carlos Rodriguez and came in when Corey Brown's grounder found its way to left field.  The Toros then scored twice in the sixth and four times in the seventh (with Lopez punching a two-run double) to put the game away.  Former Yankees pitcher Sergio Mitre replaced starter Carlos Hernandez in the third inning and tossed four innings of one-hit shutout ball for the TJ win.  Castro, who relieved Rieleros starter Francisco del Rosario in the third, gave up a pair of runs in 2.2 innings to take the loss.

Leones off to fast start; Leon, Durango early surprises

There was nothing shocking about Yucatan winning seven of their first eight games to take an early lead in the Mexican League's Southern Division standings.  The Leones were considered an early favorite after defending champion Puebla's roster was gutted in the off-season load up the Monclova Acereros (both teams are owned by Gerardo Benavides), and they opened the season by sweeping Quintana Roo in a three-game opening series, splitting a pair of games at Tabasco and taking all three home games against Campeche last weekend to start the campaign with a 7-1 mark.

Yucatan's pitching, a traditional strength for the Merida team, has been exceptional thus far, turning in a team ERA of just 1.39 as last year's LMB Pitcher of the Year Yoanner Negrin and veteran Jonathan Castellanos (pictured) won their first two starts.  Negrin has picked up where he left off, blanking the Tigres over six innings in the March 31 season opener at Parque Kukulcan and holding Campeche to one run on two hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in seven frames last Friday.  Negrin's 0.69 ERA leads the Mexican League, just ahead of Monterrey's Angel Castro's 0.79.

Castellanos has quietly been one of the Liga's top pitchers, going 48-33 over the past five seasons and missing only one start since the start of the 2012 season after battling injury problems earlier in his career.  The 35-year-old righty pitched five shutout innings against Campeche Saturday after beating the Tigres on April 1.  With proven offensive performers like outfielder Jesus Valdez, Leo Heras and Jose Aguilar plus newcomer infielders Esteban Quiroz and Yuniesky Betancourt (who has yet to play a game for the Leones this season), Yucatan will be tough to beat.

Puebla's rebuilt Pericos lead the league with a .356 team batting average to start 6-3 out the gate, good for second in the LMB South standings, but the surprise team of the division has to be Leon.  The Bravos, who suffered through a miserable 24-88 season in 2016 as the Reynosa Broncos, are tied for third at 5-4 under veteran skipper Francisco "Paquin" Estrada.  While the team will have to play on the road until Estadio Domingo Santana in Leon is ready for occupancy later this month, the Bravos pulled into a tie for third with Oaxaca and Quintana Roo after sweeping the Veracruz Rojo del Aguilas over the weekend.  Former Southern League All-Star outfielder Alfredo Marte leads Leon with a .424 average and 9 RBIs while ten-year minor league pitcher Mitch Lively is 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA after two starts.

In the LMB North, Monclova has surprised nobody by winning six of their first nine games to take a one-game lead in the standings.  Puebla's losses have been the Acereros' gain as owner Benavides transferred several key members of his 2016 pennant winners to Monclova's already-strong team in hopes of bringing a championship to his home state.  Free agent signee Matt Clark, a former NCAA home run leader at LSU who hit 25 dingers in 2013 for Japan's Chunichi Dragons and spent time in Milwaukee in 2014, is batting .343 with 3 homers and 14 RBIs in 9 games for the Steelers.  Josh Lowey, the LMB's Pitcher of the Year in 2015, won his first two starts for Monclova with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings for a 2.77 ERA under new manager Wally Backman.  The Acereros lost in Laguna, 5-2, Sunday night to snap a three-game win streak.

The surprise team of the North, and perhaps the entire league, is Durango.  The very existence of the Generales for the 2017 was in doubt until days before the season began, given the uncertainty over the team's financial situation and whether their ballpark, Estadio Francisco Villa, would be ready over the first three months of the schedule.  Even so, the LMB Assembly of Presidents approved the former Carmen Delfines moving forward on a rare unanimous vote while, like Leon, playing on the road until their home field is ready.  The Generales didn't even name a manager until two weeks before the season opener, but Joe Alvarez has quickly galvanized his squad to produce a 5-4 start to trail Monclova by one game in a three-way tie for second with Tijuana and Aguascalientes.  Durango opened the season by beating the Rieleros, 2-1, on March 31, winning two of three in TJ over the potent Toros and then copping a pair of games in Monterrey over the weekend.  Cuban outfielder Yadir Drake is off to a hot start for the Generales, leading the club with a .389 average, 2 homers and 6 RBIs, but it's been the pitchers doing much of the heavy lifting, as the Generales are among the LMB's team ERA leaders at 3.99.  Adrian Garza won his first two starts of the season, middleman Antonio Garzon has a pair of wins in relief and closer Tiago Da Silva's five saves leads the loop.

Saltillo's Luis Borges leads the LMB with a .500 batting average after going 13-for-26 over 8 games, Alex Liddi of Tijuana has crashed 5 homers, Monclova newcomer Manny Rodriguez' 17 RBIs top the circuit and Justin Greene has swiped 5 bases for Saltillo to take the early lead in steals.  Among pitchers, besides Negrin's 0.69 ERA for Yucatan and Da Silva's 5 saves for Durango, thirteen pitchers have 2 wins apiece and Lowey's 16 strikeouts for Monclova are tops in that category.

On the upcoming schedule, the Quintana Roo Tigres make the loooong trip from Cancun to Tijuana to face the Toros in a big midweek series while next weekend's slate of games includes another big cross-divisional set in Monclova when Puebla comes to town.  Somehow, one thinks emotions in the stands will likely run a little higher when the Acereros make their first visit to Angelopolis with so many former Pericos players on their roster.

MEXICAN LEAGUE STANDINGS as of March 10, 2017
LMB North: Monclova 6-3, Aguascalientes 5-4, Durango 5-4, Tijuana 5-4, Laguna, Monterrey 4-5, Saltillo 4-5, Mexico City 3-6
LMB South: Yucatan 7-1, Puebla 6-3, Leon 5-4, Oaxaca 5-4, Quintana Roo 5-4, Campeche 3-6, Tabasco 3-6, Veracruz 2-7

LMB Division Championships results, highlights for Thursday, September 1

The Tijuana Toros registered their second win in as many nights, beating Monterrey, 2-1, to tie their North Division Championship Series with the Sultanes at two games apiece in Mexican League playoff action in the border city.  In the LMB South DCS, visiting Yucatan pulled away from Puebla, 5-1, at Estadio Hermanos Serdan to avoid being swept in their second-round series after posting the Liga's best regular season record at 77-33.

Game Five in both series are slated for Friday night in Tijuana and Puebla, respectively, before Saturday's travel day.

TIJUANA 2-6-0, Monterrey 1-12-0 (Series tied, 2 games to 2)
W-H. Ramirez. L-J. Solano. SV-Urquidez. HR-none. T-2:42. A-15,891.
Carlos Valencia (pictured) singled Juan Apodaca in with the tying run with two out in the fifth inning, then scored the go-ahead run on Edson Garcia's double as the Tijuana Toros topped Monterrey, 2-1, at Estadio Gasmart in front of 15.891 fans to tied their series at two games apiece.  It was a tough loss for Sultanes starter Javier Solano, who went the distance and scattered six Toros hits while striking out 12 batsmen in eight frames.  Ex-Atlanta hurler Horacio Ramirez got the win for Tijuana as Monterrey failed to help themselves, scoring just one run on 12 hits and a walk.

Yucatan 5-11-1, PUEBLA 1-5-0 (Puebla leads series, 3 games to 1)
W-J. Castellanos. L-H. Garcia. HR-Serrano. T-2:43. A-12,112.
Jonathan Castellanos pitched 6.1 innings of four-hit, one-run ball and Ricardo Serrano belted a two-run homer in the eighth for insurance as the Yucatan Leones staved off elimination with a 5-1 win at Puebla's Estadio Hermanos Serdan Thursday night.  Jesus Valdez' groundout scored Corey Wimberly in the top of the first with the game's first run for the Leones, who never looked back.  Wimberly and Kevin Flores each had three hits for Yucatan, who avoided the series sweep. Daric Barton had two hits for Puebla, who will try again tonight to clinch a berth in the Serie del Rey.

Friday's Schedule
Yucatan (Negrin) at Puebla (O. Lara) 8:00pm EDT
Monterrey (E. Gonalez) at Tijuana (Enright) 10:35pm EDT

Yucatan finishes 77-33 for LMB best record, playoffs start Tuesday

The Yucatan Leones dispatched the defending champion Quintana Roo Tigres, 5-2, Sunday in Merida to end the regular season with a Mexican League-best 77-33 record and number one seed throughout the playoffs.  The postseason gets underway Tuesday night with four games.

Veteran hurler Jonathan Castellanos (pictured) gave the Leones five innings of one-hit shutout pitching before leaving with a 5-0 lead.  Although the Tigres scored singletons in both the seventh and eighth frames, Yucatan closer Pedro Hernandez tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to finish with his 18th save of the campaign.  The 34-year-old Castellanos' record rose to 11-3 as the righty has reached double-digit win totals in four of his last five LMB summers.  Leones left fielder Jesus Valdez cracked his 18th homer, a two-run shot off Tigres starter Fernando Miranda (7-7) in the third. Quintana Roo left fielder Roman Pena doubled and plated a run in the eighth to end the game's scoring.

Puebla won, 6-1, at Oaxaca Sunday to finish four games behind Yucatan in the South Division at 74-38.  Quintana Roo dropped to 68-45 with the loss but had already wrapped up third place while Campeche cruised to the fourth and final LMB South berth with a 57-51 mark.  Tabasco, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Carmen finished out of the money in that order.

In the Liga's Northern Division, Monterrey won five of their last ten games to end the regular season with a 72-39 record, three-and-a-half games up on second-place Monclova (69-43).  The Sultanes put five runs on the scoreboard in the fifth inning and went on to beat Laguna, 10-6, Sunday before a crowd of 21,649 at Estadio Monterrey.  Second sacker Ramon Rios socked a solo homer for the Sultanes, who were trailing 6-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth.  Monterrey drew an average attendance 12,783 over 54 home games, easily leading all of Minor League Baseball.

Laguna's loss to the Sultanes meant a fourth-place finish for the Vaqueros (63-50), who came in a game-and-a-half behind 64-48 Tijuana.  Mexico City, Aguascalientes, Saltillo and Reynosa all get first dibs at the golf course.  The last-place Broncos in particular endured a forgettable 24-88 season (dropping a 4-3 game at Monclova Sunday) while drawing fewer than 2,000 fans per home game at Estadio Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

The playoffs get underway Tuesday night with four games.  In the LMB North semifinals, Laguna will be at Monterrey while Tijuana visits Monclova; in the LMB South semis, Quintana Roo travels to Puebla and Campeche heads east to Merida to face the Leones.  Seventh games (if needed) will be played on Wednesday, August 24.

Baseball Mexico will provide daily scores and highlights throughout the Mexican League playoffs.  Check back often.


Final 2016 Mexican League Standings

NORTH DIVISION: Monterrey 72-39, Monclova 69-43, Tijuana 64-48, Laguna 63-50, Mexico City 57-54, Aguascalientes 53-58, Saltillo 50-61, Reynosa 24-88.

SOUTH DIVISION: Yucatan 77-33, Puebla 74-38, Quintana Roo 68-43, Campeche 57-51, Tabasco 44-67, Veracruz 43-67, Oaxaca 42-70, Carmen 31-78.


Mexican League 2016 Playoffs 
Division Semifinals schedule

#1  TUE, 8/16:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova
#2  WED, 8/17:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova

#3  FRI, 8/18:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana
#4  SAT, 8/19:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana

#5 SUN, 8/19:  Yucatan at Campeche, Puebla at Quintana Roo, Monterrey at Laguna, Monclova at Tijuana

#6 TUE, 8/16:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova
#7 WED, 8/19:  Campeche at Yucatan, Quintana Roo at Puebla, Laguna at Monterrey, Tijuana at Monclova

Games in italics scheduled if necessary


Negrin finishes 18-1, Tapia wins batting title

Following his 2-1 win over Puebla on August 7, Yucatan pitcher Yoanner Negrin had one start remaining with an opportunity to bring his season wins total to 19 last Friday at home against Quintana Roo.  However, Leones skipper Willie Romero shuffled his rotation to give Jonathan Castellanos the final regular season start and rest Negrin for the playoffs.  As a result, Negrin finished 18-1 for 2016 to lead the Mexican League in wins.  The 33-year-old Cuban lost only one of 22 starts, a 5-2 decision to Puebla in Merida on May 1, over three months ago.  Negrin went 15-0 the rest of the way and complied a 2.29 ERA with three shutouts to lead the loop in that category (nobody else had more than one whitewash).

Former Monclova ace Josh Lowey built insurmountable leads in ERA (1.65) and strikeouts (131) before signing a $200,000 contract with Korea's KT Wiz in mid-July to win both Triple Crown titles.  Lowey has found the going tougher across the Pacific, lasting just one-and-one-third innings in his most recent start last Thursday against the SK Wyverns and coughing up three earned runs to see his record fall to 2-3 while his ERA in the KBO rose to 10.26 in five starts.  Lowey's former Acereros moundmate, Arcenio Leon, picked up five saves in the final week to end the regular season with 36 in 42 opportunities.

Puebla catcher Cesar Tapia became the first backstop to win the LMB batting title since 1987 by going 7-for-15 over his last four games to finish at .383.  Orlando Sanchez of the old Puebla Black Angels turned in a .415 mark 39 years ago, one year after former big leaguer Willie Mays Aikens hit a modern Liga record .454 for Puebla in 1986.  Monterrey third baseman Alex Valdez led the circuit with 30 homers, Aguascalientes shortstop Diory Hernandez held on to win the RBI crown with 97 (his previous high was 68 ribbies in a career that began in 2003) while Saltillo outfielders Justin Greene and Christian Zazueta shared stolen base honors with 39 swipes apiece.


Mexican League Individual Statistical Leaders

BATTING
Games:  112  Emmanuel Avila, Mexico City
Hits:  145  Justin Greene, Saltillo
Doubles:  31  Ricky Alvarez, LAG; Cyle Hankerd, MXC; Chris Roberson, MONT
Triples:  10  Ruben Sosa, Laguna
Homers:  30  Alex Valdez, Monterrey
Runs:  80  Chris Roberson, Monterrey
Runs Batted In:  97  Diory Hernandez, Aguascalientes
Batting Average:  .383  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
On-Base Percentage:  .459  Ruben Sosa, Laguna
Slugging Percentage:  .662  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage:  1.093  Cesar Tapia, Puebla
Stolen Bases:  39  Justin Greene, Saltillo; Christian Zazueta, Saltillo

PITCHING
Games:  65  Fabian Williamson, Monclova
Innings Pitched:  141.1  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Complete Games:  4  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Shutouts:  3  Yoanner Negrin, Yucatan
Wins:  18  Yoanner, Negrin, Yucatan
Saves:  36  Arcenio Leon, Monclova
Holds:  24  Mario Meza, Yucatan; Fabian Williamson, Monclova
Hits Allowed:  162  Demetrio Gutierrez, Aguascalientes
Strikeouts:  131  Josh Lowey, Monclova
Bases on Balls:  57  Michael Nix, Aguascalientes
Earned Run Average:  1.65  Josh Lowey, Monclova
Walks+Hits per Innings Pitched:  0.93  Josh Lowey, Monclova

MONTERREY HOLDS OFF SALTILLO FOR FIRST HALF NORTH CROWN

Although Monterrey won only two games last week, that was enough to give the Sultanes a 32-21 record and a two-game lead over the 30-23 Saltillo Saraperos at the end of first half play in the Mexican League’s Zona Madero, good for eight points in the season-long battle for a playoff berth in August.

The Sultanes have been led offensively by outfielder Luis Alfonso Garcia, who’s batting .366 and leads the Liga with 15 homers, 60 RBIs and a .710 slugging percentage. Monterrey’s 4.16 ERA is tops among teams in the LMB North. Veteran right-hander Jonathan Castellanos tossed six shutout innings in a 3-0 win at Monclova Saturday to raise his record to 5-1 while lowering his league-leading ERA to 2.37. Castellanos has not lost a game since mid-March.

Saltillo won seven of their last ten games to pull past Mexico City into second place in the LMB North to earn seven first-half points in the bargain. First baseman Sandy Madera is fourth in the Liga with a .392 batting average to lead a balanced attack, and reliever Esteban Hernandez has gone 6-0 in 26 appearances out of the bullpen to lead the team in wins.

Elsewhere in the Zona Madero, Mexico City faded into a third-place tie with streaking Reynosa, who has won five of their past six games. Both teams ended the first half a game behind Saltillo at 29-24. Surprising Chihuahua scored 38 runs in two consecutive games last week en route to finishing the first half in fifth place in the LMB North at 28-25, two games out of second place. Laguna (25-28), Nuevo Laredo (20-33) and Monclova (19-34) all finished below .500. Nuevo Laredo has hit just 14 homers in their first 53 games.